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

Days Like This

Brilliant blue skies!

My Berlin holiday of no responsibilities is drawing to a close, and so I am leaf crunching and worry free in this beautiful Autumn. Next week I'll get to meet even more people, students mostly, pick modules, meet tutors, buy books. It's exciting. I can't wait to get back into the rhythm of studies.

The days are blending into a long mishmash of sleeps, sunlight and cycle rides. I can't really remember what I have done in any sort of coherent chronology so will settle for a collection of tales...

My sewing machine exploded. That was dramatic. I don't mean bits of flying metal, but it did give an ominous dull bang and then filled my room with smoke and the smell of burning rubber. That same day, my key snapped in half inside my bicycle lock thus stranding it in Kreuzberg. Bicycles are brilliantly clever and efficient, but the moment you lock its wheel to the frame it is nothing but a jumble of irritatingly heavy and awkward bits of metal. I had to carry it from Kreuzberg to Neukölln which isn't fun, but the lovely bike man broke it open for free.

Last weekend I bit the bullet and forked out a whopping €28 for Bonobo, Fink, Lou Rhodes and Cinematic Orchestra only to be brutally disappointed. I thought a lineup like that couldn't fail to be incredible. How wrong I was. I realise now that expensive nights demand expectation, and more often than not the best things in life are the Kostenlos accidentally discovered treasures. Take for example, last night. After making friends with the flat downstairs, I ended up in a basement party with the most incredible jazz trumpeting feet stomping soul singing live band, the place packed with all sorts of beautiful interesting people, dirt cheap drinks, incredible visuals. I made a million friends spoke loads of German and have maybe found myself a new housemate. And it cost me €2. I didn't even have to pay for drinks after making friends with the people behind the bar. (Unfortunately the police spoilt the fun around 4am.)

Bonobo, however, lacked his orchestra and served a dish of mediocre banality. Fink's line up consisted of ONE song. Lou Rhodes frequently depended on the hissing shushers in the crowd, and sang songs deploring all the death in the world which was embarrassing at best. By the time Cinematic Orchestra rocked up I was too hot, tired, and pissed off to stay any longer.

What else. The lovely Anna Donne visited, and I had an awesome weekend with her and the Sedgwick Jell family (parents inc.!). Highlights included the discovery of the epic Spielwiese, a cafe dedicated to boardgames. What more can I say. I also hosted a housewarming Kaffee and Kuchen, and filled this tiny WG with all sorts of brilliant people. It was crowded and chaotic but full of coffee and delicious cake. Oh, and I invested in a teapot so now I really do have everything.

I'm really looking forward to a parcel of forgotten essentials that is on its way from England.

Postcards and letters are in the pipeline. Apologies for being so typically Nikki disorganised.

I miss you all, love you more, and can't wait to show you this city!

N xx