The Soundcloud Team (L-R); Alexander Ljung, Eric Wahlforss, Sean Treadway, Matas Petrikas, Hannes Tydén, Katharina Birkenbach

Lurking on the third floor of an old Postfuhramt (postal sorting office) in the East Berlin (Mitte to be exact) lie the minimal-furnished offices of Soundcloud, a new venture that has the authenticity and creativity of the city seeping from its pores. With this new music sharing online platform, Alex Ljung and the rest of his team are hoping to tap into a market of professional music users who see functionality, accessibility as crucial elements when it comes to using music file sharing website. By introducing a music specific professional utility for sending a receiving files on a regular basis Soundcloud is now trying to centralize all online traffic of legal music sharing, “That’s the core idea, in itself doesn’t sound very sexy, but because the current means to do to this is so bad it will be such a good thing to log in, press play on your inbox and just listen to the music from your network of people” explains Ljung.

The triggering elements of this concept all came as a result of travelling around Europe and the Atlantic on various research study projects. Initially they moved San Francisco to write their thesis about online trust and also to evaluate the online start-up community. But it was after a brief trip to Berlin in the Summer of 2007 Ljung and co-founder Eric Wahlforss realised that their destiny lied in the creative metropolis of the German capital, “We flew back to Sweden, sat down and talked and asked ourselves ‘What are we doing in Stockholm?’ So we booked the tickets and the next week we moved here [to Berlin] and from there we set up a temporary office in the conference room of a friends office and two friends from Sweden came over with us and we just got started right away” Ljung recalls.

Like many other young people who I came into contact with during my stay in Berlin the general feeling from Alex was that this could happen ‘only in Berlin’ and this was clearly apparent for Soundcloud’s development, “We were looking at a few different cities but we moved to Berlin because it has the great combination of thriving cultural scenes with extremely low prices and really easy attainable apartments. In our situation we’re starting without any money whatsoever and have big plans, to do something like this in London would have been impossible.”

Co-founder Wahlforss’ connections with Berlin’s electronic music scene (he has had several records released on a Berlin-based record label) made the integration into the cities vast network of musicians that bit easier into Berlin’s scene, “The city itself is not so structured. In most other European cities you can have elitist events and it’s really hard to get access if you’re not on the inside. Whereas in Berlin it’s really different because the high profile activities are still accessible if you want to; both in price and in attitudes of the people.” Ljung says.

Having lived and operated in the music scenes of Stockholm and Berlin, Ljung can clearly see the benefits of the move to the German capital, “Stockholm doesn’t feel that creative to me but on the other hand the creative output that comes out of Stockholm is pretty amazing. In Berlin I’d have to say that I feel the creativity more it’s is very visible in Berlin and you can really see and feel it everywhere”

With income not being the main motive of this operation there is no word of finance (or the lack of it) being an obstacle in starting up a prosperous venture, “Of course you need a salary here [in Berlin] but general life is easier to balance with less money so that makes living easier. Erik and I stopped receiving salaries this month [May] but hopefully we can start them again soon!”

So how is this different to the myriad of other music networking sites out at the moment? “It’s not a competitor to Myspace, it’s something that can integrate instead. The major problem that we want to fix is people sending music via Yousendit links. It’s a situation where you are receiving a piece of music from an artist you really like and your first reaction would be like “God, oh no” instead of “Ah nice, a new track, let me check this out”. That was really a signal that something wasn’t right” says Ljung.

Unlike Myspace the focus is on the music itself as opposed to the artist(s) who made it, which one hopes can give a bit more exposure to up-and-coming musicians as there will be less promotional tools available to take away the attention from the music, “There are other services in which you can do similar things as you can do with ours but they cater to any type of media file, and that’s where I think their weakness lies as they don’t provide any additional features for the musicians. They don’t know what content people are sending so they can’t present it in that way that makes sense for that particular content.”

Following suit from the likes of Google’s Gmail, Soundcloud is currently operates on an invite only system but over the coming months the website will be launched into the public domain, “We wanted to focus on getting the [music] professionals in at first, not just something that gets overly crowded by people who aren’t that serious about music. We wanted to signal to people that this is something for serious musicians, some whom already have record label deals and by using the invites we can control this a bit more.”

With already an impressive array of the music industry signed up, the interest will climb at attainable rate due to the precautionary use of the invitation system, “It’s a kind of quality control and also to make sure that the social norms that have already been established don’t dramatically change due to a huge influx of people” explains Ljung. Soon it will be possible to start an account with Soundcloud from the instant someone sends you a track using the website, “It means that every person that gets in, gets in through a piece of music. That’s how we hope to bridge the gap from it being completely secret to eventually free sign ups for everybody.”

Still being influenced by his surroundings on a daily basis it seems that the exact same things that attracted Alex to Berlin are still evident, “When I walk home from work there is no point along the way from the office to my house where I can’t see maybe two or three art galleries, there’s not one single place where there isn’t an art gallery around this area.” It seems as though Alex is just the latest in a long line of creative ex-pats to have been struck by Berlin’s bohemian thunderbolt. The phrase ‘only in Berlin’ is no longer a sexed-up cliché but a self-fulfilling mantra that people of Berlin believe in more than anything.

For Those Who Don’t Know – Case Study Example - Yousendit

• YouSendIt is a web-based digital content delivery service and is considered to be part of the ‘Web 2.0’ phenomenon

• It lets users send, receive and track files on-demand. It is an alternative to sending large e-mail attachments, using FTP, and sending CDs or DVDs or tape or USB flash drive via courier.

• The sender can enter the recipients’ e-mail addresses, attach the file and send it; the recipients receive an e-mail notification with a URL that lets them download the file

www.soundcloud.com

Walking through the narrow winding streets of Salamanca and passing the picturesque sandstone buildings, you can feel the dignified tradition of this Spanish town. But looking behind that untouched architecture, you can see modern art that you’d never have expected and find Salamanca’s young, creative pulse in hidden places. 

It’s mid-May, raining and 12°C, not your typical Iberian day, however, it is a perfect opportunity to absorb some culture. What’s a better starting point than the Plaza Mayor, the Main Square and heart of Salamanca?

Provided with a map, where all the galleries and museums of Salamanca are indicated, you walk along Rúa Mayor towards Plaza de Fray Luis de León, until you stumble across the “House of the Queen’s physicians” (Casa de los Doctores de la Reina). This 15th century building, built by Queen Isabella’s physicians, is a fine example of the Spanish plateresque style, with its delicately decorated facade. Right next to the main entrance that leads to the Fine Arts Museum, the massive walls obscure a space of futuristic art.

Urban vibes

Situated in a large hall with a high wooden ceiling reminiscent of Moorish buildings in Andalusia, colourful cubes, screens and mirrors produce a semblance of movement and liveliness. Under the heading of “urban Substances” the art group “Collectivo 4″ have attempted to translate the nature of the city. Various cubes imitate New York skyscrapers, while plastic mice on top of the cubes suggest the image of a dusty and contaminated metropolis. However, the colour and light reflected in the surrounding mirrors create a new relationship between the observer and his environment, making the whole landscape seem bright and friendly.

Fusion of old and new

After this display of fantastic vistas and perspectives, it is time to soak up some intellectual, architectural atmosphere.

Right around the corner, is the school yard of the University of Salamanca, which houses one of the city’s most respected galleries. According to Javier Valderas, a director of photography and cinematography from the Basque Country, exhibitions at the University’s gallery are good for the artistic curriculum vitae of a photographer, as access to this hall can only be reached through a very hard selection process.

Housing conditions from cities all over the world at the “Sala de Patio de Escuelas”

Valderas himself is a big fan of the “Sala de Patio de Escuelas,” as the Spanish call the gallery in the University’s yard. Looking at the ornate facade of the nearly 800-year-old institution and the beautiful courtyards with shady arcades, you are bound to be awestruck. Even more impressive is the gallery itself, where a dark wooden ceiling and massive stone walls, arches and slender columns rise from a bright parquet floor, building a fusion with spectacular photographs of housing conditions from cities all over the world - ultra-modern to shabby.

The University as cultural heart

Walking outside of the yard and onto the street, groups of students pass by - laughing and chatting about the previous or upcoming party. Although hardly any student will wander off into the gallery, they enrich Salamanca’s cultural life in one way or another. Salamanca’s University, which is the oldest of Spain, attracts thousands of Spanish and International students each year. And wherever young people are, there is usually a lively cultural scene.

“The presence of the University and the history of Salamanca have led to an intense cultural life that can be felt not only in museums and exhibition halls, but also in cultural centres and cafes, which often organize gatherings and exhibitions”, explains Valderas, who started his career working in the galleries of Salamanca.

International Art Festival at Plaza Mayor

“City of Culture”

A look at Salamanca’s event calendar reflects this: besides the active night life, nearly every week a new festival, art fair, or new exhibition takes place.

Salamanca cares a lot about its image as “City of Culture.” Under the slogan “12 years to a different city and better culture,” the mayor of Salamanca, Julian Lanzarote, has promoted the policy of the Popular Party for the last twelve years. Since the establishment of the municipal foundation “Salamanca, Ciudad de Cultura” in 2003, 2,283 activities have been organized, attracting 5.4 million attendees.

What has played an important role for Salamanca was its title as “European Capital of Culture” in 2002. On that occasion, six modern cultural institutions were opened in Salamanca - among them an Exhibition Hall, a theatre, a new Centre of Art, an Automobile Museum and a Centre for Performing Arts and Music.

Video-Installations in an Ex-jail

Due to its status as “UNESCO World Heritage Site,” Salamanca’s city centre must remain untouched by revitalization processes, which is why the city’s new and modern cultural institutions are all situated on the outskirts. Salamanca’s only museum for contemporary art, the Domus Artium 2002, or DA2, as the connoisseurs call it, has risen out of the ashes of a run-down industrial area. From the city centre, it takes nearly half an hour by foot to get there - pretty long, by Salamancan standards.

This brick complex used to be a jail, however, now the black and red concrete, milky-coloured glass and video installations give the site a completely new touch. Salmantinos, who are interested in contemporary art, know the DA2 and adore it, but there are hardly any tourists that find their way up to this artistic Mecca in the south-eastern part of Salamanca.

Plunge into a world of illusion

Normally when you walk through a museum you just follow the crowds. But at DA2, it could easily happen that you’ll have an adventure of your own, working your way through the huge halls and intimate dark rooms, connected by heavy black velvet curtains.

This makes a tour through Judith Barry’s exhibition, “Body without limits,” even more exciting. It is the first time a collection of Barry’s work is being featured in Europe. She is an American artist who is internationally recognized as a pioneer in the development of video work. Visitors have the chance to plunge into a world between reality and illusion. Every room in the 1200m2 exhibition space is a new surprise.

Some videos will amuse you, like “Voice off,” a two-channel video about a writer who can’t concentrate, and an opera singer who has lost her voice. On each side of the wall that divides the room, Barry has projected one of two videos that run simultaneously. Other videos are depressing, like “Speed Flesh,” which allows the viewer to experience the five final minutes in the lives of five characters. What’s special about this exhibition is that instead of just observing art, you become part of it.

Video installation by Judith Barry at DA2

Lack of promotion

Besides famous artists like Barry, the DA2 supports young artists from Salamanca. According to its head, Rafael Lopez Borrego, the DA2 initiates a project with young professional artists from Salamanca and/or students from the Faculty of Fine Arts of Salamanca every two months.

Considering all the money and work that is invested in projects and exhibitions, it’s surprising the local government and the museum itself do not put more effort into promotion. DA2 doesn’t provide any information in English, neither in the museum itself nor on its website (a misleading ‘English’ link is not yet functioning). The fact that the DA2 has only about 20 non-Spanish visitors per week is not a big surprise. According to Lopez Borrego, the total number of visitors is approximately 1500 a week, which is hard to imagine, when you’re wandering through a nearly empty building.

The disadvantage of being different

“Modern art is not commercial, it’s an alternative and critical way of expression”, Adora Calvo, the owner and namesake of the Adora Calvo Gallery explains. That is why Calvo isn’t worried about the fact that her gallery doesn’t attract large crowds.

The Adora Calvo Gallery is one of two private galleries for Modern Art in Salamanca. It was originally founded in Madrid in 1992, but moved to Salamanca in 2004. “In Salamanca people are still thinking very traditionally. We felt that there was a need for Contemporary Art here,” Calvo says.

The gallery specializes in promoting young professional artists, some of whom have already been nationally recognized. These young artists have no fear of criticizing traditions and modern grievances; they attempt to push their audiences to look at the world differently, and be more open to alternative ways of expression.

“Salamanca is not Berlin”

An example of this new garde, is David Escanilla, an audio-visual plastic artist from Salamanca. According to him, the Adora Calvo Gallery is the most important contemporary art space in the city, as it is private and therefore independent. But of course, private galleries don’t have the same possibilities as the big city-owned museums. “Discussions, courses or workshops, which promote contemporary art, would be very difficult to do within private scope,” Escanilla explains.

Anyway, the city council of Salamanca does not do enough to promote spaces for experimental art. “The location or locality doesn’t determine artistic products, but they do influence developments, depending on their political commitment,” says Escanilla. As an example, he mentions Berlin, where the “technology and support for artistic expression by public and private entities are incomparable with other cities, including those in Spain.” After a short break, he adds, “This doesn’t mean that Salamanca does not have the legitimacy and infrastructure to be able to expose ambitious projects of contemporary art.”

Salamanca praises itself as a young and dynamic “City of Culture“. But does the city really deserve that image? Two young artists from Salamanca don’t think so.

“The people living in Salamanca are basically traditional, old people, between 50 and 80 years. So, the image and the reality of the city is not the same here”, says David Escanilla (34), audio-visual plastic artist from Salamanca. This is hard to imagine, as Salamanca is famous for being a vibrant student city, with around 60,000 students per year. The problem is that most of the young people will not stay in Salamanca.

Not attractive for young artists

23-year-old Carmen Pereda, is one of the few students, who will graduate at Salamanca’s Faculty of Fine Arts (Facultad de Bellas Artes) this year. According to Carmen, Salamanca is not the right place to pursue a career in art. “There are interesting galleries and museums in Salamanca, but most of the time they don’t get any attention from the important national or international art spaces”, explains Carmen. The exception is the DA2, the only Contemporary Art Museum in Salamanca.

Searching for inspiration

David Escanilla confirms Carmen’s impression: He was born in Salamanca, graduated at Salamanca’s Facultad de Bellas Artes and had exhibitions at DA2 and the Adora Calvo Gallery, “which is the most important private contemporary art space in the city”. But the tradition and conservative attitude in his hometown were not inspiring enough.

In search of new inspiration, Escanilla decided to go back to his Latin American roots. His father is Nicaraguan, but his family migrated to Panama. This is where the artist developed his latest projects: “This has made my way of looking at art global and contrasted”.  

David Escanilla - back to his Hispanic roots

“Beautiful but too small”

Carmen also wants to leave Salamanca after her graduation from University. “I love travelling. I think everyone should travel. That’s also what I always tell my friends who stick to Spain, for some reason.” Carmen wants to move to Dublin - first doing a Master Programme for graphic design and then trying to find a job.

Her boyfriend in Dublin and her passion for travelling are not the only reasons why she chose to go abroad for her career. “Salamanca is beautiful, but it’s too small”, says the sprightly art-student about her hometown.

Graphic Design - a new way of expression

Carmen specialized on drawing in her studies, but her real passion lies in a completely different field of art. “Honestly I have to say, I’d love to be a sculptor. The problem is, you can’t live from that job.” That is why Carmen is working on becoming a graphic designer, “the most promising field of art.” There is no permanent need for paintings, drawings or sculptures, but there is a permanent demand for advertisement, logos and promotional material.

Escanilla aimed to unite art with advertising and graphic design, in his last exhibition at Salamanca’s DA2. Under the title “Fake” he faced the reality of Panama’s cultural diversity and social stratification, inviting the audience to a critical view on power structures and the illusion of mass media.

 Escanilla combines art with graphic design and advertisement

Faked image

The contradiction between image and reality is also visible in Salamanca. According to Escanilla, spaces dedicated to contemporary art in Salamanca have disappeared during the last years, because of personal interests and politics. “Instead of opting for a ‘market’ that has space for all kinds of art, conventional as well as progressive, Salamanca has opted for staying traditional and commercial.”

The Palacio Fonseca is an example of a space which used to be a principal centre of contemporary and young art until four years ago. Today it is a traditional costume museum.

Currently the city has three places where contemporary art is exhibited, one public, DA2, and two private, the Gallery Adora Calvo and the Gallery Benito Esteban. “We miss places for experimental art like the Palacio Fonseca, which was managed by the University of Salamanca and thus the only link between students at the Facultad de Bellas Artes and the professional field in the city.”

University screaming for a fresh spirit

Besides politics, it’s also the University itself that fails to promote progressive artistic movements. What the Facultad de Bellas Artes needs are young, innovative teachers, who inspire their students. “We can learn a lot from our teachers in the terms of different techniques, but many of them have still a very traditional view of art”, Carmen explains.

According to David Escanilla, the situation of the Facultad de Bellas Artes in Salamanca is similar to the dynamics of the city - namely traditional and conservative. “Although the University is trying to renew methodologies and move towards a more contemporary view, I think it will be a slow process to get teachers who are inside the reality of the current artistic market.”

Carmen doesn’t want to lay the blame solely on the University, “It’s our fault. We students of art just watch out that we pass all the exams and do what we are supposed to do and then we wait for something to happen. But of course nothing happens”. Besides inspiration, the art students lack confidence. Carmen wants to wait for the right moment to show her artistic work to a big audience. In her opinion there is no hurry, because there is one rule in the world of art: “People only know you, when you are dead.”

With recreation playing a major part in daily life of Berlin (unemployment is nearly 20%) a concept like this is testament to what makes this city tick and still stay fresh and relevant; the need to create economically sound business ventures that also have to meet creative needs at the same time.

Miller moved to Berlin permanently in 2003 from New Mexico once he saw the opportunity to bring the ideas from his thesis (MA in Architecture) to reality. The name itself is half academic and half indicative of what’s actually inside the premises and it subtly gives us an insight into how the concept came to light, “It’s completely influenced by my experience in Berlin. The idea for this came out of my masters’ thesis project which was about a recreation centre. I was trying to hybridise different concepts of free time, so that’s where the connection to Dr. Pong is because it comes back very simple idea of combining partying and sport in one activity” states Miller.

For someone with an MA in Architecture you would think that he would pull out all the stops when it came to choosing the setting for his brainchild but on the contrary his vision was more abstract, “I was more interested in context than I was in form, in terms of architecture. I wasn’t interested specifically in appearance but more the atmosphere.”

The interior space may look sporadic but it’s all part of a pragmatic planning process to shape the mood. Apple red leather sofa’s at the back allows the tired and weary take a rest from all the action and an old school sound-system placed in the middle of the two functional leads you into the main playing domain where I can see the anticipation on the face of young English couple as they take their seats with a beer in one hand a bat in the other.. “I really try and make things look off-hand but there’s so much thought that went into where everything should be and how the space is planned. The DJ booth was put there [points to the middle station of the room] because that’s the one place where you can see every part of the bar.”

Apart from the main focus of the table tennis table the sound system evidently plays a crucial role in the ambience of the nights festivities as participants can either choose to take part in the notorious crowd pleasing one-hit rounds where everyone takes a turn to play the ball in successive turn. “The wonderful thing about the DJ’s is that they shape the mood and I do take care to book certain DJ’s that are appropriate and bring in a certain type of energy. It’s always a bit rambunctious anyway because of the table-tennis” explains Miller.

Having gained a taste of success with Dr. Pong’s, Miller now balances his duties with another bar that he opened with two friends a year-and-a-half ago called Kim. With a totally opposite mantra and clientele he seems to be able to be active in separate communities, “It’s a totally different type of place and is more connected to the art scene than here, it’s a bit more bohemian. It’s where all the younger galleries are and it just naturally became a hangout for artists. Due to the fact that it’s in the Mitte district and it’s more central. Whereas this bar operates a bit more locally and has a really strong connection to neighbouring Frieidrichshain.”

www.drpong.net

Manchester Art Gallery displays a painting of a scene of typical day on Oxford Road

As any passer-by will tell you, Manchester’s Oxford Road is made of students. The site of the two main public universities in Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and The University of Manchester, roughly 75,000 students come to study on Oxford Road every year. The fact that so many students attend class here has made Oxford Road a place that caters to student’s needs.

The cultural scene, as a result, is based on student life. Marta Julve, an Interactive Arts student at MMU is an example of student life on the road. Originally from the city of Zaragoza, Spain, at the start of University in 2004, she left her hometown to study in Cuenca and change environments. Last February 2007, when offered the chance to participate in the Erasmus exchange program, Marta chose Manchester in order to learn English and experience the ‘Manchester buzz’ she had heard about. Marta says, “I think that Oxford Road is a street full of cultural possibilities and it has been designed to be useful for young people, who are the ones who transit the street the most. For this reason, the cultural offer that you find is focused on students, here you can find museums, libraries, universities, and bars.”

The University of Manchester, home to the Museum of Manchester

“There are people that don’t even know the rest of Manchester.”

Looking outside the buildings of Oxford Road, you can see there is wide cultural offer just on the sidewalk. With around 40,000 residence permits issued each year in England, many of which are for students, it is no surprise that the street is a potpourri of people. Many people are completely Mancunian in their attitude, and at the same time make a contribution to the multicultural landscape. Moving collages common on the street are someone in typical African dress, stylish Japanese girls and a GAP-clad red head smelling of IT. What speaks of this ‘multiculturalism’ is the fact that no one turns their head; everyone is used to different cultures walking by.

Leaving the small town of Cuenca in September 2007, not only has the art student found a new language, but also a new mentality, in which Oxford Road has been a milestone. “As a person, Manchester has opened my mind completely. It’s a very cosmopolitan city. There are people of all colors and religions. I have a very open mind since I came here. It’s a fast- paced city, where you always have something to do, probably because of that.”

The dynamic life of a student on Oxford Road results in a give and take relationship. Marta, usually a student at a innovative Fine Arts Faculty at La Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, has been studying Interactive Arts in Manchester this year. With this, she has been able to develop as an artist. “As an art student, attending MMU has changed my way of looking at art completely. Coming from Spain, I think that here the people go one step further with art and design. The city inspires me to create, more than I would in Spain, I guess it’s because everything is new. I get home with many ideas that I know are innovative.”

Many of those ideas come from the daily journey to and from school on Oxford Road. Marta explains that Oxford Road is so familiar it’s “like walking down the hallway of my house.” And she is not an exception. Speaking from her own experience and what she has seen of other exchange students, Marta opines, “If you’re a student and you’re going to live in Manchester, your life starts to revolve around Oxford Road. There are people that don’t even know the rest of Manchester.”

An important factor in the popularity of Oxford Road is the amount of buses that can be found at any time of the day going up and down the street. The speedy buses, with hundreds of commuters, connect student living areas with the center and add a busy, big city feeling. Five pound weekly passes letting students travel through Manchester, always via Oxford Road, an unlimited number of times, generate a lot of movement.

It is common to see rows of buses on both sides of Oxford Road. Above, ‘Magic Bus’, the most popular bus company among students

“In Manchester, students and the young are pushed to be active. I feel like the city is saying, ‘Come on, this is your chance, do something.’ In Spain the attitude towards young people is ‘Oh, these young people… they have no idea.’ Here you feel obligated to do something useful.”
The facilities to ‘do something useful’ is what pushes thousands of students just like Marta everyday towards better ideas and projects, “The big change has been ‘maturing ideas’ more because people were really going to see what I’m doing. In my University here, you create something and it’s exhibited, so you work harder, but in Cuenca only the teacher would see it. In Spain, a lot of times I treated projects as homework, making things just so I could hand something in. Nobody wanted to show their work and I wasn’t interested in other’s either. Here I’ve started to really think about what I’m doing and why, and explore other’s creations seriously.”

Fine Arts faculty, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Cuenca, Spain

The stages

The festival’s attractions are condensed in six different areas on the same road. The old, red brick bridge that leads to the Oxford Road station is where the main stage lies. It shows most of the international performances, in contrast to the acoustic stage, under a much smaller, parallel bridge, that shows mostly English musicians. Four different bars hold various music events, and on the opposite side of the street, people surround graffiti artists, slowly but surely working their magic. The bars are all ‘alternative’ and fit perfectly as the platforms for rock, techno and electro. In a relaxed atmosphere, the famous ‘Manchester buzz’ mixes with a cross-culture setting, and people of all ages, including an outstanding family representation, join together to see what Europe is up to.

There is nothing English about the main stage. Hosting the biggest shows of all, the main stage very correctly embodies what Eurocultured is all about: the celebration of culture from different parts of Europe. Performances from four nationalities, including musical groups from Spain and Portugal present the spectator with different ideas and ways of doing

Large crowd ready for the debut performance of ‘The Pinker Tones’ from BCN

Under the old bridge, with a distinct crowd watching, a break dance competition takes place, representing the importance of the street in European culture, in which crews from Slovakia battle top-of-the-line English and Polish crews, the event possibly symbolizing support between English youth and the large Polish community in Manchester. As for the music entertainment, the Portuguese group ‘Macacos da Chines’ are a sound for sore ears, with a genuine, upbeat performance that combines traditional Portuguese guitar with ‘ghetto funk and grime’. The ‘Pinker Tones’, the ‘Electronic Latin Freaks’ from Barcelona, make a debut in Manchester, and leave much to their name. The group uses a commercial ear for music to make poppy, easy songs that are outdated in today’s electronic music scene.

On the Acoustic Stage, Nomad Jones, a young Mancunian songwriter and one man band, delights everyone with his romantic guitar melodies including his most popular, ‘Stairways and Corridors’, while ‘The Travelling Band’, featuring in Glastonbury this summer, is one of the most attended shows at this stage due to its awesome local popularity. Next to the acoustic stage is ‘The Thirsty Scholar’, a damp, dark, cozy pub, its small stage and thick air the perfect setting for modern European cabaret and folk music performances. The vodka bar, ‘Revolution’, is host to a great dj set and tasty food, which accompany the vodka house just as nicely as a dash of salt and fresh lemon. Shoplifters DJs, Agent J and DJ Keyser are some of the best exhibits of Euro music.

Not just music…

As for the graphic art present, recent quasi star status of many graffiti artists has made young people flock to see the live work of Europe’s most famous street painters. New Wakefield street lines up with rows of blank boards soon to be filled with bright colors and forms on one side, and delicious food stands, including home made kebabs with fresh sautéed vegetables and French sausages with onion, on the other. Some of the most renowned European spray paint artists, such as ECB from Germany, Does/Nash from the Netherlands and Sague One from Spain show their skills in front of eager eyes. If Europe is variety than this is it: the themes, the sizes, the colors and even the canvases vary, and nothing goes untouched, as parts of the street walls are painted with multi-artist graffitis,

Accompanying the music events, the graffiti art and the bites at the two day event, is a fashion market demonstrating some local talent as well as stands offering more ‘alternative’ type goods. For those with extra fuel to burn, the festival also offers the ‘after hours’ program in which the music will turn table from varied to techno/electro in an all-dj line up, featuring some of the latest djs of the moment.

Yet, a real European festival?

Eurocultured 2008 has what any European event has, a real raison du être, and it is not just music and art. Eurocultured is proof of purchase. Local organizations want to sell Oxford Road as the cultural hub of England with an important place on the European map. The Eurocultured Festival is proof that there is culture in Manchester and European culture at that. Now in it’s 5th Edition, the festival has a large English representation, yet organizer’s efforts to bring more artists from different countries every year are pushing it towards the status of an authentically diverse, truly European festival.

Links:

Autokratz, “Reaktor”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1KRWZWmOoU

Pinker Tones, “Sonido Total”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6nnS0vQHME

Nomad Jones, “Stairways and corridors”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta_-TxN4mMM

Macacos do Chines, “Plutao”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvb22FrYod8

The University of Manchester aims to be among the top 25 universities in the world by 2015, as it boasts five research centers and one of the world’s largest research libraries. Manchester Metropolitan University, on the other hand, holds the MIRIAD, Manchester Institute for Research and Investigation in Art and Design, the leading center for the study of art and the development of cultural industries in the region.

Professor John Hyatt, Director of MIRIAD, defines Oxford Road as, “A place on the earth where an extraordinary amount of innovations in arts and sciences have occurred. It is a place where people arrive, are changed, and achieve exceptional things that ripple out to change the world”.

A strong foundation

Innovation is exactly what Oxford Road has symbolized in its history. Karl Marx outlined ‘Das Kapital’ here, Lord Ernest Rutherford, along with German physicist Niels Bohr, made scientific history by splitting the atom at The University of Manchester, located on Oxford Road. In 1948, the first programmable computer, ‘The Baby’ was tested and developed by mathematician Alan Turing, which lead to the creation of the world’s first ‘true’ computer.

With such an exclusive foundation to work on, businesses and Manchester’s City Council, along with other local organizations, are keen to improve Oxford Road. The City Council stated in a regeneration plan for 2008-2012, that it will invest over 1.5 billion pounds over the next five years to create opportunities for “knowledge-based” growth that will put the road on the map as an epicenter of ’science, technology, innovation, and creativity.’

Promoting culture

There is an air of history and importance on Oxford Road, due to the large University campus, the Museum of Manchester, St. Mary’s Hospital, and BBC Manchester, some of which are historic buildings. The street is a long, wide stretch with different eateries, cafes, and stores lined up between the grandiose Victorian buildings. However, the road’s relevance in history and knowledge isn’t promoted at all, neither on nor off the street. ‘The road needs more communication links between its major institutions and also with publics’, says Mr. Hyatt, a major participant in the progress of the road and partner with The Oxford Road Cultural Corridor Group.

The non-profit organization, co-founded by the MIRIAD, published a Vision Paper in 2003 for the improvement of culture on the road stating that: ‘the physical environment is poor, the building stock is mixed, [... ] there is no sense of place, there is no public art, lighting is poor, there is little green space, cafes and restaurants are of mixed quality, security is perceived as an issue and transport is dominated by the frequent buses.’ The group’s verdict: ‘Manchester’s Oxford Road lacks any sense of shared identity’, was the spark for a list of improvements for the road.

Artistic venues as an answer

With art as one of the major cultural concerns, one of the goals of the group isenhanced cultural venues suchas an ‘urban cultural park’ celebrating diversity at Whitworth Park. Once in front of the park, the first thing that catches the eye is the low attendance for a park with such an exclusive name and address. The park is immediate neighbors with the Whitworth Art Gallery, owned by the University of Manchester, showcasing quality art and design.

The park however, is used mostly by passer bys and the benches are few and far between, and from the bulges of concrete on the base, look like they have been taken from somewhere else. In terms of maintenance and upkeep, the park has been neglected, with litter and uncut grass being a testament to this. The Whitworth Park is still undergoing basic changes in its layout and an ‘urban cultural park’ is yet to be seen. Cultural events such as major festivals are another story.

Well-known festivals are taking place in Manchester with Oxford Road serving as a main stage. Futuresonic, the Festival of Art, Music, and Ideas, has gone into its 12th anniversary this year. The Eurocultured Festival (see article…`) taking place next to Oxford Road station on May’s Bank Holiday, is an attractive scene for upcoming artists.

As for permanent cultural spaces, the redevelopment of the Cornerhouse into an international contemporary arts and media center, is a goal that has been clearly met. The Cornerhouse has undergone recent renovation and houses three floors of contemporary art galleries, an independent cinema, a bar, a cafe and a bookshop. Since it’s opening in 1985 it has developed into a local hotspot for international contemporary art.

Space for improvement

It is true that there is an improvement in some cultural attractions, yet public space runs short. ‘Further social spaces for communication and dialogue through interaction in leisure would also be advantageous.’ While Professor Hyatt declares social spaces are in development, the street is completely deprived of benches and green areas.

A marketable image is one thing that is needed in order to compete with other international cities, focused on bringing tourists and residents through a lively culture scene. It is a fact that Oxford Road is a culture capital of Europe, the problem is, besides the mix of people, it simply doesn’t show. When asked about the road’s image, Mr. Hyatt admits, “It is improving but still [has reached] only a fraction of its potential.” The Oxford Road Cultural Corridor Group says that the road should develop a set of brand values like other roads such as Champs Elysée, and Las Ramblas have done in order to bring tourism. While there is a risk of turning Oxford Road into a consumer destination instead of a cultural destination, there is reason for a coherent, functional idea behind the road.

Prof. Hyatt imagines the road as the host to a “Future Centre” - a non-aligned space where different disciplines can be brought together to react creatively to common questions outside of their subject and institutional roles.” With optimum access to bright and educated minds, Oxford Road has the potential to become one of England and Europe’s cultural powerhouses, bringing substantial economic benefits with it. While there are many innovative propositions, few visible improvements can be seen in the place where ‘minds and worlds meet’.

The cluttered but uncrowded space of Atelier Fest Werkstatts Party

This is particularly true for Joulia Strauss and Martina Schumacher’s new collaboration, the Atelier Fest Werkstatts Party and Friedrich Loock’s ambitious new 6-gallery warehouse space. These gallerists have staked claims in huge, cheap and ideal spaces in the incredibly central, former East-Berlin neighborhood of Mitte. They are proof that it is possible with a little gumption to realize your wildest dreams right in the middle of the hippest city in Europe.

After a few minutes of confused wandering around what looked like a dead shopping street I met with the ebullient Joulia Strauss downstairs in front of a large and apparently empty building at 62 Leipzigerstrasse and was immediately sucked full-force into the wild world of the curators of Atelier Fest Werkstatts Party.

This freewheeling gallery-cum-party space of huge proportions is, in fact, located not only along the former border of East and West Berlin but in the former location of the Berliner Rundfunk radio station.

Large pieces are given room to breathe in the formerly dead building

The bizarrely monikered gallery was recently occupied by Strauss and her colleague Martina Schumacher to provide ample space to create and show their large-scale computer based art pieces in an uninhibitive environment.

Strauss had not even dismounted her bike before she launching into a rant about all the unused space in the building and how shocking it is that such an absolutely central location can stay dormant for so long. The whole bottom floor of this huge, drab building is unused.

The businesses are all closed and the only spaces that are being used are the top floors which are occupied by ambassador apartments. Nobody comes to Leipzigerstrasse, she explains, because the street is more of a connecting vein for the former East and West Berlin than a busy hang-out street.

When asked how they acquired the gallery, Strauss blurted out a long word that I’ve never heard before. Zwischennutzung is a German word that Strauss explains means “using in between.” It’s when an old building that has yet to be renovated can be occupied cheaply. She explains that this is how lots of artists survive in Berlin. But why the name Atelier Fest Werkstatts Party?

Her and her partner couldn’t agree over whether to call the gallery Atelier Fest or Werkstatts Party so they just mashed the two options together. Mashing things together seems to be a common theme at this gallery/party space.

On the other side of the Mitte borough, Friedrich Loock is mashing several galleries into an interesting space as well…

Warehouses for Rent: an outdoor view of Loock’s new gallery project

On May 2nd 2008 Friederich Loock opened his new gallery in a former shipyard warehouse right on the Spree in a former shipyard warehouse right behind Hamburger Bahnhof, one of the most important museums for contemporary art in Berlin, which itself is a former train station that was turned into an art gallery in 1996. This gallery is located just opposite Tiergarten from Atelier Fest Werkstatts Party.

The atmosphere is quite different from Atelier Fest Werkstatts party as I approach the big glass desk at the entrance to the gallery. The building is clinical and minimally designed, exuding what I can only describe as “Berlin cool”. It’s not until I waltz into Loock’s office that I feel human warmth when I gaze upon his baby daughter Olga basking happily on his big gray couch

It’s obvious from the minute I step into the gallery that Loock has experience. He is, in fact, a veteran of the gallery game as he was the founder of East Berlin’s first gallery, Wohnmaschine. It first opened in 1988 in Mitte right before the wall fell, when times for artists were quite a bit different.

“In the 90s there was no business,” he says, “it (Wohnmaschine) was an exhibition space and an apartment to exchange ideas with friends rather than to make money.”

His aspirations have far surpassed his humble beginnings as he sits comfortable in his clean and sparsely decorated section of the warehouse. The Loock gallery is only one of 6 galleries housed in the massive old government building that he procured.

His plans to start a temporary rental space stems from his background as a stage designer and he treats his new gallery like a theatre that will put on a new show every 6 weeks.

Inside the spacious Loock Gallery

The galleries are all equipped with 8 metre high ceilings and the four large spaces have 400 sq/metres to work with, while the two smallest spaces have 300 sq/metres. He’s happy to say that the place costs only about ten euros per square feet to rent.

In the end, this project took three years to develop. This time was spent looking for tenants to book, renovating the land and negotiating the lease. Convincing the owner of the warehouse wasn’t easy, but it was possible.

“Ironically it was difficult to convince the big real estate firm to change the space to a gallery where there could be more money made theoretically from an unused warehouse that is making very little money.”

Even more, ironically, the building that Strauss and Schumacher occupied wasn’t making any money before they set out on the arduous process of acquiring it

The Berliner Rundfunk building, which had been empty since 2004 was occupied by Strauss and Schumacher in December of 2007 after a lengthy application process with the state-run Bundesanstalt Für Immobilienaufgaben department, which Strauss playfully described as the “state madhouse for the tasks of real estate”.

This department, she explained is in charge of renting out former East Berlin state-owned buildings to interested newcomers.

Strauss and Schumacher were forced to employ ruthless and mercenary tactics in their acquisition of their space. They stormed the department in a big Defender Land Rover on 7 different occasions at 7:00 AM demanding the space they felt was right for them.

“We had to hypnotize the director to convince him we’d only need a small space,” says Strauss. “the department only wants people who have enough money to rent out entire buildings, but 1500 square-meters was far too much.”

The two artists managed to convince the board to sign over the lease for 1300 Euros a month, which is a modest price if you see the vaulted ceilings and floor to roof windows in the massive space the artists work with.

But why does it take so much pleading to rent spaces if there is supposedly so much going unused? After a bit of brow-wrinkled pondering Strauss equates the situation to competition.

“About ten years ago it was easy to find temporary spaces like this but it isn’t as easy now,” she says. “There’s a lot of competition to get these spaces, despite the fact that they’re in a state of lethargy.”

Natalie Jergeschew is a student writing her thesis on the acquisition and transformation of spaces by artists and she has her own theory about the current state of artistic competition in Berlin.

“You can’t just say you want to rent this space for a new gallery, it’s not enough these days. You have to have a second business idea behind it. You’ll have to sell glasses and t-shirts to get your rent.”

The offspace phenomenon runs strong through Atelier Fest Werkstatts Party. This space has doubled as a DJ booth.

Jergeschew calls these multi-purpose galleries “offspaces” and she says they’re popping up all over Berlin, and, you guessed it, all over desirable Mitte.

Atelier Fest Werkstatts Party embodies the idea of an “offspace” by doubling as an exciting party venue. Strauss and Schumacher say that if they ask nicely they can access the other huge, bland rooms to throw parties to supplement their rent in an interesting way without compromising their art.

“Everyone loves our space because of the DJs. We have people coming who really hate art,” says Strauss, positively beaming. “We prove that art people really can dance and do fun things like play badminton in the morning.” The badminton court is truly something only possible in a place of this size.

Their cavernous surroundings mean that they have no immediate neighbors to complain if they make a little extra noise. The isolation means that they can avoid having altercations with the police. But how does the second most populous city in Europe have so much damned space right in the centre of town for what Jergeschew calls “experimental platforms”?

“London was a city built for 4 million people that houses ten,” says art scene veteran Friedrich Loock, “while Berlin was built for ten, but, it only has 4 million people.”

According to Loock, there is still a seemingly endless amount of room to breathe and room to create and although it may take some convincing, it is possible for artists and gallery curators to acquire spaces, even if their ambitions deviate from the traditional.

Their Atelier Fest space has it’s hand in revitalizing an underground art movement because Strauss claims that “young artists feel that art is happening right here, right now” in her gallery, rather than stuffy established places. “We are not an established exhibition space.”

But are underground spaces like this in danger as more and more artists and, in turn yuppies come to Berlin? Will this by the next New York City? Will gentrification ruin the big Berlin art party? Loock doesn’t think so.

He is not worried that Berlin will become another New York or London because there simply is no financial success in Berlin.

“We don’t have money here,” says Loock. “In that way Berlin overtakes New York. The creative potential is much higher than anywhere else. If you’re a young artist there is only one place to be.”
Cheap rent, cheap food, cheap living and an incredibly liberal attitude mean time and space for artists to be inspired and create.

Despite being the capital and largest city in Germany, Berlin is not the financial capital: Frankfurt is. This is a strange blessing.

“We don’t have a good grounding of economics in Berlin,” says Jergeschew, “You will recognize that New York is a financial center, and London, but Berlin is a poor city. Our mayor said Berlin is poor but sexy.”

Moments before the shutters came down…

As Strauss is talking to me I notice the shutters closing. They are automatic shutters that decide how much light you are able to have at any given time in the day, an interesting relic from the GDR radio station.

Strauss is inspired by this mysterious and robotic light-source control and rebels by taking the time every day to sing as loud as possible in the gallery. The acoustics in the building are great and when she hears her voice reverberating back she realizes that she is, in fact in control of everything. The space is luxurious and the surplus space inspires art on a large scale. “It’s pure luxury. Sometimes I just walk through the space and throw my arms in the air and say ‘ahhhh’,” says her partner Martina Schumacher with a big smile.

And, although their lease is quite temporary Strauss isn’t worried. It doesn’t look like Berlin is going to fill up anytime soon.

“We will never run out of space,” says Loock with a sly smile. “I was talking to a banker and he said that you could fit the whole of Leipzig in Berlin and still have a lot of space.”
For the sake of Berlin’s “poor but sexy” reputation, let’s hope he’s right.

Definitely the biggest crowd of people is situated in front of the city hall, at the north side of Plaza Mayor. It’s because this is the most popular meeting spot in Salamanca. Whenever a Salmantino wants to meet up with someone, he would just say these three words: “Debajo del reloj” (under the clock) – a local would immediately know, what he means.

The clock at the top of the city hall is probably the only lead of the similar looking facades of the square. And furthermore the clock is a metaphor of being on time – but that wouldn’t impress a Salmantino. As everyone is aware, the Spanish would never allow themselves to be stressed, and that is maybe why this country has such relaxed places like Plaza Mayor.

When Andrés García de Quiñones and Alberto Churriguera constructed Plaza Mayor at the beginning of the 18th century, they managed to provide no view on the square from any position in the city. Coming out of one of the winding alleys, and passing the impressive arches of the square, there is this wow factor, when you finally see Plaza Mayor in front of you. The square presents itself like a huge arena, with the people who enter being the gladiators, or the “toreros” – as we are speaking of Spain.

The most elegant living room

And it’s true, the 6400m2-square was originally a venue for bullfights. It’s a precious surrounding for a cruel event like that. The Churriguera brothers prepared the designs for the plaza, using sandstone as the primary building material. The “plaza” is surrounded by three floors of buildings with austere iron balconies above 88 semi-circular arches supported by solid stone pillars. Important characters of Spain’s history - kings, saints, discoverers, conquerors and wise men - are enthroned at the arches’ spandrels.

The Royal Pavilion and the town hall are located in this Baroque setting. On the ground floor, behind the impressive arches, there are numerous bars and cafés with terraces in the summer to enjoy daily city life passing by.

Shady arcades,bars and cafés attract all kinds of people

Although the bulls and toreros were banished from Plaza Mayor, the baroque square is still a center of community life. When the sun has done its job for today and a mild, sweet evening breeze is sweeping away the tension of a long working day, the “plaza” attracts Salmantinos as well as tourists like a magnet.

At the plaza you’ll find business men, as well as students, tourists and families

Business men in black suits and with greasy hair are starting a casual chat under one of the arcades. Exhausted tourists are basking in the late day sun at the several outdoor cafés. Students are sitting in small groups scattered on the grey cobblestone of the square. Groups of “chicas” – as Spaniards call young females – are presenting the content of their shopping bags to each other. And in between children in posh summer dresses and suits run and jump across the square.

Meeting Place for everyone

It’s not surprising though, why Salmantinos speak of the Plaza Mayor as their “second living room”. Due to its central location, Plaza Mayor is the perfect place to meet up with friends or colleagues after work or university for small-talk, accompanied by a drink or some Tapas in one of the surrounding bars. Many people meet friends here – intentional or accidental - but it’s not unusual to strike up a conversation with a stranger either.

The square is spacious and yet comfortably enclosed by the arcades, creating an intimate atmosphere. At the same time there is always a lively hustle and bustle. At night, often a roving “tuna” - a group of minstrels from the University who dress in traditional garb - or other spontaneous forms of entertainment will appear. But it’s also fun to watch the people waiting under the clock and see the expressions of impatience on their faces as they await the arrival of a friend, an acquaintance, girlfriend or boyfriend.
When the bars and cafés are closed, the music of the tunas have stopped, and also the noise of the chatting and laughing crowds have slowly faded away, Plaza Mayor has the chance to calm down, before the rush of the next morning.

It’s a big day in Berlin for this reporter. After a week of telephone tag I finally get to visit the legendary Moon Studios. Located in the spacious Berlin apartment of Montreal ex-pat and psychedelic-rock & soul shaman King Khan, Moon Studios is a ‘Cosmic Family Recording Studio’ where he, his family and friends can get together in a warm and loving space to bash out songs and create music from out of this world.

The city of Berlin offers the perfect meeting place as Khan invites fellow nomadic musicians to record in a city that ís notorious for being a neutral zone infested with creativity.

All the magic happens, deceptively enough, in the Khan family living room. Here in all its glory is Moon Studios, a space packed with musical equipment and bizarre pop culture paraphernalia from decades long past. As I enter this room, I feel like I’ve stepped into a freaky parallel universe as I gaze up at ancient guitars with angel wings and a bizarre Buddha in drag that adorns the 1960s TV set.

Khan’s heavenly guitar collection float peacefully overhead…

There is a strange and infectious energy throbbing through Moon Studios and it directly translates to what is recorded there. Khan recorded his 2006 record “What’s For Dinner?” with his long-time friend and band mate BBQ (a.k.a. Mark Sultan) in Moon Studios as well as parts of recent worldwide celebrities The Black Lips’ furious 2005 record, ‘Let it Bloom’.

“They (The Black Lips) did some recordings in Los Angeles and were unhappy with the mix,” Khan says. “So, the next time they were in Berlin they decided to bash the songs out in the living room and it just worked and that’s what ended up on the album.”

Let’s flash forward to my second visit to the studios. The sun has just risen after a hard night on the town and Khan has invited everyone back to his place to show the fruits of his labour in the studio.

Khan is bubbling over with excitement to show everyone the new recording he just did of another group of old friend’s, Montreal sleaze-rockers Demon’s Claws. Earlier that day they bashed out their new single the country-slop-rock “Trip to the Clinic” and by that evening Khan had guerrilla-rushed the DJ booth at a local club and slammed it on.

Although the club night is oriented towards classic soul music, the DJ is more than happy to hear the new sounds coming from Khan’s mythical studios.

Every song has an ethereal sound, like an old record dug up from another time yet filtered through a modern, almost alien sensibility. The grit and D.I.Y. aesthetic of Berlin colours the lo-fi sound of the recordings. Let’s flash back to my first meeting when I urge Khan to show me more. He gladly obliges with some interesting family-recorded material.

In Khan’s kitchen there are two identical clocks sitting side by side. One of them is tuned to the current time in Berlin and the other is tuned to the time in his hometown of Montreal proving that Khan is an eternal family man. Khan has spent countless hours of bonding time recording his relatives in the studio.

The Magical Music Capturing Device

He is the eldest of three siblings. At various times since moving to Berlin he has recorded tracks his younger sister Saba Khan from the band Cocobeurre in Montreal and his younger brother Faiz. The inherent musicality of the family is uncanny.

The most fascinating examples of the “Khan gift” are embodied in the youngest people to have recorded at Moon Studios, his daughters Saba Lou, 7, and Bella, 5. Although she is only 5, Bella is already recording songs, most recently a track she sang off the top of her head called “Please Be Quiet”. I am lucky enough to hear this adorable and wonderfully melodic track, which was recorded with their guest, another touring Montrealer, Rockabilly hero Bloodshot Bill.

Khan can see how impressed and shocked I am by the look on my face and he feeds off it.
“Let me show you some of the stuff Saba Lou has recorded,” Khan says with a sly smile.

Saba Lou f/ King Khan - Physical Nothing (Recorded at 5 years old in Moon Studios)

Sadly, Saba Lou is present and claims she is embarrassed but I’m the one who turns red as I’ve never recorded a song. Saba Loo quickly jumps to the computer and hits pause on iTunes.
“Let me play you my mix instead,” she says.

I’m briefly disappointed by her reluctance to listen to her own songs but, but then amazed at the mix curated by Saba Khan. This 7-year old has incredible taste and an encyclopedic knowledge of what she’s playing. She’s smart as a whip and she gets excited when she tells me who the soul group we’re listening to is and when they recorded that single.

Of course, other bands who make their way through Berlin want to get in on the magic that my host dispenses, but Khan is a bit selective.

He has received requests from other bands in town to record in there but he doesn’t really want strangers in the house with the kids and he’s afraid some of the magic will be lost if he just turns it into a studio. Plus, after recording a metal album a few years back his neighbors got a little annoyed.

Khan wants to release a best-of compilation of the material he’s recorded at Moon Studios at some point, but that will have to wait as he is concentrating on the forthcoming month-long Vice Records tour in promotion of his psychedelic soul orchestra, The Shrines new greatest hits album coming out this summer entitled The Supreme Genius of King Khan & The Shrines.