Brisbane-born Michael Brinkworth draws inspiration from Bob Dylan, Neil Young and from the city he now calls home, Berlin, “this weird halfway house that I ended up in.” The 33-year-old traveled the globe before settling down here six years ago.

In the past couple of months, Brinkworth has been releasing tracks from his upcoming album, “Wasted Wonder.” We talk to him about his new music and life in Berlin. (Originally aired July 11, 2020)

Produced by Monika Müller-Kroll

We feature indie-rock musician Ian Tilling.

The 35-year-old Brit moved to Berlin in 2016. After joining and leaving a number of bands, he started his solo project Grief Scene a year ago. Next month, Tilling will release his debut album titled "Bad Times." (Originally aired Oct. 17, 2020)

Produced by Monika Müller-Kroll

Tricky just released his 14th studio album, “Fall To Pieces.”

On most of the new tracks, the Berlin-based artist is joined by Marta Złakowska, a vocalist whom he discovered on a European tour. We caught up with the 52-year-old about his new release and to find out what keeps him going after three decades of making music.

Produced by Monika Müller-Kroll

hear now berlin is a chamber group that plays works by contemporary composers. Inspired by the music she loves playing and hearing, the sextet’s founder and flutist, Kelly Watson Woelffer, searched for five musicians who shared her vision: a violist from Australia, a cellist from New Zealand, and a trumpeter, violinist and clarinetist from Germany.

Though they are all classically trained musicians with orchestral foundations, the six are also skilled in a wide range of other genres, including singer-songwriter, big band, pop and jazz.

About 18 months after the group’s debut performance, we caught up with Watson Woelffer and violist Xina Hawkins about the challenges of holding auditions for a new group member during the pandemic and their upcoming concert on Sept. 7 at Kulturhaus Insel Berlin.

Produced by Sylvia Cunningham

Candice Gordon is the new cultural officer at the Irish Embassy in Berlin. The musician is known well beyond Berlin’s music scene for her haunting voice and prolific lyrics.

We caught up with Gordon about her new role in cultural diplomacy and her latest EP, “The Sacramental Traffic Lights.”

Produced by Monika Müller-Kroll

Szabolcs Bognar, better known as Àbáse, is a Berlin-based producer and multi-instrumentalist who is playing at this year’s XJAZZ open air festival.

A classically trained jazz pianist, Àbáse combines jazzy elements with West African, Brazilian and other influences to create a fresh, new sound.Ahead of his performance this weekend, we caught up with the 29-year-old over Zoom about his appreciation for Yoruba culture and growing up in post-socialist Budapest.

Produced by Benjamin Restle

Martha Rose, a U.K.-born, Berlin-based musician, just released her second full-length album titled “Undress & Dive After.”

The 33-year-old multi-instrumentalist talks with us about her songwriting process, what her grandparents have to do with it, and what’s behind her intriguing album title.

Produced by Monika Müller-Kroll

Back in March when all the music clubs closed in Berlin, big band leader Andrej Hermlin made a promise: to keep on performing as long as the coronavirus pandemic restricts our lives.

His band, the Swingin’ Hermlins, started a non-stop series of nightly concerts streamed live via Facebook. KCRW Berlin’s Erik Kirschbaum met Andrej Hermlin to talk about his love for American music from the 1930s and why he made this crazy promise.

Produced by Erik Kirschbaum

Berlin-based composer Sam Auinger describes himself as a “sonic thinker.”

The 64-year-old Austrian has spent decades exploring sound and perception in public places. Auinger’s current project is a sound installation with his long-time collaborator Hannes Strobl. The duo’s work, “Eleven Songs,” runs until August 2 at the Halle am Berghain .

Produced by Monika Müller-Kroll

Brisbane-born Michael Brinkworth draws inspiration from Bob Dylan, Neil Young and from the city he now calls home, Berlin, “this weird halfway house that I ended up in.” The 33-year-old traveled the globe before settling down here six years ago.

In the past couple of months, Brinkworth has been releasing tracks from his upcoming album, “Wasted Wonder.” We talk to him about his new music and life in Berlin.

Produced by Monika Müller-Kroll

In this week’s edition of Amplified, we catch up with New Zealand-born soul singer and producer Noah Slee. The musician just released the single, “Here For It All.” It comes after his EP, “TWICE,” and his breakthrough debut album “Otherland.”

Slee is usually based in Berlin, but he got stuck on tour when the pandemic struck. We reached him via Zoom in New Zealand.

Produced by Monika Müller-Kroll

Berlin-based musician Derya Yildirim is a multi-instrumentalist, but her favorite is the Turkish lute called the “Bağlama.” Usually, the 26-year-old performs with her band, Grup Şimşek, but more recently, she’s played on her own. We caught up with the 26-year-old in France, where she is reuniting with her band to write new material.

Produced by Monika Müller-Kroll

Martha Rose, a U.K.-born, Berlin-based musician, just released her second full-length album titled “Undress & Dive After.”

The 33-year-old multi-instrumentalist talks with us about her songwriting process, what her grandparents have to do with it and what’s behind her intriguing album title. (Originally aired Aug. 8, 2020)

Produced by Monika Müller-Kroll

Berlin-based musician Finn Ronsdorf is releasing his first EP, “Odes,” on June 12. We talk with the 21-year-old singer-songwriter about his early musical influences and what it takes to write a love song. He says the key is “really just being very much in the moment.”

Produced by Sylvia Cunningham

Brodie White loves to teach guitar and audio production to kids. So when the schools were closed, the 35-year-old had a lot of time on his hands, so he came up with a special lesson for his students: a hygiene rules rap for kids.

Covid Who!? is a production of Berlin Cosmopolitan School & Musical Friends (Brodie White and Trevor Woods).

Produced by Monika Müller-Kroll

German-born Robot Koch is dropping his new record “The Next Billion Years” on May 29. Ahead of the release, we spoke to the L.A.-based artist, producer and composer about why late French conservationist Jacques-Yves Cousteau inspired him to make the album.

Robot Koch, who spent several years living and working in Berlin before relocating to L.A., has a visual approach to his music. He says for him creating songs is “like scoring imaginary movies in my head,” and that being in nature is an important source of inspiration.

Produced by Benjamin Restle

With concerts and festivals canceled, artists are struggling to make ends meet.

London-based label Ransom Note came up with a novel idea to generate some much needed cash for music makers. They invited a number of artists — among them, KCRW Berlin’s Moderna — to contribute to a compilation album by collaborating remotely on original tracks in just 10 days. The completed album, “Pen Pals,” went on sale on April 24 and features 15 tracks by 32 artists. The proceeds go to supporting the artists and the label.

We got in touch with Ransom Note’s Rosie Cain to find out about the unusual project and how collaborating remotely affects the creative process. “Pen Pals” is available to buy online.

Produced by Benjamin Restle

We’ve all seen footage of people taking to their balconies to sing and play instruments together amid the coronavirus lockdown. But why is that?

Gunter Kreutz, who teaches at the University of Oldenburg, has published a book on the mental health benefits of singing, among other things. The musicologist says “in crises, music has a very strong function to balance people, and show them there is light at the end of the tunnel.”

Produced by Benjamin Restle

Berlin’s clubs were forced to shut this month to help contain the coronavirus outbreak. With Berliners deprived of their beloved music venues, and clubs missing out on vital revenue, Clubcommission and Reclaim Club Culture launched the United We Stream platform. 

Here, venues can stream DJ sets, concerts and much more for Berliners to enjoy in the safety of their homes. In return, they’re asking for donations to get them through these tough times.

We caught up with Clubcommission spokesman Lutz Leichsenring (pictured) on Skype to find out how many people have tuned in so far and if the platform can save clubs from financial ruin.

Produced by Benjamin Restle

This year marks 250 years since the birth of one of the most renowned composers of all time, Ludwig van Beethoven. Germany has poured 27 million euros into marking the occasion, and there are a number of events happening here in Berlin, including Labor Beethoven 2020, which is a contemporary reading of the work of Beethoven.

We spoke with Julia Gerlach, the head of music at the Akademie der Künste Berlin and the director of Labor Beethoven 2020, to find out more about some of the musical experimentation that has grown out of the celebration and how this benefits the composer’s legacy.

Produced by Sylvia Cunningham

 We sat down with Johnny “Jacho” Bottrop and Bene Diktator from Berlin punk band Acht Eimer Hühnerherzen, which translates to “eight buckets of chicken hearts.” They explained the meaning of their unusual band name and why coming up with song lyrics should take 30 minutes tops. 

Produced by Ben Restle

On Feb. 27, 1920, Berlin saw the premiere of the psychological thriller, “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.” Today, it’s considered a quintessential film of German Expressionism. But a century ago, a mismatched score nearly cost the film its audience.

We spoke to Hans Brandner from the Babylon Orchester Berlin who shares the story about the original screenings of the film and how they prompted the director to work with composer Giuseppe Becce on a whole new score. Components of that very same score have been rearranged by Brandner and conductor Marcelo Falcão to accompany screenings in Berlin at the Babylon this year.

Produced by Sylvia Cunningham

Opera Lab Berlin’s upcoming premiere of “ODYSSEY: Dead Men Die” promises a “an apocalyptic journey” encompassing Homer, James Joyce and Hollywood.

We caught up with artistic director Evan Gardner to find out more about the free-form ensemble, which has produced or collaborated on over 20 productions in the past six years, as well as what to expect from their new show.

Produced by Monika Müller-Kroll

We spoke with Michael Culme-Seymour — aka Marlais — about his love of folk music and his life in Berlin. The 33-year-old musician often blends old folk songs with modern elements. “Meeting Is A Pleasure,” is his latest single released in mid-September, a preview of the album to come. (Originally aired Sept. 28, 2020)

Jackson Dyer is an Australian singer-songwriter and producer, based in Berlin. His debut album, “Inlet,” was released on November 15.

We caught up with him to talk about going home to Australia to record his debut album, the pros and cons of producing an album solo, and his beginnings busking in Mauerpark. Stick around until the end of the interview to hear Jackson perform “Over the Dunes” live in-studio.

Produced by Sylvia Cunningham

We met up with DJ and producer Shed, aka René Pawlowitz, following the November 29 release of his fifth studio album “Oderbruch” on Berghain’s label Ostgut Ton.

Pawlowitz opens up about the inspiration for the album, which centers around memories from the region his family’s from in East Germany. He talks about how the area has changed and doesn’t hide the sense of nostalgia that emerges: “It’s a mixture of being sad but also happy. It’s depressive in a good way,” he says.

Produced by Sylvia Cunningham

5K HD is a Vienna-based avant-garde electro pop band tired of sticking to musical conventions. We met up with lead singer Mira Lu Kovacs to find out about the band’s jazz influences and passion for experimenting with sound and improvisation.

The band recently released their second album, “High Performer,” and will be showcasing their new material in a European tour in early 2020.

Produced by Benjamin Restle

Ishmael Ensemble is a Bristol-based ambient-jazz-electronica outfit that defies being pigeonholed into only one genre. We sat down with band leader Pete Cunningham and bassist Jake Spurgeon to talk about what inspires them musically and why they love playing in Berlin.

Ishmael Ensemble released their debut album, “A State of Flow,” in May of 2019. They are currently recording a new EP and planning a concert tour for 2020.

Produced by Benjamin Restle

Berlin-based garage pop band Gurr write songs about anxiety, what it means to be a strong woman, and, of course, love.

We caught up with the Laura Lee and Andreya Casablanca to talk about writing lyrics in German versus English, friendship, their upcoming tour and their new “She Says” EP, which is available now.

Produced by Sylvia Cunnningham

We spoke with Keith Duncan and Johannes von Weizsäcker, two members of The Chap, ahead of their performance at the Torstraßen Festival.

The band, who has challenged themselves in recent years to release a series of concept albums which push them beyond their comfort zone, shares some thoughts on their tenure together.

Produced by Monika Müller-Kroll

We spoke with performer Tara Nome Doyle ahead of the Torstraßen Festival at the Volksbühne. The 21-year-old Berlin singer-songwriter walks us through her songwriting process and the first song she wrote at the age of 11, the musical impact of growing up in a Norwegian-Irish family, and her first EP, “Milk and Honey” which was released in 2018.

Stick around until the end to hear a special a capella performance of her version of the Norwegian folk song “Till Till Tara.”

Produced by Monika Müller-Kroll

German musician Delhia de France likes drawing from Greek mythology to create her music. She’s particularly fascinated with goddesses.

“I like the concept of taking something totally mundane and giving it a kind of divine spark or kind of a divine image,” de France said.

De France stopped by our studio to talk about her new EP ‘Oceanides’ and her collaboration with award-winning German producer Robot Koch.

Produced by Monika Müller-Kroll

Rising Appalachia is a band founded by two sisters, Leah and Chloe Smith. With links to social and environmental activism, the folk duo from Atlanta, Georgia, look for harmony in the music they create and the places they go.

The sisters dropped by our studio in the middle of a series of European shows celebrating their new album “Leylines.” We talked about their roots and the philosophy behind the Slow Music Movement. Plus, they performed a traditional Appalachian love song live in studio, “Across the Blue Ridge Mountains.”

Produced by Sylvia Cunningham

On July 1, 1989, a few months before the fall of the Berlin Wall, a couple handfuls of people started a dance parade to acid house music along Kurfürstendamm in West Berlin. It was called Loveparade and was organized by a DJ named Dr. Motte.

30 years on, we caught up with Dr. Motte to find out more about the origins of the legendary event, and how a celebration founded in the name of “peace, love and pancakes” became a world-renowned party.

Produced by Monika Müller-Kroll

Musician and producer James Chatburn moved to Berlin in 2015. The 29-year-old toured with well-known alternative R&B artists like Jordan Rakei and the L.A. band The Internet. One of his big idols is American soul legend Donny Hathaway. We caught up with the Australian to talk about his debut release "Faible Teil 1."

We sat down with JJ Weihl, one of the founders of Berlin-based band Fenster, to talk about their latest album, “The Room,” and past projects. From creating a soundtrack to a movie that doesn’t exist to tracking an entire album live while in the Tuscan countryside, Weihl gives us insight into the band’s creative process.

Produced by Flora Adamian 

Berlin street musicians play everywhere, from street corners to public transportation. In this series, we’re talking with Berlin street musicians in order to find out more about who they are and what drives them to share their music throughout the city.

We spoke with soprano Christina Harslem to learn more about the rewards and challenges of performing as a street musician.

Produced by Flora Adamian

Maryama Luccioni is the founder of African Acid Is The Future, a Berlin-based music collective that hosts concerts and radio shows, and has put out an LP titled Ambiance I.

On June 6, African Acid Is The Future will feature Tuareg musician Mdou Moctar in a show at the Volksbühne in Berlin. We sat down with Luccioni to talk about the collective’s origin stories, plus a glimpse into Moctar’s music ahead of the show.

Produced by Sylvia Cunningham

We caught up with musician Diane Weigmann. Born and raised in Berlin, Weigmann was once a member of the all-female pop band the Lemonbabies.

Ahead of the release of her fourth solo studio album, Weigmann talks about how motherhood has led to a change in perspective, as well as her new single “Größer als Du denkst” (in English, that’s “Greater than you think”).

Produced by Nikki Motson

The Berlin-based violinist Daniel Weltlinger’s latest album, “Szolnok,” tells the story of his grandfather — who fled Europe during the war, violin in tow, before ending up in Australia — and how Weltlinger came to own and play that violin decades later.

We sat down with Weltlinger to learn more about his grandfather and hear music from the album, played live in-studio, from the same violin.

Produced by Monika Müller-Kroll 

“The only good system is a sound system” is an adage known among music heads and audio nerds. It’s also the name of a festival in Berlin designed to explore the sounds and politics of bass music.

Co-curators Zuri Maria Daiß and Pascal Jurt want to stoke Berlin’s curiosity with the genre of club music and hope the festival will bring together technicians, musicians and theorists to foster an exchange of ideas on sound system culture.

Produced by Charlotte Billing. 

Artist February Montaine mysteriously disappeared from his Derbyshire, England home in 1991. He left behind a substantial collection of journals and homemade tapes, which became cherished by his stepdaughter Suzy. She passed her stepfather’s work onto Berlin-based musician and producer Sam Potter, who spent years weaving these remnants together.

One journal idea that stuck with Potter, was Montaine’s belief that “the best music listens to you in the same way you listen to it. So to make a song really great, it really speaks to your soul and holds a mirror up to you in that moment.” Potter says it seemed like Montaine was thinking “50 years in the future, whilst living in a small house in Derbyshire and making this low-fi music.”

Produced by Nikki Motson 

Berlin street musicians play everywhere, from street corners to public transportation. In this series, we’re talking with Berlin street musicians in order to find out more about who they are and what drives them to share their music throughout the city.

We caught up with Ukrainian music students Igor and Anton who play accordion and violin, playing at a U-Bahn station, to gain a bit more insight into their world.

Produced by Nikki Motson

It was August 2018 when Kelly Watson Woelffer, a Berlin-based flutist originally from the U.S., heard “Music in Circles” by American composer Andrew Norman and something in her ignited.

“I’ve been a little bit artistically starved for the last five years or so because I have three tiny humans at home,” said Watson Woelffer. “I have been playing and teaching, of course, but have not led something of my own in about five years…I was just listening to [“Music in Circles”] and I had a sudden decision finally that I knew exactly what had to be next for me, artistically.”

From this inspiration, the chamber group hear now berlin, a sextet that challenges classical music paradigms, was born. The group — comprising Kelly Watson Woelffer (flute, alto flute, piccolo), Alexander Glücksmann (clarinet, bass clarinet), Damir Bacikin (trumpet), Meike Lu Schneider (violin), Xina Hawkins (viola) and Edward King (cello) — had their debut concert on March 14.

Ahead of their next show on April 3, we talked to Watson Woelffer, Hawkins and King about the genre of indie classical and making music more accessible for all listeners.

Produced by Sylvia Cunningham. 

How should we care for sound archives in the digital age? It’s a question that Detlef Diederichsen, head of music and performing arts at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, has considered for more than 10 years — so much so that he created Find the File, a festival that begins on March 21 at the HKW, to explore big-picture questions about music digitalization.

We caught up with Diederichsen to discuss how the idea came to life, plus we hear from Berlin-based musicians Tellavision and Derya Yıldırım, who were commissioned to produce a work for the festival’s opening night.

Produced by Charlotte Billing

In this episode of Leitmotifs, host Fredrika Brillembourg talks with pianist and conductor Benjamin Hochman. He has performed in major cities and festivals around the world, both as a soloist and chamber musician. Currently, Hochman is a research associate with Bard College Berlin and concert curator for the American Academy. Fredrika spoke with him about Mozart and Hochman's approach to music.

Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra is made up of 18 musicians from a wide variety of musical backgrounds, who all share a dedication to experimentation. They typically meet to rehearse and improvise together about once every month.

We caught up with some members of the orchestra as they prepare for the first concert in their new three part series, “Neue Orchesterformen I/III.”

Produced by Sylvia Cunningham

Berlin is a vibrant place, full of diverse sights and sounds, and the city’s many buskers are a part of the scene. In a new series, we’re talking with Berlin street musicians in order to find out more about who they are and what drives them to share their music throughout the city.

This week, we meet Santur player Hakan Tuğrul at Fehrbelliner Platz to listen to some traditional Persian music as well as his original compositions.

Produced by Nikki Motson

Berghain resident DJ Pete (aka Substance) stopped by our studio to talk about his new EP “Rise And Shine.” It’s his first solo release since 1998. DJ Pete is a fixture in Kreuzberg, the place where he grew up. He worked in the record store Hard Wax, and it’s where he started to DJ.

Produced by Monika Müller-Kroll 

Berlin-based Swedish musician Fredrik Kinbom has lived abroad for the past 20 years. It was in U.K. where a chance encounter led him to buy his first lap steel guitar, with which he started carving his signature sound.

We caught up with Kinbom to talk about learning politeness from the British, his interest in history, and spreading Scandinavian melancholy through his latest solo album, “Songs for Lap Steel & Harmonium.”

Produced by Monika Müller-Kroll