Balancing the return of live music with the realities of 2021, Berlin’s Pop-Kultur remains inclusive

This year’s Pop-Kultur, the seventh for the Berlin-based festival, mixed panel talks with live shows and digital works, all under the diverse umbrella of pop music and pop culture. While the live shows took place on the grounds of the Kulturbrauerei, Berlin, the festival also used its experience of last year’s online edition, embracing digital performances and creating a well-curated series of videos perfect for audiences unable to attend in person, whatever their reason.

For us, it was simply the uncertainty surrounding travel and self-isolation. While it may have been a drag to miss live shows by the likes of Mr. Silla, LAYLA, and Shunaji, not to mention the pure joy and discovery of a multi-stage, four-day festival, there was plenty to uncover in the streamed performances and commissioned work. In turn, it also allowed artists from around the world a stage, inclusivity being one of the festival’s key touchpoints.

JONU are deaf performers Jonathan Savkin and Nur Sera Beysun. Together, they experience the rhythm of the pieces they’re dancing to, interpreting their movement from feeling instead of sound. In their commissioned work for Pop-Kultur they dance a choreographed routine to Noga Erez’s “You So Done”. Performing to camera on an open stage under a bright disco-lit glare, they sign the lyrics, their movements convulsive and engaging. Both literal and creative in their interpretations, the duo move as a unit, complementing each other and reinforcing the candour of the song. At times impactful, humorous and visually arresting, Savkin and Beysun look like they’re having fun, and it’s infectious. It makes for a fresh take on live music’s accessibility for those hard of hearing, and a thrilling four minutes.

Ghana’s La Même Gang are influential names in the ascent of the country's growing alté movement, mixing western R&B and trap with dancehall and afropop. Across this digital work, members Darkovibes, $pacely, RJZ and Kiddblack tell their story through interviews to camera, collated video footage and photographs, explaining their formation, ethics and the barriers and opportunities they’ve faced. It’s a quick and charming introduction to the group and their vibrant and visceral performances. Drenched in style and intent, if anything it makes you wish you were in one of their pits rather than watching it all unfold through a screen.

LA duo Girlpool have been teasing the edges of guitar music for seven years with their take on punk-pop, slacker-rock and fuzzed-out grunge. Their last record was 2019’s What Chaos Is Imaginary, which matched lo-fi production with thick harmonies, but for their digital work at Pop-Kultur they stripped things back to just two voices and guitars. “Faultline” tells the story of intimate desire, with a kitschy 90s home video aesthetic, shot against the barren backdrop of red, sandy rocks. It’s as raw and exposed as the performance, and shows a stark and delicate side to the duo.

New Yorker Ian Isiah takes pride in staying true to himself. Mixing hip-hop with RnB, funk and electronica, he made a name for himself with a steady release of impressive singles and collaborations. Dropping his debut album AUNTIE last year, it was produced by Chromeo with more than a hint of Prince. But for his digital work at Pop-Kultur, Isiah strips everything back. Performing the delicate prayer “Precious Lord”, Isiah chose Colonial Williamsburg for its historic pertinence, and a backdrop of dense, rich greenery. His impactful presence, inimitable style, and breathtaking vocal performance creates an arresting piece and shows another side to this versatile artist.

Virginia-based multimedia and skate artist she_skin’s work for Pop-Kultur tackles the topic of presence. Through a combination of found images and video, sliced together, warped and distorted and chopped, they deal with themes of existence and perspective. The accompanying soundtrack is reflective and affecting, ambient but intrusive. It mirrors both the claustrophobia and expanse of the digital work. Across the four-minute piece, she_skin takes you on a journey through rural countryside, empty small towns, broken nightmares and faltered dreams, all with a creeping unease and cloying self-awareness.

From Minsk, post-punk/new wave trio Dlina Volny take influence from early-80s soviet paranoia and brutalist aesthetics. Signed to Italians Do It Better, their most recent release was a haunting cover of Madonna’s “Hollywood” as part of the label’s highly-curated compilation. In their digital work for Pop-Kultur, the trio play on themes of control and subversion, and the importance of identity. Set in a soviet-era children’s hospital, there’s a distinct uncomfortability to the clip’s narrative, mirrored in the dark, throbbing electronics and brooding bass lines, singer Masha Zinevitch icy vocals drawing the disparate piece together. Full of cinematic impact and social-commentary, it’s a dramatic cut of music video that will stay with you.

Geography, diverse identity and accessibility aren’t seen as barriers at Pop-Kultur. They’re all part of the rich tapestry of viewpoints and experiences that creates a schedule of programming which feels inclusive and exciting. Through balancing different platforms, voices, genres and media, the festival has delivered another year of thrilling and vital performance and discussion. It’ll be interesting to see where they take things in the years to come.