überlin

Since Ballet School dropped this a couple of weeks back, it hasn’t left our virtual turntable: their cover of Madonna’s “Justify My Love” and Beyoncé’s “Partition”. Something of a statement of intent ahead of the band’s US tour, their dream pop mashup of Ms Ciccone’s critically-panned creative peak and undeniable, world-domination Bey comes with good reason. Here’s singer Rosie Blair:

When “Justify My Love” came out, it made perfect sense because it is the sound of the world’s most powerful woman reaching her early thirties sexual peak. Like, it figures. For about five years after this Madonna released nothing but explicitly sexual music and was totally punished for it. She rarely refers to it now but it was the lowest period of her career, critically speaking. Every time she did an interview one of the questions would invariably be “Do you think your career is over?” I mean, how rude. Beyonce’s “Partition” is the same vibe, a woman in her early thirties reaching maximum velocity with her sexuality except this time, Beyonce was critically acclaimed for her work. The juxtaposition between the two songs is one that is just as important for me culturally as it is musically. It makes me think that it’s worth putting your ideas and perspectives out there as a female even if you get a kicking, ’cause there’s always a bigger picture. This is the definition of “influence.”

Berlin is the adopted home of an almost unbelievable number of formidable female performers and producers. Just a week after XOSAR’s none-more-black metal mix, we discovered some equally dark, but more pointedly danceable music from Sophie Ruston AKA Ghettozoid. She seems to have been laying low for a year or so, so we’re dusting off some classics that remind us of peak-time Miss Kitten being sternly told off by Anne Clark. If you’ve got the good sense to like your synth music shrouded in smoke, and your bass be-bootied, then get more Ghettozoid right here.

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

EYEHATEGOD are fucking legends! A cornerstone of the New Orleans metal scene, their caustic fusion of breakneck hardcore and crushing sludge spawned a generation of crusty-ass, iconoclastic riff monsters. Next Monday, the boys from the bayou are back in Berlin, knocking our socks/cocks off at Cassiopeia – and we have 2 pairs of tickets to give away! For a quick education on EYEHATEGOD, watch this stellar short documentary from Noisey, and scroll down to find out how to win two tickets to next week’s show!

HOW TO WIN 2 TICKETS FOR EYEHATEGOD AT CASSIOPEIA ON MONDAY APRIL 13TH (full event details):

Just leave us a comment below with the answer to this question:

(apart from EYEHATEGOD) What’s the best thing ever to come out of New Orleans?

You have until midnight on Friday 10th April to enter. GOOD LUCK!

The Boring Bit (yawn, RULES):

1. You must be 18 years or older 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 and email address, so we can contact you if you win.
5. We will notify the winner via email on Saturday 11th April.

What could be better than a techno producer who listens to a ton of black metal? XOSAR grabbed our attention with this TRVE KVLT mix for Red Bull Music Academy, which presents curios like Italian one-man band Tony Tears and black metal canon from the controversial Burzum, alongside the Californian’s own productions – blackened techno that goes bump in the night. If you like your electronics twisted into nightmarish shapes and smeared with dark mascara, check out XOSAR’s influences below, and listen to her own music on her SoundCloud.

Here’s a little something chill to ease you into the week: “Let’s Start” by Josh the Cat. Josh has appeared on überlin before, once as his Mez Medallion alter ego, and again as Phia’s long-time “collaborator” (that’s what me and Zoë call it too!). This time, the catman is back, with some serious Erlend Øye vibes and a track that he tantalisingly describes as ” a slowed-down early Twin Shadow meets a lo-fi Death Cab for Cutie, but produced by Childish Gambino”. Have a listen to “Let’s Start” below, and download it for free here. Have a good week 🙂

DNA BLN is one of the best places to catch up-and-coming bands in Berlin. Last year’s inaugural edition introduced us to Losers, a band we love so much we played them on the very first Radio überlin. This time around, we’re looking forward to discovering another handful of hot new acts including… the fierce Candice Gordon (pictured), Lion Sphere – who splice Peter Gabriel world vibes with alt-J, and are every bit as good as that sounds – and Metryk, who specialise in darkly beautiful synth pop. Here’s a playlist of all the acts appearing on the night, and all the event details you need. See you in Magnet!

DNA BLN Launch Party [Facebook event]
Thursday 26th March, 8pm
Magnet Club, Falckensteinstr. 48, 10997 Berlin, Germany

I can’t believe I’m going to miss this! For some reason, the (actual) geniuses behind Thai & Techno have decided to save their spring edition for the one week I’m out of town. However, they did take pity on me, and invited us to a preview of their fusion of delicious food and crispy beats, for a taste of what I’m missing.

And what a taste! We enjoyed pad thai spring rolls, the best Massaman curry we’ve had in ages, and an intriguing dessert of black rice and banana. The perfect boozy accompaniment came in the form of Redwood bar’s Rad Thai cocktail, a potent blend of vodka, shredded carrot, lime, chilli and coriander. Lush!

To enjoy all this, and a soundtrack from slow hypnotic sounds to dancefloor techno, make sure you’re at FluxBau on Friday March 27th, from 6pm til late. Scroll down for a short video from the inaugural Thai & Techno, and get full details of the big night here.

Thai & Techno from Opal Collective on Vimeo.