Videointerview with Polarkreis 18

I announced it and now, after heavy works of editing with a shitty piece of software (windows movie maker – someone sponsor me a good editing program, please!) I finally can present the interview with Bernd from Polarkreis 18, who I met in Riga by some magical coincidence.

They have been compared to Mars Volta and Muse, Sigur Ros and Air; their record, which will be out in early november 06 is mixed by Chris von Rautenkranz, their label is Motor. So, everything is going pretty well for the boys from Dresden and why? Because they deserve it. Their music is wonderful, emotional, a little melancholic and floating with the autumn fogs. Enjoy a little videointerview (in German) on a bridge and some sounds from the upcoming album. Continue reading

Rigas Svetki House Music Night

An old industry harbour area. City festival, 20th of august, the end of a great summer is getting closer. Thousands of young people celebrated the city festival “Svetki” and its saturday “House Muzikas Nakts” with Stressless Project (Lisboa Porto) and many great local DJs. The music was perfect for the evening: Massive, loud, emotional, overwhelming. Warm air with a little wind surrounded the stage with the big screens on the wharf..

The party was awesome, I talked to many people and danced like I didn’t dance for a long time. Here’s a little video impression:
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That would have been a pity

People who know me will not be surprised by this: I almost lost my flight from Berlin to Riga. In the end, it really was a matter of seconds.

I wanted to take the airport express from Alexanderplatz, but it was not on the display, it was cancelled due to an accident, I found out. So I had to take the S-Bahn which left later and takes much longer to Schönefeld. 7:50 was the scheduled take-off and I arrived at 7:35!

Thank god I had the boarding pass from Easyjet already printed out and thank god they let me take my two big bags into the cabin. Looking back, I realize what a shame it would have been not to go to Riga..

Stay tuned for the two missing videos: The open air houseparty in the harbour and the videointerview with Polarkreis 18, I am currently editing it!

Riga Streetart

Look into my eyesI knew this is an inspiring and creative place. I already was fascinated by modern Latvian culture when I saw all the animated movies from Riga students in the Red Shift filmfestival in New York. I was not mistaken. There’s art and creativity everywhere, the walls are full of little grafics and signs and sprayed items. Tons of streetart really, and I only took pictures of few of the pieces. Here’s my Riga streetart pictures gallery, my favourite stencils and symbols.
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Videointerview with Juan, owner of Riga Hostel

Juan from Riga HostelThe place I am staying in is charming, cosy and has a familial atmosphere. People share stuff, cook together, party together and everywhere you find postcards and post-its with regards and good advice for the rest of the visitors. To find out more about the background of such a nice place, I interviewd Juan, who came from Spain to Riga to start a hostel business about the history and his secret tips about Riga.
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Riga: still to come on stylewalker.net

There are two movies I have to edit with stuff from Riga: First, there was this mindblowing party in the old industrial harbour, with thousands of people, great music and enthusiastic dancing. Expect ecstasy! The second is a video interview with Polarkreis 18, an uprising band, getting started now and going to be huge. Don’t miss that!

Update: Here are the movies:

Riga Open Air Houseparty crowd
A video interview with Polarkreis 18

Riga Impressions

Riga girls dancing in the streetWithout many commentaries, I just invite you to enjoy some pictures of a beautiful day.

Going to the beach (Jumala, trainstation Majori), watching people in the street, going up in the elevator of the Reval hotel, drinking a cocktail in the Sky lounge, enjoying the parks.
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Going out to Casablanca

Riga Nightclub CasablancaFoto by Tim Protlove“Naktsklub” is Latvian for nightclub and does not necessarily have to do anything with “naked”. After a night in Riga’s old town, one cannot be so sure about that anymore. Red lights wherever you go, girls in the street, strange men trying to drag you into shady grottos.

We couldn’t care less and went to “Casablanca”, a nightclub which deserves its name. And it’s not less sexy than any Rolexxx or Orion, on the contrary! Continue reading

Riga-Hostel: A place like a shared flat

Riga HostelIn the background the coffee machine makes cosy noises, somebody is watching tv, I have a Latvian dark beer sizzling right next to my laptop, a guy is reading, the Japanese girl writes postcards. Riga-Hostel is like a shared flat, has a big kitchen, a big fridge where people put things and I just fried some delicious salmon. I am staying in a dorm with 12 people, all very nice so far. I will try to do an interview with the owner later. His name is Juan, he is Spanish, so half of the people here are from Spain, especially from Barcelona, isn’t that nice.
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