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BBR Newsletter:

"Out for the Summer!!!

Some upcoming events:

9.7.26 22-24 Uhr TRII bei EXYNO Radio Live 674.fm/sendung/exyno-radio/

18.7.26 LES AGAMEMNONZ & CHIEN FER live Bauwagenplatz "Wem Gehört Die Welt" Köln

23.7.26 23-1 Uhr HORROR DES ALTAGS Bandsalat auf piradio.de

SITH Invasion From Planet Detroit 003.1 Podcast

SpyinTheHouse's “INVASION FROM PLANET DETROIT“ 3.1 still hosted by Psycho Thrill Cologne's own Claus Bachor and broadcasted as well by 674.fm ... 2 all here THX, LUV & RESPECT 4 your great and continued support!  The featured 54 all-vinyl-tracks here so far by Shawn Rudiman, The Body Mechanic/ Mollison Folson (3), Strand / Martin Bonds, Sean Tate (remixed by Reel by Real), Sean Tate (remixed by the Basement Boyz Folson & Tate), Jessbeats feat.. Posatronix / Will BJ Smith, Folson & Tate, Waajeed (2), Mike Michael Huckaby, Walter Howard / Haz Mat, Drivetrain/ Del Trevor (3), Norm Talley II/ Norm Talley (2), LukeHess, Moodymann / Kenny Dixon Jr. (4), Jon Dixon (remixed by Waajeed), LadyMonix (3), Patrice Scott, Rennie Foster (remixed by Antwon Faulkner / Twonz), Vintage Future/ Mark Taylor, Jeff Mills, Gary A Martin (3), Ali Beger, Sean Deason, Rebecca Goldberg (2), Underground Resistance (4), Drexciya, Brian Kage (2), Detroit's FIlthiest (3), AUX88 (remixed by Juan Atkins / Cybotron), Brandon Calloway (2), Omar S & Mike Banks and K15 //Facebook

Video-Streaming(s) of this show ... stream 01 / stream 02

Cologne is a 2,000 year old city, home to ample examples of Gothic architecture, and enough influence on European electronica in the past few decades to warrant a handful of Insight posts to be dedicated to the West German city. From avant garde composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, Krautrock heavyweights CAN to one of minimal electronica’s most well reknowned labels, KOMPAKT, the city is bursting with contemporary musical heritage. But we’re not here to run through history we’re here to find out what the future may hold, and so we got in touch with Noorden Records’ Alex Ketzer for a run down on recent releases and key insider tips. In ten words or less, how would you describe where you live? Let’s do it eight words: In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country – äh, City…

What got you involved in the local music scene, and what do you do in it? I’m not really involved or deeply rooted in the local music scene. I rather fly under the radar which is totally fine to me. I’m running the label Noorden that was established in 2011. We release electronic(a) music on cassettes and vinyl from Ambient, to Leftfield House to Experimental and Techno. The label’s headquarters is the Non Breaking Space, a room, where we organize events like exhibitions, listening sessions, workshops or concerts. Besides that I’m running the radio show BACK TO BACK on Cologne based community radio 674.fm, for which I invite local DJs, artist or labels to talk about music, their projects and of course Cologne.

Who are the key local acts we should be listening to right now? It’s not hard to find out Cologne’s key local acts, so it might be more interesting to list some up and coming insider tips from our neighbourhood.

Simon Heinz and the guys of Kommando Records first caught my attention with this track. I love the pads and the bass of Mask – definitely in my 2016’s top ten list!

 Monogenic’s sound is very classic and very contemporary at one time – but without having all those annoying codes like too much overdrive, too much hiss and that pretty-ugly-attitude. They do straight forward and timeless techno. Great! Kareem Prest is a very nice guy with a very diverse and interesting vinyl collection. He didn’t release much own tracks in the past but hopefully he will do so in the future.

You can lost yourself in the sound of D’Evoé’s ambient project Neozaïre. We released a cassette on our label Noorden a few months ago which features post-esoteric New Age mixed with dark-appearing Ambient. Looking forward what he will release in the future.

Ludwig Zibell and his Supermoll label is a great example of bringing the typical “Sound Of Cologne” into the next generation by adding some krauty and straight and forward thinking elements. Camp Inc., who did this remix, are a hardware-liveact-focussed duo, who just released their first record on the newly established Baumusik label, which is also worth checking out!

Autistikits is the band project of That Night, Acid S and Thereyoughost. Their sound is inspired by 80s/90s hiphop, triphop and streetpop and always combined with strong visual aesthetics. Be sure to check out their label 101.io.

This track by Zzzzra is a little bit older but still one of my favorites. It was released on the first cassette of Ferro Tape Records back in 2013 and it’s my goal to re-issue that one on vinyl someday. I really like that special vibe of Zzzzra’s Dub Techno that’s very unique and completely different to the »standard Dub Techno« out there – especially in the digital (netlabel) scene.

What are the dominant music styles in your country, and are there any exciting new music trends currently emerging? Besides the mainstream-culture, there are many big subcultures like e.g. Electronic Music, Hip Hop & Rap, Indie or Heavy Metal. I don’t know, if there are really exiting new music trends happening in Germany, because I don’t follow the music industry out there. I’d say, there are rather musical revivals e.g. in the Electronic Music scene: You can here more and more elements of 90s Rave, Breakbeat and Drum’n’Bass in contemporary Techno and House productions these days. I like when those nostalgic elements were mixed with fresh ideas and a futuristic twist.

What’s the live music scene/night-life like? It’s very vibrant and diverse. You can listen to all kind of genres from experimental Arty stuff, House and Techno, Drum’n’Bass and HipHop, Jazz and Krautrock. On the one side, you have very nice parties and raves at special off-locations and on the other side, you have a bunch of interesting clubs with good bookings. I’d also say, that the night life in Cologne is very open – there’s no Berghain-style attitude and it’s rather easy to get in most of the venues.

For anyone visiting, what should they see and what should they eat (and drink!)? Here are some favourite spots that you need to visit when you’re in Cologne:

Walking up the Cologne Cathedral – after around 500 stairs you have a nice view over Cologne have some typical local food at Haus Töller (I recommend Bratwurst mit Möhrenstampf or Himmel und Äd). If it’s Saturday, check out the flea market at the Uni-Center, which is every Saturday of the year even if it’s snowing. It’s very crowded but I always found some gems there.

Shop some records at Topic Drift and Kompakt and dig some cheapos at Sally Records or Nunk Music.

Take a ride with the tram-line 13 from Sülzgürtel to Wiener Platz (on this tram, Cologne feels very urban and big), walk through the streets of Mülheim and have a cake at Jakubowski. If you have some luck and there’s an event at Micro Galerie, don’t miss it. It’s the studio/living room/gallery of my friend Martin Schmitz where he organizes exhibitions and Ambient concerts. It’s an over 100 years old barber shop beautiful decorated with stucco.

Take the Müllemer Böötchen (which is a ferry) to have a great view over Cologne from the river Rhine, hop-off the boat at Zoo/Flora and take a walk through the »Skulpturenpark« which is a kind of open air museum for sculpture and installations have some typical italian food – including Serie A on huge flatscreens – and Cologne’s best Espresso at Bar Celentano (I recommend Pizza Frutti di Mare – yum yum…)

Have some of Cologne’s findest drinks at MD Bar – this is where I had my first authentic ‘Old Fashioned’.

Ask some locals for a techno/house party at a (secret) off-space – if you don’t find any of that, Gewölbe, Studio 672, Roxy or Gebäude 9 would be some great alternatives.

If you rather want to listen to some proper Jazz records than dancing in a club, you need to visit Metronom which is Cologne’s oldest Jazz-Bar – opend 1968. A very cosy place with Guiness from the tap and a nice selection of Whisk(e)ys.

What one song, past or present, sums up your country best?

I don’t know why, but this track is kind of typical German for me – as most of the minimal techno, that was released around the year 2000. Maybe because of the video’s aesthetics that reminds me on the 60s/70s Wirtschaftswunder-time and the typical German virtues.

How do most people prefer to consume music in your country? People, who are really into music and wants to listen to it in a proper quality, are preferring vinyl and/or high-quality downloads. I love to support the artists and so I buy cassettes and vinyl very often at BandCamp. For discovering some new music, I use Soundcloud, YouTube and Spotify.