here & now

One of the anomalies of the city/concept of Berlin is that, despite its emphasis on creativity and nocturnal musical indulgence, it fails to produce much in the way of live original music. Though the concert calendars are always full, the headline acts – and even the supporting bands – are mostly touring artists.

Why does Berlin have so few local bands? A university student looking for a cultural thesis topic might be able to quantify the ratio of bands to artists, compare the number of local songwriters here to other international metropoles, and question the social, demographic and built environment factors that lead to the present situation.

One theory aired is that the are few basements or garages in which bands might construct a rehearsal space; most buildings have basements, naturally, but they are small, wet and troubled by upstairs neighbours. The one large rent-by-the-hour rehearsal space in the city, Noisy Rooms, is usually full, though the noises filtering through the doors are often sadly derivative.

Here, then, is a slight abnormality – a band founded and resident in Berlin. The band is called Skiing. Full disclosure: I’m one of the guitarists. Here’s a few songs we recently recorded. If you enjoy it, consider coming to our concert tomorrow evening.