BERLIN PROJECTS

http://youtu.be/cQo_noCsNlY

Collaborative project by ToTarTu featuring Street Musician David Bergfeldt.
ToTarTu is on a collaborative project to record the street musicians he finds in the city of Berlin.
Winter is fast approaching Berlin…and it’s getting cold.
Fortunately there are still the street musicians providing entertainment, some out in the open whilst some others are tucked away in small lanes/arcades that lead into coffee shops or theaters.
Hackescher Markt in Mitte, Berlin, is a very colourful area with many galleries, shops and restaurants.
And on one evening came the harmonic sounds of a guitarist and his voice…welcome David Bergfeldt.
After approaching David, he was happy to participate in ToTarTu’s Street Musician Project.
Subsequently, the recording was made on a cold evening in one small laneway…leading into a cosy cinema, located off Rosenthaler Strasse in Hackescher Markt.
The song was an opportunity to improvise some drums, strings, piano into what otherwise is already a beautiful song.
More music please David!
* Disclaimer – all work produced and posted is done so on an artistic basis and is there for the promotion of artists and musicians alike.

Collaborative project by ToTarTu featuring Street Musician Yuval Glico.
ToTarTu is on a collaborative project to record the street musicians he finds in the city of Berlin.
Warschauer Strasse U-Bahn is a popular place amongst performing street musicians as many people use this Bahnhof to catch the train that runs along the U1 line through the hip areas of Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain.
And of course it provides an audience that otherwise would not exist.
On this particular day at Warschauer Strasse Bahnhof, Berlin, ripped the sounds of an electric guitar.
After listening to the street performer I approached him to see whether he would be interested in ToTarTu having a go at interpreting his music and adding the rest of a band…so to speak.
Yuval was cool with this and the subsequent recording took place.
The electric guitar takes up a lot of space in the recording deliberately to keep it centre stage. The hardest part for ToTarTu was determining the speed of the song!
Mostly a different array of drums and affects were added along with some other sounds to give the music a different texture than would otherwise be the case.
Yuval is a member of a band and he was only in Berlin for two weeks when I met him…playing at Warschauer Strasse Bahnhof to get some extra money for a night out.
We look forward to seeing and hearing more from Yuval in the future!
* Disclaimer – all work produced and posted is done so on an artistic basis and is there for the promotion of artists and musicians alike.

Location – Along the Berlin Wall by The River Spree, Berlin, near die Overbaumbrücke.
Date – Thursday, 22nd May, 2014
Time – 15.30h
This Street Musician is the dude! He was playing by the Berlin Wall on the old East Berlin Side of the River Spree. He was very funny. Unfortunately ToTarTu could only photograph the anonymous performer because ToTarTu was on a boat cruise and couldn’t stop. However, if you know him, tell him he is a Legend! And if he wants to work on a track please ask him to contact me!!

Collaborative project by ToTarTu featuring Street Musician, Nicka Kristian Donn.
ToTarTu is on a collaborative project to record the street musicians he finds in the city of Berlin.
Introducing Nicka Kristian Donn – what a performer!
Hermannplatz in Berlin is a busy port for shoppers and commuters with the U-Bahn running underneath.
And as the weather was getting colder late last year, with street performers somewhat thinning, Berlin was still lucky to have the sounds of Nicka ‘softly’ hammering away at his Dulcimer.
This instrument produces sounds much the same way as a piano with a (padded) hammer against the string.
I explained ToTarTu’s Berlin Project to Nicka and fortunately for ToTarTu, he was very happy to participate.
My recording of Nicka was made on the backdrop of a very busy intersection; it was quite intense.
ToTarTu’s electronic input into the musical piece picks up on this mood, as well as enhancing the hypnotising and cool performance by Nicka…another Champion Street Musician!
Unfortunately Nicka has no website nor contact details.
However, if we are lucky, we will see him and his fancy Dulcimer in Hermannplatz again this year!!
* Disclaimer – all work produced and posted is done so on an artistic basis and is there for the promotion of artists and musicians alike.

Collaborative project by ToTarTu featuring Street Musician Helmut, alias Klavier Helmut.
ToTarTu is on a collaborative project to record the street musicians he finds in the city of Berlin.
Alas, a piano in the street…was this a trick or a figment of the imagination or was there really a pianist playing in Kottbusser Damm near the canal?
Meet Helmut.
And his piano on wheels that he moves around the streets of Berlin during summer when “the birds are singing and the living is easy”, as written by George Gershwin in the aria “Summertime”.
After approaching Helmut and discussing ToTarTu’s music project, we recorded.
The recording went for five minutes and could of continued as Helmut was improvising and was moving to and back from certain songs and melodies.
As such, ToTarTu edited the version to be just over 2 minutes.
Some strings and new sounds were added.
Towards the end of the recording a pull between the sounds of the ivories and the electronic manifests. The introduction of the electronic in the piece is an attempt to show the old manifesting into the new.
Unfortunately, Helmut does not have a website.
However, he has had many recordings and interviews done and his story can be found when searching for Klavier Helmut on the Internet.
We look forward to seeing and hearing this Legend again this Summer!!
* Disclaimer – all work produced and posted is done so on an artistic basis and is there for the promotion of artists and musicians alike.

ToTarTu is on a collaborative project to record the street musicians he finds in the city of Berlin.
One late evening ToTarTu heard some melodies being played by a saxophone and jumped on his bike to find out exactly where the sound was emanating from.
He was lucky to find the Saxophonist, Roman Liva, as he had already stopped playing about three minutes before ToTarTu arrived; he was making his way up Bürknerstrasse in Neukölln to another venue.
This collaborative project by ToTarTu is short and simple, with instruments added around the saxophone.
After introducing ToTarTu and the project Roman unleashed this little toe tapping number and the recording was made.
ToTarTu imagined that the Saxophone piece could be like a short simple concert performed by a couple of musicians and that being the case, and keeping the Saxophone central, accompanied only with percussion like instruments and drums.
Roman was happy and upbeat so the electronic sound and percussion was added being mindful of the saxophone phrasing and used to enhance the mystery song and give it a little drama and swing.
Unfortunately, Roman does not have a website nor contact details. However, he will certainly be playing out the front of some bar or restaurant somewhere in Berlin when the weather is warm!
* Disclaimer – all work produced and posted is done so on an artistic basis and is there for the promotion of artists and musicians alike.

Collaborative project by ToTarTu featuring Street Musician Seban Bebe and Vocalist/Composer, Denis Chevallier (http://www.denis-chevallier.fr/):
ToTarTu is on a Berlin project to record the street musicians he finds in the city of Berlin.
On one late Summer afternoon on the canals in Berlin, Maybachufer to be exact, ToTarTu could hear the familiar sounds of a trumpet coming closer.
Before long, the Trumpet Player was performing out the front of the bar/restaurant where ToTarTu was enjoying the rhythm of the city. Not to miss out on such an opportunity, ToTarTu asked Seban if he would like to be part of the Street Musician Project…and we have the result above.
Seban performed “When The Saints Go Marching In”. The piece is an American gospel hymn according to Wikipedia. The precise origins of the song are not known. Though it originated as a Christian hymn it is often played by jazz bands.
Unfortunately Seban does not have a website nor contact details. He is a roaming street musician who walks the streets and plays numbers to people out the front of restaurants. Computers and mobile phones do not interest him.
ToTarTu was also very lucky to meet Denis Chevallier who is a composer from Paris.
Monsieur Chevallier is a gifted harpsichordist and pianist, and sings very well.
And sometimes whilst having time out from his busy schedule in Paris writing music and performing in concerts, you can find him singing in bars in Berlin.
Although Denis is not a street musician, ToTarTu was fortunate to have his input and participation in the project.
He improvised some vocals inspired from the gospel song, imitating in some places the original melody and giving a more polyphonic twist to the piece.
If you listen closely you will hear some words of the song sung in French.
ToTarTu has added the electronic sounds giving the piece yet another twist.
The “When the Saints Go Marching In” collaborative project has been a lot of fun.
The trumpet playing by Seban, with the vocals by Denis and, the electronica input by ToTarTu has created a unique different interpretation of the jazz piece.
If you are lucky enough, you will hear Seban playing this summer in Berlin…and as you soak up the cool city vibes you may well hum along in French to Seban’s next brass number!
For further information on Denis Chevallier, please visit his website – http://www.denis-chevallier.fr.
* Disclaimer – all work produced and posted is done so on an artistic basis and is there for the promotion of artists and musicians alike.

Collaborative project by ToTarTu featuring musician Vladimir Frank:
ToTarTu is on a Berlin project to record the street musicians he finds in the city of Berlin.
However, on the way to Berlin, he stopped in the oldest city of Northern Europe (as noted by Wikipedia), Tallinn, Estonia, and came across a very charismatic character who was making music out the front of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, located on the hilltop of Tallinn Old Town in Lossi Plats.
The hill is known in Estonian mythology as Toompea and is said to be the grave of Kalev, erected in loving memory by his wife Linda, as written in the national epic Kalevipoeg (Estonian folklore about a giant hero named Kalevipoeg):
“Linda mourned for Kalev for one month after another till three months had passed, and the fourth was far advanced. She heaped a cairn of stones over his tomb, which formed the hill…” (English Translation by W.F.Kirby, 1895).
The Cathedral was built during the period of late 19th century Russification and is not typical of the churches of this city, being a Lutheran country. The church for example was built on a site that formerly housed a statue of Martin Luther.
That noted, it was indeed a very special place for a street musician by the name of Vladimir Frank to play.
Furthermore, the number of tourists to the area is significant. Tallinn’s old Town, for example, is on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Perhaps Vladimir could also be on UNESCO’s list.
Vladimir’s performance was absolutely awesome and ToTarTu didn’t expect to get such a lengthy music rendition from him, done with great passion…but very happy nonetheless!
The music incorporates “Hound Dog” song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and originally recorded by Willie Mac “Big Mama” Thornton in 1952. However, the best know version of “Hound Dog” is the July 1956 recording by Elvis Presley. His recording is listed as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s “500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll”.
Plus, “Tuttie Frutti” song co-written by Little Richard which was recorded in 1955 and went on to become his first major hit record. The song has been credited as “the sound of the birth of rock and roll” by Mojo’s The Top 100 Records That Changed The World.
And finally, “Blue Suede Shoes” written and first recorded by Carl Perkins in 1955. Elvis Presley performed his version of the song plus it was also recorded by Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran, among many others.
Vladimir’s performance in August 2013 has taken longer to remix than expected.
For example, there are many varied interpretations of the music pieces he plays allowing for such an infinite list of possibilities that the project took awhile to find its own rhythm.
However, ToTarTu’s first collaborative project has been a lot of fun.
Creative interpretation is to have the listener believe he/she is listening to someone tuning into a radio station. Or perhaps a person tuning into two radio stations on the same frequency.
Subsequently, Vladimir’s music works in unison with the electronica side creating a totally different medium.
Please visit Vladimir in Tallinn, Estonia, and make sure you walk around Tallinn Old Town especially the Hill of Toompea.
If you are lucky enough, you will hear Vladimir playing and you can buy one of his CDs for yourself, as well as watch and listen to this talented musician.
* Disclaimer – all work produced and posted is done so on an artistic basis and is there for the promotion of artists and musicians alike.

Street buskers/musicians have been apart of humanity for a very long time.

Wikepedia states:
[Street performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles. People engaging in this practice are called street performers, buskers, street musicians, minstrels, or troubadours.

Street performance dates back to antiquity, and occurs all over the world.]

That noted, these courageous people play an important role in every city’s makeup.

An interesting point is that although the term buskers is well known in Australia, it is not known so well in Deutschland; street musician is the term used.

There seems to be two types of music buskers in Europe.
1. The traditional one that positions him/herself in a nice setting where people pass through and where he/she may find the most appreciative (and generous) people; and,
2. A newer kind that you may see performing on trains and playing his/her music and then approaching people and asking for money.

What instruments do street musicians play?

This varies greatly but most common would seem to be the guitar, followed by recorders, violins, drums…and of course the accordion.

New instruments mean that hip drum machines have been included to the instrument repertoire as well as many new one man bands are using karaoke recordings on CD or sequenced MIDI recordings for backup.

Buskers (street musicians) perform all over the world.

ToTarTu’s present project focuses on the ones in Berlin.

In the last month, I’ve organised a trip to Berlin to begin a collaborative project recording the Buskers (Street Musicians) of Berlin.

The Project – Berlin Buskers (Street Musicians) by ToTarTu (2013) is a project conceived by Ryan Larsen t/as ToTarTu. The project intends to provide a forum for promotion of collaborative works created jointly by Buskers (Street Musicians) from Berlin, who offer their live performances recorded on location with their permission by ToTarTu.

ToTarTu, music producer, contributes remixing, production and digital distribution to the project through his website www.totartu.com, and will promote the works created in the project as well as provide active and current links to promotional information on the internet for the contributing buskers.

The promotion of the works will include photos and video footage taken on location at the time of the original live performance.

Berlin Buskers (Street Musicians) falls in line with ToTarTu’s values and mission ie ToTarTu is an ongoing music project where different artists and vocalists collaborate to create music.

Stay tuned…