LOLA Issue Three

ISSUE 03 SPRING 2017
LOLAMAG.DE
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Black Cracker examines
identity, exploitation,
and music
Birdwatching and how
it gives the city a new
perspective
Bruce LaBruce on cult
filmmaking and tearing
down safe spaces
Berlinstagram
Seydo Uzun
Britta Thie
Eylül Aslan
Gurr
Trump’s America
Cher Nobyl
BOYS NOIZE
BANGING THE DRUM
FOR BERLIN

SERPENTWITHFEET
05.04. Berlin, Grüner Salon
DJ PREMIER
25.03. Berlin, Festsaal Kreuzberg
DRUGDEALER
05.04. Berlin, Urban Spree
TEMPLES
10.04. Berlin, Festsaal Kreuzberg
CLOCK OPERA
11.04. Berlin, Kantine am Berghain
CANCER
12.04. Berlin, Kantine am Berghain
AHZUMJOT & CHIMA EDE
14.04. Berlin, St. Georg
ISAIAH RASHAD
16.04. Berlin, Lido
ROOSEVELT
20.04. Berlin, Kesselhaus
PUMAROSA
24.04. Berlin, Badehaus
NICK HAKIM
25.04. Berlin, Kantine am Berghain
LGOONY
27.04. Berlin, Gretchen
GLASS ANIMALS
27.04. Berlin, Astra Kulturhaus
JOE GODDARD (LIVE)
28.04. Berlin, Prince Charles
SYLVAN ESSO
02.05. Berlin, SchwuZ
MIGHTY OAKS
03.05. Berlin, Astra Kulturhaus
THE JAPANESE HOUSE
03.05. Berlin, Privatclub
SPLASHH
04.05. Berlin, Urban Spree
CAMP CLAUDE
07.05. Berlin, Kantine am Berghain
ÁSGEIR
09.05. Berlin, Festsaal Kreuzberg
GANG OF YOUTHS
12.05. Berlin, Auster Club
STORMZY
16.05. Berlin, Yaam
HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIR (LIVE)
18.05. Berlin, SchwuZ

Spring 2017
Editorial
‘BREATHE IN.
BREATHE OUT. BERLIN.’
This is only my third year in Berlin, but I’m becoming
steadily more attuned to the different
rhythms and cycles that the city goes through
annually. The most pronounced of these rhythms
is the change in seasons. You have the very obvious
physical signs – the fresh green of the leaves in April
turning into an autumnal brown in October – but
there’s a more esoteric rhythm that has really struck
me: the fluctuations of people.
When winter hits, it’s as if the whole city takes a
deep breath and braces itself. Everything feels tighter,
hunkered down. The streets become sparsely populated
as everyone tries to navigate them as quickly as
possible, hunched against the cold. Then, as the sun
comes out and the temperature creeps up, the city
exhales, but it’s not breath being let out. It’s life. The
parks fill, and the streets start to teem with people.
The atmosphere of the city totally changes.
Maybe it’s the collective feeling that we have
all made it through another winter together,
as if we’ve all been wearing a pair of shoes that
are a size too small, and together we feel the
relief of taking them off.
Now that spring is finally here, we’re looking forward
to all the chance encounters that we’ll experience
and all the people we’ll meet during this next
exhalation. In this issue, we’d like to introduce you
to a few that might be new to you; a Späti owner
with a moving story, the photographer challenging
her subjects’ perceptions of their own beauty, or
the electronic star steeped in Berlin.
Outside in the sun when the parks are filling up,
you can see the rich tapestry of Berlin unfolding
before your eyes. People from every walk of life
mingle once again, and everything becomes a little
more riotous. You realise that it is the people that
make the city feel truly alive, and they are what
make it so dynamic and vibrant. Jonny
Publisher &
Editor In Chief
Jonny Tiernan
Executive Editor
Marc Yates
Associate Editor
Alison Rhoades
Sub Editor
Linda Toocaram
Photographers
Justine Olivia Tellier
Marili Persson
Roman Petruniak
Viktor Richardsson
Robert Rieger
Writers
Dan Cole
Alexander Darkish
Maggie Devlin
Anna Gyulai Gaal
Jack Mahoney
Alexander Rennie
Jessica Reyes Sondgeroth
Emma Robertson
PR & Events
Emma Taggart
Special Thanks
Erika Clugston
Jan Schueler
The Agora Collective
at Rollberg for providing
the cover story photoshoot
location
LOLA Magazine
Blogfabrik
Oranienstraße 185
10999 Berlin
For business enquiries
jonny@lolamag.de
For editorial enquiries
marc@lolamag.de
For PR & event enquiries
emma@lolamag.de
Published by Magic Bullet Media
Cover photo by Viktor Richardsson
Printed in Berlin by Oktoberdruck AG – oktoberdruck.de
Spring 2017
1

2 Issue Three

Photo by Viktor Richardsson
Contents
04. berlin through the lens
Berlinstagram
“Berlin was Germany’s first city
with a proper Instagram community
and everybody knew each other.”
08. local hero
Seydo Uzun
“Some come back with money and
want to pay for what they’ve stolen
earlier, but a gift is a gift.”
12. Britta Thie
“Our lives are so over-edited, like
there’s truth, recreated truth, posttruth,
nostalgia for our past truths…”
16. Birdwatching in Berlin
“It’s really enriched my life here and
made me more positive.”
20. cover story
Boys Noize
“When you live here for a little bit you
realise that you can have a good life
without being distracted by capitalism
or what society wants from you.”
26. Eylül Aslan
“They were opening up about such
private issues and there I was, taking
photos of their half-naked bodies!”
30. Black Cracker
“At any point in time, we can collectively
engage in a love affair.”
34. Bruce LaBruce
“It’s not like I’m just this gung-ho
porn person who was just passively
presenting porn as something simplistically
good.”
38. tour diary
Gurr
“We slept in the most comfortable
apartment because they turned up
the heating to the max everywhere,
so the hole in the roof didn’t matter
anymore.”
40. dispatches
Trump’s America
“The streets were not very crowded,
there were no chants or obvious
excitement – people were mostly
just hoping it wouldn’t rain.”
44. the last word
Cher Nobyl
“German people don’t shout at me,
they whisper.”
Spring 2017
3

Berlin Through The Lens
Berlinstagram
BERLIN THROUGH THE LENS
BERLINSTAGRAM:
AN UNOFFICIAL
AMBASSADOR IN FOCUS
4 Issue Three

Berlinstagram
Berlin Through the Lens
words by
Marc Yates
Michael Schulz – better known by his digital
moniker Berlinstagram – has been a “Berliner by
choice,” as he puts it, for 14 years. For the last six
of those, he’s been making a name for himself as
one of the city’s best-loved Instagrammers. His
followers are now approaching half a million in
number – an audience hungry for more of his
colourful perspective of our city.
Left: Cyclist at Planufer.
Below: Self-portrait.
Michael’s passion for taking and sharing photographs
took him from a career in advertising
to independent content creation, working on
Instagram campaigns for noted international brands
including Levi’s, Lufthansa and Mercedes-Benz.
Nowadays, he follows his lens across the globe chasing
adventure and compelling images, but even after the
longest trips – such as his recent four-month-long
journey through Southeast Asia – he always returns to
shoot his home city with fresh eyes.
How long have you been taking photos? Six years
ago – in October 2010 – I started to use Instagram,
just two weeks after the app was officially released.
That’s basically how long I’ve been taking photos! I
started with a different username, though. To combine
‘Berlin’ and ‘Instagram’ was a sudden inspiration
that came a couple of months later.
In the beginning, I was mostly experimenting with
snapshots and editing them in mobile photo apps. I
think that’s what made it so attractive for many people
in the early days of mobile photography – you suddenly
had a camera with you wherever you went, and you
could literally shoot everything you stumbled upon in
your daily routine – kind of a trial-and-error approach,
but with feedback loops through social media.
«
I’D LIKE TO VISIT EVERY
BERLIN COURTYARD – IT’S
A HIDDEN CITY WITHIN
THE CITY.
»
Has anything surprised you about how the channel
has grown? Sure, it came totally unexpectedly; it was
never my plan to become a ‘popular’ Instagrammer.
Nobody could have even guessed that Instagram would
become such a big social network and that people could
even make a living out if it. I was lucky enough that
local and international media featured me quite early,
which helped me gain many new followers. There are
always some people that are lucky enough to be the first
ones at something, and in this case I was one of them.
What are your hopes for it? That I will always find
inspiration and stay motivated to keep my Instagram
channel running. Personally, I can easily lose interest in
something if it doesn’t inspire me anymore. My motivation
was always to capture a unique moment or to find
a new perspective – after six years it gets quite hard to
find those shots. You also gain experience in which type
of motifs will create a lot of likes and engagement. So
I could easily post a small selection of motifs over and
over again but to me, that’s betraying myself and my
followers, so I try to be less repetitive.
What is it about social media that attracts you as
a photographer? You have a direct feedback loop
Spring 2017
5

Berlin Through the Lens
Berlinstagram
– whether that’s good or bad, it’s for sure addictive.
It’s also crazy how many followers are spread over
the whole world. In almost every country and city I
visited, I had people writing to tell me that they live
there and had been following me for a long time.
What equipment do you use? The first four years I was
just shooting on iPhones. For two years I’ve also used
‘real’ cameras – at the moment the Sony a7R II and a
Fujifilm X100T. About 20% of my photos are still shot on
smartphones though – a Huawei P9 and iPhone 7 Plus –
because, “the best camera is the one you have with you.”
Your photography explores a lot of things: architecture,
travel photography, street photography,
and more. Is there an area that particularly interests
you? I personally like to shoot street photography
the most, but that type of photography doesn’t work on
Instagram that well. I try to embed street photography
in travel, urban and architecture shots, and embed a
unique moment into the whole picture.
«
THERE ARE ALWAYS SOME
PEOPLE THAT ARE LUCKY
ENOUGH TO BE THE FIRST
ONES AT SOMETHING,
AND IN THIS CASE I WAS
ONE OF THEM.
»
Above: A shapely courtyard,
Charlottenstraße.
Left: Neon on Rosenthaler
Straße.
What makes Berlin such a good subject for photographs?
It’s a big city and most districts are unique. It
has tons of street art, and many people dream of living
here, so photos of the city also transport an image. Oh,
and it has the TV Tower!
Is there an area of Berlin you’d like to photograph
more? Yes, the hidden places! I’d like to visit every
Berlin courtyard – it’s a hidden city within the city.
How do you feel about you and your Instagram
account having an ambassadorial role for the city?
I think it’s awesome to be identified with a city – my
username made it quite easy though.
These days, every big city is connected with at least a
handful of Instagrammers, and they are all ambassadors
of their cities with an unmoderated view. It’s something
that the official tourism accounts can’t provide.
Below Left: Blossom in
Prenzlauer Berg.
Below: Time for chocolate,
Zossener Straße.
Many people comment on Berlin’s particular kind
of ugliness, or its stark grey beauty. How do you
feel about that? I read somewhere in a newspaper
article years ago: “If you come to Berlin, you have to
get a different definition of what is beautiful,” and that
summed it up quite well, in my opinion. Even though
Berlin in winter can be horrible, it’s the price we have to
pay for the Berlin summer, which is short but awesome!
6 Issue Three

Berlinstagram
Berlin Through the Lens
How do you think the city has changed since you
started taking photos of it? A lot! I have so many
photos of empty places that don’t exist anymore. In
recent years, the city has become way more dense. So
many international people keep moving here and the
city is constantly growing, everything is more crowded.
It has also become less exciting to me, even though it’s
still a great city. Personally, I think Berlin needs to grow
up as well, and it needs to be careful not to celebrate an
image of itself that doesn’t exist anymore. I’m curious
to see what the city will be like in ten years.
Have you met many other successful Instagrammers
in Berlin? Berlin was Germany’s first city with
a proper Instagram community and everybody knew
each other. Since then, many new generations of
passionate Instagrammers showed up and it’s always
great to see people developing their own style of photography
or engaging in the community. I’ve met great
people through Instagram, in Berlin and worldwide.
What do you have planned next? The past two years
were really crazy; I’ve been travelling so much for Instagram
jobs and events. It can get really addictive but is
also very time consuming. For 2017, I plan to slow down
on travelling a bit and would like to work on a book and
print shop with the best shots of the last six years.
If you’re not already following Michael on Instagram, do it
right now. You can find him at instagram.com/berlinstagram
Top: Stop in the name of
love, Schönhauser Allee.
Above Left: Typography in
the wild, Oranienstraße.
Above Right: In transit,
near Sonnenburger Straße.
Left: Waiting patiently,
Alexanderplatz.
Right: Colourful hostel
front on Stuttgarter Platz.
Spring 2017
7

Local Hero
Seydo Uzun
LOCAL HERO
SEYDO UZUN
THE PAPA
OF KOTTI
8
Issue Three

Seydo Uzun
Local Hero
He’s just doing his job: serving people from behind the
counter of his small shop at Kottbusser Tor. He knows his
core customers by name, and tries his best to help those
in need. Meet Seydo Uzun, the ‘Papa’ of Kotti.
s you exit the U8 on the corner of
Reichenberger Straße and Dresdener
Straße, you almost inevitably bump into
Kiosk am Kotti, one of the small Spätis
of the area. Yet for many, Kiosk am Kotti is so much
more. The owner, Seydo Uzun, stands behind the
counter, peering over the top of his glasses that are
pushed down to the end of his nose. While the colour
of his hair may reveal that he’s just turned 70, the
sparkle in his eyes and his half smile give him an almost
boyish look. Speaking with him, one is reminded
of the value in even the smallest interactions, and
how exchanging simple pleasantries when buying
a newspaper offers you the chance to connect with
someone remarkable.
Seydo Uzun was born and raised in Malatya, Turkey,
the biggest apricot-producing region of the country.
At home, he spoke Kurdish with his family; he only
learned Turkish once he went to school. “We were told
that in order to achieve something, we need to speak
Turkish, just as the children of migrants in Germany
need to learn German! It’s extremely important. Their
native tongues won’t disappear if they keep speaking
at home, but to study the language of the country we
live in is crucial!” he says. That’s why he thought it was
important for him and his family to learn German when
they arrived in the country in 1972. Seydo first worked
for a railway company, but about 11 years ago he felt
like it was time for a change. He was growing older,
and “living on Hartz IV is not my style, so it wasn’t an
option.” So, he decided to open a kiosk. It was easier to
get a shop space back then, and in 2006 Kiosk am Kotti
opened its doors to customers. The neighbourhood
was always very controversial, Seydo tells us, but the
crowds have changed several times through the years.
Many customers greet Seydo as ‘Papa’ when they
walk through the door, and often spend quite a while
talking to him, drinking their €1 filter coffee, or getting
some beer, tobacco, a small vodka, a newspaper. He is
friend and counsellor to many troubled people around
the station – the calm father figure that they are
perhaps missing in their own lives.
“A lot has happened here in the past years of
course, but I believe that most of the people fighting
with addictions are actually just affected people. I
want to emphasise that: these people are affected by
our society. They are the victims of a system where
even if they get caught and go to prison or rehabilitation
therapies, there is nothing that awaits them
once they are out. No help, no jobs, no reintegration
possibilities. They return to the only thing they know:
this pool of people and drugs.” As he talks to us, the
shopkeeper keeps serving customers, exchanging a
few words with almost everyone that steps into his
kiosk. With some he speaks in Turkish about the increase
in cigarette prices, with others about the coffee
or – with a gentleman he introduces as an author
– about the headline news of the day: Frank-Walter
Steinmeier’s election as the new president of Germany.
He nods and smiles as the author talks about why
Steinmeier was a good choice, but says nothing. It’s
a rule, it turns out: Seydo doesn’t like to discuss politics
or religion with his customers. That would only
create problems. “I have a good relationship with the
people here. I like Cuban people a lot. I’ve met a few
now and they are sunny and friendly people. I like
the diversity of this neighbourhood,” he reflects. “I’m
not getting much trouble, and I have rules, you know.
If I see someone stealing from me, I ask them not to
do it again. For that one time, I tell them it’s a gift
but the next time they have to pay. Some come back
with money and want to pay for what they’ve stolen
earlier, but a gift is a gift. I never call the police in
such a situation because that would just ruin my relationship
with the people here. They don’t steal from
me again, but they come back, often just to talk. I
also ask people to leave if they start discussing their
drug business. For such things, my store is not open,”
he says. However, Seydo thinks the situation at Kotti
has definitely improved in the past few months. The
police are a lot more present and there are fewer dealers
around the train station. Of course, they don’t just
disappear, he debates; they have probably found less
crowded side streets, or perhaps will return once the
weather is a bit warmer.
words by
Anna Gyulai Gaal
photos by
Viktor Richardsson
Spring 2017
9

Local Hero
Seydo Uzun
According to Seydo, the exaggerated media
reports on Kotti being a “no-go zone”
are not helpful at all; on the contrary, it
scares people away and businesses suffer.
He thinks it’s extremely important to stay
positive. In Seydo’s opinion, the solution
is not to criminalise addicts, but rather
for the government to start programmes
where businesses can receive tax allowances
for employing a person fresh out of
rehab: “Just like in the case of employing
people with special needs, a lot of businesses
do that and actually have to do that
– and we need to understand that these
affected people are becoming people with
special needs. They need to be occupied in
order to stay clean. If one goes back to the
same places and same crowds, the same
habits quickly sneak back too!”
And the Papa of Kotti is not just saying
this because he’s being interviewed. He
often tries to talk to these “affected” people
about their futures. He cares especially
about the young, because he wants to keep
them away from trouble, and every once in a
while his words turn somebody in the right
direction: “It was a few years ago, I saw a
group of young guys standing around next
to the shop, blocking the way of the alley
and behaving very shadily. I sent them away.
One of them came back. He turned out to be
an Indian boy, an orphan who was brought
to Germany and was adopted. He had a normal
upbringing – he was schooled, he played
soccer – but he was lonely, misunderstood
and an outsider in his own life. This led to
addiction. He got into the wrong group, but
you could see he wasn’t happy, he wanted
out. So we talked a few times. Then one day
he disappeared for a while and only months
later he came again. He said that he had
managed to turn his life around, went to rehab.
He goes to college now and he is clean.
I told him to never come back again, don’t
ever start hanging around here again! Only
if he wants to say ‘hello’ to me!” He smiles.
Above his head hang three pictures: one of
the Brandenburger Tor, one of the Taj Mahal
in Agra, India, and in the middle, one of the
Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, the
bridge between east and west.
Seydo Uzun talks about his family with
a great deal of joy: his wife, who has knee
problems and cannot leave their apartment;
his daughter and three grandchildren;
his hope for the eldest to take over
the business in a couple of years so he can
finally rest; and his two granddaughters
aged 11 and 12, who are doing great in
school. But there is also a great deal of sorrow
in Seydo’s life, because no matter how
many troubled people he managed to help,
he couldn’t save his own son, successful
actor Eralp Uzun. Known for his appearances
in TV shows such as Cobra 11 and
« IF I SEE SOMEONE
STEALING FROM ME, I
ASK THEM NOT TO DO
IT AGAIN. FOR THAT
ONE TIME, I TELL THEM
IT WAS A GIFT BUT THE
NEXT TIME THEY HAVE
TO PAY. »
Alle Lieben Jimmy, Eralp also fought drug
problems and eventually took his own life
in 2013. Seydo’s eyes fill with tears as he
pulls out a picture of Eralp from his drawer.
“I tried so many things but it didn’t work.
He was talented and successful. But the
drugs…” he trails off, his voice going quiet.
It becomes painfully clear that Seydo’s mission
to help and motivate the people struggling
with addiction in his neighbourhood
is deeply personal. Every day in the Späti
offers a new opportunity to make someone
smile, help someone out, or maybe even
change someone’s life. As we’re talking, a
customer steps into the shop, and Seydo
brightens again, looks up, eyes sparkling
once more: “Bitte schön?”
10 Issue Three

BONOBO LIVE
▂ DIE ANTWOORD ▃
DIXON ◊ FATBOY SLIM *
▌▌ GLASS ANIMALS ▥
HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIR ▁
KAMASI WASHINGTON ▃ M.I.A. ∞
MACEO PLEX ▁ MØ ▀ MODESELEKTOR DJ
◊ PHOENIX ≈ RICHIE HAWTIN LIVE ▃ SAMPHA ▄▌
SOHN ▁ TALE OF US ▁ THE KILLS ▥ WARPAINT
AGENTS OF TIME ▄ AGORIA ▃ ÂME B2B RØDHÅD ◊ ANDY BUTLER DJ
∞ AURORA HALAL LIVE ▁ BARKER & BAUMECKER ▂ BEN FROST LIVE ≈ BICEP LIVE ▥
BJARKI LIVE ▌▌ CINTHIE ▃ CLAPTONE ◊ COURTESY ▀ DAN BEAUMONT ∞ DANIEL AVERY
▥ DAVE ▂ DAVIS ▁ DENIS HORVAT ◊ DENIS SULTA ∞ DJ DEEP ≈ EGYPTIAN LOVER ◊
ELISABETH ▂ ELLEN ALLIEN ≈ FJAAK ▥ GUSGUS ▁ HAIYTI ▃ HONNE ▄▌ JENNIFER CARDINI
▃ JIMI JULES ▂ JOB JOBSE ▁ JON HOPKINS DJ ◊ JP ENFANT ▥ JULIA GOVOR ∞
KATE TEMPEST ▂ KIDDY SMILE ≈ KÖLSCH DJ ◊ KONSTANTIN SIBOLD ▀ LAKUTI ▥ LIL SILVA
▄▄▄ MAGGIE ROGERS ▃ MALL GRAB ▥ MARCEL DETTMANN ◊ MASSIMILIANO PAGLIARA
▂ MICHAEL MAYER ▁ MK ▃ MONOLOC ▃ MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY ▄▌ NAO ▥ RAMPUE LIVE
▃ RECONDITE LIVE ▂ RED AXES ▌▌ RROXYMORE ◊ SKATEBÅRD ▂ SONJA MOONEAR ∞
SOULECTION SHOWCASE ◊ SYLVAN ESSO ▁ TEREZA ▂ THE LEMON TWIGS ◊ TIJANA T
∞ TINI ◊ TOM MISCH LIVE ▥ TONY HUMPHRIES ▀ VOLVOX ◊ VON WEGEN LISBETH ▂
WHOMADEWHO DJ ◊ AND MANY MORE
14—16 JULY 2017
FERROPOLIS
GERMANY
*
PRE-PARTY
WITH FATBOY SLIM
4-HOUR-SET
13 JULY 2017
#melt2017 #20yearsofmelt www.meltfestival.de
Spring 2017
11

Onscreen Artist
Britta Thie
REARRANGING
REALITY: BRITTA THIE
ON MEDIA, SATIRE, AND
REINVENTING THE
EVERYDAY
12 Issue Three

Britta Thie
Onscreen Artist
“I actually feel like I’m getting more camera shy now,” Britta Thie tells us. The intonation
gives her away – her statement is more of a question, and she leans back,
smiling, as she ponders whether what she just said could really be true. For Britta,
a filmmaker and director who often appears in her own work, the very idea of being
camera shy seems unimaginable. “It’s weird,” she continues, “but when I used
to do the modelling stuff or when I went to art school, it was really competitive. It
was all about looking good and making good art and I was even conscious of how
I was walking. Now that I’m past that point, it’s like that box has been checked, so
I just don’t do it anymore. These days, I have my one social media channel, and
that’s enough. I feel like I’ve grown out of being exposed in that way.”
We are sitting in a booth at an
American-themed diner in
Charlottenburg. Britta moved to
Berlin in 2008 to study and has
lived here ever since. We watch
as a waiter passes by carrying a tray of hamburgers,
each with a tiny American flag stuck in its bun. She
smiles: “I love these cheesy American diners.” She
pushes her own plate of French fries aside and pulls
out her phone, scrolling through her Vimeo page
before landing on HI, HD, a three-minute piece
comprised of self-made home movies. In one clip, a
young Britta with a bowl cut chats with a friend in
a mock talk-show interview. In another, she stands
outside her childhood home in Minden, Germany,
pretending she’s in a nature documentary about
trees. “It’s really funny, watching these clips,” she
says, grinning as the clip cuts to one of her younger
self performing a Cat Stevens cover, “but these were
very heavily researched!” She laughs, eyes still on the
video. “I did always love to act, but you know, with
acting, you run to so many castings and if you’re not
lucky that some big director discovers you, then it
might never happen for you. That risk I never wanted
to take, so I chose to make movies instead.”
This kind of self-reflection has been central to
Britta’s now decade-long career as a filmmaker,
actress and video artist. Her Vimeo page brims
with videos similar to HI, HD, often with herself as
the subject. In a seven-year-old film, she faces the
camera in two side-by-side shots, her strawberry
blonde hair pulled tightly back. “Squint,” she calls
out in a mock-photographer voice, “Growl. One,
two, three. Look here. Squint your eyes.” Her mirror
image obliges. In another early piece, Britta’s angular
features melt as she edits photos of herself using
Photoshop’s liquify tool. In her videos, Britta’s
image, like her self-reflection, becomes masterfully
distorted so that we’re unsure which part of her we
are really seeing, or if we’re seeing any part at all.
Her 2015 endeavour, Translantics, is perhaps the
best example of this. Created, written, directed
by, and starring Britta alongside a cast of her
friends, Translantics is a six-episode series that
focuses on the lives of expats in Berlin and the
city’s thriving, if self-indulgent, art scene. The
art direction has a somewhat futurist aesthetic,
which can be attributed to Britta’s own love of
science fiction. In it, she plays BB, an artist and
model much like herself, but who is, she says, an
exaggeration of certain parts of her own character.
“BB is kind of this Play-Doh figure I made,”
she explains. “When you tell a story to someone
about something that happened to you, you always
exaggerate certain details. BB is a dispersed
version of myself but she’s also much more naïve,
clueless, dorky. She is a fictional character
– a caricature.” There’s a scene in
Translantics where, after being nominated
for but failing to win a European
Art Award, BB cries. “I would never
do that,” Britta laughs. “Well, maybe
I would, but it’s more a satire of the
secret despair that you have at home.
But she does everything publicly.”
Although parts of Translantics can
appear to encompass Britta’s reality – a
brief glimpse into her world, or, as she
puts it, the opening of a Polly Pocket
shell – the show is more of a commentary
on that reality, rather than a
representation of it. “I wanted to observe
that navel-gazey, narcissistic, selfie generation
– that bubble. It’s such a millennial
thing, this snowflake phenomenon
where, ‘I’m so special, I’m entitled and
I have so much to say that I can write a
biography about it’,” she says. “I find that
pretty annoying, and I would never make
Translantics again for that reason.”
words by
Emma Robertson
photos by
Robert Rieger
Minden
Located in the northeast of
North Rhine-Westphalia, Minden
is the location of the nationally-known
amateur cabaret,
Mindener Stichlinge. Its foundation
in 1896 makes it the oldest
active cabaret in Germany.
Spring 2017
13

Onscreen Artist
Britta Thie
Britta’s new project, The Superhost,
treads similar territory, an observation of
another self-indulgent trend for young
people: Airbnb. The Superhost started as a
performance piece in a theatre in Munich,
produced in collaboration with actor
Preston Chaunsumlit, who also starred in
the show. Taking place in an apartment,
the piece is based on Chaunsumlit’s experience
as an Airbnb host on Manhattan’s
Lower East Side and featured a pre-recorded
sitcom-style laugh track. “It’s a satirical
approach to Preston’s experiences,”
she explains. “But it also talks about the
commodification of the self, how you sell
part of your private space and how even
these intimate conversations at the kitchen
table that you might have with your Airbnb
guests become commodities. You’re selling
an experience.” The piece’s on-screen iteration
will debut in March 2017, a variation
on the same theme shot with two cameras
and with improvised dialogue – reality
meets fiction meets reality all over again.
But the creative process isn’t always easy.
“I’m working with a professional film production
team on another forthcoming project
and I have full freedom, but it is somehow
really hard for me to come up with a
narrative,” Britta continues. “My fiction has
to be very realistic. I’m not good at fantasy
stuff. It’s funny, because sometimes reality
creates such impossible coincidences that
if you write those in a script, they’re not believable,
even though they’re real. You need
to shape-shift it a little, and I find even that
can be really hard.” For this reason, Britta
tends to work mostly with improvised dialogue,
casting friends and actors in equal
measure according to the character they
embody, rather than their ability to act. In
her early work when finances were tight,
she jokes that her actors were paid with the
satisfaction of their own vanity.
One of Translantics’ most memorable
scenes comes in the first episode,
when BB wanders through a Media Markt
electronics store and comes face to face
with herself on a television screen, acting
in a commercial for dry shampoo. Like
Narcissus, BB becomes enchanted by her
own face, and tears well up in her eyes
as she watches the commercial. “It was
actually supposed to be a surreal scene
where the commercial isn’t real,” Britta
explains. “But that didn’t translate, I guess.
In the end, I just gave in to the interpretation
that it’s a comment on this completely
narcissistic behaviour because I think it’s
also a valuable thing.” She shrugs and eats
a French fry.
« I WANTED TO OBSERVE THAT
NAVEL-GAZEY, NARCISSISTIC,
SELFIE GENERATION
– THAT BUBBLE. »
Preston Chaunsumlit
A fashion casting director and
actor, Chaunsumlit appeared in
the video for Kylie Minogue’s
‘Sexercise’, as well as reality-meets-mockumentary
series,
Model Files.
14 Issue Three

Britta Thie
Onscreen Artist
«
SOMETIMES
REALITY CREATES
SUCH IMPOSSIBLE
COINCIDENCES THAT
IF YOU WRITE THOSE
IN A SCRIPT, THEY’RE
NOT BELIEVABLE,
EVEN THOUGH THEY
ARE REAL.
»
got fascinated by just putting cameras up
and recording this slice of reality and then
copy-pasting it into the here and now,
again and again.”
Narcissism, for Britta, goes hand in hand
with nostalgia. “There’s this thing that I
call ‘digital puberty’. Our generation, we
were born in the ‘80s and we grew up in
this analogue world,” she begins, “but
our hormonal puberty was parallel to the
puberty of Western society transitioning
from analogue to digital technology. The
first chatrooms started becoming popular
– we got our first period. We had sex for the
first time around when MySpace blew up,
things like that. That’s something I wanted
to talk about in Translantics, and also in
The Superhost. Our lives are so over-edited,
like there’s truth, recreated truth, posttruth,
nostalgia for our past truths…”
We wonder aloud what Britta is nostalgic
for. “I had a rough patch in puberty.
I got bullied in high school, I didn’t have
a boyfriend until I was 18, I didn’t get my
period until late either,” she says quietly
but without trepidation. “That type of
adolescence where you’re young and pretty
and you try things, I never had that. I was a
misfit in a way. I kind of tried to paste this
image of a teenager onto myself, which I
wasn’t yet. I guess sometimes I’m nostalgic
for a different teenage life.” As such,
Britta’s escape came in the form of art and
movies. Her interest piqued with adventure
films like Pippi Longstocking and American
blockbusters like Jurassic Park, her love of
sci-fi burgeoning from Back to the Future
and Star Trek. Eventually, she started making
her own films. “I think I just loved this
rearranging of reality,” she muses. “I really
Britta’s first semi-professional on-camera
performance was actually her audition
tape for art school. The performance took
place at a McDonald’s in her hometown of
Minden. “I dressed up as the zeit-ghost, the
Zeitgespenst,” she laughs at the memory. “I
was wearing a mask that said feuilleton on it
while playing Vivaldi on the piano. I invited
all my friends to have dinner and watch the
performance. I ate a burger with a knife and
fork, there were candles everywhere–” she
pauses. “Actually, I should dig that video
out. I still have it!”
These days, Britta is also a guest professor
at the Offenbach University of Art
and Design, balancing her lessons with
semi-regular acting work and the production
of her own shows and art pieces: “I still
love making movies. I love the creation, the
observation of reality, I love being behind
the scenes, but I also love stepping out of
that as an actor and embodying someone
else. Maybe you can have a longer career as
an artist because you’re always on the creative
side, and that’s what I’ve always wanted
to do most.” She dips another French fry in
mayo and holds it for a moment, contemplating,
“But I like both sides of it, so I feel
like I’m carving my own category.”
The Superhost will debut in March on ARTE.tv
and the-superhost.com. You can watch Britta’s
other video projects at vimeo.com/brittathie
Spring 2017
15

Bird’s-eye View
Birdwatching in Berlin
BIRDWATCHING: A NEW WAY
OF LOOKING AT OUR CITY
Berlin is a city that yields endless surprises. One such revelation is the capital’s
bountiful birdlife; it’s something of a Mecca for winged creatures, both native and
migratory, mimicking the international nature of the city itself. Eager to get familiar
with our city’s feathery inhabitants, we go on an ornithological expedition with local
birder Gráinne Toomey, and speak to avian expert Rolf Nessing about why so many
birds (and birdwatchers) call Berlin their home.
On a dismal Sunday, we find ourselves in the
welcoming Café Strauss, at the entrance
to Bergmannstraße’s sprawling network of
cemeteries. Although it is warm and airy indoors, we
can’t help but feel a chill as we remember that the
building was once a working mortuary.
Grim legacies aside, we’re here for an encounter
that’s not morbid in the least. A few minutes after ordering
coffee, Gráinne Toomey arrives. Although she
doesn’t claim to be an expert, Gráinne’s enthusiasm
for Berlin’s birdlife is compelling, and we’re excited
for her to introduce us to this world.
Originally from County Donegal in northwest
Ireland, Gráinne moved to Berlin just over two years
ago to complete a PhD in linguistics. “Finishing my
research wasn’t particularly easy, especially during
winter,” she says. “I don’t think you’re prepared for
that when you move here. It feels like you can go
days underneath these big clouds and not get any
sunlight. Mentally, it’s quite exhausting.”
Gráinne begins to explain how, searching for
some respite, she stumbled across the cemeteries: “I
needed a distraction and I discovered this place, so
I started coming here for walks.” Having grown up
in the countryside, she’d been immersed in nature
from a young age and was already birdwatching by
the age of ten. It didn’t take Gráinne long to notice
that the cemeteries were teeming with birdlife: “It’s
really interesting here, there’s so much history and
it’s very peaceful, and there are loads of birds.”
Berlin has a multitude of graveyards – 224 to be
exact, not to mention the thousands of public parks
inside the city limits. Most of these are hotspots for
birds, including redstarts, sparrows and woodpeckers.
“Berlin is great in terms of green space. It’s not
really comparable to anywhere else,” Gráinne adds.
Tempelhofer Feld is a green space favoured by
many Berliners, and Gráinne explains that it is prime
territory for birdwatching: “Sometimes I nip there
to have a look at the kestrels. You don’t even need
words by
Alex Rennie
photos by
Marili Persson
Bergmannstraße
On April 20th 1837, Bergmannstraße
was renamed
after the landowner Marie
Luise Bergmann, who
owned land in the area immediately
surrounding the
street. Until then it was
known as Weinbergsweg.
16 Issue Three

«
IT’S NOT EASY TO
SAFEGUARD NATURE
FOR FUTURE GEN-
ERATIONS BECAUSE
A LOT OF POLITICAL
DECISIONS ARE VERY
SHORT-SIGHTED.
»
binoculars to see them. To see these creatures
just doing their thing is such an expression of
freedom, it’s quite life affirming. This man-made
area has become a resource for birds,” she says.
“If an airfield hadn’t been there I’m certain it
would likely be filled with houses now.”
But Berlin’s birdwatching isn’t just limited to
the urban confines of the city. Gráinne recounts
a summer trip she made to Grunewald forest:
“Within a minute of arriving, a deer bounded
across my path, followed by a wild boar. Then a
goshawk swooped over my head, this huge, fierce
animal, completely wild and free. It was like
being in The Animals of Farthing Wood!”
One autumn Gráinne went further afield and
visited Linum, a village beside the Autobahn on
the way to Hamburg. The surrounding lakes are
renowned as a pit-stop for cranes migrating south
from Scandinavia in search of warmer climes.
During peak time, up to 80,000 birds can be found
resting there. “It’s a trek to get to, it’s in the sticks. I
got the train there and cycled down this path,” she
says, “but around dusk, when the cranes stream in,
it’s spectacular. The noise they make is ethereal.”
Birdwatching in Berlin
Above: Birdhouses at the
Dreifältigkeit II cemetary.
Tempelhofer Feld
Around 80% of the former airfield
is an important habitat for several
birds, plants and insects on the IUCN
Red List of Threatened Species.
Bird’s-eye View
We suggest that perhaps birdwatching has unlocked
an entirely different realm for Gráinne.
She agrees. “Birding has made me go outside of
the city and explore, but also explore within. It’s
really enriched my life here and made me more
positive. It’s helped me personally, but I’m sure
it would rally anybody.”
Gráinne doesn’t appear to quite fit the mould of
an archetypal birdwatcher, and we ask what her
thoughts are on the stereotypical image of a ‘birder’.
She laughs: “I’ve come across birders before
who’re a little bit like Mike from Spaced, nerdy but
in an army kind of way. They’ll be out there with
telescopes, ticking things off methodically and
saying, “That’s 35 species today!” It’s similar to
trainspotting or stamp collecting. There’s a stereotype,
but it’s a gentle one of eccentricity.”
Coffees finished, we step out into the chill, and as
we walk to the wrought iron gates we ask Gráinne if
she’d be willing to meet again the following weekend
to go birdwatching. She happily accepts.
After our discussion with Gráinne, we can’t
help but notice a change in our own outlook.
Faint bird calls become more noticeable, we look
up far more often than usual, scanning the skies
with an almost predatory zeal and looking at
Berlin in an entirely new light.
When we reconvene outside Café Strauss, it
feels like a spring day; the sun is well and truly
out, and the heat it radiates reignites a naïve
hope that milder times aren’t too far off. More
importantly, it’s ideal weather for birdwatching.
As we wander deeper into the cemetery, passing
crumbling mausoleums and unordered rows
of headstones, a chorus of birdsong floods the
Spring 2017
17

Bird’s-eye View
Birdwatching in Berlin
grounds. “It’s a bit of an oxymoron, isn’t
it,” Gráinne says. “This place is meant to be
quiet and restful but in truth, it’s filled with
life.” There is something extremely profound
about her words and this odd juxtaposition
of human burial rites and untamed nature.
Half an hour into our sojourn, a bellowing
sound rings out from the heavens.
“There’s a crane somewhere,” Gráinne says,
pausing for a moment. It’s then that a flock
of these sizeable waterbirds appear in a
perfect ‘V’ formation above us. Gráinne
quickly passes us her binoculars, which
we aim clumsily upwards. Viewing these
animals in close-up is mesmerising, their
wings seemingly beating in HD unison. “I
promise I didn’t schedule that,” she jokes.
Later, we watch in amazement as a pair
of blue tits weave with uncanny agility
through a thicket of twigs. Soon after,
Gráinne points to a nearby tree. We spot a
lone jay perched nonchalantly on a branch,
totally unaware of our presence mere feet
below. Through the binoculars, its plumage
is beautiful, the blue feathers that accentuate
its wings contrasting vividly against the
tree’s ashen bark. Just as the image comes
into focus, the jay flutters off. “That happens
a lot,” Gráinne says with a smile.
We spend the rest of the afternoon meandering
through this tranquil place. On the
prowl for a woodpecker, we venture to the
cemeteries on Mehringdamm. Although
our quest is unsuccessful, Gráinne takes
the opportunity to show us where the late
composer Felix Mendelssohn is buried.
When she sees a hawfinch glide overhead
for the first time ever, we’re comforted by
the knowledge that the day’s exploration
wasn’t just for our benefit.
Curious to find out more about birdwatching
in Berlin, we contact Rolf
Nessing. Based in Lychen, a tiny town in
Brandenburg’s picturesque Uckermark
region, Rolf is a bona fide bird buff and tour
guide. He starts off by telling us how he
first began birdwatching when he was 13.
“I’m 58 now, so that’s about 45 years ago,”
he says. “A long time!”
Between 1982 and 1992, Rolf worked as a
government-employed conservationist: “I
started out birdwatching then found my way
into nature conservation, which I took up
professionally. I ended up working in protected
areas throughout Brandenburg,
BERLIN’S PRIME
BIRDWATCHING SPOTS
by Gráinne Toomey
Where: Tempelhofer Feld
When: All year round
The vast park is great for getting close-up
views of kestrels and buzzards as they
hunt and for watching skylarks in the
spring and early summer.
Where: Berlin’s graveyards
When: All year round
With their trees and thick foliage, Berlin’s
graveyards are amazing for all kinds of
birds and wildlife. They’re the best place
to spot goshawks.
Where: City parks
When: April and May
Most city parks have male nightingales,
who sing throughout the evening and into
the night to attract females as they migrate
overhead. Try Treptower Park or Viktoriapark
and you might just hear them.
Where: Großer Müggelsee
When: Summer
Berlin’s biggest lake is great for seeing
ospreys. These large brown and white
birds of prey can be spotted plucking fish
out of the water with their talons.
Where: Linum
When: Late summer and autumn
Great for a daytrip by car or bike, the village
of Linum is famous for spectacular
views of thousands of cranes and geese
as they roost in the evenings. In the
summer months, you can also see storks
nesting on the rooftops.
18 Issue Three

Birdwatching in Berlin
Bird’s-eye View
«
BIRDING GETS YOU
MORE INVOLVED
WITH YOUR ENVI-
RONMENT. IT RE-
MINDS YOU THAT
HUMANS AREN’T
EVERYTHING.
»
mainly at breeding grounds for
rare birds including eagles, cranes
and black storks.” But something
was missing: “Government work
meant a lot of paperwork, which
wasn’t for me. That’s why I started
freelancing in ‘92.”
Opting out of political bureaucracy,
Rolf established Birding Berlin
in the early ‘90s, offering English-speaking
bird tours throughout
the city and beyond. Roughly half
of Rolf’s customers come from the
United States, the other half consisting
of Brits. “Most of my guests
send me a list of 8 to 15 birds they want to see,” he
says. “I can plan a trip around where to find them
because I know many of the region’s forests and
lakes, and where the birds go to hunt.”
Between March and April, Rolf organises goshawk
tours in Tiergarten. Berlin has the most concentrated
number of these birds of prey in the world.
“The city has about 120 pairs of breeding partners,”
he notes. By contrast, Britain has approximately
280 nationwide. “My guests arrive at Schönefeld in
the morning, I’ll pick them up and we’ll go birding.
After seeing the goshawks, they’re happy, and in the
afternoon they fly back to the UK!”
We ask Rolf what makes Berlin and Brandenburg
unique when it comes to birdlife. “The big difference
rests on the division between East and West Germany.
We live in what used to be the DDR,” he says. “We’re
not so developed in this part, agriculture and pesticide
use was and is far more intensive in the West.
That’s why we have a lot of birds here. If you look at a
distribution map of birds you’ll see the old border!”
On top of these unintended Cold War consequences
is the fact that there are 46 Important
Bird Areas (IBAs) strewn throughout Brandenburg.
IBAs are politically-defined conservation sites
where birds and other fauna are shielded from
agricultural expansion. “There are a huge number
of protected areas here. We have biosphere reserves
as well as national parks. Berlin is a very green
capital too,” Rolf says.
Given the inevitable creep of peri-urban growth,
we wonder whether Rolf has any concerns about
the future of this natural paradise. “Right now we
have a lot of problems with farming, especially
the cultivation of corn for biofuels,” he says. “It’s
not easy to safeguard nature for future generations
because a lot of political decisions are very
short-sighted. People are focused on other concerns
at the moment; environmental issues aren’t
so important right now.”
It’s engrossing to chat to someone as enthusiastic
as Rolf. He confirms Gráinne’s account of Linum’s
massive crane exodus and gives us an intricate,
seasonal index of Brandenburg’s wildlife. Armed
with such an expansive ornithological knowledge,
we quiz him on whether he has a favourite bird. “A
lot of people ask me this,” he says, chuckling. “Maybe
the bullfinch. It’s a very smart bird, with its red
breast and green head. But it’s a bad singer! Still, I
like it, it gives me the feeling of spring.”
After speaking to Rolf, we remember something
Gráinne said when we first met a fortnight
ago: “Birding gets you more involved with your
environment. It reminds you that humans aren’t
everything. We’re all part of this one big ecosystem.
Why not get out there, explore it and relate to it a
bit more?” We couldn’t agree with her more.
Spring 2017
19

Cover Story
BOYS NOIZE
BANGING THE
DRUM FOR BERLIN
20 Issue Three

Boys Noize
Cover Story
In a career now more than a decade long, Boys Noize has established
himself as a behemoth of the electro world. Through DJing, producing
original music and remixes, and founding his own record label, he has
come to define a sound. Berlin has been his home since he was 21. Here
we talk with him about being an outsider, working with huge artists,
and retaining credibility when following his punk spirit across genres.
words by
Dan Cole
photos by
Viktor Richardsson
« BERLIN
STILL FEELS
LIKE THE
CITY WHERE
ANYTHING IS
POSSIBLE. »
Alexander Ridha, a former record store clerk
from Hamburg who used to DJ under the
alias Kid Alex, is now one of Berlin’s musical
mainstays. He’s the quintessential music nerd with
racks of gear in his bedroom-like studio, having remixed
everyone from the likes of Depeche Mode to
Snoop Dogg and Atom, while his multitude of records
are in constant demand. His label and parties
have been filling dancefloors for over a decade with
their unique brand of brash noise, always pushing
conventions, frequencies and volumes in equal
amount. As Boys Noize, Alex set the precedent for
post-house electro-punk during a period when Berlin,
by contrast, was making a name for itself in the
stylish minimal techno world. And while most of
the minimal scenesters have fallen by the wayside,
Alex is still in Berlin, making lots noise with the
fevered determination and ambition of a man who
truly loves what he does.
“Hamburg was so amazing,” he recalls. “I used
to work at this record store, Underground Solution,
which is how I got my first gigs. My old boss
would pull some strings to get me support slots
with local legends like Boris Dlugosch.” Nowadays,
Alex lives in that grey area between superstardom
and geekdom. We meet him, clad in a hoodie and
a big, effortless smile, to learn about his story. The
fresh looking 34-year-old has a childlike earnestness
about him, and is keen to to play us his new
productions, while eagerly spinning some of his
older records as well. Alex couldn’t be happier, and
who could blame him? He’s worked with some of
the biggest names in the business: artists such as
Jean-Michel Jarre, Skrillex and Chilly Gonzales, all
of whom have been in that very apartment studio.
“To me, Berlin has always been so mysterious. As
a kid, my family and I would go from the west part
of Berlin to the DDR as visitors,” Alex describes.
“Everything was always massive in Berlin. It all
looked so different.” The fascination with the city
stuck with the avid music lover, and as a teenager
Alex would regularly visit the Berlin Love Parade
to see his idols, only to eventually become an icon
within the clubbing scene himself. At the age of 21,
already playing the city’s clubs on a regular basis,
he moved to Berlin to be with his girlfriend, leaving
behind his job and the city where he grew up. This
also brought him closer to his greatest passion:
music. “[Berlin has] always had this dirty, ravey
vibe to it. Even the yellow trams and the trains; it
was all so different when you compared it to Hamburg.
And that hasn’t really changed.” Even then,
the musical styles of the two cities were worlds
apart: “Hamburg and Berlin used to be so different
– and the two scenes would not fuck with each
other,” Alex recalls. “Hamburg was more house,
and Berlin was techno, noise, and punk.”
“I loved the punk influence with electro, and the
techno at the time,” he continues. Growing up, Alex
played drums in local bands, listening to house and
late ‘90s techno, all of which would go on to play a
significant part in his musical outlook. His career
as a DJ started to peak during the electroclash
period around 2003, when the likes of DJ Hell’s
International DeeJay Gigolo Records label was
at its height. As Kid Alex, he supported Felix da
Housecat and other significant contemporary acts.
“I would play with T.Raumschmiere and he was a
big influence on me, as were labels like Sender and
BPitch.” Alex’s first gig in Berlin was at a gay party
at Kalkscheune in Mitte, where he’d been booked
by a record store regular who used to purchase his
under-the-counter mixtapes. During his initial
DJing escapades in Berlin, Alex became a regular
at spaces like WMF at Cafe Moskau, Pfefferberg,
Polar TV, and Sternradio – venues permanently recorded
in the annals of Berlin’s clubbing graveyard.
“Sternradio at Alexanderplatz was a crazy place,”
he says. “Me and Housemeister would play there
from like six to nine in the morning, and it was full
of proper, East German ravers.” Alex met Housemeister,
also known as Berlin’s colourful wild-man,
and producer Martin Böhm, during a late night–
early morning DJ set at WMF. The two became
good friends and struck up a musical partnership,
leading to multiple co-releases infused with the
same punk ideology. “He’s a really hearty guy,”
Alex laughs. “We met up for a drink together the
week after our first show and I was so inspired by
his studio. It was full of analogue gear, you could
just press play and everything was running.”
Spring 2017
21

Cover Story
22 Issue Three

Cover Story
‘The Bomb’ was the first record Alex released as
Boys Noize in 2004 on Hell’s label. “I met Hell
and Westbam at a gig we were all playing together
in Berlin at Polar TV, a space near Hauptbahnhof
that doesn’t exist anymore. I was doing the warmup
and I handed both of them a CD with some
new tracks. They both called me back, which was
quite funny because I was such a huge fan.” In
2005, Alex founded Boysnoize Records out of a
desire to release more music. The prolific, fastpaced
nature of his music production made it difficult
to release everything he was creating; there
was just too much material. It got to the point
where he was inventing various aliases under
which to release the music; Einzeller, Morgentau,
PUZIQUe, and EastWeek – Alex’s collaborative
project with Housemeister. While the boys were
making their noise, minimal techno was about
to reach its peak in Berlin. Richie Hawtin had
just moved here, and M-nus Records had become
the city’s hottest property, something that was
far removed from the Boys Noize sound. “It felt
«
BERLIN IS STILL THE
CITY FULL OF FREAKS.
I WAS THINKING BACK
IN 2006, WITH ALL THE
ARTISTS FROM NEW
YORK HERE, HOW MUCH
MORE CRAZY CAN IT
GET? AND IT DID.
»
really good being a total outsider,” Alex says. “As
a DJ, I can see how people might have thought I
was making late electro-house, but for me it was a
new world.” Minimal techno came and went, but
Boysnoize Records stayed. And so did Alex, unlike
some of his peers who were no longer on the
scene. “Some of the guys who left just had enough
of partying. Some came here to make music and
didn’t get anything done. Some people felt like
they had to go back to where they came from – the
older you get, there is this feeling that you have to
return to the environment you came from. I like
Hamburg, but I won’t go back. I love St Pauli and
the Harbour, but Hamburg has more money and
you can see and feel that too.”
More than ten years later and Boysnoize Records
is a tour de force, with releases from everyone
in the electro-party, music community, including
Peaches, Strip Steve, Josh Wink, SCNTST,
Spank Rock, and more. And of course, there was
Octave Minds, Alex’s spatial-collaborative project
with Chilly Gonzales. Boysnoize Records
Spring 2017
23

Cover Story
Boys Noize
fittingly embodies a desire for pure enjoyment,
with earnest respect for electro, and
bits of techno thrown in. It’s also a product
of Berlin’s wider influence. As Alex
says, “There are a lot of exciting things
happening here. There’s a lot of EDM and
new wave productions coming through,
which I really like.” He adds: “I also enjoy
going to Berghain and having a proper
techno night out every now and then.
Berlin is still the city full of freaks. I was
thinking back in 2006, with all the artists
from New York here, how much more crazy
can it get? And it did. It got crazier and
crazier. It’s one of the last places where, as
an artist, you are able to express yourself.”
This is something Alex has lamented
before. In a 2016 interview with Pitchfork,
he likened the city to a refuge for outcasts,
from its bohemian Weimar period to the
present. “When you live here for a little bit
you realise that you can have a good life
without being distracted by capitalism or
what society wants from you,” he says.
For all his success, Alex is far from living
in an ivory tower. Stowed away in Prenzlauer
Berg, he can be seen walking his dog up
to four times a day. He is also a regular at
local music establishment, OYE Records,
adding to his already vast collection.
“Everyday, when I see something online,
I send a message to the store to put stuff
aside for me. I think it’s the best record
shop in the area. They have everything.”
As a local guy, albeit one who sells out
arenas and has worked alongside Skrillex,
Diplo and Snoop Dogg, getting recognised
on the streets is not such a concern for him.
But that isn’t the case everywhere he goes.
“In Paris it’s happened a few times, but in
Berlin it’s rare. Sometimes I feel that people
recognise me, but don’t say anything, which
is definitely not the case in somewhere like
LA.” Back in the early days, Alex would
always hide his face on press shots to avoid
fame. The iconic photos of Alex with his
hands in front of his face came to define his
image in the mid ‘00s. “Being recognised
is not something I wanted. I love the idea
of faceless techno, where you don’t have
to put out a press shot. Even my MySpace
page was just a picture of a skull,” he tells
us. As Alex’s profile grew, there was no way
to retain his anonymity. “With YouTube and
everything, I couldn’t keep it up. I considered
wearing a mask at one point, but it was
just no use. When Skrillex was here in 2012
to record our Dog Blood record, it was totally
crazy. We went out, and even late at night
he would have drunken kids coming up to
him all the time. It was totally crazy.”
Sitting in his studio, Alex seems fulfilled
by his achievements to date. Towards the
end of our conversation, he starts playing
a new remix of D.A.F. (Deutsch Amerikanische
Freundschaft), the pivotal electro
act that influenced him so much. I remind
Alex of an earlier interview in which he
said it was an ambition to work with the
legendary German electronic label, Raster-Noton.
“For me it was pretty awesome
to have a release on Raster-Noton,” he
says, proudly pulling out the remix he
did for Atom, released on the label two
years ago. “I love to meet people who
make stuff that I don’t know how to.”
Last year, Alex even got to work with another
one of his idols, Justin Vernon, otherwise
known as Bon Iver. “For me, he’s
one of the best musicians I’ve ever met.
And he’s fucking awesome. It’s so funny,
he said he was a fan of Boys Noize on
MySpace back in the day.” The two hung
out, sharing accolades, and eventually
got to work with each other in Berlin last
year at Michelberger Music, a two-day
festival at Berlin’s riverside Funkhaus
location. Alex got to write and perform
with Vernon along with Nils Frahm,
Mouse On Mars, Erlend Øye, Woodkid,
The National’s Aaron Dessner, and others.
“That was one of the coolest things
I’ve ever been involved with, for sure,”
he says. Without too much of a preconceived
plan, the artists locked themselves
in Funkhaus’ many studios, jamming and
rehearsing on the fly to put together a set
of new material resulting from collaborations
and unique arrangements. “Every
single person I met was a genius,” Alex
recalls of this experience. “Everybody
made music with each other; people that
had never met before. I would end up in a
session with The National, and then with
a folk singer with a drum machine, and
then I would do a techno set with Justin.
It was almost psychedelic. I think some
people were confused, but it was such a
cool idea. I have recordings of everything
we did, I still don’t know what I’m going
to do with them.”
From playing warehouses and famed
party locales, to jamming with his idols
in former DDR broadcasting studios,
Alex has come a long way. No longer Kid
Alex from Hamburg, Boys Noize is beating
Berlin’s drum. He smiles and leans
back, “Berlin still feels like the city where
anything is possible.”
Boys Noize is currently on his Warehaus
Tour until May. Find European dates at
boysnoize.com/tour
24 Issue Three

Boys Noize
Cover Story
«
WHEN YOU LIVE HERE FOR A
LITTLE BIT YOU REALISE THAT
YOU CAN HAVE A GOOD LIFE
WITHOUT BEING DISTRACTED BY
CAPITALISM OR WHAT SOCIETY
WANTS FROM YOU.
»
Funkhaus
Funkhaus was designed by
architect Franz Ehrlich and
built in 1951. A communist
imprisoned by the Nazi
regime in 1935, he became
the main designer at
Buchenwald concentration
camp. A fellow inmate later
claimed Ehrlich helped the
Resistance by passing
construction details to them.
Spring 2017
25

The Right Swipe
Eylül Aslan
WHAT DON’T YOU
LOVE ABOUT ME?
PHOTOGRAPHER
EYLÜL ASLAN
CONFRONTS BODY
IMAGE ON TINDER
Is beauty in the eye of the beholder? This is the question behind
photographer Eylül Aslan’s latest project: Trompe L’Oeil. For six
months, Eylül met with 20 different men from Tinder and asked each
what they loved and didn’t love about their own physical appearance,
as well as hers. She then photographed the features they chose, and
positioned the images side by side to highlight the deeply subjective
nature of our perceptions of beauty.
Photo by Justine Olivia Tellier.
26 Issue Three

words by
Jack Mahoney
Eylül Aslan
Eylül found inspiration for the piece while
watching her friends swipe left or right. “I’d
only seen other people use Tinder, and I’d
played it a bit with male friends,” she says, as if it
were a game. As she continued to play, she noticed
how often her tastes differed from her friends. “‘No,
she was so cute,’ I’d say, ‘why did you swipe left on
her?!’ No one could explain why they liked or disliked
someone. They’d decided in milliseconds.”
Eylül, who is married, found the process
delightful: “It was so much fun to see all these
people and the way they presented themselves;
I had to make an account,” she recalls. “And I,
too, found it hard to say why I’d swiped one way
or the other. But soon I started to see people I
knew, people who knew I was married. I thought,
‘Well. This is going to be a bit of a problem.’ So
to continue playing, I wrote a description: ‘I’m a
photographer and I’m casting for an art project.’
It worked, but then I asked myself, ‘Well, what
actually is my project?’”
“My initial thought was to meet boys and girls
at the same time and photograph their favourite
features to create the so-called ‘perfect male’ and
‘perfect female’ from a collage of body parts, but
I didn’t actually get any matches with girls,” she
says, shrugging. So she decided to go only for men,
and examine the way they saw themselves and
others. For a photographer known for her work on
the female form, this was a first.
A few matches took offence, complaining that
Tinder was for dating, not art. “I didn’t lose any
breath trying to convince them,” Eylül says, “because
so many guys were interested. Some asked
for more information so I told them the premise:
I’m going to meet you and ask you what you love
and don’t love about yourself and about me, and
then photograph your answers. I was really shocked
when they all said ‘yes.’”
Eylül met her ‘dates’ in parks and cafés, or
occasionally at her Neukölln apartment, where
the light was better. “Everyone looked different
The Right Swipe
«
HIS RIBS WERE THE
FIRST THING HE
THOUGHT OF, BECAUSE
THEY WERE SO CONNECT-
ED WITH SUFFERING.
»
in real life – sometimes for better, sometimes
for worse,” she laughs. “Their personalities
differed a lot from what they projected in their
profile. All of them were different from how I’d
imagined. There was one guy who wore leather
and looked like a tough guy who listened to
heavy metal, but in person he was like a little
cat. It was surprising to see how insecure perfectly
handsome guys could be.”
“Sitting down in front of complete strangers, I
was kind of at their mercy,” she says, looking back.
“Sometimes they would go on for two hours about
a girl who broke their heart in highschool because
they were overweight – and I was like, ‘OK, this is
not what I signed up for!’ But people really opened
up. I think because it’s such an intimate question –
to say what you love about yourself and then about
the person in front of you.”
“One guy said he liked his ribs because he used
to be overweight and they are a constant reminder
of how slim he is now. That made him feel proud,”
Eylül notes. “His choices were so different from
mine. He had beautiful eyes and hands but they
weren’t his favourite features. His ribs were the
first thing he thought of, because they were so
connected with suffering.”
Preferences for different physical aspects of
ourselves and others are the focus of Eylül’s piece.
“We have a society that puts pressure on women
to look pretty. Men – straight men at least – don’t
Left: Photos from
Trompe L’Oeil. His smile
was the feature he most
liked about himself. His
knee, the least.
Spring 2017
27

The Right Swipe
Eylül Aslan
«
MY WHOLE PROJECT IS TO
SAY, ‘IF I DIDN’T CATEGORISE
THESE PHOTOS AS BEAUTIFUL
OR UGLY, YOU COULDN’T TELL
THE DIFFERENCE.’
»
seem so bothered by it.” But on Tinder they are forced to
confront notions of beauty, to choose a look, and display
themselves in ways they think women find attractive.
“I became really interested in how men present themselves
on this app. If a guy thought he had a nice bicep
and wanted to show it, he would strike a pose,” she says,
puffing up her cheeks and flexing her arm. “He’d highlight
the bicep. It’s not as obvious as a girl doing a duck
face, but he’s making a choice about what he thinks will
appeal to women.”
“People focus on the way women are pressured,” she
continues, “but I think men feel just as stressed by it as
we do. Perhaps it just isn’t so talked about. There’s an idea
that men don’t dwell so much on their feelings but I think
they suffer just as much as women. Maybe a society so concerned
with how women look doesn’t pay attention to the
appearance of men, but the issues remain.”
Given how open men had been with her, she wanted to
even things out – to hear what they thought about her own
body. “I asked friends first what they thought of me, but
noticed how difficult they found it to answer. I think there
is more honesty in strangers,” she says, “though they always
struggled to say what they didn’t like.” Some chose the easy
way out, something inoffensive, but perplexing nonetheless:
“I don’t know what was going through their heads when they
said, ‘ears’ – they’re small, and distracting maybe?”
Others were more candid. “If you look at what society
finds attractive in women, it’s often full lips. I have small
lips and a wide face with a tiny mouth, and some men
didn’t like that. I always knew I didn’t have a stereotypical
look but I loved my face. It wouldn’t matter if ten guys said,
‘Nope,’ I would still like it.” She never asked whether those
answers meant she was ugly. “It didn’t affect my views. I’d
convinced myself, and their views couldn’t change that.
What surprised me more was actually how many men liked
my face, because I always thought it was different.”
Photos by Justine Olivia Tellier.
28 Issue Three

Eylül Aslan
Evidence was building to support Eylül’s theory that
attraction is arbitrary – that beauty is entirely subjective.
Rarely can we agree on what we find attractive about ourselves,
let alone others. “During the project, I was changing
the self-image of my subjects, but I was also playing with
my own,” she says. “In the end I felt much more at ease with
how I looked. I realised that it’s not important how other
people see you. It’s about how you see yourself. My whole
project is meant to say, ‘If I didn’t categorise these photos as
beautiful or ugly, you couldn’t tell the difference.’”
For Eylül, working exclusively with men offered a shift in
perspective from her previous projects. “I’ve already published
two books on feminist topics and it’s been my work all
along, so this project challenged me to do something new.
I’m interested in men, and I wanted to know how it felt to
work with them. The body and the sex changed, but it was
still me behind the camera. My techniques still applied,” she
says. But that isn’t to say there weren’t challenges. Working
with men brought one tangible difference: sexual tension. “I
mean, if it wasn’t from my side, it was from theirs. They were
opening up about such private issues and there I was, taking
photos of their half-naked bodies! When it was finished I was
like, ‘...OK, that was intense,’” she says, with a slow exhale.
With no time to dwell on any awkwardness, the
second part of the project needed to be completed: the
meticulous photographing of the parts of Eylül’s own
body that each match had selected, using mirrors and
self-timers, while double- and triple-checking shots.
“That was the most difficult part. For ten years as a
photographer, I’ve always been the one deciding what to
photograph,” Eylül says. “For the first time, [the subjects
of] these 80 photos were decided by the men that I met.
I didn’t have the chance to capture what I found interesting.
I couldn’t say, ‘You think you love your eyes, but
I love your shoulders.’ This time it was only what they
told me. It was very different from how I usually work.”
Nevertheless, like all affairs that are built on novelty,
Eylül’s love for Tinder eventually waned. “I was using
Tinder for my work and it was so exhausting. You have to
find a perfect match, and make sure you can talk, then go
on a date and spark some sexual attraction. If this is what
you do to date someone, it seems like a lot of work!” she
says, shaking her head with a smile. “It’s so much easier
when you’re outside or in a café to see someone reading a
book that looks interesting, when you like the way they’re
dressed, or smell, or move. When you’re on Tinder, it’s a
single photo, a frozen two-dimensional image, and you
have seconds to decide if they’re attractive or not. Maybe
they just photograph poorly or don’t show their personalities
so well on social media.”
This is a question Eylül’s matches might have asked
themselves before agreeing to a date, but in Eylül’s company,
some found her and her views enticing. “I think there
was a little hope from a few on the dating side. ‘I’ll help
her with her project and maybe we’ll click,’ they probably
thought. A few asked me on second dates and I had to say
‘No, I’m sorry, this is only work for me.’” And just like that
our conversation draws to a close – only work, after all.
Learn more about Eylül and her work at eylulaslan.com or
follow her at flickr.com/yllparisienne and instagram.com/
eyluelaslan. Trompe L’Oeil will be released in May.
Spring 2017
Spring 2017
29

Deconstructive Talent
Black Cracker
words by
Maggie Devlin
photos by
Justine Olivia Tellier
“Our bodies like coal, brilliant and bold,” sings Black Cracker on
‘How (Do) You Do That There’, the atmospheric canticle from his
vulnerable new album Come As U R. It’s a confounding tapestry of
beats overlaid with simple choral melodies, and these lyrics speak
for much of the album, demonstrating that a project so sonically
dark can be simultaneously energising and tender.
We meet in a coffee shop in Mitte
where the Alabama-born musician
is dissuaded from putting
sugar in his coffee by a grinning
but unrelenting barista. He
shrugs as he walks back to our table, his
brightly patterned trousers and sandalled
feet a sartorial ‘fuck you’ to the studied
greys and beiges of the café. Black Cracker
is as open and confessional as suggested
by the bare-chested photo on his album
sleeve. A tell-tale bounce of the left knee
and a gentle, ambling eloquence stand in
sharp relief against the mission-like vision
and determination of his artistry, but like
every good art school dropout will tell you:
everything is intentional. Here he talks
to us about identity, promoting love, and
kicking the art scene in the nuts.
Tell us about the album. Is it fair to
say it’s a step away from your previous
work, Poster Boy and Tears of A Clown?
Yeah. I’m a sensitive person, so I always try
to take too many issues into account, but I
feel like in this album, I’m learning to be a
bit more secure and stable.
I’ve always been an advocate of evolving
the identity of male sexuality in music. I
think in particular genres we don’t have
the most representative range of sexual interest
and desire. I think there’s a place for
really provocative, almost fetishised R&B
or hip hop, but then there’s also a place
where we can build more positive, holistic
relationships with music that could be considered
popular. I think that was really my
focus on this album. And also I just wanted
to make something nice, something that I
actually felt was listenable.
How much of the album covers your dayto-day
experiences? Every song on the
album is 100% autobiographical and super
personal. I’m not really a narrative person.
I’m not a storyteller. I’m a bit more experiential.
So I try to capture different feelings,
even in one line or one verse; going from
introspective to extrospective, personal to
political, identity to individuality.
The album artwork finds your chest
exposed and mouth open. Would you
say openness is a key theme of this
album? Yeah. Actually, when I was a
younger artist this was my gift, and this
whole album became an opportunity to
go back into myself, to remember that
each of us, as artists or contributors on
the planet, has a lane, and that I need to
just get back into my lane – to get comfortable
and trust that the world is taking
me somewhere by my just being who I
am. If we can just remember to be who
we are, hopefully we can do a great deal
of healing, because the coming times are
not so attractive.
You talked about how you don’t want
this album to challenge the status quo
in queer music. Is it a concern of yours
to be acknowledged as a queer artist?
A lot of artists really make it their identity,
and it’s their politics, it’s what they want to
be. But for me it’s just a community that I
care about and I love.
30 Issue Three

Black Cracker
Deconstructive Talent
Spring 2017
31

Deconstructive Talent
Black Cracker
I think the minute we put any label or subcategory
on people we are basically fulfilling white supremacy.
Until we start labelling “white rapper”, “white male
rapper”, “female white rapper”, we are just being very
exploitative as a culture. With people like Trump, we
really are going to have to be a lot more conscious of
the identities that the media puts on people, because it
actually has severe consequences for their lives.
Because labelling is reserved for the “Other”, and
qualifiers like “female” or “black” or “queer” are
applied to roles where straight white men have
staked their claim. We don’t say “male doctor”.
Exactly. Because that’s just the fucking system. I feel
like we have to – as writers or artists – constantly break
the system, otherwise we’re not doing our jobs, you
know? And the minute we let someone give us that label,
unless the gain is really worth it, we’ve failed. One
time, I was in New Zealand and someone referred to
me as transgender. Usually, if a media outlet had called
me a transgender anything, I would immediately write
them and say, “This is not appropriate,” but in this context
I was like, “Maybe it’s going to bring this conversation,”
so I left it alone. But in general I think we have to
police ourselves and set our own goals higher.
In an interview with The One-Hit Parade you talked
about how you used humour when discussing race
relations in ‘Chasing Rainbows’. How do you feel
about the relationship between wit and identity
politics in music? [Laughs] I’m not so witty actually,
my medium is more sincerity. And, you know, being
around my girlfriend so much – she is like queen of wit,
like real wit. Just brilliant, provocative, political wit.
My language is more trying to break down the The One-Hit Parade
wall. I am not a theatre performer, but that is
Recorded at Kantine am
Berghain, The One-Hit Parade
my performance: to break down that wall so showcases Berlin’s rising
people forget that this is a person performing. musical talent with each artist
I do things that don’t seem intentional, but
performing one song.
are fully intentional, that make it feel casual
and comfortable or even insecure. A lot of times, people
don’t realise that it’s super intentional. I think that is
similar to wit, because sometimes it doesn’t work.
We saw your performance on Boiler Room. It was
so engaging, really open-armed. Is that typical
for your live performances? Yeah, it’s interesting,
because honestly I’m really trying to grow with my live
performances. I don’t have the strongest vocal, so I’m
trying to learn how to use my voice. I want people to
have a good time; I love people, but I’m also so up in
the air lately with my thoughts that it’s like, ‘Do I even
have the authority or skill level to achieve my interests
as a musician?’ Because if I can’t sing perfectly or if it
doesn’t hit perfectly, then I’m not close to the conversation
I want to have.
People seemed to really respond to that show, so
maybe you found your mark. Yeah. When we can
break down all the interweb insecurity, we really come
together as people. There’s nothing that says that on
every night we can’t really make love collectively. It’s
just a choice. We say we want to come and we want to
feel open and equal, or we decide that we’re there to
make ourselves feel better or worse; like our outfit is
better, this girl is hotter. You know, all these divisive
things. But at any point in time, we can collectively
engage in a love affair.
«
I GUESS WHAT I
LIKE TO DO IS
DECONSTRUCT ART.
»
32 Issue Three

Black Cracker
Deconstructive Talent
some university where I can be a professor
on counter-culture and performance art.
My albums are actually the least of what I
do artistically. I look at everything that I do
as one artistic movement and process. The
jazz stuff, the theatre stuff, even throwing
parties and building these cultural
conversations. Contributing to Berlin,
contributing to New York, contributing to
Switzerland. I don’t care about ‘big’. It’s
like playing poker: if you get really late in
the game, you just want to be able to stay
in the game. So long as I’m 60 and able to
make an income through culture, then I’m
winning. I come from the art world; I really
look at it like I’m building a body of work.
I think that night it was also a lot easier
‘cause people were aware that the cameras
were on them. So it’s even like a third level
of consciousness. They are coming together
communally, but it’s also because the cameras
are watching them. And they don’t want
people to see them not being cool in the
context of something that is deemed cool.
You found a community of sorts, in that
you’ve collaborated with three different
acts on the album. How do those
partnerships work? [Smiles] Because
they’re singers. They can sing. I can sing in
my way. But they can, like, sing, you know?
And this album was really about singing.
It’s more R&B than a hip hop album.
Actually, I’m not a musical musician. I
don’t like musicality. And I feel like they really
help give the music a bit more musicality.
I’m more interested in rhythm and layered
rhythms, which I think for a lot of people
makes the music a bit too busy, but the way I
make the rhythms there are all these shifting
sorts of tectonic plates of impulses.
I think that really comes through on
the album – the sophisticated rhythms
– and there’s almost a hymnal quality
to some of the vocals and refrains. Was
that conscious? I think so. It’s always
been my interest, but it’s also coming from
insecurity. I’ve always been super insecure
about my voice, but it’s 100% growing up
in a Southern, Christian community. Like,
not being allowed to listen to music as a kid
– only Christian music. So subconsciously,
lots of my references are super gospel.
I didn’t really grow up in the South but
all my family is from there, and I think
I feel a heavy weight and responsibility
knowing that a lot of my cousins or my
close family aren’t doing well, whether
incarcerated or severely underemployed.
So, like, it’s in my bones to carry this legacy
of beauty, struggle and tragedy.
Are there any artists who you respect
that are able to strike that balance between
creating and promoting, but still
being politically active? Most of the artists
that I love are friends or close enough
to be friends. I guess from an abstract
perspective, I’m super into Tino Sehgal.
It’s pop, but it’s also deconstructed poetry
and performance art. I really think that his
work is important and effective.
I guess what I like to do is deconstruct
art. And kind of like ... kick art in the
nuts. I think this would make space for
the art world to call more stuff ‘art’, and
not just have the same people at the
table. And maybe it means that my art is
not the best art, but hopefully I’m making
room for other people.
Is it important then that what you’re doing
is understood? Not these days. These
days I have a super ‘I don’t care’ mentality.
But I think this is also me finally taking a
moment to acknowledge that I have had a
very amazing set of experiences that have
pulled me to this place. Recently I did something
with the Deutsche Oper, and to be
from Alabama, all the way to the Deutsche
Oper ... It’s like, ‘How did I get here?’
How far do you want the Black Cracker
star to rise? I’m just trying to, by the time
I’m 60, have like, an honorary doctorate at
There are some artists who feel 100%
the author, while some believe they’re
communing with a muse, or energy, or
God. Where does your art come from? I
have to think about this. I don’t know. It’s
funny because it’s a question that a lot of
people asked when I was doing more poetry:
“Where do the words come from?” I honestly
have no idea. I do think that when we listen
to the experiences that we have and the
experiences that we come from, we are being
told to do different things. And for whatever
reason, the universe gave me this possibility
to write and communicate and travel.
I guess, it’s just being Alabama-born,
military-raised, former-slave lineage,
American, everything that’s made me me,
is where it comes from.
Plans for this year? I’m just honestly
so excited to hit beats hard – just like a
maniac, but also in the context of theatre
and performance. I want to just take one
year and make a big theatre work, maybe
two hundred people see it and then that’s
it. I think this is also why I have to reduce
what I’m doing. Right now I have a lot of
things going on.
I think we’re going to need voices like
yours, judging by how 2016 turned out.
Yeah. And really just make music from the
heart. Just from the heart.
That’s when you’re privileged. When
you’re the opening act for your girlfriend,
you can kind of suck. Like, you can take
risks because you know she loves you. I’ve
really just tried to perform from the heart.
Like no ego, just ‘I love you, let’s have a nice
night.’ [Laughs, arms open] Promote more
love. We need it.
Black Cracker’s new album Come As U R
is out now and available on iTunes and
Spotify. Keep yourself informed of tour
dates and happenings via blckcrckr.com
Spring 2017
33

Reluctant Pornographer
Bruce LaBruce
A RADICAL
REPUTATION:
CULT FILMMAKER
BRUCE LABRUCE
ON THE POWER OF
PROVOCATION
34 Issue Three

Bruce LaBruce
Reluctant Pornographer
words by
Marc Yates
interview by
Alexander Darkish
photos by
Viktor Richardsson
Bruce LaBruce smiles as he describes a screening of his first traditionally
pornographic film: “When I showed Skin Flick in Toronto, a Jewish advocacy
group called the police. The police came to the screening and they
actually sat through it. It was the softcore version, but still pretty hard.
They said they were considering pressing charges based on hate crime,
but they watched it and said they weren’t going to. We asked the undercover
cops what they thought of the film and one of them said, ‘It had its
moments.’” We laugh with Bruce, but having seen some of his work, it’s
already clear that his films aren’t just about porn. Rather, the pointed
politics of them, and their explicit content, leads him to walk a fine line
of controversy – something at once important and thrilling.
Red Army Faction
This West German far-left
terrorist group was supported
by the Stasi, and were responsible
for a series of bombings,
assassinations, kidnappings,
bank robberies, and shoot-outs
with police over the course of
three decades.
We meet Bruce shortly before the 67th
Berlinale, in which he’s about to debut
his two newest films: The Misandrists
and Ulrike’s Brain. He sits in his sparsely-furnished
sublet in Friedrichshain wearing a knitted jumper
with ‘PORN STAR’ written in red across the chest.
He’s softly spoken, kind, and speaks with the ease
and depth of an unflinching artist who has long
since found his voice.
“You know,” he continues, elaborating on his
motivation for producing radical alternative films,
“John Waters was always a big influence, and
people always say, ‘Oh you just did this for shock
value,’ or, ‘You just did that as a provocation,’ and
it’s like, ‘Yeah, of course!’ That’s what cinema is –
cinema should be a provocation. I don’t see that as
a negative thing. It’s meant to challenge people’s
perception every time, stylistically and formally,
and in terms of the content.”
The Misandrists, Bruce’s latest feature-length
film, tells the story of a group of radical feminist
terrorists plotting to overthrow the patriarchy from
their base in the German countryside. “It’s a loose
sequel to The Raspberry Reich,” Bruce explains, referencing
his 2004 film about a homosexual terrorist
group who set out to continue the work of the German
Red Army Faction (RAF). “When I made The
Raspberry Reich,” he continues, “which is a critique
of the radical left and radical chic, some lesbian
viewers complained that I didn’t really address the
lesbian issue. So I always thought someday I should
make a film about radical lesbians … it’s also kind
of a spin-off of Ulrike’s Brain.”
Thematically linked to The Misandrists, Ulrike’s
Brain is the B movie-esque story of fictional Doctor
Julia Feifer, who arrives at a scientific conference
with an organ box containing the brain of the real
Ulrike Meinhof, which was actually recovered by
authorities along with the brains of the other three
leaders of the RAF when they all died in Stammheim
prison in the 1970s. The brains later mysteriously
disappeared. Bruce explains: “In real life,
they went missing. Well, they took their brains to
study them to see if there was any biological factor,
any kind of pathology in their actual brain function,
which is a very Nazi notion.” Here the story
of Ulrike’s Brain picks up where reality left off: “So
Dr Feifer is trying to find the perfect female body
to transplant Ulrike’s brain into, and her arch-rival
is another scientist who has Michael Kühnen’s
ashes – Michael was the openly-gay leader of the
neo-Nazi movement in the ‘80s. No one would
bury his ashes on consecrated ground in Germany,
they were literally floating around, and so this
scientist is trying to reincarnate Michael Kühnen
in cult rituals. So it’s two Frankenstein’s monsters,
one on the extreme right and one on the extreme
left, coming together and clashing in the end.”
“It’s a B movie idea,” he continues. “There’s a
famous B movie called They Saved Hitler’s Brain,
and another called The Brain That Wouldn’t Die;
it’s sort of based on those. It’s referencing these B
movies but in a very specific, German way – like
a Nazi exploitation movie.” Although inspired by
classic B movies, Ulrike’s Brain actually stems from
a project Bruce undertook in Hamburg: “I made a
film in front of an audience at Kampnagel. There
Spring 2017
35

Reluctant Pornographer
Bruce LaBruce
was a conference there called Die Untoten – The
Undead – and it was scientists, artists, and theorists
talking about concepts of the post-human
and the new definitions of life and death. I was
asked to do this installation as a sidebar to the
conference, and Ulrike’s Brain is the performance
that I did, but then I also shot additional material
in Hamburg to make it into a film. Out of that
came this idea of The Misandrists. So Dr Feifer
in Ulrike’s Brain is trying to start a new feminist
revolution with Ulrike Meinhof’s brain, but in The
Misandrists, it’s taken a step further where Big
Mother is envisioning a world with no men, where
women are able to reproduce asexually without
the intervention of men,” he laughs.
Bruce’s love of B movies can be traced back to his
early years in Toronto, studying film theory at York
University: “My main mentor was Robin Wood, who
was a very famous film critic and a Marxist, feminist,
gay activist. He loved horror B movies as well. He edited
a book called The American Nightmare that was
all about the radical subtext of horror B movies.”
This education would have a marked effect on
Bruce and his approach to his own work. “One
thing about Robin Wood and that whole circle was
that they were extremely politically correct. Their
idea of feminism was very specific, and pretty
mainstream,” he says. “I was still kind of politically
correct and I wrote this savage critique of the Cinema
of Transgression based on a feminist reading ...
Also Toronto in the ‘80s was one of the international
hotspots for art videos, and I wrote another critique
of certain gay Canadian video artists, so I was
really like the Armond White of the time.” He continues:
“Then a couple of very close friends of mine
just sat me down one day and read me the riot act,
pointing out to me that my political correctness
was really narrow-minded and that I was being
very doctrinarian, so I started challenging my own
positions. After No Skin Off My Ass and Super 8½ I
started challenging ideas about sexuality, tackling
issues of race, submission, domination, and power
relations within sex and how complex the relationship
between homosexuality and fascism is, and
presenting female sexuality. Before that I was very
afraid of representing female sexuality because I
felt, as a pussy-whipped male feminist, I had to be
very careful about female sexuality. So I started
being much more open in my work.”
It was during this time in Toronto that Bruce
met Jürgen Brüning, the founder of Berlin-based
porn studio Cazzo Film who would go on to become
the producer on almost all of Bruce’s feature
films, including The Misandrists. “Jürgen was the
visiting film curator at Hallwalls Contemporary
Arts Center in Buffalo, New York, in 1988 and ‘89,”
Bruce begins. “He would come up to Toronto and
scout for work to show, so he saw my work and
brought me, G.B. Jones, and a couple of our friends
down to Buffalo. Our films were almost confiscated
at the border for the first (but not the last) time. He
was also starting out as a producer so I asked him
to give me money to make a feature length Super
8 film, so he gave me $2,000 to make No Skin Off
My Ass.” This, Bruce’s debut feature, is a comedy-drama
in which explicit sex scenes featuring a
punk hairdresser – played by Bruce himself – and
a skinhead are interwoven with a radical political
message. It now enjoys cult status, and Kurt Cobain
famously declared it his favourite film. Jürgen
then gave Bruce a further $12,000 to blow the film
up to 16mm: “At that time some people called me a
sellout for making a $14,000 film. I was in the very
hardcore, anti-establishment punk scene, so if you
spent any amount of money on anything you were
considered a sellout.”
Selling out or not, the creative relationship
between Bruce and Jürgen was cemented, and it
Armond White
Known for his provocative film
criticism, Armond White was
expelled from The New York
Film Critics Circle for allegedly
heckling director Steve
McQueen at an event for the
film 12 Years a Slave.
« CERTAIN PEOPLE CAN’T
WATCH CERTAIN KINDS OF
ART BECAUSE IT TRIGGERS
A BAD FEELING IN THEM?
YOU HAVE TO BE MUCH
TOUGHER THAN THAT TO
FIGHT FASCISM. »
36 Issue Three

Bruce LaBruce
Reluctant Pornographer
wasn’t long before they were travelling together
to Berlin: “He first brought me to Berlin in 1990 or
‘91 when the city was still divided,” Bruce tells us.
“I mean, the wall was down but it was still totally
divided. In fact, a local avant-garde filmmaker in
Berlin named Michael Brynntrup used to take me
to the East to show our Super 8 films in bars and
emerging queer spaces. It was amazing, because
the people from the East were really starved for
underground stuff that they never had access to.”
“Then of course I started making films here.
After Super 8½, my first two features were shot
in Toronto, then I lived in LA for a year and made
Hustler White because I felt like I wasn’t getting
any support in Canada from arts councils and
stuff, but also because the police were coming to
the labs to confiscate the negatives for my films,”
he laughs. “Like, the lab would call the police!
Also my photographs, because in the late ‘80s and
early ‘90s I started shooting porn, and one of the
photo labs called the police as well. I mean, this is
all pre-internet, so porn was much more taboo. I
tried to get financing for more mainstream films
after Hustler White, but unsuccessfully because I
had a reputation for being a pornographer. In the
meantime, Jürgen had started the first avant-garde
porn company in Berlin, Cazzo Film, and he
got me to direct my first full-on, industry-style
porn film, Skin Flick, which was shot in London
but I did the post-production and the editing in
Berlin. That started a whole series of me working
on films in Berlin – Raspberry Reich, Otto, Pierrot
Lunaire, and now The Misandrists.”
Given the radical and explicit nature of Bruce’s
films, which often feature unsimulated sex, it
comes as no surprise that he has had his fair
share of criticism over the years. However, when
his first feature was shown, this criticism came
from an unlikely source – the very underground
scene that he was a part of. “The punk scene was
very homophobic in the mid to late ‘80s, so I got
a lot of hostility and violence directed towards
me for showing these kinds of films. I was
only showing No Skin Off My Ass at punk
bars and queer, alternative art spaces. I had
it on Super 8, so I would bring a Super 8
projector with the soundtrack on a cassette.”
Having received such hostility from the
beginning, and later watching audiences
walk out in the middle of his screenings
at international film festivals, we wonder
about Bruce’s particular approach to creating
such provocative cinema. “It comes
from a punk spirit,” he says, matter-of-factly.
“It’s done in a playful way, a politically
incorrect way, and also in an ambivalent
way. I wrote a book called The Reluctant
Pornographer, so it’s not like I’m just this
gung-ho porn person who was just passively
presenting porn as something simplistically
good; I felt very ambivalent doing it.
It was very embarrassing to act in these
Above: Still from
The Misandrists.
films, very impersonal, and I realised that a lot
of porn is very exploitative. The way I present
sexuality is with so many layers of distance, and
foregrounding the spectatorship of the viewer,
drawing people’s attention to the awkwardness
of sex or the political problems with it. And then
also ambiguity,” he adds. “It’s difficult for people
to pin down what my politics are exactly, even
which side of the political spectrum I’m on. I
showed films at a festival in Katowice in Poland
a couple of years ago, and in a Q&A for The Raspberry
Reich, someone’s question started out, “As
a right-wing filmmaker, how do you feel about…”
and I was like ‘Wow, that’s amazing.’”
But how does it feel to have his political stance
so greatly misunderstood by his audience? “I
took that question as a compliment!” He says,
“But it’s exactly why the left is in such chaos and
disorder today. They’ve taken this very simplistic
and politically correct position. They’re so
busy policing themselves and their language,
and policing the activities of factions within the
larger spectrum of the left that they lose focus of
who the real enemy is. They become easy targets
of the right because they’re so naïve about their
own political position and worldview. They’re
way too sensitive. This idea of ‘safe spaces’ and
the concept of being ‘triggered’, like certain
people can’t watch certain kinds of art because
it triggers a bad feeling in them? You have to be
much tougher than that to fight fascism.”
We ask Bruce if he would ever make a movie
about Donald Trump’s brain, in the spirit of
Ulrike’s Brain and the B movies that inspired it.
“Eesh,” he recoils at the thought. Then, groaning,
adds: “I mean, if he weren’t so fucking boring!
He’s not very glamorous. He’s very crass, and
kind of dull-witted.”
For more information on Bruce and his work, visit
his (quite NSFW) website: brucelabruce.com
Spring 2017
37

Tour Diary
Gurr
TOUR DIARY: ON THE ROAD
WITH GARAGE-ROCKERS GURR
Gurr have been charming Berlin’s audiences since 2012
and received skyrocketing attention following the release
of their full-length debut, In My Head, last year.
Weller-esque polo shirts meet big old Epiphone guitars
in style and sound, and their second single ‘Walnuts’
delivers strong hooks and catchy singalongs in spades.
Here, they take us along for the ride on the tour that
would lead up to a sold-out show at Lido.
Ludwigshafen
First show of the tour - we didn’t
expect much, we played at around
8pm and were the only band, but a
lot of people showed up and gave us
invitations to Russia. We ate pasta
with seafood before the show. ↓
Zürich
This is Liam who booked most of
the shows on the tour. We wanted
to go to Züriberg in Zürich before
leaving because, as Liam says:
“Mountains are tight.” ↓
In My Head
is out now on
Duchess Box
Records.
Stuttgart
We slept in the most comfortable
apartment because they turned up
the heating to the max everywhere,
so the hole in the roof didn’t
matter anymore. In the pic you see
an art installation close to the
venue, where we played with Wolf
Mountains. ↓
Berlin
After our record release show in Kantine am Berghain we got into the car,
kissed our baes goodbye and drove to Paris. Here we woke up after a three-hour
nap between 6 and 9am to have ‘breakfast’ at the hip vegan café, McDonalds. →
38 Issue Three

Gurr
Tour Diary
London
This is Laura, drunk, holding a
Heineken that we found in our van
from the Paris show. Laura and I,
Andreya, got really drunk because
a lot of good friends and our
booker Jamie were there. We continued
drinking at Sally’s uncle’s
house (thank you for the wine!)
and no one showered the next morning
(except drunk Andreya) because
we were scared to miss the ferry. ↓
Brighton
In Brighton we stayed with Liam’s
mum, in a house that has hosted
bands like La Luz and Hinds
before. Lewis, a good friend who
kindly agreed to drive us nutties
around, really fell in love with
one of the inhabitants. ↓
Paris
Here is Laura doing what she
does best: prepping up the merch
really nice in Paris. My guitar
broke and a guy in the audience
requested a really early song
of ours, ‘Joseph Gordon-Levitt’,
that we played laughing and out
of tune as a Zugabe. ↑
Here are Liam and Laura on the
streets of Brighton the day after the
show, being very German and waiting
for Liam’s friend who was ten minutes
late. The trains weren’t running that
day (apparently a common thing) and
our label manager Grant missed a lot
of appointments. →
Lille
In Lille we binge-shopped Maman products (biscuits,
cookies, brownies and yoghurts/mousse au chocolat)
that we devoured before the show. The very nice
promoters gave us boxed wine but we could hardly
look at alcohol that day. ↓
This is Sally, our bass player, hugging our drummer Brandon
in front of the van with our golden balloon letters
floating in the trunk. Brandon got very drunk the last day
and I woke up at 3am to Lewis helping Brandon while he
tried to throw up but only shouting: “Uergh, oh God.” ↓
Spring 2017
39

Dispatches
Trump’s America
DISPATCHES:
DAY ONE IN TRUMP’S AMERICA
United States President Donald J. Trump took office on January
20th 2017, and his inauguration would mark the beginning of a
turbulent new presidency. To capture and record the events of
this day from Washington, DC we sent Jessica Reyes Sondgeroth
and Roman Petruniak to report from the streets of the capital as
supporters gathered and a resistance amassed.
words by
Jessica Reyes Sondgeroth
photos by
Roman Petruniak
n the moments leading up to the beginning
of the ceremony, the streets south of the US
Capitol Building, where Trump would deliver
his address, were sparsely peopled. The lines that
took attendees through a brief security screening
were just four or five people deep. Most people
seemed to arrive on shuttle buses at Union Station,
north of Capitol Hill, as protesters scattered
around Columbus Fountain. Meanwhile, other
DC metro stations were rather quiet, with trains
less crowded than on a typical morning commute
or before a Washington Nationals hockey game.
Those travelling to the inauguration ceremony
itself were mostly white and often older, some
with families in tow, while those protesting the
newly-elected president were of mixed ethnicities
and backgrounds and mostly in their late teens or
early 20s. To be honest, it was all rather lacklustre;
the streets were not very crowded, there were
no chants or obvious excitement – people were
mostly just hoping it wouldn’t rain.
As we approached people for comments, some
were willing to talk, but there was a general
apprehensiveness towards ‘The Media’. I felt a
little nervous, a little unsure as to how receptive
people would be. We were dressed plainly, but
introducing ourselves often incited tension. I
could see people begin to relax as I asked more
questions, but I felt they were trying to decipher
what my intentions were. When I asked if they
were hopeful for the future, however, they perked
up, strengthened by their convictions.
“It’s about standing up, taking our country back,
making America safe again. We have to be vigilant
against terrorists,” Billy Prickett, a biomedical
engineer from Wilson, North Carolina, said. “I think
America is not safe; if you look at all of the terrorist
attacks we’ve had that have been downplayed,
I think it’s a very serious issue. America needs to
open its eyes.” Billy’s claim is not unique, and has
been circulating among conservative groups and
40 Issue Three

Trump’s America
Dispatches
websites. In fact, it was later reiterated by President Trump
himself, just before the White House issued a list of 78 terrorist
attacks it says went unreported by the media.
The list has been largely renounced by the American
press, with many outlets including the New York Times
making a point of noting “what the list excluded: attacks
targeting Muslims, the overwhelming majority of Islamist
terrorism victims.” The list is part of President Trump’s reaction
to a massive wave of opposition to his January 27th
executive order restricting legal immigration from seven
Muslim-majority countries.
Despite Trump’s statements to the contrary, the vetting
process for immigrants and refugees to enter the US
is already extensive, and it can sometimes take years.
Deaths caused by violent jihad are also far less common
than those caused by other forms of violence in America.
Yet, for many Americans, the threat from foreign Islamic
terrorists is paramount in their minds.
Nelda Thompson, a founding member of the Hermitage
Artists Retreat in Englewood, Florida, attended the inauguration
because she is “passionate about this country,” but
her words quickly turn to an ominous danger: “We must
be more careful, more diligent about who comes into our
country, that they come here because they want to share
our ideals; we’re ready to fight for [our ideals] morally,
physically, spiritually, verbally.”
Nelda’s fears stretch beyond physical violence and echo
a common thread in the conservative media – that the growing
Muslim population and Islam’s legal system somehow
pose an ideological threat to the American tradition.
John Thomasson, a high school freshman from Fairfax
county just outside Washington, DC, represents the younger
wing of the Party. His father is Chief of Staff for Republican
US Congressman Jodey Arrington of Lubbock, Texas.
Hailing from a state that shares a border with Mexico, border
protection and national security are also big issues for John,
but so is maintaining a strong relationship with Israel.
“As a Christian, being friends with the Jewish people, it’s a
very momentous thing and America has always done that, but
I also feel like it has very biblical effects when you make them
your enemy,” he said. John’s father and mother are also Trump
supporters, and having recently moved from Lubbock, Texas,
to Fairfax County, Virginia, he’s noticed his classmates tend
to have more liberal politics, like their parents. “I like Trump, I
believe in what he’s doing,” he said. “I think that he likes to put
up a front as a dumb, irrational man, but he’s a very smart guy.
He knew how to work the election – the entire thing ended up
being centred around Donald Trump.”
While those attending Trump’s inauguration were mostly
white, that is by no means the entirety of President Trump’s
following. A few faces stood out in the crowd who represented
the true diversity of America.
Bobby Cunningham, a deputy commissioner for the State
of Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, said
he originally supported Jeb Bush for president and he’s still
“heartbroken” over the candidate’s loss. Still, Bobby said he
rallied around Trump when the Republican Party selected
him as the nominee. However, there was still some reservation
in his voice as he emphasised the importance of checks
and balances in the US government. “There’s only so much
Spring 2017
41

Dispatches
Trump’s America
a president can do,” he said. “We have the greatest
government in the world – there’s no one mindset
that can overthrow everything we worked so hard to
establish in this democracy.”
Cherokee Hill, a woman whose first name befits her
heritage, is from Union City, Georgia, outside of Atlanta,
and she’s been a Republican all her life. “I’m here
today wearing my colours of red for love and white
for purity and protection, symbolising a covering
over him in prayer and in good blessings for him and
his family,” she said. “I look to the person, I look into
the heart of the individual and that’s where I get my
direction, firstly from God, and to the heart of the
person that’s running.”
A smaller group attended in protest and out of
sheer curiosity. “The white giant has spoken up and
now we have to respond to that,” Lana Leonard said.
Lana and her friend Alex Nichols, both in their early
20s, came from New Jersey to protest the inauguration.
Sitting against a tree behind the crowd, Lana
carefully penned the words ‘Not My President’ on a
poster board. Unlike the others in attendance, who
were mostly calm and content, she was visibly tense.
“I’ve never seen so many Trump supporters in one
place and it’s nerve-wracking. As a member of the
LGBT community, it’s frightening,” she said. “There just
seems to be a lack of depth and thought about what’s
going on, about Trump’s policies.”
Amy Powell, an artist from Ohio, was in Washington,
DC visiting friends when she offered to take somebody’s
picture. Powell ended up befriending the individual,
a Trump supporter, who gave her a ticket to
attend the inauguration ceremony. “I was very honest
with him and told him that I did not vote for Trump,
but I’m here, taking pictures and taking it all in,” she
said. “It’s crazy because my experience with Trump
supporters was that they’re usually very friendly and
very nice, and it’s really confusing to me how they
could vote for this guy.”
Powell said she was particularly surprised at the
women who support Trump, given his remarks that
include grabbing women “by the pussy” and his conservative
stance on restricting government
funding for Planned Parenthood,
a non-profit organisation that provides
reproductive health care and abortion
services. “I do truly believe that Trump
supporters really believe that he is going
to make the country a better place,” Amy
said. “I think that they’re wrong, but I
don’t consider them my enemies, I just
think that we’re going in the wrong direction
and we’re going to hopefully turn this
around in four years.”
The division between supporters and
non-supporters became ever more apparent
to us at Union Station. Trump supporters, often
donning their signature ‘Make America Great Again’
hats, returned to board trains, buses and shuttles. A few
dozen protesters stood, some wearing costumes, bearing
banners and signs that said, ‘We won’t go back’ and,
‘Love Trumps Hate.’ Trump supporters often stood a safe
distance away, reading the signs and staring, or simply
walking through the scattered crowd. Protesters stared
back, with few words passing between the two groups.
Meanwhile, northwest of Capitol Hill, anti-capitalist
protests erupted, destroying the windows of a
Starbucks and the Bank of America. Agitators hid their
faces behind black bandanas and lit trashcans – and
in one instance an entire limousine – on fire. But most
demonstrators were peaceful, linking arms to face a line
of armed police officers. Some would be arrested, but
the entire day’s events would soon be overshadowed by
one of the largest protest marches in DC’s history: the
Women’s March. This event would galvanise a hailstorm
of protests across the country, and indeed the world,
in response to a string of executive orders issued by
President Trump in the first weeks of his presidency.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer would
later claim that the president’s inauguration ceremony
gathered, “the largest audience to witness an inauguration,
period.” Trump himself would claim that as many
as 1.5 million people attended the event. With the tally
of Women’s March attendees tripling estimates for inauguration
attendance, it was the first time the new White
House would be less than truthful, but not the last.
Planned Parenthood
Abortion accounts for
just 3% of the organisation’s
services, which include
STI testing, cancer
screening, birth control,
and education services.
Despite abortion having
been legal in the US
since 1973, federal law
forbids any federal funds
from being used to
provide abortions.
42 Issue Three

STUDIO183
B E R L I N
STUDIO183
Brunnenstr. 183
10119 Berlin
STUDIO183 @BIKINI Berlin
Budapester Str. 46
10787 Berlin
www.studio183.co
Spring 2017
43

Queen in Kitten Heels
Cher Nobyl
When was the last time a German person
shouted at you? German people don’t
shout at me, they whisper.
When was the last time you stayed up past
sunrise? 26th April 1986.
What was the last great place you visited?
Hasenheide Park, the gay cruising area. I
ended up there by mistake, imagine.
Where did you buy your last costume
from? Buy? What am I, rich?
When was the last time you were heckled
on stage? It happens quite often, but I
am not necessarily against it. “Let them
talk,” is also among my famous quotes. Of
course, the aggression I do not encourage.
When was the last time you stole something?
I guess now, stealing a smile once
you read this.
THE LAST WORD:
CHER NOBYL
What was the last thing you dreamed?
That fist-fight with Helena Bonham
Carter. Oh, and Hillary Clinton was selling
expensive wigs to a cheering crowd.
What was the last pair of shoes you
bought? Spain, summer 2015. Leopard
print heels.
ower-dressing career woman,
social commentator, celibate. Cher
Nobyl’s magnetic beauty and strident
attitude make her the perfect host of
the post-nuclear chat show, Wednesdays
with Cher Nobyl that she’s brought to the
Berlin stage. Now she’s poised to become
Berlin’s newest and best-dressed agony
aunt, drawing in crowds with her intimate
style of humour.
When was the last time you had a fist-fight?
Last night, actually. Me and Helena Bonham
Carter were fist-fighting in Fight Club.
She obviously won and then I woke up.
When was the last time you were scared?
New Year’s, from all of the damn fireworks.
When was the last time you broke the law?
I break the law very often, that is, the law
of attraction. For example, I engage in a
discussion with positive feelings and end
up with a negative outcome. Something
gets lost in the middle and I don’t know
exactly what.
If you could choose your last words, what
would they be? “Traditions will remain.”
It’s already a famous Cher Nobyl quote.
When was the last time you laughed so
hard you cried? I wouldn’t. Tears would
destroy my make up.
Who was the last person to ask you on
a date? I don’t date. I am engaged to
my career.
What was the last great piece of advice
you gave to someone? “Treat the others
as you expect to be treated.” This and:
“Stop the anger.”
When was the last time you spoke German?
Right now, oh wait this interview is in English.
What was the last drag show you attended
as an audience member? Get Fucked with
Olympia Bukkakis at Café Engels.
When was the last time you went to the
west of Berlin? Last week I went for a
currywurst with Ruslana Maidanova.
Who was the last person you told you loved?
You. I love you, LOLA. Great interview.
When was the last time you told someone
off on the U-Bahn? I don’t have time for that.
I’m too busy watching out for controllers.
When was the last time you said ‘I love
you’? Can’t believe you forgot already.
When was the last time you were asked
a difficult question? Well, let me think
about this...
Follow Cher to find out about her next
events at facebook.com/chernobylberlin
LAST ORDERS
The Bee’s Knees
Add half a tablespoon of honey to a
shaker, followed by a good dash of hot
water. Stir to make a syrup, then add the
juice of half a fresh lemon and a shot of
gin. Add ice, shake, and strain into a glass.
THIS ISSUE WAS
POWERED BY…
The letter B, Korean food, puns, late
nights, epic email threads, Maggie’s bake,
Orange Juice, bad language, Singin’ in
the Rain, çiğ köfte and the final seconds.
44 Issue Three

I ALWAYS WANTED TO MOVE FROM
REYKJAVÍK TO
BERLIN
AND SO WHEN I FOUND THE
CREATIVE MUSICIANSHIP COURSE
AT BIMM BERLIN IT GAVE ME THE
REASON I WAS LOOKING FOR.
I LOVE THE PEOPLE THAT I MEET
AND GET TAUGHT BY AT BIMM.
THEY ALL WORK
WITHIN THE
MUSIC INDUSTRY
AND HELP ME
TO GROW
CREATIVELY.
‘‘
ÁSDÍS VIÐARSDÓTTIR
REYKJAVÍK, ICELAND
EUROPE’S
MOST CONNECTED
MUSIC COLLEGE
BIMM.CO.UK/BERLIN
Spring 2017
45