Expatriarch’s genre-defying, creatively binding series Generations hands over the reins to established artists, who in turn select an up-and-comer they want to push out into the limelight. Last year’s season was an inspiring mix including Peaches and Gudrun Gut and as this year’s programme draws to a close, the picks are just as strong.
Bettina Köster, together with Berlin (and Exberliner) favourite Gut, was part of all-female bands Mania D and Malaria! in the heyday of the Wild West Berlin punk scene. Köster’s deep and sultry voice provided the seductive pull into the experimental beats and rhythms that disturbed the halls of early-day SO36. Mania D found a supporter in legendary British DJ John Peel, while Malaria! caught not only the eye of fellow German punk Nina Hagen, but Siouxsie & the Banshees, New Order and Nick Cave’s The Birthday Party. Leaving Berlin after Malaria! slowed down, Köster never left music, working on film soundtracks in New York, recording another Malaria! album with Gut in 1993 and teaming up with Berlin performer Jesse Evans in 2006 for project Autonervous.
With Malaria!’s prominence in the smash West Berlin documentary B Movie, having Köster preside over Generations couldn’t be more auspicious. But she’s not straying too far from her roots by picking German-language synth-punk band P.U.F.F., who with songs like “Identitätsverlust” and “Diese Stadt ist viel zu dreckig für mein Baby Baby Baby Baby” bring some muchneeded darkness back to Berlin’s twee-er music scene. If you’re still not convinced, you can check out the interview video between the artists below (in German) before the party.
EXPATRIARCH GENERATIONS Fri, Sep 18, 23:00 | Schwuz, Rollbergstr. 26, Neukölln, U-Bhf Rathaus Neukölln
