New singer-songwriter showcase from Sofa Salon

Dear Sofa Salooners, Just to let you know the Salon this Friday with Lapingra (IT) and Big Strong Brute (AU) is now booked out, but if you still want to see a great Berlin singer-songwriter, I can offer you a show with a Sofa Salon regular, the wonderful Eric Eckhart, this Friday night.

I’m always looking for ways to create more paid work for musicians, so Sofa Salon is proud to announce a new singer-songwriter night in Berlin featuring real Berliner food and original live music. Dörte, another Sofa Salon regular, approached Sofa Salon on behalf of the Kartoffelkiste, a Berlin-specialty restaurant at the Europa Center at Zoologischer Garten.

Under new management, they want to promote local musicians and we have organised a series of twice-monthly singer-songwriter events in July and August. It’s free entry and features some great Berlin-based musicians. Doors at 20:00. There’s not much over this side of town so come on over, gnaw down on some Eisbein and drink some beer with us.

KARTOFFELKISTE (click for a Google map link) at Tauentzienstraße 9  10789 Berlin.

The facebook event is here and you’ll be able to read about it in the Fast Forward Magazine here.

Cheers,
Sam

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Salons Februar – Juli 2012

Welcome back to Sofa Salon. Last month’s collaboration with Bremen agency Songs & Whispers was an amazing night. Thank you to Gillian Grassie for her songs and her generosity in sharing her harp with the audience, Adam Donen for the poetry and candlelight and Heiko and team at Songs & Whispers.

Have a listen to the new Sofa Salon podcast featuring February’s performers plus independent poetry and music from around the world including David Creese, Sharon van Etten and Jenny Hval. 

Regards,

Sam 

Friday 24 February: Gosia Winter (Aus) + Cera Impala (US) + Claudia Emmingham ( DE)

Three powerful performers, Berlin ladies all. Gosia Winter, a Polish-Australian songwriter and guitarist with a playful avant-pop style with the sensuality of 30’s jazz and the soul of Slavic folk, Cera Impala, a charismatic stalwart of Berlin’s bluegrass/americana scene who sounds like Mama Cass and Michelle Phillips with a wicked sense of humour, and Claudia Emmingham, a bi-lingual poet whose found her voice and bone-dry performance style in Berlin’s spoken word scene.

Einlass 19:00. Eintritt 6€. Email reservations to berlinsofasalon [ at ] googlemail.com

Friday 23 March: Miss Kenichi (DE) + guests

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.

With another musical guest and poet to be announced.

Friday 27 April: Phia (Aus) + Holly Mae and the Painted Room (US) + guests

Phia is the playful DIY-art-pop music project of Australian-in-Berlin multi-instrumentalist songwriter Sophia Exiner, think Regina Spektor or New Buffalo playing in a kitchen full of musical instruments. Holly Mae and The Painted Room is a literate art-folk project that draws inspiration from myths, fairtales and Greek tragedy, heavy on swooning, sparking sounds and harmonies.

Saturday 12 May: Sean Nicholas McMahon (Aus) + A Seated Craft (Aus) + guest

Continuing the Sofa Salon tradition of being a Berlin home for Australian independent music, we’re pleased to present Sean Nicholas McMahon and his plaintive Alt.Country/Folk songs. He comes from acclaimed Melbourne band Downhills Home. A Seated Craft is the warm, gossamer music of Alexia Peniguel. The underlying melancholy in her emotive music is leavened by its great, delicate beauty.

Saturday 23 June: SAND Summer Sofa Salon Summer Festival

Sofa Salon again joins with SAND Journal, Berlin’s English-language literary magazine, to create a day-long festival of incredible music and spoken word. We will be holding this somewhere extraordinary.

Friday 6 July: Lapingra (It) + guests

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.

Sofa Salon podcast number 1

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

Cheers,
Sam

Sofa Salon podcast Jan 2012 by SofaSalon

Sofa Salon #8 Thank You!

Sofa Salon Berlin – Wohnzimmer Konzert-Serie.

Sofa Salon #8 Thank You!
Musik: The Alma Church Choir (DE) + Lina Paul (DE) + Poesie: Mr. oCean (AUS)

ENG:
What a wonderful SOFA SALON night! A heartfelt welcome to the new people that came along, offered future living rooms, bought CDs and added themselves to the mailing list. My thanks also to the return guests and my gratitude to Neil the Barman and Sascha for their assistance. What beautiful performances from The Alma Church Choir, Lina Paul and Mr. oCean.

The last Sofa Salons for 2010 will be Thursday 25 November at Joe’s Bar, Prenzlauer Berg, and an early December living room concert at Sofa Salon HQ.

DE:
Ein wonderschön SOFA SALON! Ein herzliches Wilkommen auf die neues Menschen, die entlang kam, bot Zukunft Wohnzimmer, kaufte CDs und hat sich auf die Mailingliste. Mein Dank geht auch für die Stammgäste und meine Dankbarkeit für die Hilfe von Neil und Sascha. Wirklich schöne Aufführungen von The Alma Church Choir, Lina Paul und Mr. oCean.

Die letzte Sofa Salons für 2010 sind Donnerstag 25. November bei Joe’s Bar, Prenzlauer Berg, und ein Anfang Dezember wohnzimmer konzerte bei Sofa Salon Hauptsitz.

Watch a video for The Alma Church Choir song Ubuntu. Andreas told me ‘Ubuntu’ has various meanings in different African languages, and said Nelson Mandela explained it this way: “A traveler through a country would stop at a village and he didn’t have to ask for food or for water. Once he stops, the people give him food, entertain him. That is one aspect of Ubuntu but it will have various aspects. Ubuntu does not mean that people should not enrich themselves. The question therefore is: Are you going to do so in order to enable the community around you to be able to improve?”

Our first review

Thanks to mr oCean, inaugural Sofa Sessions poet, for this fine, comprehensive review of the weekend’s three Sofa Sessions shows for Moabit Kulturtage. You are very kind, sir! Click on the title for the link to the review.