The Abstraction of Pop by Aérea Negrot

The question is not, what is Aérea Negrot doing, it’s more: What is she NOT doing? The Venezuelan-born, Berlin-based artistic all-rounder works in every art form that comes to mind: She sings, performs, produces, DJs… She became internationally known for her collaboration with the dance floor superpower of “Hercules and Love Affair”, but only referencing this stage of career would limit her art. Her eclecticism jumps from pure energy behind the decks, over a love for experimental productions, to a voice filling a concert hall with every tone from a high falsetto to a roaring baritone. We still remember her mesmerizing avant-garde performance at Volksbühne. Before she’s spinning our 10 Year Anniversary event this Saturday, we met up with the Queen of Versatility and talked about dirty club corners, drunk aunts, and her exciting upcoming projects.

We celebrate 10 years of I HEART BERLIN. So first things first: Why do you heart Berlin?

Because she makes me feel free… I can wear ugly shoes and still be on a guest list, because people talk to each other on the same level, because music is the only rule… And then you are in someone’s house partying on a Tuesday and the week is just getting started. You can be in the dirtiest corner of a club and have super interesting conversations… Everybody is a nobody because having fun is not a luxury.

Berlin is full of expats from all over the world. Let us imagine that moment when Aérea was like: “Ok, mir scheiß egal, I’m gonna move to Berlin!”

Actually, it was the other way around: Berlin trapped me… “Scheiß egal, du bleibst”. I came to Berlin to study music but I obviously had to learn German. In a matter of time I found myself just living here, without explanations. I always say: Berlin is like your own family… You don’t necessarily like it at times, but you love it. Even if your aunt gets super drunk at a wedding and takes off her shoes to start dancing on a table. It has been 14 years of “family” training. Now, I am finally embracing the city just as it is.

photos: BPitch Control

Everyone wants to become a DJ these days. When did you decide to go behind the decks yourself?

I had been touring already for years and fully dedicated myself to performance… but once I got an invitation from Brian (R.I.P) to play at his party “Pork” in “Ficken3000” I kind of got a taste for “musicalising” …that wasn’t djing though.

It became djing after accepting a challenge I imposed to myself, that being rehearsing and buying music. And a few weeks later it began. If everybody think they can be a DJ, why not? I think anybody with music love and potential has a place in the scene. There are great DJs that don’t produce, there are producers that don’t dj, there are DJs with PARTICULAR taste for music… I guess in the end, being booked as a DJ also requires having a good relationship with the people that book you, respect for the music that you play and the people that dance to it.

You even sing about the absurdity of “Deutsche werden” and it’s been six years since the song got released. How was the ride since your first album “Arabxilla”?

You are right, 6 years since “Deutsche Werden”. I’m still touring on that ride. I have done several collaborations since then and have been working on material ever since, but the time has come to bring out something new. It won’t be just one album. It will be two or even three. Among those collaborations, I worked on remixes for artists like Josh Kaffe and the Subbs, for Mamacita and Shaun J. Wright, as well as Film scores for films like “Fluidø” and “The Whisper of the Jaguar” which are simultaneously part of the Dokumenta film selection. It has been a great way to explore new ways of expression.

Signed to BPitch control, working on your own music, DJ gigs all over the city and beyond, what’s up next for Aérea?

I’m collaborating with the artist Rana Ramadeh for an opera called the “10 Murders of Josephine” in Rotterdam. So, I will be having some proper Berlin Holidays… but before that, I’m finishing pre-masters for the upcoming albums. Do you think I will manage that in three weeks? We will see…

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Don’t miss Aérea’s upcoming DJ sets at our 10th Anniversary on September 2nd, at Buttons on September 17th, at Berliner Ensemble on September 23rd and at Gegen on November 3rd, 2017.

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<a href="https://www.iheartberlin.de/author/andy/" target="_self">Andy</a>

Andy

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