Robert Carrithers

Berlin Portraits: Mark Reeder

   I was in Berlin frantically running around with Chris Hughes filming interviews for Richard Lowenstein´s documentary about Rowland S. Howard. We met with Mark Reeder to do an interview. We had planned to do an interview somewhere outside in Kreuzberg since it was a nice day. We wanted to do it in a park and opted for sitting outside a pub/bar instead. Mark was very patient with me. I took far too long setting up the camera properly for the perfect composition. All I knew about Mark at that time was some connection with Lydia Lunch that I wanted to follow up with after I had interviewed her. Chris and I had more or less specific questions exploring Rowland S. Howard´s working relationship with Lydia. Mark was on tour with both of them and got to know them. At that time he worked as a sound engineer and was co-managing the all-girl band Malaria! They played support for Lydia and Rowland. Mark told many funny stories about being on the road with them. When we had finished the interview we went into the old style Berlin bar and I took this photo. I think it catches Mark´s impish nature in some way. Little did I know at the time, I had interviewed and photographed a Berlin historical character that had influenced Berlin music for three decades.

I knew the name Mark Reeder was familiar, but it wasn´t until several days after the interview did I realize who exactly we interviewed. He is known as one of the Godfathers of the early electronic music and gothic music scene. He is a musician and record producer. He started working for a Virgin Records in his native Manchester when he was 14 and it took off from there. He moved to Berlin in 1978 and has been an early pioneer of the electronic music scene . He is founded the electronic dance music label MFS, (which stands for "Masterminded For Success") The name MFS was actually taken from the initials of Ministry for State Security  otherwise known as the Stasi in East Germany. It is said that he coined the term trance music. He also discovered and guided the international DJ Paul Van Dyk. Mark's career has spanned over three decades. He has been a participant and behind the scenes influence for many now famous artists, spread over a wide cross section of contemporary musical genres.

There are too many things to write about Mark, I will try to get to the main points, but you can read more in his own words if you click on his highlighted name. Mark Reeder first formed the early punk band The Frantic Elevators in Manchester in early 1977. In 1978, he decided to leave England and moved to Berlin.  He became Factory Records German representative promoting the bands Joy Division and A Certain Ratio and at the same time worked as sound engineer and manager of Malaria! and Die Toten Hosen. In 1981 he formed the band "Die Unbekannten" along with Alistair Gray and Thomas Wydler that combined the best of new wave, gothic and post-punk music. In 1983, Mark helped put together the Berlin Special of The Tube, a popular and highly influential UK channel 4 TV pop programme. This show featured music from both sides of the walled city.  It was also the first time that a British TV crew had ever filmed a pop programme both in the GDR and West Berlin.  In 1984, "Die Unbekannten" changed their name to "Shark Vegas! " and toured Western Europe with New Order. Mark had contacts with the East berlin underground music scene and travelled a lot to East Berlin for concerts. He helped to smuggle Die Toten Hosen over to East Berlin for their two secret gigs in 1982 and 1988 (the 1982 gig being the first concert by a western punk band in East berlin, disguised as a religious service). In summer 1989, he was officially asked if he would produce the album Torture, for up-and-coming East German indie band "Die Vision" for the East German state owned record label AMIGA in East Berlin. This was probably the first East-West joint venture. Mark is recognized as the only Englishman ever to have make a record in the East, because literally days after finishing recording the album, the notorious Berlin wall fell.

Mark had made useful contacts at AMIGA the (now former) East German state owned record label, now renamed ZONG He managed to convince them to allow him to set up a new electronic dance label office in the "Abhoer Raum 101" situated in the building directly behind the Reichstag. In December 1990, Mark founded his own music record label "Masterminded For Success" or MFS as it became known. Mark had a gift for uncovering the hidden talents of many early techno and trance artists. As an artist himself, Mark was the creative driving force behind his labels, which provided a great platform for many young and then unknown artists. He ran both his labels with an unconventional approach and a passion rarely seen in the music industry. Reeder was deeply devoted to all his artists and was involved in almost every aspect of their musical productions, from their concept, recording and mastering, to PR texts, as well as their artistic cover-design ideas.

In 1993, a trance music documentary Berliner Trance was born, presented by Mark Reeder, directed by Ben Hardyment.Since then MFS have unwittingly pioneered in creating trends rather than following them, for example, in February 1992 MFS released the worlds first real Trance Compilation:Tranceformed from Beyond (this album comprised of specially remixed and sequenced tracks). It was also the first time, that a compilation had been created whereby the music continuously melted together without a pause - like a DJ mix - all tracks were specially remixed for the compilation by Cosmic Baby & or Mijk van Dijk.

In the meantime, Mark has returned to his own music production. He worked with German filmmaker Joerg Buttgereit on many of his film and theatre projects (In 1991, Mark starred in the Joerg Buttgereit splatter film Nekromantik 2.) Reeder has since remixed tracks for many well-known artists like the Pet Shop Boys, Sam Tazlor-Wood and Bad Lieutenant. In September 2009, he released a collaboration album of reworks of tracks by Blank & Jones called Reordered for which he rewrote and replayed all the tracks. This album features vocals by such artists as Robert Smith of The Cure, Steve Kilbey of The Church, Bernard Summer of Joy Division/New Order/Bad Lieutenant, Claudia Brueken of Propaganda and Anne Clark. Mark just keeps going and going like an Energizer battery working and creating. Listen to his music and read his own words by clicking on his highlighted name which will bring you to his site.

Berlin Portraits: Christoph Dreher

I was rushing around Berlin filming interviews for Australian filmmaker Richard Lowenstein for his documentary about Rowland S. Howard. I was very curious about meeting with Christoph Dreher. I had heard so much about him. When The Birthday Party first came to Berlin they stayed with Christoph Dreher. When I met Christoph I was having difficulty because I had to film with two cameras without any help or assistance. I was all thumbs and a bit awkward, but Christoph graciously put up with it all and told some great stories about Nick Cave, Rowland S. Howard, Mick Harvey and the Birthday Party band members who had stayed in his loft. Christoph was there from the beginning in Berlin involved with music and film. He was one of the first revolutionary music pioneers in Berlin when he founded the post-punk band Die Haut in 1980. Die Haut was primarily an amazing instrumental band with sometime guest singers such as Lydia Lunch, Nick Cave, Debbie Harry, Oliver Schütz etc. The first line up of the band consisted of Thomas Wydler, Martin Peter, Remo Park and Christoph. He had studied film-making and started making music videos for his band Die Haut and then went on to make music videos for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds for songs such as "Tupelo", "The Singer" and "Mercy Seat“. He then went on to make numerous music documentaries as director and writer and won lots or awards such as the Grimme Preis. He made a lot of incredible music documenteries for German TV ZDF such as "POP ODYSSEE 2 - HOUSE OF THE RISING PUNK" covering the New York punk scene and the 18 part series "LOST IN MUSIC" for ZDF/arte/3sat. Please click on Christoph´s highlighted name to see his extensive bio and all other highlighted names for further information. Since 2000, Christoph is a well respected professor teaching audiovisual media at Merz Akademie for Design in Stuttgart and he still continues to make film

Berlin Portraits: Thomas Wydler

I was in Berlin filming interviews for Australian filmmaker Richard Lowenstein´s documentary about Rowland S. Howard. One of my first interviews was with Thomas Wydler. I had been filming on my own in Berlin with out any assistance using two cameras. The big camera Sony Z1 and then the smaller Canon 7D because of the great HD quality of the camera. I had filmed two other people prior to this, Oliver Schütz and Christoph Dreher. I was stressed, running late and Thomas was very patient. I was all thumbs that day and as a result Thomas was kind enough to do a second interview with my loyal and helpful ha, ha assistant interviewer Chris Hughes. We managed to do a proper interview in the same restaurant. The one thing I like about this photo is the colour coordination. Here Thomas looks deep in thought pondering the future of the universe.

Thomas is a Swiss musician who has made Berlin his home. He has been one of the core members of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. He has been playing drums for the band since 1985. He was also one of the original members of the infamous Berlin band Die Haut. He is presently pursuing a solo career and has put a new CD called Soulsheriff. Please click on his name to go to his myspace page to listen to some of his music.

Berlin Portraits: Mick Harvey

I do not know if this fits in to be a Berlin portrait because Mick is all over the place, but it was taken in Berlin. I was in Berlin filming interviews for Richard Lowenstein´s documentary about Rowland S. Howard and at the same time I was completing the filming of my documentary about the band Fatal Shore. I met with Mick Harvey to film an interview with him for the Fatal Shore documentary, which is kind of interesting how these two projects crossed over each other because of Mick´s history with Rowland S. Howard. It was more than nice that Mick made the time to meet with me considering that he arrived in Berlin on Friday night, had to work on a film early Saturday afternoon, met me for an hour at about 4PM and then had to be at the airport to fly back to London at 7PM to work with PJ Harvey on her new album. We managed to do the interview properly with the help of Chis Hughes interviewing and the use of Christoph Dreher´s balcony overlooking Berlin. We even rushed through some photographs and this is one of them. I certainly appreciate Mick for taking the time to do all this and it was a true pleasure to meet Mick in person finally. He is someone I consider a legend and a major influence.

Mick Harvey is a musician that I have always respected. I grew up on the legendary Australian band The Birthday Party and I remember ages ago in New York at Danceteria watching and listening to the screeching guitar of Rowland S. Howard, Nick Cave screaming into the mic and there was Mick Harvey playing guitar. Mick´s guitar playing reminded me of James Williamson of The Stooges somewhat, but he had a unique style of his own. I have always thought that The Birthday Party were the logical heir of Iggy and The Stooges. My opinion anyway. If you click on all of the highlighted names you can find out much more information about the bands and the people involved. I am only here to give my perspective. After the breakup of The Birthday Party, Mick moved on from guitar to drums and reformed with his friend Simon Bonney the Australian band "Crime and the City Solution" and then finally with Nick Cave formed Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The rest is history pretty much after that. Mick went on to do many solo projects which I personally love. He did these amazing two solo CD's of Serge Gainsbourg songs, translated from French into English: Intoxicated Man and Pink Elephants.He has gone on to work with PJ Harvey and has produced the musicians Anita Lane, Robert Forster, Conway Savage and Rowland S. Howard. Mick produced and played drums on Rowland S. Howard´s last album "Pop Crimes". For the last 3 years Mick has been focusing on his solo career putting out two really good albums "One Man´s Treasure" and "Two of Diamonds". Mick is presently in the process of co-producing and playing on the new PJ Harvey album. I have been listening a lot to his song "Out Of Time Man" which is featured in the TV series "Breaking Bad". I can´t stop listening to it. A brilliant song and to be honest it is a song that really captures my state of mind these days. I can´t heap enough praise on Mick. Any kind words will never be enough to match his talent. Please, to find out further information about Mick and what he is doing please go to his website or click on his name. All names and bands highlighted take you to their respected sites: http://www.mickharvey.com

Vienna Portraits: Helge Hinteregger/Throat Music

I was visiting Vienna and was out with friends Heike, Reini and Ernest. We all met at a street festival in Vienna. We drank some beer and listened to some bands in the street. Heike suddenly told us to follow her. She said that she wanted to show us something unique and special. She led us through crowded streets filled with people and stalls selling food and drink. We then turned down a narrow passage. We heard strange loud guttural screams and sounds emitting from a brightly lit room at the end of the dark passage. We entered a bright yellow room filled with people watching a wild man with a mop of Red-hair working on an electronic keyboard screaming and making extreme faces as if he was in agonizing pain. The sounds coming out of his mouth and throat were sounds that I had never heard before. These human and electronic sounds mixed together produced an unearthly sound that vibrated through the room. The closest I could describe the sound and music is a mix of shaman and deep Mongolian throat singing. I found out later that I came somewhat close to my description when I met Helge and spoke to him.

Helge Hinteregger started throat music in 2009. He uses his larynx for the production of clicking sounds and noises.The sounds are picked up by a self-developed microphone, which is mounted outside on the larynx. The signal is then processed live by digital touch pads. The mouth and throat serve as an additional resonance chamber. Helge Hinteregger doesn’t use any pre-prepared sounds or samples.I went on to do some research and found out that this instrument is new. It is a double microphone fixed on his larynx and processes through three electronic touch-pads and Helge uses a mixing board to alter the various sounds produced. The description here does not do this music justice and you just have to experience it! 

Helge performs solo concerts, but he also has two bands that he does concerts with. He has a band called Flugeld with Martin Zrost on bass and sax and Paul Skrepek on drums. Helge plays throat of course! The other band is called Noxe with the same line-up plus Hannes Löschel on keyboards and Helge playing throat. When the concert was over I just looked at Heike and asked, "What was that???!!!"

Heike just looked at me and replied' "That was neo-no-wave-noise-freakout music!"

Go to Helge's site and find out more: http://www.throatmusic.at/

Vienna Portraits: Heike Mangold

I met Heike Mangold in New York in the late '80s. I met her through the infamous and notorious Weisenheimer. I mentioned the Weisenheimer in other posts before, but will add some facts about him. The Weisenheimer was and is a slippery character known to create havoc and leave behind shattered lives wherever he appears. He would slip in and out of cities throughout the world creating chaos and then disappearing without notice. One day he arrived at my door with Heike. I couldn't turn them away. What can I say? He was and is a friend of mine. It is my motto that you have to stick by your friends for better or worse. He introduced Heike as The Kid. After they both stayed with me for awhile they disappeared one night and I did not see Heike for several years. When I saw Heike again she was no longer with the Weisenheimer. He had taken her on a journey throughout the world and Heike was no longer The Kid. We caught up on what she has been doing and I guess the Weisenheimer has had a good influence for a change.

Heike has been doing doing music for almost 25 years. She started singing background in the Austrian band called Billion Bob and discovered that she had a real talent for playing drums. She started playing drums on her own. She traveled throughout the world playing drums, but finally came back to Vienna and started playing in bands again. She also started studying the drums at the American Institute of Music. She proceeded to play with lots of bands nonstop in a blur of activity. She started playing in a punk band called Open the Barngates and played with them for  two years. She then went on to start an all girl band called Mangold. Heike then had a child and stopped playing music for a few years, but couldn't get the music out of her blood and played in a band called The Cover Versions, a project in memory of a band member who killed himself.

With music still in her blood, she found it difficult to be a mother and be in a band touring, so she switched careers. She was determined to still be involved with music. She has been working in the cultural business for 15 years in Vienna. She started with the Gasthaus Vorstadt creating programs  and organizing tours for children's theater and various cabarets throughout Austria. She has been working at the Music Information Center Austria for 6 years now and is dedicated to doing something for the Austrian music scene. MICA is there to support Austrian musicians and music in all situations. Heike is slowly going back to her musical roots and started singing in a country and western band called The Wichita and playing the drums in a band called Royal South. 

And I forgot to add, Heike is doing something very unique and special. She has formed an event with other people called Babyclub, a club for children and parents usually held on Sundays, parties with special DJs and music. A Club for parents with their little children, there is nothing similiar on this planet.To have a better understanding, look at the youtube video and the interview witth Heike: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orhnmAa0Yt4

Vienna Portraits: Reini

I met Reini in 1992 in New York. I was introduced to him by a mutual Vienna friend by the name of the Wisenheimer. The Wisenheimer was and is a very good friend of mine who was a charming and  known troublemaker in New York. A mysterious character that would disappear for a long time and then reappear when you least expected it. Reini was quite different from the Wisenheimer and we became good friends. We have been in contact ever since. Reini grew up in the green forests of Austria and wandered to Vienna at the age 15. He liked the gray Vienna compared to the green forests and made it his home.

Reini then discovered the thing called school. He went to school for five years and learned about rock and roll, left-wing politics, jazz, blues, more rock and roll and he got anarchy injected into his veins. He left school and jumped straight into the world of rock and roll playing guitar in the famous Viennese punk band " Scheisskadetten" with the infamous Knopfler brothers in the early '80s.He realized that he needed to eat and make money so he became a taxi driver for ten long years. He went on to play bass in an even more famous band in Vienna called "Die Coyoten Von Bagdad".

He went through a life change, something about getting older and changed from the world of rock and roll to the world of desk top publishing and started his company called blacksheep productions but he couldn't sit still for too long. He escaped to Trinidad and Tobago and developed a passion for the culture and music of Trinidad and Tobago. As a result he became a DJ called  "DJ Blacksheep" and has been on a mission to expose as many people as possible to the rhythms and sounds of Trinidad and Tobago music. He has been a DJ for five years on the Viennese radio station "Orange 94.0". He still has lots of passion, develops musical instrument iphone applications and he still has anarchy in his veins.

Berlin Portraits: Sheela Lionheart

I had to go to Berlin to film interviews for a documentary about Rowland Howard for Australian filmmaker Richard Lowenstein. I had all of the interviews set up. I was already on my way to Berlin when I had found out that the friend that I was staying with had to leave Berlin and I couldn't stay there. I made several quick calls to other friends and could not find anyone home. I accepted the fact that I had the extra added expense of a hotel, but then my mobile phone rang. It was Sheela Lionheart calling to ask when I was going to come to Berlin. I told her the situation and she kindly offered to let me stay at her place.I have to write something about this photo. Usually I do the photo myself, but Sheela wanted to collaborate and have the photo represent herself the way that she wanted it to. She did the photoshop on this photo in a way that she wanted to and I took the photo, hence, the collaboration.

I met Sheela a month before when I was filming the 30th anniversary party of Einsturzende Neubauten. I was busy filming and I kept hearing a deep smoky Berlin type of voice asking me questions. Sheela introduced herself to me. I didn't know her that well and for her to call me out of the blue was kind of magical. For me, Sheela is a kind of magical Berlin sprite. Other people have called her a shape-shifter that turns into various shapes and forms. The truth is she's a magical singer, musician and composer who plays a wide assortment of instruments. She works at home in her makeshift studio. The shape-shifting happens to her when she madly works on her compositions without sleeping for days at a time. When I took this photo, she was twirling around the room like a dervish on fire, playing the guitar and singing lyrics in an ancient language. If you look closely you might see several shapes and forms that she changes into.

Sheela told me that she lived in the Schöneberg area of Berlin. When I first went to Berlin, eons ago, I had stayed on the very same street in Schöneberg. And yes, it was kind of magic. I arrived at Sheela's and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that she lived directly across from where I had first stayed in Berlin. Sheela and I stayed up all night and talked. I told her the story about how I had first come to Berlin.

I was living in New York and was getting ready to make my very first trip to Berlin. Someone gave me the Christopher Isherwood book "Berlin Stories" to read before going. These were stories about Christopher Isherwood living in decadent Berlin before Hitler came to power. I read this book on my journey to Berlin. I made plans to stay with an old friend Barbara and her flatmate Brigitta. I arrived at their building and looked up at a bronze plaque next to the door. I read it and was surprised to find out that Christopher Isherwood had lived in this building while he wrote the book "Berlin Stories". I was greeted by Barbara and led into her flat. I told her about reading the Isherwood book and that it was a nice coincidence that he had written this book while living in her building. She laughed and said,"What's even more of a coincidence is that he lived in this flat!"

I was jet-lagged and wanted to rest. Barbara and Brigitta went out and let me sleep in their loft bed with TV and stereo. After they left, I switched on the TV and was shocked even more. The musical film "Cabaret" was playing! "Cabaret" was based on one of the stories from the Christopher Isherwood book "Berlin Stories". I had to ask myself,"Are these coincidences or do they have some meaning? Do Coincidences that happen repeatedly have some deeper meaning?"

While staying at this flat, several other strange things happened. One night Barbara and I were out late and we came back to the flat kind of drunk. We discovered that Barbara had forgotten her keys inside the flat. Brigitta wasn't home, but she her cat was. We heard the cat coming to the door making purring sounds. She was hungry. Barbara repeatedly called her name. We heard noise on the other side of the door. The cat was actually jumping up and down. After lots of jumping, the door clicked open and we walked inside. The cat had jumped up and hit the door handle opening the door for us. True.

The night before leaving Berlin I was sleeping soundly. I had an intense dream that woke me up. It was a dream about a friend of mine, John Sex. John was an amazing performer in New York. He spoke to me in the dream and told me that everything was fine and that he was fine. The dream stayed with me for several days after. I had not seen John for quite some time. John had been ill with AIDS for awhile and retreated in his flat. When I got back to New York I found out that he passed away. I also found out he passed away the day that I had this particular dream. All this had come back to me while I stayed at Sheela's and I asked myself again about these coincidences, their meanings and why I was reminded again at this point in my life. I want to thank Sheela for bringing that all back to me.