Remember remember, the 9th of November

It was the 9th of November 1989 , when Günter Schabowski, member of the central committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, (“SED”) unintentionally set motion to something, that is widely referred to as the reunification of Germany, when he announced at a press conference, that travelling from and to the hermetically sealed state will be possible without any restrictions. “Effective immediately, as far as I know” he stammered, answering a journalists question about the scheduling. Nobody in the room believed what the grey man just said. It seemed, not even Schabowski himself. Flipping his sheet of paper helplessly, reading the text again, mumbling it aloud, just to confirm. But it was too late. It was out there. The population raised massive expectations that day, forcing the Berlin Wall to be teared down by nighttime. The rest of the country followed soon after on october 3rd 1990.

Tomorrow, it is the 25th anniversary of that day. It is not a proper bank holiday like october 3, but the big 25 and the fact that, although many factors have led to this event beforehand, November 9 was key, thanks to the (lack of) improvisational skills of Herr Schabowski, makes it special.

While unification is celebrated in Berlin, a little less than 1.500km to the south, Catalunya and his capital Barcelona are in the midst of what they like to call a referendum to vote for the independence of Catalunya from Spain. "Ara és l'hora" is displayed on banners, t-shirts and hand-outs all over the city - "Now is the time". The only flaw being, that it is not going to be an actual referendum, since the spanish federal government already pulled the plug and declared the referendum as against the constitution and therefore illegal. So the catalans are left with not more than a public opinion poll, which they are still going to perform with all their passion. They chose 11/9 mirroring 9/11, since this is the most important catalan memorial day, the “Diada”. It commemorates the defeat of Catalonia during the War of the Spanish Succession in 1714.

The stories of those cities couldn’t be more diverse. Still, as somebody who considers Berlin his home and is living in Barcelona, there is some subtle irony surrounding November 9, combining the strive to separation and the strive to unification. Nevertheless, they do have a major point in common: The struggle for independence.

Günter Schabowski and his 15 Minutes of fame, for everybody mastering the german language

LICHTGRENZE - Illuminated balloons along the trails of the Wall for the 25-year festivities

Post by Fall of the Wall.

Rollergirls

As summer passed in its unique lightspeed, the 2014 edition made quite an impact. After returning from our hometown Berlin, where we spent july, we jumped into our second year in Barcelona. Not less than everything has changed and I love how the perception of the language and the general feel of living here becomes more and more of an intense experience.

A little late, but I feel obligated to celebrate the first reunion of Homo & Schlomo on spanish soil this past august. Thanks for visiting, it was more than a pleasure! X

Novi Novog - Philips Glasses

I had a little melancholic Koyaanisqatsi-moment there. Especially after finding out that the song that accompanies this clip is called Philips Glasses, a hommage to the man who filled oh so many movies and peoples lifes with his soul.

Check out some beauty in automation, backed by Novi Novog on the piano.

Released on the collection Solos (FWM 53).

Just for the old times sake...

Koyaanisqatsi, 1982

Bluebird – Oneself (DJ Vadim & Yarah Bravo)

Let’s admit it – deep down inside, we’re all secretly wishing we were back in the 90’s. Back with the obnoxious ‘fros, the neon sneakers, the boom box shouldering, the hip hop bling peppering the streets along with yousawthatright shoulder pads and MTV.

Yarah Bravo’s voice is quirky and soulful. The guitar riffs sound like commas and full stops to her swaggin’ voice, and the beat reminds you of a long forgotten alarm clock, waking you up into the 90’s after a long dream of modernity. I’ve decided to include the video clip this time – because it shows us perfectly what “Bluebird” is meant to represent: chillin’ at the beach with a spliff and some good beats on a boombox. Hell yeah. #ohnoyoudidn’t

The Takeoff

Shooting star Rampue was played by everyone and their mother this year, and has shown off his thang for mixing “ear worms” - as the Germans would say.“The Takeoff” by David Hasert & Matteo Luis, mixed by Rampue, is one of those tracks. That's right - one of those tracks.Press play and get your patience swag on - concentrate on the build up and you're transformed into a tiny speck of colour in a jittery laser light show on a galaxy of stars backdrop – it’s that dramatic. Picture yourself floating around in space amidst comets, shooting stars (and let's throw in some northern lights too, why not)…until oh, look, what's this? Suddenly there's a ghostly  male choir serenading you from the background. The beat builds and cascades to a cliffhanger – before finally breaking into the kind of deep house wave you wish you could hear at your favorite festival with your favourite people around you.This track is emotional and progressive, tragic and hopeful all at the same time. The jitters combined with deep vocals create a sense of expectation that can easily be mistaken for something that feels like hope for the future - while grieving for a past you've finally overcome.P.S. The music video follows a guy walking through Istanbul. As if the music weren't enough.