On Saturday night I arrived to Griessmühle; formerly a pasta factory, and presently one of my favorite clubs in Berlin. Not only is it just a few U-bahn stops from my house, but it’s a bit off the beaten path (and a bit gritty), which means it doesn’t attract a lot of tourists.
Since today is International Women’s Day I thought it would be most appropriate to feature one of my favorite DJs, Lady Blacktronika. She was one of the first friends I made when I arrived to Berlin and also the first person to ever tell me not to refer to “Techno” as “Electro.” When I asked her why, she said, “just don’t.” Duly noted Lady Black.
Max Cooper creates “highly produced, emotional electronica made for both the dance floor and sit-down concerts.” When I hear this song I am immediately reminded of the deep, introspective journey that music sometimes takes me on. There I am in the middle of dance floor, surrounded by gyrating strangers and dancing lights. I close my eyes and go on a mini-vacation in my mind.
A couple of days my roommate mentioned that she was going to deep clean the apartment. I said, “Well, wait. Friday we are having a house party and it’s just going to get filthy again.”
The lyrics to It’s Ok were written by Patricia Edwards way before I ever made the song. I liked it when I first heard the lyrics and then decided to write music to it. Since Patricia is based in New York and I am based In Johannesburg, I wanted the song to have both an American as well as a South African feel to it. I also wanted the song to fit in any club around the world. Hope you enjoy!
It’s the freakin’ weekend and I couldn’t be more excited. Before I crack open a bottle of beer and toast to the ending of a particularly stressful week, I still have a few tasks I need to finish up..like backing up all my data to my external hard drive (a habit I need to just go ahead and adopt weekly).
In any decent DJ playlist there is always at least one track that stands out. For me Kölsch’s, Grey epitomises such a record. It’s upfront, it doesn’t stand about, it hits the spot and clears off in under 5 mins leaving us wanting more. It’s my favourite tune of the now and now is all we have.
Much like the repetitive nature of cleaning your living space, the chimed plucks in the beginning of the track repeat throughout and takes the listener on circular adventure as added layers build on this theme with an array of syncopated break beats, futuristic synths, and a driving bass line.
The other night I had the arduous task of putting together an IKEA bed that I had bought secondhand. The task was arduous because 1. There were no instructions, 2. I had never put together a bed before.
Ever since I stumbled upon this song, I can’t stop listening it. It’s so great, I don’t even want to dilute it with my fanciful analogies. Just do yourself a favor and listen to it….really, really loud.
If I could have one wish, it would be that this song would start playing as soon as I enter a lucid dream (that beautiful space between waking life and deep slumber when my body is completely relaxed and weightless but I still complete control over my thoughts and movements.)