Andreas Schneider is the founding figure behind one of the world’s most important synthesiser shops – Schneiders Laden in Kreuzberg. For more than 20 years, it has been shaping the sound of modern electronic music.
This year, Schneider will once again host Superbooth, a synth tradeshow and music festival with something for everyone.
How did it all start?
I started Superbooth in 2001. In the beginning, I realised that the retailers I had bought units from for my store were just unable to explain their inventions to audiences because they were too deep in the technical details. They didn’t know how to explain their instruments in a creative way. I then had a vision of a trade show that would be different. It’s about making the best show with the best conditions, educating the people about the products, where the manufacturer can produce things for the needs of the creative.
Richer Hawtin… [will] play the Superbooth afterparty at Tresor. This will be one of the highlights!
Anything new at Superbooth for 2023?
This year, we will do a second event with FEZ before Superbooth, called the Minibooth, which is for children from the ages of 4-15 who have no clue about electronic music. It’s amazing for them to hopefully open their minds, see the connection between electronic music and physics and have fun with music in general.
What are you excited about at Superbooth this year?
This year, Boris Blank from Yello will be there. He visited my shop when they played at Kraftwerk. I invited him, and even though he was a bit shy about coming, he said he would do it – but only if Daniel Miller would be there to interview him!
Last year, we also had Richie Hawtin present his Model 1 mixer and his Sake 36 and it was such a big success; he said that he wanted to do it again this year and that he would play the Superbooth afterparty at Tresor. This will be one of the highlights!
Is there something you look forward to at Superbooth every year?
We always invite a primary school class from Berlin to come in the morning. In the big auditorium, they are given a workshop where they learn how to make a noise, sound, or beat on a modular. Each kid finds their own personal sound, and then in the afternoon, they give their own concert in the auditorium.
This for me is when the event starts – when you have these kids, some of whom have never even had an instrument to play, and you show them how to make some music for the first time, that’s when I think, “Okay, Superbooth has started.”
- Superbooth, May 11-13, FEZ
