Kira Stachowitsch

Do you dream of editing the freshest fashion magazine, influencing with your own style, and DJ-ing in the greatest party city in Europe? Well, the Austrian Kira Stachowitsch has done it all. The brains behind the magazines Material Girl and Indie provides a cocktail of colourful, multicultural fashion straight from Berlin ’hoods.

What has been your best experience DJ-ing in Berlin?

“I used to DJ with my friend — the artist Daliah Spiegel — before she moved to Shanghai last January. We played at quite a few of the infamous Berlin Fashion Week opening parties by the bloggers from Dandy Diary. We particularly loved playing at their punk/squat house-themed party, which was pretty wild, and I also vividly recall another of those gigs, where Daliah and I were wearing dozens of fake glue-on tattoos on our faces and bodies that did not come off for days. I went to all my appointments at the fashion trade shows wearing those tattoos the next day, naturally.”

I know that your favourite areas are around Kreuzberg and Neukölln, areas where immigrant communities blend with bohemians. What crossovers from international communities can you see in fashion?

“I think the last show of the Serbian-born and Berlin-based designer Sadak, which incorporated flowing, unisex designs with silk burkas, is a perfect example of the blend of greatness that surrounds us here. We are an international team from very diverse backgrounds here at Indie and Material Girl ourselves — taking in all those influences is key to talking about popular culture today.”

Name the most Indie-like persona you’ve ever seen on the streets of Berlin and who would make a perfect Material Girl?

“If I may dream away into previous eras, I see a young David Bowie or Nick Cave wandering the streets of Neukölln — our Indie spirit animals. And for Material Girl, maybe Jane Birkin.”

Dandy Diary

David Kurt Karl Roth and Carl Jakob Haupt are the sharp fashion critics behind Dandy Diary — in their own words, “the most massive men’s fashion blog in the world”. Their adamant approach and astute sense of humour make them stand out on the fashion-blog scene. Haupt explained their stance further…

What is the most embarrassing fashion trend in Berlin right now?

“Most embarrassing is that many, many people still dress in this whole gothy, layered, Rick Owens style and see themselves as the fashion forefront. This look has had its time but we have definitely moved on. Berliners to me seem very slow in adapting new tendencies in style and stick to trends for too long. It’s the same with all these generic techno clubs. Most of them still look like Bar 25, which of course was legendary but closed, like, five years ago. No one really seems to want to add something new to their scene.”

I just saw your Berlin City Tour editorial and found it very witty and amusing. Could you tell me more about your thoughts behind it and what you wanted to pinpoint about the city?

“The tourist look is one of those looks everyone would agree is ‘unfashionable’, but with fashion trends such as normcore and a general functionality trend in high fashion, it became really cool. Though it’s much harder to decode than, let’s say, high heels, a Birkin bag and a fur coat. During the shoot people on the street didn’t recognise us as fashion guys, but rather just as two of the city’s thousands of tourists. Total camouflage in a very trendy way.”

Has living in this city sharpened your sense of fashion in any way?

“Maybe not in fashion. We seek fashion inspiration in other cities such as London, which is much more forward. But Berlin is a great city to learn about liberalism in. It’s definitely one of the most liberal cities in the world. I don’t know why this doesn’t really affect the fashion scene. So much more should be possible here, but most of the scene really sticks to old ideals, old looks and the trends they know from the US and London. So all this liberalism doesn’t really lead to new creative levels. It’s a pity.”

Magic Island

When the Canadian musician Magic Island moved to Berlin, she found a keyboard on the street where she lives. With childish energy and heartfelt lo-fi dream-pop, she continues her music adventures as Magic Island.

How were your personality and your music influenced by moving from Canada to Berlin?

“Before Berlin I actually lived in Poland, where my father is from, and prior to this, Canada. As an artist I definitely became naked in Berlin, embracing my inner identities and demons without fear — the ability to openly exist and express yourself is something invaluable that the ethos of this city offers.”

What is the first sound that comes into your mind when you think of Berlin?

“The emotional journey of a techno set. Where the introduction of every new element — snare, high hat, etc — cannot go unnoticed, and progresses this story that your body and mind are understanding symbiotically.”

I know that you found the keyboard you are performing with on Sonnenallee in Neukölln. What other surprises has the city given you?

“I’ve furnished my flat mostly with found objects. Furniture. Quite an assortment of cassette tapes. Berlin has an amazing ecosystem of sharing, trading, donating, borrowing… Contemporary communism.”

Your songs are very heartfelt and talk about feelings. Is Berlin a city of love for you?

“Any city could be full of love, it just needs to come out of you first. Many loves have been loved and lost here, and I hope to continue that way. I am addicted to love but I am also addicted to the suffering that comes from losing it. A high is nothing without an equally severe low.”

Kianí del Valle

The contemporary dancer Kianí del Valle creates her conceptual worlds in motion between Berlin and London. Born in Puerto Rico and educated in Canada and New York, she constantly explores the blending territories of movement, music, choreography and film in her multifaceted creation.

How have the different places you have lived inspired and changed your creative expression in dance?

“Living in different places has definitely shaped my work incredibly. There is a little bit of every city in my dances, from the way I move to the selection of music. Everyone should be an immigrant at some point in life. Not only because it exposes you to different cultures, food and people, but also because of the struggle. It’s good to reach a point in life where you feel proud of your own struggles.”

The relationship between one’s surroundings and body is extremely important in the performing arts. Which spaces in Berlin influence your work directly or indirectly?
“Directly, living in Neukölln. I like to be exposed to the hectic mix of cultures in each city. Neukölln gives me that; other parts of the city feel like suburbia to me. Maybe I like the craziness.

“Indirectly — the canal. It’s not the Caribbean, but I have realised that having water close to me makes me feel good. I love water.”

You are not only a dancer but also a creative director for dance movies. What projects are you working on at the moment?

“At the moment I am working with a group of dancers in Berlin, for what has become the beginning of my dance company. I am also working on a series of nine dance films in collaboration with many music producers I really admire and am writing a feature film with my creative partner Paola Baldion. And working on Alien, a project that joins all this forms together — music, dance and film.”

Credits:

Words by Weronika Pérez Borjas

Photography by Harling & Darsell

Styling by Andrea Horn

Hair & Make-Up by Velta Berzina using Mac

Fashion credits:

Kira 1: Dress by Stine Goya, boots by Premiata. 2: Dress by Stine Goya, scarf by Monki

Jakob 1: Shirt & jacket by Henrik Vibskov, pants by Adidas, shoes by Premiata, watch and socks: private 2: T-shirt by G-Star, jacket by Tata Christiane

Magic Island: Dress by Gianni

Kiani 1: Dress by American Apparel 2: Highwaist panty by American Apparel, top by American Apparel, ring by Cease & Desist

– How does coming from Australia influence your music?

I think since the climate in Australia is always quite warm, my music is definitely summery, feel-good and not too dark. I’m lucky enough my folks have their place by the beach so I can just sit at the balcony, with my laptop and keyboard and compose.

Sydney is not too big so there’s a lot of musicians involved in my label Future Classic that live close to each other. That means we can go to each other’s studios and write music together.

– I heard there is “Something About You”. What is it that made you go into music?

I started to listen to the music by the age of 10 with my older brother. The first thing I remember

– How does coming from Australia influence your music?

I think since the climate in Australia is always quite warm, my music is definitely summery, feel-good and not too dark. I’m lucky enough my folks have their place by the beach so I can just sit at the balcony, with my laptop and keyboard and compose.

Sydney is not too big so there’s a lot of musicians involved in my label Future Classic that live close to each other. That means we can go to each other’s studios and write music together. listening to was Daft Punk’s ‘’Around the world’’ from 1996. That’s how I got hooked up on dance music. Then I started to DJ and play a lot and wanted to produce on my own. About 3 years ago I started writing professionally. My brother was also listening to Nirvana, Pearl Jam and such so yeah, interesting, I could have turned out completely different!

– Is there any kind of music that you personally listen to, but your fans would not guess as an influence on your records?

I love Tame Impala, an Australian band from Perth.

– The video to “Permission to love” ‘has great visuals! How did you come up with it?

The record company Future Classic pitched the idea. The song is about a personal relationship of mine, but instead of making it really serious, they wanted to make it poppy and poke fun of it. The visuals are from an old computer game called ‘’Leisure Suit Larry’’- it’s pretty much a hilarious guy running around and trying to get laid. It’s from the late 80’s so I just missed it as a kid, haha.

– What can we expect from you in the upcoming months?

I’m just 4 shows into my European tour of around 18 performances. I am also planning to release one album by the end of the year, with the first single coming out in the next two months. A lot to be looking forward to!

Credits:

Words by Weronika Pérez Borjas

Photography by Clara Uddman

Special thanks to WOW2015, SJ, ESS HOTELL

The big woman in front makes a grimace. She is a madrina, the godmother, a priestess of the Afro-Cuban religion santeria. The reason we are here together is to meet los muertos, my dead people, and ask for their advice. A dark room with the frames lighted from below. Picture of a ghostly white foot; my eyes caress it, nestle in the perfectly straight cut in the middle of it. They slip away through the face of a black man half-covered with a sheet, examine the hands crossed on somebody’s chest in an eternal gesture. AIDS Related Death, the title says. I am in the morgue with Andres Serrano at Fotografiska.

When the dead talk, the madrina listens carefully, with her head tilted towards an empty chair. She smokes the cigar together with the spirit. Then she turns back to me, explains in her figurative language, repeats, “Mami, copy me, mami.” She said I have a dead ancestor who protects me, the one from some region with large fields. “What do they reap there, mami?” The sugar cane, I respond, and suddenly everything makes sense, and I see my Cuban grandfather, the one who hanged himself in the middle of the street, next to me.

Did Serrano ever talk to his muertos when taking his utterly peaceful pictures in the morgue? Or did he ever hear the voices of his Cuban ancestors talking from the depths of santeria? His perfectly clean imagery of religious statues and his streams of blood, semen and piss seem so far away from the tropical, unbridled Cuban spirituality, enclosed in colourful figures, altars bedecked with flowers, flowing with honey and rum. Yet I still see the Madonna of Regla in his Black Mary. I see Yemaya, the goddess of the seas, in his Pieta, with the girl holding a carp pressed to her breast. The blood of Saint Lazarus leaks from his Bodily Fluids series.

I go out trembling. Is it because of the turtles watching me, because she said I have a limping ghost pulling my leg when I sleep, or because I need to buy a cake and drown it in the sea with the picture of me and my boyfriend in the middle of it? The furry head of El Gran Cabron and the nail piercing through the feet of the crucified Christ. The unholy red halo around the pope’s head. Tiny lights around the faceless figure of the Virgin Mary. Serrano’s fleshy, carnal spirituality hunts me as I try to slip unnoticed through the exhibition room. But the dead have already talked to me. The unearthliness stared through the photographer’s obsession with the bodily. Los muertos are here and there is no chance for redemption.

Credits:

Words by Weronika Pérez Borjas

All images by Andres Serrano from previous exhibition at Fotografiska Museum

#1 Chicken (2008) #2 Jaguar Shit (2008) #3 Semen Blood III (1990)

#4 Pieta (2012) #5 Virginian Dragoon .44 Magnum (1992) #6 Piss Christ (1987)

You conquered the music world with your track Holy Bubbles. What does “holy” mean for you?

“Many personal things are holy for me – material things I’ve owned, gifts I’ve gotten, words and thoughts someone’s shared with me. Although I don’t believe in God or any particular religion, I am religious in the way I am, because of my upbringing. Some people like to read self-help books; I prefer to consume spiritualism and travel inwards.”

You often use Kurdish political symbols, such as the flag, in your performances. How is your spirituality influenced by your Kurdish roots?

“I reflect my emotions in my music and in my visual expression. You can find God, smells, flags, spiritual life, realism, Kurdistan, the good girl and the whore there. Especially being ‘immigrant Swedish’, it’s almost natural I’m becoming politicised. Everything that stands out itches somebody else’s butt!”

On the other hand, is Sweden spiritual for you in some way?

“I guess we are not the most spiritual country. I often feel like Swedish people are scared of spiritualism, like you are too out-there or stuck in an acid trip, unless you stick to only Yoga and incense. I think all levels of spiritualism is nice. In other parts of the world, mental illness such as schizophrenia is described as a spiritual awakening. I think that’s a good alternative.”

Would you say you embarked on a long trip with your first album?

“I worked nonstop for a year. My focus was to show myself just as I am – dorky, stressed, scared, confident, Kurdish, Swedish, human being, citizen of the world, universe, force, power, etc. That’s a classic pop album for me – exploring different sides of oneself. I want to encapsulate my views, feelings, life, experience and restlessness in it.”

Both the video to Slippin’ Around and your release party were done in collaboration with the artist Makode Linde. How do you two connect and find a coherent vision?

“We’ve been collaborating for few years and we complement each other very well. Neither of us sets boundaries in our expression. I want to keep openness and ambiguity in my videos. That’s why Slippin’ Around can feel very modern, but at the same time even religious or tribal. Makode had a total freedom to direct it and as a fountain of ideas he is, it turns out, bursting with creativity. He is incredibly good at translating my music into visuals, also because he makes music himself and he is a real genius.”

The release party by Grolsch Studios was indeed a magical and ambiguous evening. Do you think a perfect party can be a spiritual experience?

“I really believe so. It’s a party when everybody can be exactly as they are, right here and right now. In spiritualism you can reach extreme openness and it’s the same with the best parties, when you feel totally free. I hope we made everybody feel like that last Friday – it was the most intimate mega party in Zhala’s world!”

Zhala – Holy Bubbles (Make Make Remake Remake Remix)

Credits:

Words by Weronika Pérez Borjas

Photography by Felix Swensson

Styling by Fiffi Jenkins

Make-up by Josefina Zarmén

Hair by Karolina Danielson

Zhala is out now on Konichiwa Records

For more info, please visit Grolsch Studios.

Fashion Credits:

1. Kimono by Minimarket, top by Weekday, skirt – Zhala’s own

2. Jacket – talent’s own, top by Weekday, skirt by Monki

3. Vest by This Is Sweden, kimono by Minimarket

4. Shirt – talent’s own

Should I really refer to Makode’s (in)famous “Painful Cake” or remind of Zhala’s unconventional visual style and mantra-like music videos such as “Holy Bubbles” or ‘’Prophet’’? Do I even need to mention that the singer is the very honourable first artist signed to Robyn’s Konichiwa Records? Even though any of these well-known facts would be enough to attract crowds of culture-literate clubbers craving for a music experience, it seems that Makode and Zhala’s collaboration reaches even further.

The offical mixtape for the party, made by Zhala for us.

With the DJ sounds and live performances of such intriguing personas as Kornel Kovacs, Lap See Lam or the Venezuelan queen of electronics Aérea Negrot, the event invites to a hedonistic wonderland full of surprises. The slogan of the event is ‘’Release Body’’ and that is exactly what Zhala and Makode want us to experience: a carnal and spiritual indulgence in the wave of music and inspiring visuals. The most efficient connoisseurs of the corporal pleasures will have the opportunity to enter the obscurities of the Naked Room, curated by multi-artist Alexi Carpentieri.

Zhala – Slippin Around
Directed by Makode Linde

Credits:

Words by Weronika Pérez Borjas

For more information Grolsch Studios & Facebook event page