Fotos by Dieter H. Engler

 

All photos by Tonje Thilesen.

TSF’15 is over and it was fantastic!

We would like to thank our amazing audience, the great artists, all the volunteers, our team, the sound technicians and stage managers, the neighbors, the partycipators, our partners and supporters, journalists and everybody else for being so enthusiastic about our little festival this year. It’s been a very special and sweaty edition – We’re tired, we’re happy and we’ll be back.

THANK YOU + HIGH FIVE!

– Ah geil, so Straßenfest?
Nein. Musikfestival. Die Konzerte finden in den Festival-Locations statt. Die Straße wird nicht gesperrt. Allerdings lassen sich viele Läden und Restaurants zum Festivaltag etwas Besonderes einfallen. 

– Was passiert am Samstag? 
Am Samstag spielen fast 40 KünstlerInnen in 10 Locations in Berlin-Mitte. Von 14 bis 24 Uhr. Hier das Line-Up. Tickets ab 13Uhr am Info-Stand am ACUD Kunsthaus, Veteranenstraße. Und an allen Locations ab Türöffnung.

– Und wer spielt wo? Und wann?
Hier ist der Zeitplan. Und hier eine Karte.

– Gibt es ein Festivalzentrum?
Unser Infostand steht in diesem Jahr am ACUD in der Veteranenstraße 21. Dort kann man offene Fragen klären, Tickets gegen Bändchen eintauschen, essen, trinken und abschoten.

– Was passiert am Sonntag? 
Am Sonntag gibt es um 20 Uhr ein großes Konzert in der Volksbühne mit Young Fathers und Molly Nilsson. Die Türen gehen um 19Uhr auf, um 20Uhr beginnt das Konzert. Tickets gibt es direkt in der Volksbühne, sowie online. 

– Online-Tickets > Festivalbändchen?
Online Tickets müssen ausgedruckt und am Festivaltag am Info-Stand (am Acud Club, Veteranenstraße 21) in ein Armband eingetauscht werden!!! Extrem wichtig.

– 14 Uhr? Da schlaf ich ja noch!
Um 14 Uhr geht das Festival los und unser Programm folgt nicht der üblichen Hierarchie nach Popularität. Früh kommen lohnt sich also.

– Und was passiert nach 24Uhr? 
Es gibt eine Aftershow-Party im Acud! Kostet 3 Euro mit Festivalticket, 6 Euro ohne und schockt.

– Können wir mit unserer Bar, unserem Restaurant, unserer Galerie, unserem Laden mitmachen?
Ja, Partycipate! Wenn Ihr anläßlich des Festivals etwas auf die Beine stellt, lasst es uns wissen. Wichtig: Durch das Festival entsteht keine generelle Genehmigung für Aktionen auf der Straße, diese müssen ggf. individuell bei der Stadt eingeholt werden.

– Soll ich ein Fahrrad mitbringen?
Ja, gute Idee! Mit dem Fahrrad kommt man schnell von einem Konzert zum nächsten.

– Kann ich mit den Öffentlichen kommen?
Klar. Mit der U2 zum Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz oder der U8 zum Rosenthaler Platz zum Beispiel. Oder mit der Tram.

– Und mit dem Auto?
Lieber nicht mit dem Auto kommen. Parken in Mitte nervt. 

– Hashtag?
#TSF15 

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– So, this is a street fair?
No, it’s a music festival! The concerts take place inside the festival locations. The street will not be blocked. Nevertheless many shops and restaurants in Torstraße are planning something special along with the festival. 

– What happens on Saturday? 
On Saturday about 30 artists will perform in about 10 locations in Berlin-Mitte. Shows start at 2pm and end at midnight. Here’s the Line-Up. Tickets are available from 1pm on at the info desk at Kunsthaus ACUD, Veteranenstraße 21 and at all locations once doors are open. 

– Who plays where? And when?
Here is the schedule. And here’s a map. Please be early for your favorites.

– Is there a festival center?
Sort of. Our information desk is located at ACUD, Veteranenstraße 21. There you can meet us, ask questions and exchange your online tickets for wristbands. We’ll also have food trucks and a bar there. 

– What happens on Sunday?
On Sunday night we celebrate our 5th anniversary with a big concert at Volksbühne with Young Fathers and Molly Nilsson. Doors open at 7pm. Show starts at 8pm. Tickets are available at Volksbühne and online.

– Online tickets? Wristbands?
Online tickets must be printed out and swapped for wristbands at the information desk (at Acud Club, Veteranenstraße 21) on the day of the festival. This is very important.

– 2pm? Seriously?
The festival starts at 2pm, and the program does not follow the usual popularity hierarchy. Better be early! 

– What is happening after 12pm?
There will be a big party at Acud! With a festival ticket it costs 3 Euros, without it costs 6 Euros.

– Can we take part in Torstraßen Festival with our bar / restaurant / gallery / shop?
Yes, partycipate! If you make something special happen for Torstraßen Festival please let us know. Important: The festival does not grant official permissions to use the street for example. Those permissions must be obtained individually from the city authorities. More info here. 

– Shall I bring a bike?
Yes, good idea! A bike is great to quickly get from one concert to the next.

– Can I also come by public transport?
Of course. Take the U2 to Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, the U8 to Rosenthaler Platz or the tram. 

– By car?
Rather leave your car at home, parking in Mitte sucks.

– What’s the hashtag?
#TSF15

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Yes, there will be a party! Torstraßen Festival & Berlin Community Radio present a night of after festival fun at Acud Club, Veteranenstraße 21.

The party starts at midnight with…

TSF Floor
Special #1 DJ Team / Blue Hawaii (DJ Set) / Ben Jackson

BCR Floor
Luca Lozano / Strip Steve / Farced / Eiliyas / Sarah Miles / Anastasia Filipovna

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3€ with a festival ticket / 6€ without

We’re grateful for the kind support we’ve received from BIMM this year.

And we’re also happy to present a talk from British and Irish Modern Music Institute, discussing opportunities in the music industry and the development they offer for aspiring professionals, as part of our programme on Saturday 13th June. The talk takes place at 2pm at Platoon Kunsthalle and will feature a live act: Rory Indiana – the front man of alternative rock band of the same name.

British and Irish Modern Music Institutes (BIMM) are the leading provider of modern music education in the UK and Ireland, now here in Berlin setting up their first continental European centre.

The college offers full time, degree level study in Guitar, Bass, Vocals, Drums, Songwritng and Music Business, with the option to study at BIMM London in the second year of your course.

Visit www.bimm-institute.de or email berlin@bimm-institute.de for information, tours and applications.

In anticipation of the German premiere of Montréal music documentary «A City Is An Island» we have talked to the director Timothy George Kelly. The film will be shown at Kino Babylon Mitte on Thursday, the 11th of June at 8pm followed by a Q&A with the director, musician Sean Nicholas Savage and artist Jason Harvey.

Your film illustrates how ambivalent many Montreal musicians are about self-promotion and even success. Did you encounter resistance to the project of documenting the Montreal music scene? If so, how did you convince people to be involved in your documentary?

Timothy George Kelly: There were different levels of resistance from different people. Younger artists are more often self-conscience, excited for a platform to talk and then afterwards sometimes wishing they had never done it at all. I think there is a real pressure now because of the internet, having to tour, having to have a press photo and music videos, it asks for an identity from young artists who may not know who they are yet and they are forced to cement that in recorded document that is in someone’s else’s control, which can result in a neurotic episode from some.

A lot of the older people who didn’t want to be in the film were just passive aggressive, which I would fire back with my greatest weapon, the never ending persistent weekly email. Mauro from Godspeed You! Black Emperor straight up told me to fuck off which I thought was pretty cool. There was this strange attitude from some of the nineties and early 00s crowd that making a film about the Montreal scene would somehow reveal the secret of the place and the floodgates would open. I grew up on a farm in Australia pretty much the furthest distance from Montreal possible, it ain’t a secret no more. The secret they are thinking of is just nostalgia for a time when their hangovers were more tolerable.

Most of the musicians in the film are solo artists. Is there something particularly solitary about Montreal life?

It’s economics of time and money. You have to tour now, touring with one person is way more affordable than multiple – and technology, people are create huge sounds with gear that didn’t exist ten years ago. Macbook Pro rock stars. And of course, winter. If you are solo, you don’t even have to leave your room.

You use a lot of live performances in the film — in venues, homes, and outside in Montreal city space. Why was that important to you?

I asked the artists where they would like to play. It was a way to document the space of the city whilst giving the audience what they want from a music documentary: music.

You spend a significant amount of time on language politics in Quebec, and the tension between French-speaking Quebecois and Anglo „ex-pats“ who are mostly from other parts of Canada. Not knowing French is a weirdly big aspect of living in Montreal. Do you speak French? In your film, Brendan Reed compares asking this to asking someone about their sexuality. Do you agree?

One of my first jobs in Montreal was delivering sofas, my French never really improved from what was required there. I wouldn’t say Brendan is directly comparing sexuality and language, he is using sexuality as an example of something that is very important to someone’s identity which could result in people feeling isolated or ashamed. Anglophones feel guilty for their laziness in not ingraining themselves in the predominant language of Quebec, but the shame comes from language politics being in the fabric of Montreal culture and the anglophone being the perpetual outsider, the voluntary outsider, the lazy outsider, which leads to for so many to be the temporary citizen. It is this that makes them eventually leave.

What compelled you to make this film? Put another way, why did you feel it need to be made?

I am a filmmaker. I had no money to make a film about something made up, so I made a film about what was in front of me.

What kind of response has it had, in Montreal and outside?

Really well. I am just happy people completely ignore the technical issues the film has and see it has a heart, it was shot on a camera that is worth $150 now so I sit in the cinema at these film festivals and just feel like a kid, a pretend filmmaker, a liar, where all the other films that play have logos of companies and state support at the end credits. It is strange how something doesn’t look official until you put some kind of logo on it. Our brains love symbols.

Your film is about artists in Montreal, but your voice is absent. Why did you choose not to include yourself in it? 

My voice is in it. It is everywhere. 90 hours of footage cut into 72 minutes. What is in it, what isn’t, that’s my voice right there.

Can you tell us a bit more about yourself?

Australian. Moved to Montreal in 2008. Now based in London, UK. Have very little patience for shit fruit. I like painting, whisky and napping.

What are you working on next?

I am making a documentary about a techno collective called John’s Kingdom in Moscow right now. They are pretty interesting, all friends who somehow have a very similar sound, which in the world of Ableton and digital music creation where anyone who can work a torrent basically has an endless palette of sounds, is quite rare.

And then when I am back in London I will start another film in reaction to what Katie Hopkins has been saying about immigrants. The window of what has become reasonable to say in the right-wing press in the UK is disgusting and needs to be fought against, we are in an information war and it is very loud and very confusing and very fucked up. So I am going to make a film asking only egalitarian revolutionaries their opinions of the police, what it is to be human and if a policeman can be one. No one will care about the film of course, but it’s worth trying anyway.

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The premiere is presented in cooperation with Shameless / Limitless and POP Montréal.

Kevin Halpin steht mit Shameless/Limitless in Berlin für scham- und grenzenlose Konzertereignisse. Darum haben wir Kevin gebeten, das Programm für unsere Bühne in der Gaststätte Prassnik zusammenzustellen. Der Kanadier entschied sich für kanadophiles Line-Up: Pascale Project kommt aus Montreal, Lief Hall kommt aus Vancouver, lebt aber in Berlin, Antoine93 kommt aus Montreal und lebt jetzt auch in Berlin. Und Jack Chosef? Kommt nicht aus Kanada. Ist auch super.

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With Shameless/Limitless Kevin Halpin stands for shame- and limitless concert experiences in Berlin. That is why we have asked Kevin to put together a program for our stage at Gaststätte Prassnik. The Canadian went for a Canadaphile line-up: Pascale Project comes from Montreal, Lief Hall comes from Vancouver but lives in Berlin, Antoine93 comes from Montreal and has also just moved to Berlin. And Jack Chosef? Not from Canada. Also great. 

 

Was wäre das Torstraßenfestival ohne den Bademantel tragenden, Zigarren rauchenden Zeremonienmeister David Strauss. Als Musikeditor des Exberliner Magazins präsentiert Strauss das Line-Up des Kaffee Burgers. Ein krautiges Programm steht an mit dem Stereolab Spin-Off Cavern of Anti-Matter, der New Yorker Glock-Rock-Chanteuese Glockabelle, den Schweizer Disco-Kraut-Duo Klaus Johann Grobe und der heiß ersehnten Rückkehr von Thieves Like Us.

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What would Tostraßen Festival be without David Strauss, the bathrobe-sporting, cigar-smoking master of ceremonies. In his capacity as a music editor of Exberliner Magazin Strauss will be back at Kaffee Burger to present the following: Stereolab spin-off Cavern on Anti-Matter, New York glock-rock chanteuse Glockabelle, Swiss disco-kraut duo Klaus Johann Grobe and the return of the mighty Thieves Like Us. 

«Expatriarch» ist ein Kofferwort aus den Begriffen «expatriate» und «patriarchy»; eine Wortschöpfung zum Ende einer männlich dominierten Gesellschaft. Gegründet in 2010 von Joey Hansom ist es allerdings auch eine monatliche Radio-Show und der Titel sporadischer Events in ganz Berlin, eine Platform für Musik von Frauen sowie allen Künstlern, die Gender-Normen hinterfragen und herausfordern. Das Torstraßen Festival hat Joey Hansom in diesem Jahr gebeten eine Bühne zu kurieren. Joey hat ja gesagt und eingeladen hat er… Freestyle-Rapperin Xana, die Riot Grrrl Band Gurr, Cyber-Elfe James K und seine eigene Band Godmother.

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Founded by Joey Hansom in 2010 «Expatriarch» is a portmanteau of “expatriate” and “patriarch[y]”; it’s a made-up word representing the abandonment of our male-dominated society. It’s also the name of a monthly radio show and the banner of sporadic events throughout Berlin, providing a platform for music made by women as well as by any artists who challenge gender norms. Torstraßen Festival asked Joey to curate on of our stages this year. Joey said yes and invited: freestyle rapper Xana, riot grrrrl band Gurr, cyber-elf James K and his own band Godmother.

Erste Neuigkeiten aus dem Rahmen-Programm: Your Mom’s und Mein Haus am See schmeißen fast ein eigenes kleines Torstraßen Festival!

«Your Mom’s & Mein Haus Am See präsentieren euch die Torstrassen OFF Stage am Samstag den 13. Juni – Tag & Nacht im Mein Haus Am See & Cosmic Kaspar.

Euch erwarten Konzerte und DJ-Sets mit zahlreichen urbanen experimentellen berliner Beats und Wundern, sowie Newcomern und ikonischen Persönlichkeiten der Hauptstadt, wie: Spoken Word von Lady Gaby, eine Performance von Mad Kate & The Tide, live Improvisation von Obi Blanche, Konzerte von Andreas Krach, Infinite Livez & Rodeo, und DJ Sets von Carne, Das she Cray, Soundvector und mehr.

Mal was anderes! Lasst einmal los von der Technoszene und genießt Live-Musik der heutigen berliner Untergrund Helden: queer queen Mad Kate, der melodische Tech-Zauberer Obi Blanche, zugängliche Experimentalität von Andreas Krach, athmosphärischer Hip-hop von Infinite Livez, der berüchtigte Hip-Popper Rodeo und die gefeierte Wortakrobatin Lady Gaby.

Zum Abendprogramm lassen sich einige dieser Künstler dann auch hinter den Decks wiederfinden. So werden Obi Blanche, Rodeo & Infinite Livez mit einigen ihre urbanen Electronica Tracks den Tag gemütlich ausklingen lassen. Im Anschluss übernehmen Das She Cray, Carne & Soundvector um euch bis in die frühen Morgenstund en wach zu halten.

Das Sahnehäubchen ist ein Showcase einer Auswahl der besten Street Artists der Galerie Serigraffeur, unter anderem Prost, Elna, Peter Phobia und Dave the Chimp.»

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News from our partycipate program… Your Mom’s and Mein Haus am See are almost throwing their own little Torstraßen Festival! 

«Your Mom’s & Mein Haus Am See present Torstrassen OFF Stage on Saturday June the 13th day & night at Mein Haus Am See & Cosmic Kaspar.

A live & DJ lineup featuring some of Berlin’s urban & experimental beats or happening up-and-coming or iconic actors: spoken word by Lady Gaby, performance by Mad Kate & The Tide, live impro by Obi Blanche, concerts by Andreas Krach, Infinite Livez & Rodeo, DJ sets by Carne, DJ Zhao, Soundvector & more.

Take a step back from the techno scene and enjoy a day with Berlin’s underground live heroes: queer queen Mad Kate, melodic tech wizard Obi Blanche, approachable experimental wise man Andreas Krach, atmospheric hip-hop mellow man Infinite Livez, hip-pop rep Rodeo and the celebrated word warrior Lady Gaby.

As for the evening program, stay with us to (re)discover live musicians this time behind the decks: Obi Blanche, Rodeo & Infinite Livez will spin some urban electro tunes. Later at night, it will be DJ Zhao, Carne & Soundvector’s turn to make you dance till morning…

And the icing on the cake, a showcase of Serigraffeur Gallery’s best recent street art exhibits featuring Prost, Elna, Peter Phobia and Dave The Chimp.»

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Mein Haus am See hosted by Lady Gaby
4-10pm / Art with Serigraffeur Gallery: Elna, Peter Phobia, Dave The Chimp & Prost.
4pm / Andreas Krach (live)
5pm / Obi Blanche (live)
6pm / Mad Kate & The Tide (live)
7pm / Infinite Livez (live)
8pm / Rodeo (live)
10pm / Infinite Livez (DJ set)
00.30am / Obi Blanche (DJ set)

Cosmic Kaspar
11pm / Rodeo (DJ set)
1am / Das She Cray
3am / Carne B2B Soundvector

Free entry with Torstraßen Festival 2015 ticket.
Facebook event: www.facebook.com/events/1584297051828000

Bald ist es soweit, das TSF’15 steht vor der Tür. Hier kommt das Video zum Festival und das komplette Programm. Auch super: Unsere Veranstaltungen im Vorfeld des Festivals… das Warm-Up Konzert von Gabi aus New York, der kosmischer  Workshop mit Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids und die Deutschland-Premiere von A City Is An Island.

TSF’15 is near! Here comes the festival video and the complete line-up. Also pretty great… our events ahead of the festival: A warm-up concert with Gabi from New York, a cosmic workshop with Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids, and the German premiere of A City Is An Island.