The line-up just keeps on growing! Newly added is Nigerian singer Yemi Alade bringing African star power to Berlin in the form of an energetic Afro-pop show with a full band and dancers. Also on deck is Black Sherif, Ghana’s most sought-after rapper with his unmistakable sound that combines highlife, Afrofusion, and rap. Both performances are supported by Kulturprojekte Berlin. The two newly confirmed acts are in good company: alté musician Lady Donli and Kenyan multi-talent Blinky Bill will also be performing at Pop-Kultur, taking place from 28 to 30 August 2024.
We’re also presenting the now complete Commissioned Works programme, in which 15 artists are invited to develop creative stage productions for Pop-Kultur, ranging from concerts and performances to theatre, as well as »Pop-Kultur Diskurs«, our talk programme.
Interaction is an integral part of the commissioned work »MY CIRCLE«: performance artists Eray Gülay aka Ray and Christina Angelescu aka Crystal are organising an all-style dance battle in which the jury will then select the best performance. Emotional quality clearly takes precedence – the personal stories that the dancers tell are more important than having the perfect moves. Those interested in participating have until August 27 to register via this form.
21 downbeat, RambaZamba’s house band, has been linked to Pop-Kultur for many years and is once again on the commissioned works programme in 2024. With »WOZZECK – A Pop Opera based on Alban Berg«, which includes puppetry, they will explore the melancholy and madness of Büchner’s classic in a new way. Ulrich Hartmann aka Ulla will be overexerting himself on the drums for »Toxic Muskfedideldi« as well as in other ways to explore the subject of toxic masculinity. Wearing himself out is something that comes naturally – Hartmann is a diabetic and project manager of luftsprung live, the support programme for chronically ill musicians run by the aktion luftsprung foundation.
In addition to these musical excursions, the commissioned works are also open to word experiments: For »parallelgesellschaft meets Philo Tsoungui«, Philo Tsoungui (known as the drummer for Mine, Chefket, and The Mars Volta) and the artists from parallelgesellschaft, the post-German literature collective from Neukölln, have teamed up for a poetic, rhythmic round of improvisation.
Besides the concerts and commissioned works, we’ve put together an exciting, engaging »Pop-Kultur Diskurs« programme in which activists and other players will discuss pop culture in all its facets in the »Pop-Kultur Diskurs« programme. Topics include the political, ironic, and nostalgic moments of meme culture (»What Do You Meme by?«), the codes of pop culture from series to music (»Fashion the Gaze«), the often overlooked, non-white protagonists of the Neue Deutsche Welle genre (»Wir sind die Türken von morgen«) as well as, the role of pop music in collective memory and its significance in terms of identity (»Poptism – Musikalische Erinnerungskultur«).
The talks also shed light on the dark side of pop culture: Daniel Drepper (head of the research cooperation between NDR, WDR and SZ) and Lena Kampf will talk about their book »Row Zero: Gewalt und Machtmissbrauch in der Musikindustrie«, which focuses on discriminatory and abusive structures in the music industry. Veronika Kracher, an expert on the machinations of the alt-right, masculinist, and incel scenes, will join author Viola Nordsieck (»Harte Worte«, together with Tim Kegler) to discuss how female activists in the right-wing scene act and present themselves. The talk takes place in cooperation with the magazine Testcard, on the occasion of their current issue focussing on right-wing pop.
With its Co-Creation Residencies, Musicboard Berlin’s creative exchange programmes are once again receiving a showcase: For the Accra-Berlin residency, the Ghanaian hip-hop, R&B, and Afro-soul singer LOR will be on stage at Pop-Kultur with her Berlin-based South African colleague Dumama; for the Tel Aviv-Berlin residency, it will be the Israeli director, musician, poet, and actor Neta Weiner and the Israeli-Palestinian actress and rapper Samira Saraya, who will perform together as System Ali – they will collaborate with a Berlin artist. The Kampala Berlin residency brings together producer Rey Sapienz, who runs a label in Kampala, and Berlin-based DJ/producer Luna Vassarotti, while the Detroit-Berlin residency features electro producer Shawescape Renegade and Berlin house DJ Sara Miller.
To mark the 30th anniversary of Tokyo and Berlin as sister cities, the Tokyo-Berlin residency will also take place in association with Pop-Kultur 2024: Irish-Japanese artist ermhoi will be staying in the German capital for a month. Along with her trio Black Boboi, she will team up with singer-songwriter Rosa Anschütz and performance and multimedia artist Eddna at the festival. The first results of their collaboration will be presented at the Goethe-Institut Tokyo on 19 July.
See you from the 28 to 30 August 2024 in the Kulturbrauerei!
But before then, we have another date to mention: Our jury for »Pop-Kultur lokal« in 2024 has met and selected great concepts by Berlin-based event organisers. The third event – the stage show »FEMMES TOTALES«, which is all about femininity – will take place on 11 July 2024 at 19:30 at Neue Zukunft Berlin (Alt-Stralau 68, 10245 Berlin).
Here’s an overview of the line-up (new additions in bold):
Concerts and DJ-Sets
A Certain Ratio / Anushka Chkheidze / Arab Strap / bangerfabrique / Bashar Murad / Black Boboi trifft Rosa Anschütz & Eddna (Tokyo-Berlin Residency) / Black Sherif / Blinky Bill / Blumengarten / Cheap Wedding / douniah / Eden Derso / Esfand / EsRAP / EuroEyez / Evija Vēbere / Fee Aviv / futurebae / FÜR ELISE / Gaye Su Akyol / GHOSTWOMAN / hotgirl / Ilgen-Nur / Ivo Dimchev / Jaakko Eino Kalevi / James K / Jenys / Kabeaushé / Keeley Forsyth / Krista Papista (DJ-Set) / Lady Donli / Lambrini Girls / LOR & Dumama (Accra-Berlin Residency) / LUCIDVOX / Martina Stock / Mary Ocher / Melenas / MOLHAM / MPC Lafote / Ms Nina / Neta Weiner & Samira Saraya (Tel Aviv-Berlin Residency) / OG LU / Olympia Bukkakis & Friends / Pillow Fite / Plattenbau / Priya Ragu / Rachael Lavelle / Rasco / Rey Sapienz & Luna Vassarotti (Kampala-Berlin Residency) / Rich Aucoin / Sextile / Sinem / Shawescape Renegade & Sara Miller (Detroit-Berlin Residency) / Stereotype / Swell Maps C21 / Tarwater / The KVB / The Morning Stars / Twin Flame / VÍZ / VV & The Void / What Are People For? / Yemi Alade / Zebra Katz / ZIMBRU / Zuzanna Czebatul (DJ-Set)
Commissioned Works
21 downbeat: »WOZZECK – eine Pop-Oper nach Alban Berg« / Christin Nichols: »The longer i stare at you the less you make sense« / »MY CIRCLE« – Dance Battle / Hope & Emma Critchley: »Navel« / Künstler*innenkollektiv parallelgesellschaft: »parallelgesellschaft meets Philo Tsoungui« / Melanie Jame Wolf & friends: »Oh! Oh! Tonight!« / Otis Mensah: »WINTERSKIN« / Pari Eskandari: »animapsyche« / Schneider TM & Lillevan (+ special guests krautfuzz & Ilpo Väisänen): »Echokammer UTOPIA« / Steve Mekoudja: »Freedom« / Ulla: »Toxic Muskfedideldi«
»Pop-Kultur Diskurs«
»Echos musikalischer Erinnerungen aus der DDR«: Vincent Bababoutilabo, Robert Mießner, Mod.: Sandra Teitge / »Festivals, Events und DisCo (Disabled Community): Wie sind die Infrastrukturen?«: Martin Vahemäe-Zierold, Xenia Dürr, Inna Shparber, Mod.: Ulrich Hartmann / »Inkarnation und Intuition: Inszenierung von rechter Esoterik«: Talk mit Fashion The Gaze / »Menstruation hört auf einem Festival nicht auf«: Franka Frei, Lena Orvedi, Katharina Müller, Mod.: Rike van Kleef / »Metal im ›Osten‹: Fantum, Rechtsrock, Gatekeeping und Gender«: Lukas Juretko, Luca Schuldt, Mod.: Julia Boxler / »PopCast« mit Amy Zayed / »Poptism – Remembrance in Music Culture«: Ariel Efraim Ashbel, Imran Ayata, Sanaz Azimipour, Mod.: Carmen Herold / »Row Zero«: Lesung mit Daniel Drepper und Lena Kampf / »Sounds of the Revolution«: Bahar Roshanai & Matthias Koch / »Testcard – Rechtspop: Über rechtsradikale Memes und rechte Frauen in der Popkultur«: Viola Nordsieck, Veronika Kracher, Mod.: Ariana Zustra / »What Do You Meme By?« mit Sveamaus & Galerie Arschgeweih, Mod.: Yvonne Sembene / »Wir sind die Türken von morgen«: Lesung mit Ulrich Gutmair