Last Saturday, the Berlin-based collective, Queens Against Borders, celebrated its 10-year anniversary: a decade of bringing queer, trans, refugee, and migrant performers together through events, club culture, and community. They re-united artists and long time supporters for an evening of discussions, visual art, music, dance, and elevated snacks at Portal Galerie, Alte Münze.
The Austrian-Nigerian artist UCHE YARA describes herself as “a post-club visionary”. A bold announcement held up by her debut album “BODYSCANNER”. Confident, honest and radical in root and execution, the self-produced record shines through a multi-facetted club sound that demands to be experienced. Svenja Isabel Hudson spoke with the artist about how the album came to be, how queer Berlin club culture inspired it and challenged her at the same time to question what connection really means.
The queer goth and synth wave festival, Lieber Tot, had a bigger than life comeback in Berlin last weekend. Our author Nadia Says reports from Aeden, capturing the vibe and speaking to audience members, organizers, and the artists Light Asylum and Tiffadelic, who delivered exhilarating live performances.
"Blackness is inherently punk", says musician and journalist Stephanie Phillips. As a member of the Londoner Black feminist punk band Big Joanie since 2013 and the collective Decolonise Fest, Phillips has extensive knowledge of the alternative music scene. We spoke to her about the book release of “We Were Here: A History of Black People & Alternative Music”.
Pop-Kultur returns for its 12th year. Increasing their program offerings after last year's funding struggles and re-orientation, the festival promises once more a wide array of insights in to the pop music sphere. Editor Felicia Ete Aghaye curated a shortlist of events and concerts for OFFKEY audiences.
The new single "LTDA" by Mariama is dedicated to love beyond romantic love and an ode to femme friendship and community. On it, the Berlin-based singer teams up with afrofuturist artist Astan KA as well as Johanna Amelie, Ay Wing, Mya Audrey and J-JD. Ahead of the release, Mariama answered a few questions about the collaborative process, and the importance of love and community.
Otis Mensah oscilates between genres drawing on influences from rap, jazz and beyond. Since moving to Berlin, they have found their place in the local music scene and recently released their EP "small town otis". In conversation with Anna Grubauer, Otis chats about their musical approach and reflects on their experience of searching a home in Berlin.
Music is a language of protest and creates networks of solidarity. That is the ethos behind Sarkash سرکش Underground, a festival for hip-hop, rap, trap, and experimental sounds from Afghanistan, Balochistan, and Kashmir taking place in Berlin on August 1st at Marmorbar & Oelgarten. We spoke to organizer Armeghan Taheri about what it means to host a festival for the diaspora of a region where music is banned.
