SLOW TRAVEL BERLIN
Stereo Total, Festsaal Kreuzberg, 9pm
Twenty years ago, a French woman and a German man met at a bakery on Adalbertstraße in Berlin. Fast-forward to today, and the two–who have basically been in a band ever since–will play a show just around the corner from that initial meeting place.
The band, Stereo Total, is made up of the aforementioned, Françoise Cactus and Brezel Göring, who play alongside a host of other, alternating musicians.
But even more varied than the lineup is the music itself; Stereo Total is an eclectic mix of kitschy, catchy electropop and a sampling of just about everything else.
With lyrics in German, French, and English, alongside snippets of Japanese, Turkish, and Spanish, the band is relentless and prolific, churning out song after surrealistic song.
The duo’s latest effort, Cactus versus Brezel, was released in Europe this summer, and it slated for a 2013 release in the U.S. What does it sound like? A listen to the track, “Diese Musik hört sich an” will provide both a literal and figurative answer to that question. But perhaps Stereo Total is one of those things better experienced first hand.
Catch them at Festsaal Kreuzberg for what may be one of the most bizarrely fun live experiences to hit Berlin. Natalye Childress
Festsaal Kreuzberg, Skalitzerstraße 134, 10999 Berlin; 030 61 65 60 03; U: Kottbusser Tor; admission €17.