The Pop-Kultur programme is complete! Get ready for a total of 120 concerts, commissioned works, DJ sets, talks, panels, readings and films – from the 24th-26th at the Kulturbrauerei. Also, the timetable has been released! Find out here who’s playing when and where and buy then a ticket in our shop!
Newly added to the lineup: US rapper GoldLink. »Pure rap bores me,« says the 29-year-old who mixes street sounds with dubstep, the sensibility of go-go with the African diaspora, his fascination with Edgar Allen Poe and poetry with spoken word. One of Africa’s best-known female rappers is MC Yallah: the Kenya-born, Uganda resident mixes futuristic conscious rap, grime, punk and trap to get dance floors all over the world moving – including ours. Among other freshly confirmed acts are old Pop-Kultur acquaintances like the RambaZamba Theater house band 21 downbeat, who pay homage to 1920s Berlin with theatre, music and dance at full throttle with their commissioned work.
Berlin on stage and Berlin as a stage – for Dr. Klaus Lederer, Senator for Culture and Europe in Berlin, Pop-Kultur has a firm place in the capital, both culturally and politically. He emphasises: »Berlin embodies pop culture. To make it sure stays like this, we need collective experiences as well as key Berlin venues for both local and international audiences. Once again in 2022, Pop-Kultur will show how creative, inclusive and diverse the collective pop-cultural experience can be – I have no doubt that the inspiring concerts, talks and commissioned works will leave a lasting impression.«
Also announced are all sorts of talks and panel discussions. Programming team member Christian Morin, who selected FOKN Bois, Dlina Volny and Arooj Aftab, knows how important it is to make room for discourse at the festival: »Lots of new ideas get discussed at Pop-Kultur, later becoming conversations in greater society and catalysing changes. This is something we want to provide this framework for development as openly, presenting our audience with exciting debates to prompt further thought.«
You can also put on your thinking cap for the talk »A Record Label (What is it good for?)« with Marc Hollander, the successful Belgian producer and lead singer of the band Aksak Maboul, Musikerin Mary Ocher and Sydney Christensen of the record label Kill Rock Stars. »Rosa Extra, Schmuggel, Stasi & Verrat«, on the other hand, uncovers an incredible chapter from the punk scene in East Germany, now being turned into for a Netflix series.
Sometimes the best of intentions aren’t good enough: this is the message of two talks on participation and representation of people with disabilities in cultural projects, curated by the rapper Graf Fidi from Pop-Kultur’s diversity management team. The panel »Bitte mehr DisCo!« (»More DisCo, please!« – that’s short for Disabled Community) brings together curator, dramaturge and cultural consultant Noa Winter (Making a Difference), Lilo Unger from legendary Berlin club SO36 and Lisette Reuter from the networking initiative Un:Label, hosted by blind music journalist Amy Zayed. The musician Sookee, who made her name as a queer-feminist rapper, will take on the phenomenon of inspiration exploitation – the objectification of disabled people through exaggerated admiration – along with the experts Adina Hermann, Dennis Sonne and Rebecca Maskos in the talk »Nicht deine Inspiration!« (»Not Your Inspiration!«).
Two more Commissioned Works complete the Pop-Kultur programme. Avant-garde artist Colin Self will combine dance, music and choreography with digital art. Their work is a choral production that includes deaf performers and members of the audience in addition to the singers. Meanwhile, sign poet Mila Hergert‘s commissioned work shows how we can enter into a new relationship with the five senses: more inclusive, more holistic. Mila Hergert will enter into a performative dialogue on the topic of social media with her digital self on the cinema screen. In a talk to follow, she will ask, »How Does Art Taste, or: How Does Music Smell?«.
Once again in 2022, Musicboard’s residency programme and the Goethe Talents initiative will showcase their efforts in the international networking of musical talents, live and in person, as part of Pop-Kultur. Musicboard’s residency programme enables Berlin pop acts to work in Germany and abroad – and vice versa, with international musicians visiting Berlin. As part of the Accra-Berlin residency, Poetra Asantewa and Oihane Roach will present their work at Pop-Kultur, the Detroit Bureau of Sound and Gigsta will be on site as part of the Detroit-Berlin residency, and Jenny Penkin and Ofiri & Maura will represent this year’s Tel Aviv-Berlin connection.
»Once again for the 7th edition of Goethe Talents, ten musicians aged between 20 and 30 will receive a scholarship. For twelve days, the selected talents will swap homes in the Global South, the Middle East and (Central) Asia with the capital city of Berlin. Their programme includes studio visits, jam sessions, brief internships and the opportunity to present their music in selected clubs in the city and at Pop-Kultur. Nadine Moser, who coordinates Goethe Talents, sees the programme as both an opportunity and an enrichment: “Some of the Goethe Talents are in Berlin for the first time, some for the first time in Europe. This is greatly exciting for the talents, the staff of the Goethe-Institut and the entire Pop-Kultur team. We are very happy that we can offer these young musicians – who come from places such as Mongolia, Mexico, Ghana, Cuba, Nigeria and Georgia – such a unique programme. They can make music together, network with the local music institutions and hopefully take lot of inspiration back with them, perhaps flowing into their respective local scenes.«
We’re looking forward to seeing you there for three inspiring days!
Here the whole programme:
Concerts & DJ Sets:
Aili / Aksak Maboul / Alewya / alyona alyona / Amewu / Amilli / Anna B Savage / ANIQO / Anthony Hüseyin / Arooj Aftab / Booty Carrell / Cartel Madras / CATNAPP / Christin Nichols / David Julian Kirchner / Detroit Bureau of Sound und Gigsta (Detroit-Berlin-Residency) / Dlina Volny / DJ Femalemacho / Donia Touglo / eat-girls / Ebow / Edward Hunt / Falana / Fehler Kuti / FOKN Bois / Francisco Parisi / Franky Gogo / Friends of Gas / Fuffifufzich / Gianni Mae / Girlwoman / GoldLink / Grace Cummings / Graf Fidi / Hannah Catherine Jones / Hannah Diamond / houaïda / HSRS / Hyd / Ifriqiyya Electrique / Isolation Berlin / Ja, Panik / Jenny Penkin & Maura & Ofiri (Tel Aviv-Berlin Residency) / Jumoke Adeyanju / Kælan Mikla / KABEAUSHÉ / L Twills / Lafawndah / LEOPARD / Levin Goes Lightly / Liam Mour / Liz / Lotic / M.anifest / MC Yallah & Debmaster / May The Muse / Metz / Nuha Ruby Ra / Oklou / Oihane Roach & Poetra Asantewa (Accra-Berlin Residency) / Precious Moments DJ-Team / Prince M.I.K. / Public Display of Affection / Rose May Alaba / SALOMEA / Schulverweis / Scúru Fitchádu / Sherryaeri / Sign Libra / Taffee / Tama Gucci / Thala / Theodora / thundy86 / Uffie / Vaovao / Verifiziert / Wa22ermann / Warm Graves / Xenia Rubinos / Zaho de Sagazan / Σtella
Commissioned Works:
21 downbeat: »Berlin« / Anika presents »Lost Voices« / BĘÃTFÓØT feat. Kunty Klub / Colin Self: »Songs of Attunement« / gal sherizly & Như Huỳnh: »Karaokee Xpress« / GEWALT: »Du bist Gewalt« / Güner Künier: »Papa Don*t Kill« / Joanna Gemma Auguri: »Music for a Private Room Where a Broken Heart Can Beat at Its Own Pace« / Jovanka v. Wilsdorf & Bison Rouge »Found in Translation« / K.ZIA: »K.ZIA’s Living Room Experience« / Little Annie, Beth B & Paul Wallfisch: »52 Jokers« / Mila Hergert: »Schnauze voll« / R&D: »Doing–Undoing« / Sanni Est: »Photophobia« / Sean Nicholas Savage: »The Fear« / Yum Yum Club: »Yum Yum Club is Everybody«
Talks, reading and Films:
»A Record Label (What is it good for?)«: Marc Hollander, Mary Ocher, Sydney Christensen, Mod.: Ariana Zustra / »About Writing II«: JJ Weihl, Nuha Ruby Ra, Mod.: Aida Baghernejad» / »Artists Off the Mainstream«: M.anifest, Poetra Asantewa, M3NSA & Wanlov the Kubolor, Mod.: Okhiogbe Omonblanks Omonhinmin / »Aşk, Mark ve Ölüm | Liebe, D‑Mark und Tod« (Film)/ »Aşk, Mark ve Ölüm«: Cem Kaya, Shermin Langhoff, Mod.: Gürsoy Doğtaş / »Bitte mehr DisCo!«: Lilo Unger, Lisette Reuter, Noa Winter, Mod.: Amy Zayed / »DOCH«: Drangsal (Reading) / »Ethik der Appropriation«: Jens Balzer, Julian Warner, Mod.: Aida Baghernejad / »Hey QT – a Talk About Performance, Art and Cultural Institutions Within Cute Pop Culture«: Colin Self, Hayden Dunham, Tama Gucci, Mod.: Isabel Parkes / »I Have Seen The Future – Talk über Klima und Pop«: Julian Vogels, Kat Frankie, Nene Opoku, Mod.: Ceren Türkmen / »I’ll Be Fine: Talk über Popkultur, DRUCK und Gen Z«: Eren M. Güvercin, Naomi Bechert, Nhung Hoang, Mod.: Raquel Kishori Dukpa / »Musicians in Exile – Different Perspectives«: Aeham Ahmad, DJ Jeff, Zyrianova Odarka, Mod.: Gianni Main & Pamela Owusu-Brenyah / »Off the Record« – Podcast von Deutschlandfunk Kultur: Vero Schreiegg (Mod.) / »Pop-Festivals: Welche Gesellschaft soll das abbilden?« – Panel von Deutschlandfunk Kultur: Graf Fidi, Jana Posth, Misla Tesfamariam, Mod.: Christoph Reimann & Juliane Reil / »Power to the Artists: Non Fungible Token (NFT)«: Anika Meier, Carmelo Lo Porto, Jovanka von Wilsdorf, Mod.: Tristan Littlejohn / »New Weird Postost – Alliances, Differences and the Decolonisation of the ›East‹«: Anastasia Tikhomirova, Mariia Vorotilina, Mod.: Julia Boxler / »Nicht deine Inspiration«: Adina Hermann, Dennis Sonne, Rebecca Maskos, Mod.: Sookee / »Rosa Extra, Schmuggel, Stasi & Verrat«: Andrea Berwing, Bernd Jestram, Mod.: Paul Poet / »Where does the party go?«: Uffie, Mod.: Sonja Eismann / »Wie schmeckt Kunst? oder: Wie riecht Musik?«: Katharina Tress, Mats Küssner, Mila Hergert, Sara Lu / »Yeni Yeşerenler«: Duygu Ağal, Mod.: Annett Scheffel (Reading)