music magazine & concert calendar

number twomarch 2016

free

Mehr infos über “Die letzte Metro” findet ihr auf Bandcamp & Facebook.

You’re reading the second issue of The Chop. Sleeker. More refined. With finesse, allure, and a degree of profes-sionality that makes The New Yorker look like some ragtag piece of smut. Sure we sold cheep booze at a house party to pay for this issue, but the final product? Caviar.

And as you sit there in your dim-lit den sipping cognac, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “Is such a cultivated aesthetic really congruous with helping the independent music community? Wouldn’t the money be better spent on content rather than printing with paper made from endan-gered rhinoceros horns? Wasn’t the first two-thirds of the previous editorial also a joke?”

The Chop is free. It’s not made out of rhinoceros. It tells you about all the happenings in this month’s music scene. We have two featured bands who tour together, an article on one of Berlin’s quintessential rock venues, and our guest article this week is all about reading. So read the shit out of this free newspaper and support your local music scene.

Thugs and Kisses,

Ryan Rosell

Hallo Yves, erzähl mal, was ist “Die letzte Metro”?

Olivier und ich haben dieses Projekt 2014 als Sendung bzw. Podcast für das Webradio Gramofon FM erdacht. Die Idee ist, verschiedene Konzerte in Berlin aufzunehmen. Das kombinieren wir mit selbstorganisierten Events im Urban Spree in Friedrichshain..

Wie oft macht ihr dort Konzerte?

Unregelmäßig, aber wenn viel los ist, ver-anstalten wir jeden Donnerstag ein Konz-ert. Der Deal ist so: Wir bieten der Band an, drei Tage dort aufzunehmen und

wir behalten die Einnahmen der Show. Es ist besonders für kleine Bands einegute Gelegenheit, einen Auftritt und dazu eine Aufnahme zu bekommen.

Wie viele Aufnahmen habt ihr bis jetzt gemacht?

Auf unserer Bandcamp-Seite ha-ben wir eine Auswahl von 17 Aufnahmen und einem Sampler.

Hast du ein paar Favoriten?

Ja, klar! Zum Beispiel Les Aspirateurs, eine französische Rockabilly-Band aus Braunschweig. Außerdem kann ich The Intelligence und Cavern of Antimatter, eine lokale Krautrockband, sehr empfehlen.

The Chop Team –

Amande DagodAndrew Clark

Barry CliffeCrunkle Scran

Johanna BenderLuise Vörkel

Martin DziallasRyan Rosell

Sophie AtkinsonTherese Koppe

Yannis Trouinard–

The Chop Issue #2March 2016

Auflage : 750 Stück–

www.thechop.deFB : @thechopmaghello@thechop.de

Interview with “Die letzte Metro” von Yves Fontanille und Olivier Bernet by Yannis Trouinard.

Ihr lest die zweite Ausgabe von The Chop. Glatter. Besser ausgearbeitet. Mit Finesse, Reiz und einem Profes-sionalitätsgrad, der den New Yorker wie eine Boulevardzeitung aussehen lässt. Okay, wir haben günstige Cocktails auf einer Privatparty verkauft um diese Ausgabe finanzieren zu können, aber das Ergebnis? Kaviar! Wenn ihr so in eurer privaten

Hausbibliothek sitzt und bei gedäm-mten Licht an eurem Cognac nippt, weiß ich was ihr denkt: “Was bringt eine solch’ hochwertige Ästhetik der lokalen, unabhängigen Musikszene? Hätte das Geld nicht besser für rich-tigen Inhalt eingesetzt werden sollen, anstatt für den Druck auf Papier aus bedrohtem Rhinozeroshorn? Waren nicht schon 2/3 des ersten Editorials ein Scherz?” The Chop ist umsonst. Das Maga-zin wurde nicht aus Rhinozeroshorn gemacht, es sammelt für euch Neuig-keiten aus der lokalen Musikszene. Wir stellen diesmal zwei Bands vor, die zusammen auf Tour sind, dazu gibt’s einen Artikel über einen der wichtigsten Rockclubs in Berlin, und in unserer Gastkolumne geht es voll und ganz ums Lesen. Nehmt alles mit aus The Chop, was ihr könnt, und unter-stützt eure lokale Musikszene. XOXOXO Ryan Rosell

Was habt ihr 2016 noch vor?

Wir fangen am 17. März die zweite Konzertreihe des Jahres an, mit Tonia Hardings, einer lokalen Punkband. Wir werden uns auch für eine Förderung beim Musicboard bewerben, weil wir uns in Tonproduk-tion weiterbilden möchten.

Q & A

Want to write, proofread, edit,

take photos, layout, or draw for

The Chop? Send us an email at

hello@thechop.de

EDITORIAL

Cover Photo by Johanna Bender

„Wir haben alle schon immer unseren eigenen Scheiß gemacht, aber irgen-deinen Austausch braucht man.“Gibt’s in euren Bands Platz für ein drittes Instrument?D: Wir hatten das schon, mal einen Syn-thesizer, früher hatte ich mal ein Glock-enspiel. Da kommt immer was hinzu.A: Ich finde, das so ein Effektgerät auch immer stark mitprägt. Ich frag mich immer, „Welcher Effekt wäre jetzt wieder dran?“. Auf der Bühne habe ich so um die 13 Pedale dabei.M: Alex kann damit gut über seinen zweiten Amp den Zufall steuern. Dwarphs könnten sich auch ein drittes Instrument vorstellen, ganz viele sogar, aber wir wol-len in der Zweier-Konstellation bleiben, weil das so spontan und direkt klappt.

Ihr macht zusammen das Flennen-Kollektiv, was passiert da?

M: Denes und ich hatten irgendwann den Plan, zusammen ein Heft über all die Bands in unserem Freundeskre-is und dazu ein Konzert zu machen.D: Jetzt sind wir recht viele. Wir machen auch Sampler und Magazine. M: Es geht bei Flennen eigentlich hauptsächlich darum, gute Konz-erte zu machen. Aber das ist auch nicht so einfach mit den Clubs in Ber-lin. Seitdem das Antje Oeklesund ge-schlossen hat, wo die Organisation ganz entspannt klappte, haben wir noch nichts Vergleichbares gefunden.

Demnächst geht ihr wieder gemein-sam auf Tour. Was schätzt ihr an der Kombination?A: Ich mag so eine gewisse Gespräch-skultur bei uns. Man erfährt immer mehr

über sich selbst und über die anderen, wenn man ge-meinsam unterwegs ist.J: Touring together with Molde is easy, really pleas-ant, a growing experience.M: Wir arbeiten gut zusammen, weil wir uns gut verstehen. Und haben auch immer gute Witze!D: Familienausflug könnte man dazu sagen.

Und was habt ihr dieses Jahr sonst noch so vor?

A: Möglichst viele neue Lieder mit Molde schreiben.D: ..und irgendwann eine Platte.J: Maybe a little split?!M: Dwarphs gehen auf Tour, wir bringen im September auf Mikrokleinstgarten eine Platte raus. Dort haben auch Molde veröffentlicht. Und zum Al-bum gibt’s dann wahrschein-lich auch ein Brettspiel, das war meine Abschlussarbeit.D: Vielleicht können wir ja auch mal bei Flennen eine Platte rausbringen. Kassetten haben wir ja auch schon gemacht.A/M: Ja, das habe ich mir auch schon gedacht.

Molde (Alex and Denes) and Dwarphs (Jan and Martin) have a lot in common. Both projects consist of two people – a guitarist and a drummer. They merge elements from postrock, hardcore and indie rock into highly energetic performances. All of the guys started out in small towns. They’ve shared a lot of stages and - last but not least – Dwarphs and Molde are really good friends.

Zuerst einmal: Was verbindet Dwarphs and Molde?M: Eine sozialistische Prägung, Klein-stadtmusik, und Rock. Das sind für mich so die Wurzeln. Aus einer Gegend zu kommen, wo nicht so viel geht, Bock haben, Musik zu machen, und das dann auch zu machen. Und Freundschaft natürlich. Wir haben alle schon immer unseren eigenen Scheiß gemacht, aber irgendeinen Austausch braucht man.

Wie hat Molde begonnen?A: Denes und ich kommen ungefähr aus der gleichen Ecke, aus dem Elbe-Elster-Kreis. Wir sind mal zusammen nach Norwegen in den Urlaub gefahren und haben dort erstmal nur mit Akustik-gitarre die Band gegründet. Der Ort, in dem wir dort gelandet sind, heißt Molde.D: In Herzberg sind wir dann in den Proberaum und da hat sich das alles intuitiv ergeben. Erst war ich an der Gi-tarre und Alex am Schlagzeug, aber das haben wir schnell gewechselt.

Und wie kam’s zu Dwarphs?M: Jan und ich haben uns in Berlin ken-nengelernt und hatten mit fünf anderen die Idee, eine Supergroup zu gründen. Das war aber ein bisschen stressig – al-lein Probentermine auszumachen. Dann habe ich mit Jan so Rhythmusübungen ausprobiert. Er musste dann für seine Schule eine Prüfung spielen, dafür haben wir in zwei Tagen drei Lieder geschrieben. Und unser erstes richtiges Konzert An-fang 2014 haben wir mit Molde gespielt.

Würdet ihr sagen, ihr habt eine technis-che Herangehensweise?M: Für mich ist das nicht tech-nisch, eher intuitiv. So eine Konver-sation. Ich spiele Rhythmen, die ich mag, die mir in den Kopf kommen.J: The technical aspect of our music comes from playing around with things we find challenging. We find a way to play games with each other. We try things that we can’t initially do and we figure out how we can bring ourselves to do them.

www.moldemol.dewww.dwarphs.de

Playing together on March 27that Marie-Antoinette

MOLDE & DWARPHS

Interview by Luise Vörkel

Illus

trat

ion

by A

ndre

w C

lark

w

ww.

thisi

sand

rewc

lark

.com

MA

RCH

20

16

Mon

day /

Mon

tag

Tue

sday

/ Dien

stag

Wed

nesd

ay / M

ittwo

chTh

ursd

ay /D

onne

rstag

Frid

ay / F

reita

g S

atur

day /

Sam

stag

Sund

ay / S

onnt

ag

01Al

bert

spiel

t Pun

k +

Ente

rtain

men

t for

the

Brain

dead

– M

arie

Anto

inet

te

02

Mrs

John

Sod

a +

Slow

St

eve*

– B

ergh

ain K

antin

e

Kitty

Sol

aris*

+

Man

Beh

ind

Tree

* – S

chok

olad

en

C+C=

Max

igro

ss –

ACUD

Anna

von

Haus

swol

ff +

Nebu

losa

- Be

rgha

in

# Rr

ose

Sélav

y – N

eu B

ar

03

Pret

ty H

urts*

+ C

ult V

alues

* +

Nega

tive

Spac

e – S

chok

olad

en

The

KVB

+ Th

row

Dow

n Bo

nes –

Bi N

uu

04LU

H

- Ber

ghain

Kan

tine

05

The

Anom

alys +

Jet

t Sc

ream

s - B

adeh

aus

!!! +

Sea M

oya –

Lid

o

Mar

ching

Chu

rch,

Ser

aphi

m

Kom

man

do, B

erna

dino

Fe

mm

iniel

li – U

rban

Spr

ee

SVFF

ER*,

Exile

nt, S

ign

Of T

he

Wick

ed* –

Kas

tani

enke

ller

Gud

run

Gut

*, Kh

an o

f Fin

land,

O

FRIN

*, M

asha

Qre

lla*,

Sook

ee* –

“Wie

es b

leibt

, ist

es n

icht”

über

Hein

er M

üller

– H

AU2

06

Locu

st Fu

dge

– Rot

er S

alon

Love

Bur

gers

, Afo

r Gas

hum

, Ta

tsum

i Ryu

sui –

XB

Nova

Hea

rt – B

ergh

ain K

antin

e

# W

ood

& Pl

astic

/ M

usic

gear

su

nday

mar

ket

– Mar

ie An

toin

ette

(2pm

- 7p

m)

07

Petit

e No

ir – B

ergh

ain K

antin

e

Zu, A

rabr

ot, W

horn

s*, Ts

yz

Fyst

* – U

rban

Spr

ee

Bob

Mos

es

– Prin

ce C

harle

s

08Pl

atte

nbau

* + S

kiing

* – M

onar

ch

09

Lons

ki &

Clas

sen*

+ C

ase

Van

Duze

r* +

Mira

nda*

– S

chok

olad

en

Hey E

lbow

– A

CUD

10

Liss

+ d

ePre

sno

+

Tuss

ilago

+ B

laue

Blum

e –

M

usik

& Fr

ieden

Stra

nd C

hild

* + H

ighe

st Se

a*

+ He

art o

f Wol

ves

– Ant

je Ö

klesu

nd

11

Yoga

* + S

fir* +

Shy

* – M

arie

Anto

inet

te

King

Kha

n &

The

Shrin

es

– Col

umbi

a The

ater

Cave

rn o

f Ant

i-Mat

ter*

– Ber

ghain

Kan

tine

Mes

ser ü

ber B

oris

Vian

“Ihr

we

rdet

auf

uns

ere

Grä

ber

spuc

ken”

– Vo

lksbü

hne

12

Ruby

+ H

yäne

Neta

Pol

tura

k – B

ei Ru

th

Bazo

oka –

Bad

ehau

s Szim

pla

Die

Ster

ne +

Chu

ckam

uck*

+

Wut

tke*

– S

tadi

on A

n de

r Al

ten

Förs

tere

i

13Ey

e of

Tim

e, M

ung*

– T

iefgr

und

14

Rada

re +

Toby

Driv

er

+ Ni

ck H

udso

n – Z

ukun

ft am

Ost

kreu

z

The

Holyd

rug

Coup

le

– Sch

okol

aden

15(c

lean

your

room

)16

Colin

Self

+ D

awn

Mok

* – A

CUD

Bats

ch +

Tare

ntat

ec

– Ant

je Ö

klesu

nd

Whit

e Po

ppy +

Toot

h De

cay*

+

Grin

der T

eeth

– H

eimat

hafe

n Ne

uköl

ln

Isher

wood

+ T

ier

– Sch

okol

aden

17

Laet

itia S

adier

+ N

ichol

as

Krgo

vich

– ACU

D

Cam

p Ko

ala +

Um

reti F

it – M

onar

ch

Drift

off +

ACx

DC +

Impl

ore

– Tief

grun

d

# To

mor

row’

s Reli

cs

– Oh!

Calc

utta

18Pr

ince

ss C

entu

ry

+ Pa

scale

Pro

ject

– ACU

D19

Leba

non

Hano

ver

+ Se

lofa

n – S

O36

NYO

S +

The

Antik

aros

hi*

– Sch

okol

aden

20

21Lu

bom

yr M

elnyk

– R

oter

Salo

n22

The

Osc

illatio

n – B

assy

23Tr

icot –

Urb

an S

pree

Rom

ano*

– As

tra24

Aida

n Ba

ker*

+ N

+ D

u Ch

amp*

+ M

alte

Corn

elius

Ja

ntze

n* +

Haa

rp H

yste

ria* +

Sk

rei –

Loo

phol

e

Blac

k Hein

o* +

Fre

scha

rd* +

Ra

ncun

e*

– Pro

jekt K

lunk

erkr

anich

M

agru

derg

rind

+ Pr

imitiv

e M

an +

Ent

rails

Mas

sacr

e – C

assio

peia

25

Hyst

eres

e +

Cath

olic

Gui

lt +

Bad

Futu

re

– Kas

tani

enke

ller

Sean

Der

rick C

oope

r M

arqu

ardt

* + L

inda

* – S

cher

er 8

DuoD

uoDu

o Fe

stiva

l – A

ntje

Ökle

sund

26

DuoD

uoDu

o Fe

stiva

l – A

ntje

Ökle

sund

Dead

Pre

z + R

on N

ox –

Lido

Defe

ater

+ B

reak

Eve

n +

Kids

Insa

ne

– Mus

ik &

Fried

en

27

Pere

Ubu

– V

olks

bühn

e

Mol

de* +

Dwa

rphs

* – M

arie

Anto

inet

te

2829

30

Mas

ha Q

rella

* – B

allha

us B

erlin

Ense

mbl

e Ec

onom

icque

– A

CUD

31

DIIV

– Lid

o Di

e W

irklic

hkeit

+ D

as B

and*

+ N

ullw

ert –

Mar

ie An

toin

ette

Ku

lku* +

DJs

lislb

ar &

wer

mut

h – P

rojek

t Klu

nker

kran

ich

# SU

PERB

OOT

H16,

The

Exh

ibitio

n fo

r Elec

tronic

s & M

usic

– F

unkh

aus B

erlin

(2pm

)

cale

ndar

key

:

* loc

al b

and

# no

n liv

e m

usic

eve

nt b

ut m

usic

rela

ted

(par

ty /

Dj s

et /

mar

ket)

venu

es a

ddre

sses

and

U/S

-Bah

n st

ops

liste

d on

last

pag

e

Negative Space + Pretty Hurts* + Cult Values*March 3rd – Schokoladen

> Little League brings yet another night of excellent punk to Schokoladen along with fledgling Berliner punk label Grave Imprint. Negative Space from England celebrate a second press-ing of their “Demo” cassette and it’s sure to go down well as they reference classic punk bands such as Gang of Four. Support is from the unstop-pable Pretty Hurts whose set is a vi-ciously awesome and rarely longer than 20 minutes punk steamtrain. Cult Values opens things up with their equally formidable post-punk sound.Yoga* + Sfir* + Shy*March 11th –Marie Antoinette

> Last September Cranky Booking in-vited 8 bands along to Antje Öklesund to pay homage to this most beloved of Berlin’s live venues under the banner Cranky Loves Antje. The idea was sim-ple yet ambitious : each band plays four songs and everything would be record-ed live to be released as a one-off tape and a love-letter to the venue itself. It worked out perfectly, with a full house witnessing a truly special night show-casing all that is good about the venue and the thriving live music scene in Ber-lin. The tape in a limited edition sees it’s release via local label Späti Palace with local kids Yoga, Sfir, and Shy pro-viding an excellent lineup of indie and post-punk sounds. There will also be a screening of a short documentary film of the goings on of that night last autumn.

When the storied punk venue SO36 opened on Oranienstrasse, Kreuzberg, in 1978, they put on a two day party to ironically celebrate the building of the Berlin Wall. Iggy and Bowie were there, mingling with the musical and artistic insurrectionists (a young Blixa Bargeld among them) that adopted the venue and soon birthed a nihilistic sound that became known as The Berlin Disease. The infamous artist Martin Kippenberg-er soon took command of SO36, infus-ing it with new wave bands, film, art and performances before the hardcore punk regulars stole his takings and forced him to move on - that was before he made millions and drank himself to death. In ‘82, SO36 hosted Berlin’s first Atonal ex-perimental music festival (running again after a long hiatus), where Einstürzende Neubauten played with the likes of Psy-chic TV, a milieu well-documented in B-Movie: Lust and Sound in West Berlin.

Laetitia Sadier + Nicholas KrgovichMarch 17th – ACUD

Batsch + TarentatecMarch 16th – Antje Öklesund

> Laetitia Sadier pays Berlin another visit and who could tire of this lady. As singer and co-driving force behind the legend-ary Stereolab, her solo albums have continued on that stellar trajectory, not breaking new ground musically, but chal-lenging the listener simultaneously with bolder songwriting. The cosmic sound is still there and you won’t be disappointed by the live show. Don’t miss this one.

> Sadier’s and Krgovich’s backing band, Batsch, as luck would have it, play their Berlin debut the day be-fore at the very lovely Antje Öklesund.

Lubomy MelnykMarch 21st – Roter Salon

> Lubomy Melnyk is a Ukrainian pia-nist and composer who through his development of a technique named “continuous music” has slowly began to earn critical acclaim through album releases on modern classical label Erased Tapes. Although he is 67 years old, Melnyk’s playing is something to behold in a live setting; all high-speed playing and a storm of some of the most beautiful piano music you have ever heard. You probably won’t catch him in such an intimate venue as this again as his reputation begins to grow, so get along and witness something special.

by Barry Cliffe

by Stuart Braun

The Dead Kennedy’s also played SO36 in the ‘80s before anarchist street riots, often sparked from the venue, caused the owners to be evicted. Reopened after the Wall fell, SO36 rekindled its role as sub-cultural trailblazer, welcoming both the techno and the transgender/queer scene alongside the angry punks. The Gayhane parties, happening on the ‘homo-oriental’ dance floor since the late ‘90s, sees Turk-ish and Arabic transgender performers let loose to Arabic and Hebrew beats. Nearly 40 year later, the venue is still wel-coming outsiders and on February 23 threw a “Welcome to Kreuzberg” party for refugees - among the performers were post-rock Syrian band of exiles, Khebez Dawle. On March 28, SO36 will celebrate the launch of the book SO36 – von 1978 bis heute, which graphically tells the near 40-year story of this iconic Berlin institu-tion. Living proof that punk’s not dead

FEATURED SHOWS

Molde - Farbsehen *Dwarphs - If you don’t know, now you know *Cpt. Kirk &. - Bad Saalschlacht $One Last Wish - My Better Half $Pretty Hurts - Hypnagogic Hallucinations *King Khan & the Shrines - Darkness *Yoga - Somnifère *Dawn Mok - Still with You *Lubomyr Melnyk - The Pool of MemoriesRomano - Metalkutte *Batsch - Matilde Vicenzi

Get a listen at: mixcloud.com/TheChopBerlin

NEGLECTED ESSENTIALSSome of the best cuts from bands on this month’s calendar along with some suggested songs by Molde & Dwarphs ($) and local bands (*).

SO36

by Crunkle Scran

Berlin. What a town. “So poor, so sexy” as they say in these parts. This swamp of a city, this Berlin, right smack dab in the center of the 20th century. Poli-tics, war, scandal, kunst, “history.” But hey, that was a century ago, and the way time’s moving these days might as well be two, if not three millennia. This goddamn metropolis, 3+ million strong, stuck with its own past, trying so des-perately to accommodate for what was, now that it’s in what is, currently plagued with kids trying to articulate what will be. These kids in this city, squeakin’ their way down Sonnenallee with fresh white NBs, their black on black on black, dis-appearing in the cough-smog of that shisha joint, reappearing next Tues-day. These futurist kids from the future. Maybe they’re Swedish. Maybe they’re Canadian. Either way you swiped right, and they certainly did not return the fa-vor since they’re too into minimal-house-technoanarcho-futurism to recognize anything that isn’t dressed in black on black on black on NB as a potential mate.This city, these kids; so political, so ni-hilistic, so utopian, so down to party because it’s the end of the world, and denouncing our humanism is the pur-est route through which we can still lay claim to our humanness. Escapism, through and through. So poor. So sexy.

10th March – Fiction Canteen :Focus on Spoken WordAlte Kantine Wedding, Uferstraße – 8-11, 5 €

Malawian born, Zimbabwe raised spo-ken word poet Linda Gabriel will inau-gurate this evening of all things said-out-loud-fiction with a performance of her work which will be followed by a Q&A session. Then, if you’re tough enough to follow such a class act, you’re welcome to present your own work. Sound like fun? Sound like a waking nightmare? What if you stutter! What if you sweat clean through your t-shirt! Haha, re-member when you silently vowed you’d move to Berlin to spend more time fine-tuning your Art? That was a good one.

17th-20th March – Leipzig Book FairMesse-Allee 1, 04356 Leipzigday pass 18.50€ – unlimited ticket 33€

Rumour has it that there’s this other city and it’s kind of close to Berlin. I don’t want to spread unconfirmed informa-tion, but here we are, folks. Also there’s a book fair and it’s kind of a big deal. Fin.

literary recommendations by Sophie Atkinson

Those clubs in this city filled with these kids, ripe with egalitarianism and what some call “dancing”, 7 nights a week. These kids in this city, praising their faceless DJ demigods, disconnected from any true human interaction be-cause we’re currently post-human. Meet me in the darkroom and be sure to wear black; I don’t want to see you and you don’t want to see the DJ (live! wow!) – nobody really wants to see anybody, and nobody really can, since nobody really exists in the club.Sometimes I really can’t stand this city.Sometimes I think - and, heck, this may be crazy - this city needs to shame-lessly shake its ass with all eyes and ears open, focused on a distant fig-ure that captivates, seduces, pushes, and pulls. I don’t want to lose myself in the club, not to all those booms and bips and questionable powders - es-pecially since, let’s be honest, getting in is hard enough. No. I want to find myself. I want to be saved. Saved by a pop star. Saved by the embodiment of the woes of our post-capitalist world. Though many of us (and by “us” I mean the small transnational “community” of overeducated and most likely underem-ployed 20- to 30-somethings who have relocated to Berlin to escape the pros-pect/reality of participating in the violent

system that is contemporary capitalism in order to “take ad-vantage of Berlin’s cheap rent/art scene(!)”, while at the same time only perpetuating the same brand of gentrification that initially drove “us” away from where “we” once were - or in other words most cer-tainly the target demographic of this here newspaper) don’t deny pop from our lives, the faceless-ness of this city’s cultural produc-tion is really quite astonishing.This city needs the egotistical bombast of a hometown hero too big for this fishbowl. This city, these kids, these clubs, need to stop forgetting their problems in the bleak abyss and start projecting them onto a martyr-saint of shameless spectacle. Idolatry, people. Fantasy. Not harsh realism.We still have our bodies. We still have our asses. The fu-ture is in the future, so let’s not rush. It’s 2016, year of the pop-star. There’s nowhere to run to anymore. Let’s stop escaping and start creating. Old models are meant to be reused, after all.

26th March – IndieBookDay 2016

This is indie and therefore abstract and has no exact place or time. Here’s the plan: you go to a bookshop, any book-shop of your choice. Nope, not ama-zon.de. No, not Thalia. A sexy book-shop where the owner looks really tense and on the verge of bankruptcy/a nervous breakdown. You know?*

You turn an attractive looking book over to the reverse to check out the logo. Does it look like a book put together by a small, independent, hopefully semi-progressive publishing house? Buy that bad boy. Slap down a thick wad of cash on the counter. Don’t even ask for change. Goddammit, the woman be-hind the counter probably hasn’t eaten in a few days, she’s in the book racket. Exit. Read. Choke back that ooze of self-satisfaction, you’re not, like, saving lives here. You’re not a brain surgeon or something. But you successfully completed your tiny contribution to-wards making the world a better place.

*On a barely related sidenote, I was recently reading this article on The Awl about a sweet indie bookshop in New York and they actually listed the own-er’s name and you could see him in the picture and everything. He looked like your average hepcat mid-twenty-something, except, like, 100 x tenser, all his limbs at right angles. And then I googled his name for kicks because, Google rabbithole**, and one of the first results was a newspaper article about him getting fined a hundred bucks for contempt of court because he stood up in someone else’s case and screamed something before flouncing out of a courtroom. I feel like running an adorable indie bookstore leads you to this level of highly-strung. There’s something engaging here, right? Something about the discrep-ancy between twee-dream-life career and real-life stress.

** “How can I open my own adorable secondhand bookstore? How did this tiny manchild do it?”

Sophie Atkinson is the founder of the Berlin-based book cult Don’t Tell Your Mother and is also a co-founder of Dad-dy, a humour/culture magazine that will change your entire life as you know it. Stay tuned: www.daddy.land

FEATURED SHOWS

SO36GUESTLIST

STARLESS NIGHTS

photo of the month by Johanna Bender at Babylon Kino, every Saturday at midnight, silent movie accompanied by theater organ > send your show photos to hello@thechop.de

S h o w _ r o _s c o p e

ARIES – A voracious appetite but no tip for the delivery guy? Get all the hangover food you need, but remem-ber to cherish kindness.

TAURUS – Sitting at home wondering ‘where did all the fun songs did go’? Work up the courage for a change of surroundings, you’re worth it.

GEMINI – When passion enters your life at the start of the month, it’s not a case of ‘here today, gone tomorrow’. No need to get clingy!

CANCER – You get the feeling that doomsday’s coming? That’s your conscience telling you to book a trip home for easter.

LEO – This month’s got kind of a long intro but you need it. Soon enough you’ll have all your spirits pulsating to the back beat.

VIRGO – Your drive will reach new highs this month. Take a break now and then, the weather allows for stalk-ing the street till the break of day.

LIBRA – Nostalgia’s heading in your direction. Do any old dance that you wanna do, but keep your shoes in a viable condition.

SCORPIO – You should have never opened that door? Just walk away from that mean bouncer, treat yourself to some indifference.

SAGITTARIUS – Well, yes, memories make us cry sometimes. When you hear the song that unleashes all the emotions, let them find their flow.

CAPRICORN – If your brain is hang-ing upside down in the middle of the month, don’t worry: it might be your drinking habits, but actually it’s Saturn.

AQUARIUS – The languor won’t come off? It won’t if you don’t take the lead again. You better offer some resist-ance to your weaker self.

PISCES – You don’t have to go to the same kind of events because every-body else does. I mean, what would Jesus do? Fight to stay independent.

The cosmos might not always control your destiny, but when it does, The Chop has experts on hand to keep you in the celestial-know.

Illustrations by Martin Dziallas

FriedrichshainAntje Öklesund – Rigaer Str. 71-73 (U5 Samariterstraße)Astra – Revaler Str. 99/RAW-Gelände (S+U Warschauer Straße)Badehaus Szimpla – Revaler Str. 99/RAW-Gelände (S+U Warschauer Str.)Berghain + Kantine am Berghain – Am Wriezener Bahnhof (S Ostbahnhof)XB – Liebigstraße 34 (U5 Frankfurter Tor)Tiefgrund – Laskerstraße 5 (S Ostkreuz)Urban Spree – Revaler Str. 99/RAW-Gelände (S+U Warschauer Straße)Zukunft am Ostkreuz – Laskerstraße 5 (S Ostkreuz)

NeuköllnBei Ruth – Ziegrastraße 11 (S Sonnenallee)Heimathafen Neukölln – Karl Marx Str 141 (U7 Karl Marx Str.)Loophole – Boddinstraße 60 (U7 Rathaus Neukölln)Projekt Klunkerkranich – on top of Arcaden Neukölln (U7 Rathaus Neukölln)

Prenzlauer BergBassy Club – Schönhauser Allee 176A (U2 Senefelderplatz)Kastanienkeller – Kastianienallee 85 (U2 Eberswalder Str.)Neubar – Greiswalder Straße 218

KreuzbergBi Nuu – im U Schlesisches Tor (U1 Schlesisches Tor)HAU 2 – Hallesches Ufer 32 (U1/7 Möckernbrücke)Lido – Cuvrystraße 7 (U1 Schlesisches Tor)Monarch – Skalitzer Str. 134 (U1/8 Kottbusser Tor)Musik & Frieden – Falckensteinstraße 48 (U1 Schlesisches Tor)Prince Charles – Prinzenstraße 85 (U8 Moritzplatz)SO36 – Oranienstraße 190 (U1/8 Kottbusser Tor)

MitteAcud Macht Neu – Veteranenstr. 21 (U8 Rosenthaler Platz)Ballhaus Berlin – Chaussestraße 102 (U6 Naturkundemuseum)Marie Antoinette – Holzmarktstraße 15-18 (U8 Jannowitzbrücke)Roter Salon – Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz (U2 Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz)Schokoladen – Ackerstraße 169 (U8 Rosenthaler Platz)Volksbühne – Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz (U2 Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz)

TempelhofColumbia Theater – Columbiadamm 9-11 (U6 Platz der Luftbrücke)

Plänterwald Funkhaus Berlin – Nalepastraße 18

Venue listing from this month’s concert calendar