Berlin has produced so many musical bigwigs and this city is brimming with secret gems here and there that are trying to find their place in the spotlight. A band you regularly see playing at Mauerpark on Sundays might be the next international breakthrough and your favorite U-Bahn musician might become a global sensation one day. I personally can name at least ten friends who are DJs. They are all working hard to reach the success they wish for and we don’t want to spare the support. This is why we took it upon ourselves to give you the newest and the best music videos from Berlin to save you from those dreary and repetitive playlists.
The Heartways – By Your Side
The Heartways is a Berlin-based band, founded by musician and virtual artist Saskia Hahn. Saskia first made her debut in Berlin during the mid-2000s with her rock, power-pop combo band “Sweet Machine”. Their distinctive style was recognized by Peaches, who took Sweet Machine on tour for two and a half years. After focusing on her visual art on media, painting, screen printing and installations, Hahn came back with a new band “The Heartways” and released “Maybe” and “By Your Side” in 2020.
Magic Island – So Right
Described as “honest pop”, Magic Island’s soundscape is permeated by haunting and unforgettable flavors in a dreamy setting. The artist weaves together unembellished compositions with tangles and twists of her signature weirdness.
Peaches – Pussy Mask
“I’m going to shine a light on a lot of concerns, but also have a good laugh.”
Walking-talking pussies and pussy rebellion, Pussy Mask is definitely a new guilty pleasure released by Peaches. The video clip brings a light onto the current pandemic and all the hassle we had the last one and a half year with the best pussy imagery.
Hyenaz – Perimeter
Perimeter is the latest audio visual work by HYEANZ, featuring performances by Mmakgosi Kgabi, Martini Cherry Furter and Simon(è) Jaikiriuma Paetau. It asks the question “What does it feel like to understand oneself as “just outside” and yet also “just barely inside”? What is the feeling of just barely belonging? Both inside and outside? What is it like to be “foreign” to a place which is familiar? What is foreign inside?
Novaa – She’s a Rose
Novaa’s sound is blending electronic pop with orchestral grandeur and they describe their music as “organic electronic”. While definitely a product of contemporary electronic production, the songs radiate a human warmth, also reflected in Novaa’s writing; “Human nature is infinitely strange and alien to me”. And it’s this loving disorientation with which they write about life, love, and everything in between.
VTSS – Goin Nuts
Seen from the angle of a voyeur or someone watching from the edges of the crowd, ‘Goin Nuts’ follows a growing tension around the act of being observed in the brutalist landscape and architecture of Berlin, an everyday reality of the city’s queer and POC communities. Self-representation of the queer and POC communities in Berlin is reflected in a very familiar way on the make-up and fashion.
Floss – Laser
Originally a fashion geek, FLOSS picked up the mic and got into a music studio after she was told she should be a performer. Already giving interviews on GALA, Kaltblut and Stern, FLOSS is giving us positive POP vibes with her album Floss Like A Boss. Her inspirations range from Katy Perry, Eurythmics and Gwen Stefani to Madonna, Peaches and Robyn.
Tóke – The Sun Has Died
Berlin-based Indonesian soul-pop singer-songwriter TÓKE is giving us an authentic and strong commentary on our current social climate with his catchy melody. He says: “This song is inspired by the story of a close friend, who had to flee home to start a new life in a completely new environment. I want to contribute to changing the narrative around the notion of flight by tapping into the psychological and emotional landscape of an individual who flees from home. These human beings are often solely seen as a number or a part of one homogeneous group that is ‘the refugees’. Many don’t understand the fundamental reality that we’re talking about individuals with an individual life story, with individual emotions, with individual perspectives. We need to change that.”
Elninodiablo – Dorothea’s Nightmare
Elninidiablo’s sound is conceptual and experimental, fusing organic sounds, field recordings, live instrumentation with synths and drum machines. Converging his club and DJing background with meditation techniques, the result is a diverse range – from pieces evoking the vastness of deserts, or the lushness of tropical jungles to tracks that explore emotional landscapes and dream states.
Jon Campbell – Metropolitan
Jon Campbell is an American-born and Berlin-based singer and painter. His latest release Metropolitan is a song about memory and time, and their preservation through art. The music video was partly shot in Berlin and Rome.
