Playlist

It is uncanny how much power a familiar refrain or beat has to catapult you into memories. I find CocoRosie is now laced with almost nauseating nostalgia for the months buried under snow, the yellow of the S-Bahn racing through shivering white. It feels out of place in this sunnier world. So in the spirit of procrastination I decided to compile a playlist of my year in Berlin. Starting from last September through to now, I compiled a list of certain songs with certain times. Some of them are new, some of them are old, some are much better than others but all of them have a niche in my Berlin-soundscape.



Playlist:

1. Idle forest of Chit Chat (feat. Souldrop) - Kinny
2. Summertime (Organica Remix) - Billie Holiday
3. Ambre - Sporto Kantes
4. Dearly Departed - Daedelus
5. Abbesses - Birdy Nam Nam 
6. Aaron - Paul Kalkbrenner An old housemate Florian from last Autumn like to listen to Elektro musik and cook Moussaka. It was very good Moussaka. Zimtig.
7. Transatlantik - Quantic I liked to cook to Quantic.
8. Kiara - Bonobo
9. Ketto - Bonobo
10. Der Kanal - Kleingeldprinzessin She sings about Neukoelln!
11. Schwarz Zu Blau - Peter Fox My German teacher was a big Peter Fox fan...
12. Catgroove - Parov Stelar
13. Rainbowarriors - CocoRosie I knitted so obsessively to this music! Soundtrack to my university commute throughout winter.
14. K-Hole - CocoRosie
15. Beautiful Boyz - CocoRosie
16. Your Mother's Son-In-Law - Billie Holiday The next couple of songs were some of my favourites to play in the Cafeté
17. Ko-Ko - Duke Ellington
18. Twice - Little Dragon
19. Quimper 94 - Yann Tiersen
20. Feather - Nujabes
21. Regular Customer - Sporto Kantes
22. Reflection Eternal - Nujabes
23. Hoist That Rag - Tom Waits I stumbled across this again one day in the U-Bahn. Immediately I knew I'd heard this song a million times before, but probably when I was about 9 or 10. For the next few days I became a bit (dangerously) addicted to Hoist That Rag. 
24. Dr Alpeflug - Mani Matter Defies words.
25. Betrachtige Ueber Nes Sandwitsch - Mani Matter
26. Good Intentions Paving Co. - Joanna Newsom
27. Hit That Jive - Gramatik (original mix)
28. A Circular Reeducation (Dusty Brown Remix) - Tycho
29. Horn in the Middle - Nujabes
30. Untitled (Figures) - Max Richter Favourite essay writing musik. Every essay needs a touch of drama, try this as a backing track while proofreading out loud.
31. Psychic Gibbon - Younger Brother
32. Es Schneit - Pantha Du Prince
33. Remembering - Avishai Cohen
34. When Shall I Be Free -  Shpongle
35. The Receptive - Younger Brother

Ballett: Onegin

I never wrote about one of the most significant experiences over the past year. After Adventures in Basel, Naomi and I hitched back to Berlin via München and went to see a ballett. I am very fortunate to be distantly related to Ivan Liska and Colleen Scott, two of the world's finest dancers and also generous, kind, wonderful people. We stayed with them for one night and they took us to see a performance of Onegin at the Bayrische Staatsballett. I know nothing about ballet. I may have had a few classes as a kid, but I've never been to a professional ballet nor do I know the great classics.

Onegin is a classic. We dressed up like queens. You would never guessed we'd spent the day in dusty Tankstellen asking for lifts. The theater itself was as grand as you can imagine - all pinks and golds and chandeliers, grand marble staircases, red velvet, glittering mirrors. It exhaled luxury and opulence. Prunkvoll, would be the German adjective. I felt torn between feeling out of sync, and in love with the place. But this was just bricks and things that sparkle. Then came the dance.

Then came the dance! Whatever you think of a building for its grandeur, you can feel nothing but awe for the dancers. The sheer beauty of how they flew screamed impossible! the utmost control in every tiny bone left me feeling quite inadequate in my own body and completely captured by theirs. The plot danced like the best told story. Emotionally caught up in every gesture, every crumble, every moment of strength. I identified with the heroine (despite) her classical costume and uncanny ability to spin on toes. I muttered a "YESS!" under breath at the final moment when Tatiana rejects Onegin (who was, after all, a massive dickhead)

I am going to stop gushing now.
Here are some pictures, stolen from the programme.
If you are ever in Munich the cheapest tickets are around €15. That's about 20 Sterni. Bargain.

 Lucia Lacarra, Marlon Dino

 Judith Turos und Ivan Liska

Lisa-Marie Cullum, Oliver Wehe

Fast Fertig

This time next week I'll have finished all my seminars. Three term papers to write, and then my Erasmus year will be reduced to a few "Scheine". Done. Dusted. The tempo of the past few weeks has left little thought for blog writing, as most of my minutes are spent wandering outside in the sunshine and dancing at elektro open airs. Berlin is a carefree place in summer. The temperatures melt away any memory of the difficult winter, before bursting into crackling thunderstorms. I feel once more overcome by the transience of this place - people continually coming and going, goodbyes are rushed and friends materialise and vanish before you've finished your Sterni.

May and June were packed full of festivals. Opening with erste Mai (something I want to talk about further), bank holidays followed one after another, Fete de la musique at Midsummer, Karnival des Kulturs, 48 Stunden Neukölln just a few of the major ones. I would advise anyone visiting round this time to see what current events on. In England, a music festival can cost up to £200 just for a ticket, but here every street feels like one big, free, colourful festival. It's very difficult to think about writing epic essays when this city is so damn fun.