A cooperation between the Goethe-Institut and Pop-Kultur festival, the Goethe Talent Scholarship (now going into its 4th year), is an immersive 10-day programme where 10 music makers from around the world get to experience Berlinʼs rich and diverse music scene; learn and unlearn musical processes and in general gain new perspective on their craft. I have heard only the most wondrous things about Berlin and so it felt a little surreal when I finally landed on a hot summer morning and met the other fellows.

Below is a summary of highlights and images from my experience…. …

In a way, Karachi is an anomaly. The seamless integration of conservative with unconventional defines its creative musical expression. But within its structured contours, lie esoteric nuances that transcend traditional norms of musicality. Coaxing a transcultural amalgam of dialogues within the experimental space, the city’s tryst with underground continues to celebrate the synthesis of old and new in the realm of ‘sound art’. …

“I was born after the Islamic revolution and the Iran-Iraq war. I am the byproduct of that history. It is difficult to imagine what life could have been if neither of those events had happened. Maybe I’d be a different person. Maybe I wouldn’t exist today. …

Guitarist, composer, and now bedroom producer, Samar Grewal, grew up being the kind of teenager that had a nervous energy about him. One that manifested itself as head-bobs and foot-taps – following rhythms and keeping time. …

Image credit: Tonje Thilesen

“My inspiration for this year took me back to my Sony Walkman days. When you had shelves lined with cassettes; when listening to a song on repeat meant rewinding back in time to just before the pause; when mix tapes were a thing and you’d scrawl playlists on their covers; when you’d tighten loose tape with pencils; when you’d discover and memorise bonus lyrics in the fold out album covers. There was a lot of DIY intent and construction involved to all of that, much like this festival.” …

Image: Still from 2009 Bollywood film ‘All The Best: Fun Begins’

Growing up in a world where whiteness was the default, South Asians gravitated to ‘the other’. Hip-hop – and Black culture at large – offered a protective umbrella to immigrant children, giving them an opportunity to belong in an unknown land and unfamiliar community. Indian-American comedian Hasan Minhaj expanded on this phenomenon in an interview with Hot 97’s Ebro Darden, by stating that the narrative hip-hop culture propagated was one that immigrant kids aspired to achieve, a hope that one day they would be treated as equals.

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This Friday will see the Border Movement Lounge host it’s ninth edition in Colombo in the Goethe-Institit’s cosy courtyard.

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Image credit: Siavash Naghshbandi

For his latest project, Saba Alizadeh will focus on silence. The pauses between speeches by past dictators. The little gaps they give in between emphatic phrases spoken to rouse their audiences. Silence, in fact, plays a big role in his music. …

In Germany, techno thrives amidst contradictions. It exists within the walls of a former church where audiences indulge in decidedly unholy activities. It’s where pot smoking sixty-year-old men – wearing Grateful Dead t-shirts – dance alongside young adults consuming speed that’s provided by boys sporting the latest looks in grime/fanny pack fashion. …

Border Movement are excited to announce a showcase on Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th August at Pop-Kultur Berlin in the form of live performances, DJ sets and an interactive discussion. Taking place at Club 23, and representing members of the Border Movement family from South Asia and Germany, there will be live showcases from Dan Bodan, Rudoh, Stupid Happiness Theory and Anika; interspersed with DJ sets from She’s Drunk, Lauf, and Andi Teichmann.
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