überlin

There is something so special about shooting on film. I used to tell people that was bullshit before I got my first analogue camera at Christmas, but now I take it all back!

The look is so unique and although there are loads of filters out there that can take your digital photos in the direction of a film photo, they just don’t cut it. But more than the look, I love the whole process of shooting on film. You have to really slow down and consider the shot before you take it. With digital you can just shoot and shoot and delete later, but this can mean you’re not as invested in each shot. With film you have to nail the exposure and compose the picture correctly, because every shot costs you money!

I wish I’d picked up an analogue camera sooner and I urge anyone who’s serious about photography to get one. It’s a steep learning curve but it’s absolutely worth it!

[EDIT: this competition is now closed. Click here to see if we’re running any open competitions]

ASA 808 is the dark side of Ansgar Rudolf, bandleader of the ambient post-rock project Hasta la otra México! We’re really looking forward to his next release “Ignorance”, which is already getting airplay from the likes of George Fitzgerald. Cop a listen to it in ASA’s exclusive mix for Electronic Beats, and find out how to win guestlist to his awesome TOYS night at Prince Charles below.

HOW TO WIN 2 X GUESTLIST SPOTS FOR TOYS AT PRINCE CHARLES THIS WEDNESDAY:

Leave us a comment below. It’s that easy!

You have until 6pm tomorrow, Tuesday 27th May. Good luck!

The Boring Bit (yawn, RULES):

1. You must be at least 18 years old to enter.
2. ONE ENTRY PER PERSON!
3. We will keep a record of each comment in a database and then a random number generator picks the winner.
4. Remember to include your full (real) name or we won’t be able to put you on the guestlist!
5. We will announced the winners via our Facebook page on Wednesday 28th May.

We need your help! For our new coworking space, we want to get some of my Berlin photos printed up really huge for the walls. Below are the options we’ve whittled it down to and we reckon we need to choose three finalists. So let us know in the comments – which is your favourite Berlin photo?

1. Reflection

2. Tempelhof

3. Fernsehturm

4. Sachsenhausen

5. Spreepark Cat

6. Spreepark Plane

PS can you recommend a place where we can get good, reasonably-priced prints? Let us know!

Ahead of the David Bowie retrospective soon to open at Martin-Gropius-Bau, a clutch of our favourite Berlin acts have covered some of the Thin White Duke’s best songs. Leading the pack is bass maven Emika‘s otherworldly exploration of “Let’s Dance”, replete with gender-bending pitched-down vocals (eat your heart out, planningtorock!). The eternally cute coupling of Phia and her boyfriend Josh the Cat AKA Mez Medallion have recorded the oft-overlooked “As The World Falls Down” from childhood classic Labyrinth for Rolling Stone Germany, while Kool Thing went with one of my favourites, the epic title track from “Station to Station” (also available on a special CD compilation available with the May edition of the magazine). Dance magic dance!

I love that in Berlin there are still so many hidden gems just waiting to be discovered. You can be walking down a quiet street and pass something so unique, unusual or just downright weird that you wonder why people like us haven’t written about it yet? Well I’m about to do my job and blog the shit out of an awesome little store I happened upon recently, called Lindt Second Hand Berlin.

A little disclosure – I normally find vintage shopping pretty frustrating, with most things either overpriced or falling apart (Mauerpark springs to mind!). While I tend to steer well clear, on this occasion I was out with a friend who was on a mission to find a vintage dress for a wedding. So I have Hannah to thank for this little find!

Right away, I was taken aback by the attention to detail that the shopkeeper has obviously taken with the decor. There are some really wonderful details like a huge cake stand full of garden gnomes, a handmade parrot hanging from the ceiling and a child’s rocking horse nestling in between the dresses.

The owner clearly loves what she does and does it really well – presenting a selection of 50s, 60s and 70s dresses that had me watering at the mouth. Every item that I picked up seemed to have been chosen for some reason – its beautiful detailing, unique print or flattering cut.

And here’s where it gets really interesting: Lindt’s prices are REALLY REASONABLE (capitals absolutely necessary). OK, so this isn’t the place for Colours “pay-by-the-weight” bargains… But if you’re looking for great quality, carefully selected vintage pieces that won’t hurt the bank balance too much then I really recommend you check out Lindt Second Hand Berlin. P.S For all you blokes out there they do mens stuff as well!

Second time up on the blog for Maltese-American Wunderkind Jim Hickey. For the video to his soulful quiet anthem “Burning Forest”, Hickey has stitched together childhood memories found on Hi8 tapes – shot a few years before he started playing in bands, touring in Germany and, oh y’know, opening for Elton John (seriously). Take a trip down memory lane…

Graefekiez is such a small world! Le Bon was recently opened by the people behind one of our favourite local cafés, Kaffeebar, in the space once occupied by our home away from home, Hudson’s. This means that there’s yet another awesome food place in our area, run by lovely people with a passion for good food. The beautiful Le Bon has absolutely nailed the minimal, rustic aesthetic that dominates Cereal, or whatever interiors magazine you’re currently drooling over, with a culinary focus on the fundamentals to match. We’ve already sampled most of the brunch menu(!) and can happily report that everything is delicious, especially the granola pancakes and pulled pork sandwiches. Now we can’t wait to go back and try dinner!

Photos by Zoë Noble Photography