'Fucking Summer'

In May Platoon launched the 'Fucking summer' / 'scheiss sommer'  promotional campaign for the Arena summer season 2009. The operation included a holistic campaign of posters, online, social networks, adds and more. Arena is a post-industrial complex on Berlin's river Spree, hosting creative businesses, bars, concerts, cultural events [recently international design festival DMY] and river-bound pool the 'Badeschiff' / 'Pool-Ship'.

For a while the area was battered with the thematic posters, which used an eye-catching blend of straws, piss, ketchup, condensation and cigerettes to put their point across. It's exemplary of the continental branch of rational photography and is preferable to silly indie shots of some gymnastic goth contorting 'to the beat'. And likewise preferable to the predictable graphical melodrama that promotions usually employ. They have a natural, dreamy depth and satirical 'truth' that lends depth to the environment they're pasted to. But they suffered for their art, as their collectibility became a problem for the campaign.

RealU Sunset-Series_01

Berlin Calling

From the director of 'One Day in Europe' (Berlinale 2005 in Official Competition) and 'Berlin is in Germany' (Berlinale 2001 Panorama Audience Award), Hannes Stöhr, Berlin Calling is a dramatic and intimate account of techno to accompany Speakiing In Code on your Techno night-in.

Breifly: a man (Ickarus / Kalkbrenner) tours clubs around the globe with his manager and girlfriend. On the eve of their largest album release he is admitted to a psychiatric clinic after overdosing at a gig. And various tribulations pre/post. But the story almost seems like a Trojan Horse for what interests me more: a patchwork portrait of hard-to-get shots of the camera-shy Berlin night-scene.

Usually these types of films are post-posthumous accounts of inherently self-destructive artists of UK or US origin. Using a living artist and riding on the phenomenon of Berlin has facilitated a unique promotional campaign. Running the film's releases alongside a tirade of Kalkbrenner’s club fixtures has mutually generated interest in both the film and Kalkbrenner's music.

Paul Kalkbrenner was/is a real-life dj, the film’s protagonist and sountrack artist, thereby creating a surreal unification of realities. And he delivers the perfect music for the movie: the soundtrack contains ten exclusively produced tracks, including the movie´s hymn “Sky and Sand” [with vocals by his brother, artist Fritz Kalkbrenner]. In addition there are five previously released tracks, all exclusive Berlin Calling edits. Alone or in the context of the movie, they are good.
Check the official website for release dates and give the trailer and tracks a look.

PS I had drinks with the Director and female lead a few weeks ago.

Speaking In Code

Berlin is renowned for its rave scene, of which techno is a significant part, its success outside the Bavarian foothills probably attributable to a lack of dubious German lyricism. Since its 90's heyday of silly acid-induced synths, it has developed into an intellectualised, rational genre. German and similarly fond Dutch sympathizers have voiced complaints at the 'noise' that UK producers rack up, and conversely boast at the simplicity and understated power of Techno in comparison. While it has taken me a while to feel exited about, techno is listenable and hypnotic, and its consistent, well-produced riffs are particularly useful during extended Berlin nights.

The scene is bizarre and filled with enigmatic hopefuls, and I was bare pleased when I stumbled across Director/Producer Amy Grill’s documentary ‘Speaking In Code’ which follows some of the hopefuls. The official site nd featured links explain more. Synopsis:

‘Speaking in Code is an intimate account of people who are completely lost in music. A heartbreaking and lighthearted documentary, it's a vérité glimpse into the world of techno. Captivating and entertaining, the film takes you around the world, following the people who make electronic music ... their lives.’

Trailer

Double Standards

[Images: Record sleeves; Exhibition manuals; Letterheads; Shopfront design]

Double Standards. No, not like feminism, but more like a design studio from Berlin that I investigated after noticing a string of their posters hovering around. There's fairly sparse descriptive prose on the website, but judging from the pictures and menu sorting, it's principally a surface-based, visual communication/graphic design co, doing books, catalogues, posters and mixed campaigns etc. Using block colours and typography, the work is comparable to the contemporary school of rational Dutch design, and shares some of its clarity, unlike a fair amount of more cluttered communication around the city. Their strategies and mediums are also interesting and original, and worth a look.

Beyond Architecture

I recently acquired this book and attended the lecture and discussion for the launch. Architecture needs some invigorating PR to help it move away from its perception as society's tyrannical (or failling that, disrespectful) overlord, and this is an asset to its accessibility. The theme is heavy, and from a superlekker German publisher 'Gestalten', which has published a range of tangental themes. Check out the thumbnailed spreads on the site, and other titles.

Publisher's web-blurb:

'Beyond Architecture' is the first publication of its kind to document the creative exploration of architecture and urban propositions in the contemporary arts. The projects collected in this book demonstrate how not only architects and designers, but also artists are taking architecture as a starting point for experimentation. They range from performance, installation art and crafted sculptures to architectural models, alternative ideas for living spaces and furniture, as well as illustration, painting, collage and photography. Through stunning photography, visuals and complementary texts, these visionary concepts reveal the hidden creative potential for architecture and urban environments in inventive ways.'