Atalein gives us a newcomer’s guide to Berlin
After first evolving from her classical roots, Melbourne’s ATALEIN later found her feet planted firmly in the electronic music realm. She shared with us her debut single ‘Autumn/Winter’ a few months back, a track that was inspired by her travels through Europe last year and stems far from classical music.
She’s headed back to Europe, relocating to Berlin and in the same short space of time, she’s shared a new single with us titled ‘Lo Drone’.
Following on from her single ‘Autumn/Winter’, ‘Lo Drone’ harnesses that same intensity we we received in the first single, but with more of a pop sensibility touched onto this one. Think Crystal Castles meets Robyn.
She produces her tracks with a classical kind of composition in the sense that her singles are carefully constructed, have immense depth and navigate every corner of the space it takes up with ease and precision. This one feels more carefully constructed than her last single (if that’s even possible!) and is a real snapshot into the direction Atalein‘s heading in with her sound.
We thought because she’s new to Berlin, it would be cool to get a bit of a newcomer’s guide to the city and hear about some of the places she’s frequenting since the move. Here is Atalein‘s guide to those who may be new to Berlin:
Berlin is an Amazing city. I love how architecturally it’s very dark and a little depressing but the city itself is so full of life and culture. Here’s my 5 things you have to do when you come to Berlin:
- Grab yourself a donut from Brammbila’s. They’re a vegan donut place. The first time I thought about becoming vegetarian was when I came here and ate one of their donuts with a soy chai! I haven’t found many places that do soy chai and not being a big coffee drinker it’s definitely a plus for me. Their donuts are also soooo delicious it’ll convert anyone! If you go on a Tuesday or Friday, you’ll also find yourself amidst the Turkish market which has SO MUCH fresh produce for super cheap!!!
- If you’re into music then you should join a Meetup group or Female:Pressure (they’re looking to change their name). Female:Pressure has been running for 20 years. They focus on women, trans and non-binary music artists and issues they face in the industry. I’d say they’re a little bit like Listen. They put on regular meetups and gigs, as well as workshops. I went to a modular synth workshop that was really cool!
- Speaking of modular synths this brings me to my third must do thing in Berlin… You should definitely check out SchneidersLaden. It’s a modular synth store. The staff are super nice and they let you try out all the gear! Every Thursday they do workshops and they’re in English AND FREE! They just really have a passion for modular synths and want everyone to join in on it! If you look at their website you’ll think their shiiiiittttt… but bad websites seem to be the German way. Don’t let it fool you!
- Find a local market to do all your fruit and veg shopping. There’s SO MANY and their SO CHEAP! I went to the BIO store the other day which is all organic and Fairtrade and I blew my entire weekly budget. I nearly cried…. Won’t be doing that again.
- Make sure you take ample opportunity to visit the galleries. One of my favourites are the are the Museum of Photography which is part of the Helmut Newton Foundation and has some of his photos and artefacts in it as well as some other amazing photographers. I made a list that’s about two pages long of galleries and museums to check out while I’m here… one of them includes the Curry Wusrt museum which should be fun!!!
So I guess when you come to Berlin you think of clubbing… I mean who doesn’t. I’ve only been to a few clubs regularly so here are my favourite ones to go to…. Griessmuehle – on Thursday’s if you go early (1am) you can check out the modular synth producers which is coollllll!!!! Sisyphos is super fun… especially in summer but don’t go before 3am! The same can be said for the first club I went to here which is Golden Gate… It’s super dirty. Just a concrete room! I went there the other week around 3am and it was pretty shittttt. Lots of tourists. I left about 6am and my friends stayed. It was starting to get good when I left but I was over it at that stage lol. And yep… it’s true… Berliners tend not to go out before 5am so it’s always good to have a going out ritual… my generally is – lie in bed for a while watching Netflix and try have a nap. Have a super late dinner or if I’ve already had dinner have second dinner/snack. Then run a nice hot bubble bath with some bath salts and do a face mask. Do all this while drinking a beer. Then I like to put some music on and get ready… meet up with friends at a Späti (which is like a 7/11 but with beer) and then head out!
Photo by Michelle Grace Hunder
Intro by CAITLIN MEDCALF
ATALEIN SHEDS HER SKIN IN NEW VIDEO FOR ‘AUTUMN / WINTER’
ATALEIN REWORKS A SNOW PATROL CLASSIC INTO A HAUNTING, OMINOUS JAM
YOLLKS PUTS HER FAVOURITE FEMALE TECHNO PRODUCERS TO THE FRONT ON HER GUEST MIX