by Layla Zami*
Berlin’s best beats have always pulsed beneath, besides, beyond. Back in 1994, after I arrived in Berlin with my freshly expatriate Black-Jewish family from Paris, my commute to school would include a transfer via Potsdamer Platz, which was truly a sandlot with silent scars of World War II. My way to class at Französisches Gymnasium where we learned about the historical Marshall plan required walking on marshy land across the eerily empty city center. Today, many “Bombenlücke”(1) have been filled with buildings, yet I still carry the memory of the void with me each time I pass through the buzzing streets spilling with Starbucks and Sony energy. Although I was still a bit young to fully experience the city’s subcultures, I did get a glimpse into some of its artistic territories of freedom, such as the Tacheles community. The 1990s were times when the Love Parade, initiated by DJ Dr. Motte and interdisciplinary artist Danielle de Picciotto, would sprawl over town amidst the crumbling Wall. I never attended the parade, and little did I know that 30 years later, I would become part of a collective exhibition with Danielle and other artists who shaped the cityscape with their work, thanks to artist and curator extraordinaire Oxana Chi. [Read more…] about Berlin beneath the beat