Dearhearts, Sofa Salon is back after the Sommerpause and I have some amazing lineups, collaborations and festival news for you for the rest of 2012. Feast your eyes and ears.
Dearhearts, Danach die Sommerpause, ‘Sofa Salon’ kommt wieder mit großartig Künstler and Festival Nachricht! Fest Ihre Augen und Ohren!
JULI
1
Sofa Salon 2nd Birthday Celebration! Emperor X (US) + Remarkable Shipwrecks (AU)
In collaboration with Berlin Booking Agency Paper and Iron, I’m proud to present an intimate concert from US underground electro-acoustic noise wunderkind Emperor X (Bar/None Records). Chad Matheny’s gleeful shows in tunnels, festivals, houses and bus stations are part fierce acoustic indie-rock and part sampled/looped noise heaven. Making his Berlin debut at Sofa Salon, Remarkable Shipwrecks is Melburnian Simon Morrison’s new project, all low-fi folk rock stripped and resonating with raw intensity.
JULI
6
Lapingra (IT) + Big Strong Brute (AU)
Italian toycore band Lapingra is a collaboration between two quirky musicians with shared passion for Barbie, bake-a-cakes, Björk, Disney soundtracks and Bauhaus. Their album uses toy instruments to bake oven-fresh and original songs. Big Strong Brute is the vehicle for Brisbane songwriter Paul Donoughue’s intelligent and sensitive folk-pop. He plays songs from new album, Avalanche Of Truth.
AUG
18
Ned Collette (AU), Ben Salter (AU) + Mark Geary (IE)
Three great songwriters grace us with music from their critically-acclaimed new albums. Ben Salter is from Brisbane bands Giants Of Science and alt.country collective The Gin Club and co-produced his intelligent, complex debut solo album The Cat with members of The Drones. Ned Collette is a past host and performer at Sofa Salon. He brings us literate musings from his sixth album, 2. Mark Geary is an Irish singer-songwriter whose time in NYC saw him share stages with acts like Jeff Buckley and Glen Hansard (The Swell Season, The Frames) as well as releasing four albums including the haunting melancholia of this year’s songs about love, songs about leaving.
SEP
5-7
Berlin Music Week Showcases
Sofa Salon and A Headful of Bees host three official showcases for Berlin Music Week.
Mi 5. Sep – Sofa Salon presents Phia (AU) + Town of Saints (NL) Australian songwriter Phia has made kalimba (African thumb piano) and loops the centre of her indie pop sound, constructing energetic, layered songs with soaring vocals reminiscent of Björk’s Vespertine album. She will play songs from her new album recorded in Poland. She is supported by Dutch/Finnish acoustic folk-punk act Town of Saints who are renowned for their joyous live shows and will be playing songs from their new EP The Silent Sea. Do 6. Sep –A Headful of Bees Music presents Eric Eckhart (US), Ken Burke (IE), Wasp Summer (AU), Miss Kenichi (DE) and Nina Hynes (IE) at Lovelite, F’hainMy label-collective A Headful of Bees showcases new music from five of Berlin’s finest folk/roots singer-songwriters at Friedrichshain venue Lovelite for Berlin Music Week: the classic guitar pop of Eric Eckhart, Ken Burke’s Irish acoustic-pop storytelling, Wasp Summer‘s soulful alt.country folk, the delicate East German Americana of Miss Kenichi and the experimental pop of well-known Irish indie chanteuse Nina Hynes. Fr 7. Sep – Sofa Salon presents Mute Swimmer (UK) + Il Tempo Gigante (DK) Over solid and ingenious melodies, Mute Swimmer commits darkly funny and metaphysical sabotage on the art of performance. Il Tempo Gigante is Danish musicianRolf Hansen whose distinctive guitar-style and layered folk-pop recalls a one-man Beirut or Radiohead.
OCT
6
Roller One (AU) + Justin Cusack (AU)
Both acts are previous Sofa Salon performers. I’m happy to welcome back Melburnians Roller One and Justin Cusack with their distinctive takes on dusty, spacious Australian Folk.
NOV
16
Matt Walker (AU) + Lucie Thorne (AU)
Matt Walker is a well-loved figure on the Australian roots music scene, known for his astonishing white-boy blues voice and mastery of dobro, lap steel and guitar. His tourmate, Lucie Thorne is an itinerant troubadour armed with a deadly red Guild electric guitar and a seductive, womanly voice.
Hallo and welcome back to Sofa Salon. I have my very own domain name now: www.sofasalon.de and, as of this morning, there are over 600 of you subscribed to the mailing list and facebook page. 600! Thank you friends of Sofa Salon. Your enthusiasm and attendance makes this little moveable stage possible for me and all the artists.
Here’s the Sofa Salon podcast for March 2012, featuring this month’s artists Miss Kenichi and Eric Eckhart plus great tracks from Roland Satterwhite, Sean M. Whelan & Isnod and The Gypsy Curse.
On to this month’s Sofa Salon. This month, we have a new host and her living room in Wedding. Email berlinsofasalon {aet} googlemail.com for reservations. 6€ eintritt. Einlass 19:00. Musik 20:00.
Friday 23 March: Miss Kenichi (DE) + Eric Eckhart (USA/Ire)
Miss Kenichi, born a trucker’s kid in a secluded little town in the woods of south-east Germany, makes a kind of parched and dreamy Americana with a husky voice that slips in under your defences. Joining Miss Kenichi is Eric Eckhart, a West Virginian by way of Ireland, who played the very first Sofa Salon and returns to us with a pocketful of big, warm folk-pop songs.
Miss Kenichi: Arrived
Eric Eckhart: Lost
Upcoming Sofa Salons:
Friday 27 April: Holly Mae and the Painted Room (US) + guests
Saturday 12 May: Sean Nicholas McMahon (Aus) + A Seated Craft (Aus) + guest
Saturday 23 June: SAND Summer Sofa Salon Summer Festival Friday 6 July: Lapingra (It) + guests
Sofa Salon is the monthly living room concert series showcasing the best Berlin-based singer-songwriters and poets alongside German and international guests.
I’m now doing a monthly podcast that features upcoming Sofa Salon artists and tracks from performers I want to support.
This is my first 30min podcast and features music and poetry from Gillian Grassie, Adam Donen, Sailor Days, Mute Swimmer and mr oCean. Gillian and Adam will be playing Sofa Salon on January 27, 2012. If you’d like to reserve your place, send an email to berlinsofa salon [at] googlemail.com.
Each podcast will be up on my Soundcloud page and hopefully up on iTunes. Don’t forget to
Sofa Salon 