the sound of summer

I have yet to meet someone who genuinely flat-out does not like music. It connects people, helps us through tough times and quickens us when emotions are soaring.

Connected to the latter is the well-known phenomenon of striving for "the perfect holiday soundtrack", which generally hits sometime in the sunny months of June and August.

In the past years, I've put endless efforts into assembling a playlist that is of a light and stimulative nature, works both by the poolside and during longer car rides and reminds me of fun and carefree days with friends without being distinctly associated with previous events or travels. This year, in line with my newfound hang loose-attitude, I've decided to skip endless hours of record sampling and found someone else to do it for me:

The people at RCRD LBL (free MP3 a day, anyone?) have teamed up with Saludos and produced the ultimate summer holiday mix cd. Available as a free download, Cheers to the Summer: 2010 Summer Soundtrack includes tracks by Mishka, The Like, Femi Kuti, White Denim, The Drums and many others. Simply enter your email address, and you will receive the compilation as a .zip file, which can easily be copied into an empty playlist folder in the music player of your choice.

I'm already hooked to my new favourite summer track: The Sunshine Song by The Candle Thieves. Don't miss out on this grand opportunity to lay your hands on free music NOW!

PS: If you don't feel like sharing your email address, you can also stream the playlist online.

(all images by Soludos/RCRD LBL Cheers to the Summer)

.HBC Couture - Designer Scouts II

Originally determined to skip Berlin Fashion Week as a whole (courtesy of the blazing heat that Berlin seems to be blessed with these days), only the Designer Scouts event at .HBC could lure me out of my air-conditioned appartment, dressed to the nines and ready for four hours of fashion, music, drinks and good conversation.

Here's the short film of the shows which I shot and edited:

(click here for higher resolution and better quality)

*For more photos of the event, check out the official Designer Scouts website. You might also be interested in my post on the previous show which took place in January.

travelettes flea market

Berlin is known for it's variety of Sunday morning flea markets and the hidden treasures that can be found at these. Mauerpark, Boxhagener Platz, Neukölln: no tourist goes back home without having obtained a little something to show off to friends and family (What, a 10€ handsigned Iggy Pop vinyl AND Levi's denim cut-offs for just 2€?).

Last Sunday however, there was an addition to the classic Berlin flea market repertoire: the 1st Travelettes.net flea market, themed Holiday. Since Travelettes is an online travel magazine/blog for girls, only ladies planning a trip in the near future could participate and sell their stuff. With a 1-month surfing trip throughout Europe lined up for myself, I was slightly intimidated by the rest of the sellers, many of which were planning to explore Australia, India or Thailand.

Nevertheless, it turned out to be an incredibly pleasant day. Katja Hentschel, journalist and mastermind behind the entire function, did not only provide the perfect holiday playlist to set the mood, but also supplied us with enough coffee and snacks to last the day. Visitors were able to browse through heaps and heaps of vintage clothing and shoes, self-made jewelry and accessories, as well as enjoy cold drinks at the bar or receive a 1€ manicure at the door.

Thanks to the enormous amount of positive feedback, there may be another flea market at the end of August - so keep your eyes open!

More photos and video can be found on the Travelettes website.

sideseeing berlin: take a stroll

Who's in for a little fashion, art and music this sunday? Sideseeing is an open air market/fair comprised of numerous stalls selling self-made jewelry, fashion and design items by local designers. It's known for attracting a colourful crowd of people, delicious refreshments and an entertainment programme that's just as awesome as the items for sale ;)

Come and check it out! This Sunday, 13:ooh - 2o:ooh at Maybachufer Neukölln (more info on the sideseeing website).

MELT! picknick

As I'm typing these lines, a mere 140km away from Berlin in the city of steel Ferropolis (near Dessau), Melt! resident DJ Markus Welby is already serving the first course of finest electro tunes. The musical banquet that Melt! Picknick rightfully can be described as will continue with Simina Grigoriu, a brunette bombshell who happens to double as first-class techno DJ and producer. And if the weather permits and (the predicted) heavy rainfall doesn't bust the party, these phenomenal acts will be followed by none other than Fritz Zander, Fritz Kalkbrenner and Robag Whrume. The grand finale a.k.a the cherry on top of this electronic feast will be a live set by the great Paul Kalkbrenner. Ever since Berlin Calling, this Berlin-based DJ has created a name (or shall we say legend?) for himself even outside the spheres of electronic music and Berlin underground parties, and made his way into mainstream. Whether that's desireable or not remains questionable, his bank account is certainly thanking him.

And while I'm sitting here in Berlin, receiving text message updates about the awesomeness of Melt! picknick by friends and secretly wishing that it would start raining so I'd have at least one teensie reason to be glad about getting stuck in Berlin (for personal reasons), I'll definitely round up a few photographic and video impressions post-picknick to share with you what we may have missed out on.

Ps. It just started raining cats and dogs...

tonight! don't miss out!

the sunny side of life

"We start to party when others go to bed!" a Norwegian tourist proudly proclaimed last weekend, leaning against the bar at Zur Möbelfabrik, sucking on his Vodka Lemon and feeling oh so Berlin. I daresay it's not very unconventional to begin a night by catching the last S-Bahn (during the week) or running into a Kaiser's supermarket just before it closes at 24:00h to stock up on whatever will last you through the night. What many visitors and tourists are unaware of, however, is that here in Berlin we don't wait until the sun goes down to have a good time.

Especially in the summer time, all sorts of festivities and celebrations draw crowds of young and old to the streets of Berlin. The first of May - traditionally a day of street riots and political protests - nowadays also encompasses street fairs and open-air parties all throughout Kreuzberg and the Wrangelkiez. This year, one could enjoy some fine electro tunes in front of Luzia (Oranienstraße) and around the Spreewaldplatz (Görlitzer Park).



Last fall, 350 participants attended an anti-climate change demonstration which doubled as a silent rave party throughout the streets of Berlin-Mitte. While political activism and environmental consciousness stood at the forefront of this event, the tunes of legendary Dr. Motte and Dj Dirty Doehring (Bar 25) caused every electro-loving Berliner's heart to skip a beat.


Among the annual Karneval der Kulturen and Bergmannstraßenfest (which are coming up this and next weekend), there's a bunch of low-key and semi-secret rave parties taking place in and around Berlin all throughout the summer. To figure out the when&where, keep a lookout on the internet (Facebook; Berlin-based blogs such as IHeartBerlin.de) ...or simply ask one of the many hipsters milling around Görlitzer Park ;)

Having said that, I would like add that these parties rarely end when the sun sets... so even if you prefer spending the daytime hours in bed (and can actually afford to do so), you won't miss out!