überlin

It’s frankly bonkers that we’ve not been to Bite Club before now. The regular street food festival combines some of our favourite things: yummy food, booze, DJs spinning disco and the company of friends and their dogs (B.Y.O.Bully), all enjoyed al fresco, on a beautiful Berlin summer evening. We headed to the Kreuzberg edition, situated among the shipping containers of Hoppetosse by Badeschiff, to sink our teeth into Bunsmobile‘s next level three-hour-braised bacon burger and Heisser Hobel‘s Käsespätzle – the most mac n’ cheesy we’ve ever had! For drinks, we sampled the best of the Singleton Whisky Bar, including the Boss Hog, a blend of Tailfire single malt, Grand Marnier, sea salted caramel, bitters and… more bacon! Topped off with an ice cream sandwich from Zwei Dicke Bären, we took one more glance at the stunning view down the Spree, before stumbling home to sleep the sleep of the contented. Make sure you don’t miss the next Bite Club!

Berlin’s reputation as a world music capital is undisputed. The city’s signature sounds – house and techno – have defined its sonic landscape at home and abroad for decades. However, as creative minds from around the world continue to flock to the city in search of advantageous conditions for their work, Berlin is witnessing a radical expansion of its musical diversity at the edges of these scenes and beyond. What are these truly adventurous sounds and musics that are currently arising from the city’s maelstrom of simultaneously sounding musical styles and cultures? With Berlin Current, CTM Festival puts an ear to the scene and presents new, future-oriented musical ideas from Berlin together with Berghain, Boiler Room Berlin, BLN.FM, No Fear of Pop, and ICAS.

In its second year, Berlin Current is supporting the city’s emerging artists, including some already featured here on überlin – Lotic, Moon Wheel and Objekt – through live concerts, showcases and creative commissions. Here are just a few of the standout acts we’re looking forward to seeing at the Berlin Current kick-off concert at First We Take Berlin, and at other shows and projects later in the year:

These Hidden Hands

A collaboration betweem studio buff Alain and Chris Liebing protege (and Emika collaborator) Tommy Four Seven, These Hidden Hands warp the techno template into new and almost unrecognisable forms. It would take a hundred hidden hands to carry the weight of this shape-shifting Boiler Room set.

Sarah Farina

Sarah Farina gets bonus points for coining a new genre description for her frenetic fusion of jungle, juke, hip hop, and UK garage and funky – Rainbowbass. Originally supported by Berlin bass queens Sick Girls, Farina is stepping into the spotlight as the go-to DJ for maximum BPPM (Booty Pops Per Minute).

Opium Hum

Last, but by no means least, is the excellently-named DJ alias of Michail Stangl, co-organiser of CTM Festival, Boiler Room Berlin and the Leisure System parties and labels. With predilections running from drone to doom metal, Opium Hum‘s sets take on the form of dark, hypnotic lucid dreams. 

Free Your Stuff Berlin is more than just a Facebook group where Berliners can give and get all sorts of um, stuff, for, well, free. It’s also a gathering place for Berlin’s poor and tired, its huddled masses, its wretched refuse – whether object or human. We’ve been watching the wall on the lookout for freebies, furniture and nicknacks for our new space, and, well, it’s been getting weird…

The strangely specific

The overly optimistic

The cheapskates

The persistent

Seriously, just buy a muffin tin.

The inattentive

The spammers

Hilarious name for a mix, mind.

The poorly-prepared new parents

The colour blind

The bonkers

The busybodies

The dreamers

Awwwwwwww.

The up-to-no-good

What’s the hurry? Homeowners set to return soon?

When it comes to progressive rock, Berlin label Pelagic Records absolutely kill it. The home of The Ocean, managed by band leader Robin Staps, also excel at creating beautiful, collectible editions of their roster’s music, as evidenced by “Supra” – the upcoming third album from dioramic. Have to a drool over the sexy vinyl version (below), pre-order it here, or just wait for the band to play Berlin around its launch date (12th September). Help yourself to some epicity!

You know how you’re always complaining about the lack of real spicy Asian food in Berlin? And how you won’t venture past Schöneberg on the U-Bahn because West Berlin? Well these two things are not unrelated – and the fact is that you can spend a lovely day out and eat some of the best food you’ve had since moving here, by filling your face at Thai Park.

You’re looking for the middle of the field at the centre of Preußenpark, situated on the U7, just behind the fleamarket at Fehrbelliner Platz (here’s a map). There you’ll find a cluster of colourful umbrellas, under which the local Thai community are frying up their freshest, finest, most affordable national dishes. Grab a Som Tam salad or something far less heathy, order yourself a caipirinha from the cocktails and shisha stall (multikulti, na?), and find yourself a patch of grass. Then sit back and watch the hustle and bustle of one of our new favourite spots in Berlin.

Wow, that was a blast! Last weekend, hundreds of friends, fans and randoms joined us and raised a glass/bottle of craft beer to the opening of our brand new coworking space and photographic studio. We were overwhelmed with the sheer number of people who came, the all-round positive wibes, the fact that people stuck around long after the booze ran out, and the many opportunities to catch up with – or meet IRL for the first time – the people who’ve supported us all these years.

At the risk of getting all Oscar winner on you (it was an honour just to be nominated), we’d like to say thank you to all the people who helped make the party such a huge success. In no particular order…

Everyone who came, drank, tweeted, ‘stagrammed, tagged our postbox, chatted, laughed and played Cards Against Humanity (you wrong ‘uns).

Our cotwerkers, for putting shots in us, generally being lovely and reminding us why we decided to do this in the first place <3

Our bartender Julia, for keeping her cool and keeping the drinks flowing, and to Maj, Christian, Mike, Ana and Hannah for helping out when demand got, well, ridiculous.

The people who provided the drinks: Schoppe Bräu for the Kreuzberg XPA, Brau Sturm for the Prototyp, Our/Berlin vodka, Berliner Sommer and Thomas Henry. Special thanks go to Kiera from the Global Craft Beer Festival, Lucy vs. the Globe and Sina from DESCAPE for the hookups, and Marcus from Alchemist Gin for distilling a delicious and exclusive “übergin” (with freshly foraged mirabelle, juniper, coriander and a touch of black pepper nomnomnom).

überlin resident INgrooves for their generous sponsorship (and the emergency Jack Daniels!).

Sarah from A Color Bright and Hannah (again!) for the event tips and advice.

Olli for coming through with the last minute branding touches and installing our “ü”s and that “überlin” lightbox that blew everyone’s minds on arrival.

Kathy Kunz, who introduced some much-needed interior design details to the space. Oh and for putting the final finishing touches on it – flowers for our vase, and a bow for Olive’s collar ????

Chris, for taking these wonderful photos, and letting Zoë take the night off!

Our neighbours from inside and outside the Haus, for turning up and prosting our new venture. It’s nice to know that not everyone thinks we’re ruining the Kiez ????

Everyone who shared the event beforehand, including a certain someone who let the “free drinks” cat out of the bag early (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE ???? ). And NotMsParker from Kreuzberg’d, for writing up this sweet review.

Extra special thanks to my wonderful wife and partner Zoë, for hustling to put together such an awesome event, looking amazing in a jumpsuit and for keeping her head when I was losing mine!

Photographed by Cristopher Santos.

10 reasons to love Dream Koala

1. That name. Dream Koala.

2. This self-penned biography:

Laptop genius since 94′ / Vegan post j-pop

3. This face. LOOK AT IT:

4. This remix of Chino Moreno’s †††, proof positive that Dream Koala digs everything Deftones:

5. He REALLY likes the Deftones:

6. He’s also remixed BANKS, breathing thick sativa smoke and nervy energy into the American ingénue’s “Change”:

7. His own music, which warrants its own genre classification. May we suggest: stargaze.

8. This appropriately astral image, in which Koala seems to be channeling the spirit of Goldie’s Metalheadz:

9. He’s just moved from Paris to Berlin, reassuring us all that we do indeed live in continental Europe’s coolest city.

10. He reminds you of the fact that this city is full of talented creatives trying to carve out their own creative space. On that note, can anyone hook him up with an apartment?