Explore Berlin’s Past & Present through Music

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The Deezer Music Tours, the new project from the streaming service Deezer, is definitely right up our alley! Experiencing a guided audio tour of the city with the right soundtrack in your ear sounds like a great idea to start with! They’ve asked unique personalities from the music industry – Marcus Staiger, DJ Westbam, und Bela B –  to share their first-hand insights on Berlin’s recent history and combined those with iconic songs that take you right back in time. Nothing left to do but hop on a Deezer nextbike and listen to three awesome audio guides that will give you musical trivia no Berliner should miss – and all of that completely for free!

After our History Phone series and articles such as this one about David Bowie or this one about Nick Cave, it comes as no surprise that we are all about supporting projects celebrating Berlin’s cultural and specifically musical legacy. The audio guides from Deezer are a great way to learn more about your city – both past and present!

Not only will you get to know all of the behind the scenes anecdotes from the time that shaped Berlin into the insane Hauptstadt we love, but also you’ll learn your way around the Kiez as the routes are best traversed by bike – and no worries if yours just got stolen! You can rent out the Deezer nextbike. And as a Deezer Premium+ user, you’ll get 30 minutes of your ride for free every time you rent it.

 

Techno Tour

It’s a must for all the ravers out there – Berlin’s a techno mecca and this tour traces this status back to its very beginnings – the fall of the Berlin Wall. This ground-breaking event provided the party people with more space than they could ever hope for – so clubs channeling raw energy of a rebellious generation sprang out one after another.

The Deezer Techno Tour takes you back to the dawn of an age that continues up to this day. Once and for all, DJ Westbam himself demystifies all the urban legends and gives you the real story of Tresor, E-Werk, and Berghain. It starts at the Brandenburger Gate – the location of the first Love Parades – and then takes you on a techno joyride through Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain.

 

Hip Hop Tour

Berlin (mostly Kreuzberg, to be precise) is brimming with hip hop references and the Deezer Hip Hop Tour makes you aware of all of them. Starting in Kreuzberg at the Downstairs shop and leading to the Overkill shop at Schlesi, you’ll catch sight of all the most prominent hangout spots in the hip-hop community, like the Royal Bunker, Soultrade Recordstore, Flying Steps Academy, or Bagdads Backwaren.

You’ll also find all about the most ferocious hip-hop battles and the favorite locations among the local sprayers and breakers. The insider information from the music journalist and author Marcus Staiger, who’s fostered the Berlin hip-hop scene back in the early 2000s, is intertwined with songs like ”Schwarz zu blau” by Peter Fox or ”Mein Block” by Sido.

 

The 80s Tour

I almost wish that this Deezer 80s Tour existed when I first came to Berlin! It features the one and only Bela B. from Die Ärzte talking about all the figures in Berlin’s recent past that I hold so dear: Iggy, David, Nick, Romy Haag… I had to piece up this wonderful story bit by bit from various different sources, but you can just tune in for a detailed account of a decade that just might have been Berlin’s most magical.

Revisiting all the inconspicuous places that have over time attained a cult status, like Chez Romy Haag, David Bowie’s apartment, or Hansa Studios, this audio guide is a portal into the troubled times of a divided city, a melting pot of extremely prolific experimental artists, and most notably, truly revolutionary music. That’s why you’ll hear tracks like Einstürzende Neubauten’s ”Ich Gehe Jetzt”, ”Kaltes Klares Wasser!” by Malaria, or ”The Passenger” from Iggy Pop.

 

Final note: the audio guides are for now only available in German, but look at the bright side: you can step up your Fremdsprachen game at the same time!

We encourage you though to make stops as you proceed to listen to the audio guide. Drive safely and enjoy the tours!

Diesen Artikel auf deutsch lesen.

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

Michalina

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