There are so many gigs happening in Berlin that it can be a struggle deciding which ones to hit up. Facebook is awash with events, and when everyone is interested in everything, how are you supposed to know what is truly worth your time? Well, let LOLA help you!
We think personal recommendations are the way to go, so we canvassed the team to find out what gig everyone is most looking forward to in June. We think a tip from a team member is a ringing endorsement and reason alone to put a show on your list.
We’ll be updating this list all week with new additions. For starters here are the four gigs that you just gotta be at.
Alex Rennie recommends
Fat White Family
Bi Nuu, June 3rd
The first time I dug into Fat White Family’s murky back catalogue, it completely shook my core. I’d even go as far to say that the South London outfit’s opioid-tinged style is completely at odds with the somewhat sterile indie du jour. That said, their new record ‘Serfs Up!’ is signal of intent, representing a bold move away from the grotty garage they made their name with towards more poppy pastures. I was lucky enough to sit down with two-thirds of the band’s founding members, brothers Lias and Nathan Saoudi, and hear their tales of excess first-hand, as well as discuss this sea change in the act’s outlook. So, if you’re looking for the real deal this summer, their June 3rd show at Kreuzberg’s Bi Nuu is a date for the diary.
Nathan Lova recommends
Okta Logue
Bi Nuu , June 7th
In the room that I stayed in for first two weeks in Berlin, there was a poster showing a carnivalesque happening of ghostly creatures gathered on a forest clearing. The sky has turned violet and some of them are blowing those huge soap bubbles often seen on the streets in the summer. A quick search revealed it was an album cover I was looking at – and that the psychedelic tunes of this German band were even more hypnotic than the picture (which is, in fact, a painting, how cool is that). Six years have passed and Okta Logue have since polished their psych-rock sound in a way that is almost too perfect for my taste, but there’s something deeply soothing in their songs that I can’t help but fall for over and over again. Fans of guitar-laden sound and psychedelic vibes should mark June 7th in their calendars, that’s when Okta Logue will present their fourth album Runway Markings at Kreuzberg’s Bi Nuu.
Jonny Tiernan recommends
Two Door Cinema Club
Lido,June 10
Being from Northern Ireland myself, it’s true that I have a strong bias for anything happening in Berlin that can be related to my home country. In this instance, though, the bias is entirely justified. Two Door Cinema Club are one of Northern Ireland’s greatest exports (after Game of Thrones), and one of the finest indie pop bands of the past decade. I first encountered the band in their earliest days, back when I was running a UK and Ireland magazine called Alternative Ulster. They started when they were incredibly young in the beginning they played with a drum machine instead of a real drummer. From the start it was clear that the band were something special, and they had a knack for writing pure pop gems that saw them quickly outgrow the local scene. The band evolved into a festival headline sensation, playing some of the biggest shows in the business. This makes the fact that they are playing the relatively intimate Lido venue in Kreuzberg even cooler. Add in that it’s a free show (if you’re lucky enough to win tickets) and it’s easily one of the best gigs of the month.
Rob Talin recommends
Nordpath Records Label Night – Halcyon #1
Arkaoda, June 13th
Full disclaimer, I’m one of the people behind Nordpath Records. It’s a new international record label run by myself and four people spread between Berlin, San Francisco, Paris, Rome, Istanbul and NYC. This event is the first night of a series called Halcyon, which means a period of time in the past that was idyllically happy and peaceful. We specialise in live electronic music, and for this line up we are super-pleased that 70% of the lineup is female. Headliner Ah! Kosmos is a musician, composer, producer who works between Berlin and Istanbul. She experiments with found sounds, analogue and electronic composition. Sbrilly Sbratti, Katiusha and Junction To Humanity and Hyper Opal appear as the acts from Nordpath to make it a wicked lineup for Arkaoda.
