Orientation

I. Berlin – Neukölln, Sonnenallee. This neighborhood is purely Arab. Prussian Architecture, plain, tall and and rigorous. If you look above the world is a square and in order. On the ground the cultures are melting into a not very homogenic mix. Men are sitting in worn out chairs, smoking their waterpipes, French Fries stands with arabian names, streetvendors, video stores with the newest blockbuster from Beirut, shining black Mercedes limousines, women in tight jeans and highheels or disguised in veils and floating dresses. Berlin – Neukölln, this is Bekir´s hood. Composer, Singer, Musician und Producer of ORIENTATION. Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg, Kastanienallee. Berlin´s Trash scene Fashion paradise. The names of the clubs say it all: „White Trash“, „CCCP“, „Cafe Moskau“ and „Kaffee Burger“. Lots of young folks, prominently not styled, of all nationalities and languages sipping their Latte Macchiato in trendy Coffe Shops such as, „Cafe103“, „Schwarz-Sauer“, „Lass uns Freunde bleiben“. Pure lifestyle. Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg, Advocado´s hood. Composer, Musician and Producer of ORIENTATION. II. ORIENTATION uses the big musical treasure chest Berlin has to offer. Berlin ist the most „easty“ located city Germanies and Western Europe, it was for so many years the sting in the flesh of the Sovjet Empire. You can still feel it, „Charlottograd“, Kreuzberg 36, Wedding, Neukölln, these hoods tell their stories about the past. Bekir´s heritage is the black see, his family roots come from the Eastern part of the multiethnic state Turkey. Advocado comes from the most German of all rivers, the Rhine area, the most western region of the multiethnic state Germany. Both, Bekir and Advocado, are affected by the whole range from Jazz, R&B, Soul, Funk to European and Ottoman classical music and German, Balkan and Turkish Folk, from Christian church songs to the Turkish wedding and gypsy dance music. Berlin is a musical microcosm that pictures the worldmap of music in detail. Accordingly wide spread ist he environment of the musicians who participated in the recording of the new production "9 in Istanbul, 8 in Berlin". From San Francisco (Richard Howell) to Azerbaijan (Resul Barini), from the German city of Göttingen (Tilmann Dehnhard) to the Iranian capital Tehran (Babak Akhoondi). Besides their love towards music all these musicians have something else in common: they all live in Berlin. The new album reflects the nearness towards another European melting pot, another crossculture between East and West: Istanbul: „9 in Istanbul, 8 in Berlin“ points out that it is just one hour time difference to dip from Berlin to Istanbul (And vice versa), but also contains the immemorial and forever young Turksih wedding rhythm which is a 9/8-measure, commonly performed on wedding parties from the Balkan deep into the Asian continent. ORIENTATION uses this 9/8 mesure as a universal rhythm tool for Reggae and Funk. III. 1997 ORIENTATION released their groundbreaking album „Bosporus Bridge“, which influences Musicians and Producers worldwide until today. ORIENTATION broke into the German and European World Music Charts, toured Europe und Asia – together with Tarkan, Aziza-A and Sultana – and successfully worked as a producer´s unit. 2003 the critically acclaimed film director Fatih Akin used ORIENTATION as the Soundtrack for his awarded Movie „Head on “ (Gegen die Wand). Currently ORIENTATION is collaborating with Shooting-Star MUHABBET, live as well as in the Studio. With their new Album „9 in Istanbul, 8 in Berlin“ ORIENTATION wants to proove that good music is universal and works independant from ethnic, national and religious boundaries. ORIENTATION is the musical proof that the culture of the Occident does not contradict with the culture of the Orient. ORIENTATION closes the circle. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.