These are some of our favourite recent videos from Berlin artists, and they all represent the endless creativity you can find in collaboration. It’s a wide ranging selection, so take some time to dig in and appreciate the talent and originality on display.
Everything And Everybody ‘Lifequake’ [Sinnbus]
Everything And Everybody’ are a bouncy pop trio, here to bulldoze outdated ideas of gender and have a ton of fun doing it. In their playful video directed by Lydia Leerstelle, they run away with the age-old metaphor of fruit as sex, and remind us just how silly it all is. Once the song is inside your head, it’s impossible to get out.
___________________________________
Hey Jetman ‘The Way I Do’ [independent release]
Hey Jetman produces his own personal brand of 80’s pop, and his newest single sounds alluringly out-of-time. ‘The Way I Do’s pairing of romantic synth-pop and cloudy VHS tape is definitely an effective burst of nostalgia, but it’s the assured songwriting and rich vocals that bring the track home. Visually, director Leoni Voegelin provides a sense of wistful mystery that strikes a delicate balance with the song’s earnest romance.
___________________________________
Albertine Sarges ‘Free Today’ [Moshi Moshi Records]
Albertine Sarges excels at making inventive and exploratory pop songs that don’t quite sound like anyone else, and director Lo Selbo translates this to the screen perfectly. ‘Free Today’ takes us on a journey of liberation. In her energetic and surreal video, Albertine leads us away from dreary everyday life and shows us that all freedom takes is a leap into a lake. The track’s carefree attitude bubbles with natural intelligence and charisma and comes with its own ASMR interlude.
___________________________________
Kala Brisella ‘Working Star’ [Tapete Records]
Post-punk trio Kala Brisella invite you into their warped and absurd vision of working life in ‘Working Star’. Their self-created video is fully collaborative in nature as they all share the spotlight and vocal duties. The funhouse world of the video is full of creativity and charm, and the group’s vibrant enthusiasm proves infectious as they sweep you along towards an anthemic climax.
Elis Frawley ‘Stats’ [Reckless Yes Records]
Eilis Frawley is a solo percussionist and fiercely independent artist, and her new video is a collaboration with Lisbon-based illustrator Velcro. Eilis cuts through the bullshit with her driving mix of spoken word and dynamic percussion, using heart-wrenching statistics to illuminate the inequalities that are forced on women around the world every day. The vivid animation seen in the video adds a new dimension to the track, showing us the depressing everyday nature of these stats with gorgeous style.
___________________________________
Aude Langlois ‘En Transit’ [independent release]
Aude Langlois is a French musician in Berlin making poetic folk. Her newest video, directed by Carlos Vin Lopes, is an ode to existing in limbo, between, “what was and no longer is, what will be but remains unknown.” The song sounds like a long, slow dream that hangs in the air long after it’s finished. The video brings it all to life, capturing Aude in lost moments after a shower, or wandering through a forest, in a dream-like split-screen.
___________________________________
Ellen Allien ‘Walking In The Dark’ [Bpitch]
Ellen Allien has been an innovative figure in Berlin techno for well over two decades, and has earned her reputation as a DJ and producer many times over. Her newest single is aimed straight for your gut; the track is a relentlessly rhythmic slice of atmospheric body music, and it arrives with a video to match from Stini Röhrs. A simple concept with great execution, the bold and captivating footage expands on the track’s tech-noir atmosphere and creates a seductive world of its own.
___________________________________
Tricky ‘Fall Please’ [False Idols]
A cultural icon and trip-hop originator, Tricky’s newest release also comes with his latest vocal collaborator, Marta Złakowska, who he discovered while on tour in Croatia. Brooding and elegant with an irresistible beat, ‘Fall Please’ is Tricky in classic form, and the quiet grace of Marta’s vocals are a perfect fit. The collage-like lyrical video, created and animated by Marta Kacprzak, combines animation with hazy video footage to reflect the song’s pensive melancholy.
