Bringing Other Voices to Berlin
In July 2017, pioneering music festival Other Voices brought its creative sensibilities from the wilds of Dingle, County Kerry, over to its kindred cultural spirit, Berlin.
The result was an intimate showcase of Ireland (and Berlin’s) current crop of musical luminaries, with a host of incredible performances held in the legendary Riverside Studios, just opposite the former Berlin Wall.
“Riverside is a real hub of creativity with 22 studios located within its building. With that amount of studios you obviously get a lot of musicians and producers coming and going. This leads to all sorts of collaborations and new ideas” says Craig Walker of duo Them There. One of the many acts who wowed at the Berlin outing, it was also the pair’s (its other member is Phoebe Killdeer, formerly of Nouvelle Vague) debut live performance.
Part of Tech Open Air Berlin, one of Europe's leading interdisciplinary events bridging technology, art, science, music and design, the intimate Other Voices gigs were brought to Germany in partnership with Creative Ireland and the Department of Foreign Affairs.
This special Berlin line-up was as eclectic as it was enthralling and boasted David Kitt’s current electronic guise as New Jackson, dreamy pop makers Talos, Tom Adams and his spellbinding falsetto, The Gloaming’s Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh, Walker and Killdeer’s new project Them There, as well as Balbriggan’s dance-pop charmer Soulé.
Speaking during her German visit Soulé explained “It’s so inspiring to be in Berlin. There’s such a buzz here. There’s been a lot happening in the Irish music scene of late so it’s humbling to be part of bringing it out here. We’ve had such support.”
Couldn’t make it to the Berlin showcase? Not to worry, Other Voices have now released six videos capturing these enigmatic performances at the iconic German studios. If you’ve ever wondered what condition Ireland’s modern musical output might be in, these six performances provide a pretty positive answer.
To watch these videos, click the links above or go to OtherVoices.ie