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Soundcheck

Tuesday, November 06, 2007
  • DJ Ipek Ipekcioglu in her home studio in Berlin. She talked about her work and latest album, "Import Export A La Turka: Turkish Sounds from Germany." The album shows how immigrants in Germany have come from the most diverse social contexts.
    DJ Ipek Ipekcioglu in her home studio in Berlin. (WNYC/Brian Wise)

    Berlin's Newest Sounds

    Berlin Without Walls
    All this week, Soundcheck presents a series of shows from Berlin, a city Billboard magazine called one of the world’s hot spots for music in 2007. Our weeklong series continues with a look at how newcomers are changing the sound of the city. We speak with a Turkish DJ and visit the studios of Radio Multikulti to learn about the musical world of Berlin's immigrants. Plus: a report on one of the city’s newest imports: the Brazilian music and dance known as frevo.

    Soundcheck in Berlin is supported in part by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Immigrants, Music and the Airwaves

Newcomers from Turkey and Eastern Europe are changing Berlin’s sound. We visit the studios of regional broadcaster RBB and its channel Radio Multikulti. RBB's Tobias Maier explains how the channel uses music as a bridge between Germans and the various immigrant communities.

RBB's Radio Multikulti
Radio Multikulti live audio streams

Move Over Tango, Frevo Is Here

Latin music is gaining steam in Berlin. The city is proud of its title as the tango capital of Europe, and various clubs have regular salsa and samba nights. Daniela Gerson reports on a lesser-known Brazilian rhythm: frevo.

Daniela Gerson's Frevo Photos
Locomotiva Do Frevo web site

DJ Ipek

We travel to the home studio of Ipek Ipekcioglu, the daughter of Turkish immigrants, a star DJ and a gay activist. She talks about the diverse social backgrounds among Germany's immigrant population -- a theme found on her new album "Import Export A La Turka, Turkish Sounds from Germany."

DJ Ipek on MySpace
DJ Ipek (Soundcheck on Site blog)

Irma Thomas

Soundcheck

August 22, 2008
New Orleans singer Irma Thomas has survived 50 years in the music business - and at least two hurricanes. She joins us to talk about her record, Simply Grand.

Bon Iver

Soundcheck

July 30, 2008
Singer-songwriter Justin Vernon spent a winter holed up in his father's hunting cabin in remote Wisconsin, recording songs about solitude that would be released under the name Bon Iver. He joins us to play some of them live.

Who's On Top and Who Should Be?

Soundcheck

August 14, 2008
Soundcheck looks at the artists who are reigning atop the Billboard albums chart -- and what their rankings tell us about the state of pop music.

The Next Big Things

Soundcheck

Paste magazine editor-in-chief Josh Jackson joins us to talk about Johnny Flynn, Janelle Monae, Bon Iver, Amy MacDonald and other must-hear artists who made Paste’s list of "The Best of What’s Next: 26 Emerging Artists You Should Know."