This weekend edition of Kiezsalon returns to our familiar stomping grounds, the Musikbrauerei. Friday’s lineup features the Berlin debuts of art-folk-pop veteran Svitlana Nianio and string enthusiast Atsuko Hatano, along with polyrhythmic drummer Katharina Ernst and a DJ set by techno storyteller Shed. Saturday continues with Henry Earnest, Muireann Bradley and Conor.
Svitlana Nianio, a musician from the Kiev underground scene, emerged with her first group Cukor Bela Smert in the late 80s. Her 1999 solo debut Kytytsi melded modern and mediaeval influences, evoking a folk essence. Rooted in primaeval myths, her music intertwines temporal and otherworldly dimensions, embodying magic realism. Nianio experienced a resurgence in the 2010s, leading to reissues of her albums and a return to performing as well as the release of new material.
The “lost” album Transilvania Smile appeared last year, described by HHV Mag as “art folk pop” that is “wonderfully produced” and “amazingly zeitgeisty considering that it is almost 30 years old.”
Atsuko Hatano is an experimental string player, composer and improvisational live musician based in Tokyo. Live and in the studio, she constructs innovative multi-layered electronica, mainly using a five-string viola, pedals and Max/MSP. Over the past several years, Atsuko has released a trio of solo albums on Important Records. She also leads the collaborative project Triola, last seen in 2023 with the album Scapegoat, featuring contributions from the likes of Jim O’Rourke and Eiko Ishibashi.
Austrian-malaysian performer Katharina Ernst started playing the drums at age nine, with an early focus on polymetric, odd and chaotic structures. Across her work, she puts emphasis on transgressing the fields of music, fine arts and choreography, celebrating a hybrid notion of the term “composition”, and allows herself for various forms of expression and translation. Taz writes, her music is “avant-garde, but surprisingly accessible”, as she uses her drums “percussively, but also as a melodic instrument.”
Shed, one of the many monikers of René Pawlowitz, stands as a distinguished figure in techno. Originating from Frankfurt, René relocated to Berlin in 2002, where he began releasing on his own label Soloaction Records as well as Ostgut Ton and 50Weapons. In his DJ sets and live performances, Shed merges rough dance floor skeletons with detailed melodies, harmonic structures and airy arrangements for an evocative performance that echo in the subconscious long after they end.
We are always happy to be back at the 120-year-old building of the Musikbrauerei in Prenzlauer Berg. Tucked away between Greifswalder Straße and Volkspark Friedrichshain, the former Schneider brewery is a rare building in former East Berlin for having survived, unspoiled, the creeping tide of gentrification. As we usually sell out, we recommend booking tickets in advance.
