Thread by @PSB_HQ

1. DER SUMPF (SINFONIE DER GROßSTADT)
This translates as ‘The Swamp (Symphony of a Great City)’. Berlin is built on very sandy soil which was originally marshland / swamp - named by the Slavic peoples who first settled it (brl = swamp in Slavic) #timstwitterlisteningparty

As for ‘Symphony of a Great City’, that comes from Walter Ruttmann’s film of the same name from 1927. The theme which emerges in this song, on piano, is inspired by music from Edmund Meisel’s original score for that film & repeats across the record #timstwitterlisteningparty

This was intended to be a very murky, bubbly, primeval-sounding intro, then the city starts to emerge from the swamp and we start hearing industrial & electronic sounds (the industrial sounds taken from Ruttmann’s pioneering ‘Wochenende’ audio collage) #timstwitterlisteningparty

I recorded the birdsong & water effects down by the Pfaueninsel (‘Peacock Island’) by the Havel… very keen for any birdwatchers out there to identify birdsong. So far I have buzzard, chiffchaff, wren and allegedly a willow warbler #timstwitterlisteningparty

Nearly all the acoustic elements in this track (piano, timpani, percussion) were recorded to tape at normal speed then played back at half speed. Everything sounds much beefier and a bit more melancholic like that #timstwitterlisteningparty

2. IM LICHT
This was meant as a kind of 2001-esque jump cut - from the primeval swamp to the light, noise and excitement of the early 20th century. It means ‘in the light’ and is named after the Berlin Im Licht exhibition in 1928 #timstwitterlisteningparty

Apparently the city didn’t sleep for the duration of the exhibition - here are a few photos of the time. One of the melodies in the chorus (the repeated 4 notes) is a nod to Kurt Weill’s song ‘Berlin im Licht’ which he wrote for the exhibition #timstwitterlisteningparty

The lady at the start says ‘mach schon!’, by the way, which means ‘get ready’, but also sounds a bit like The Beatles’ famous Hamburg instruction to ‘mach schau’. It’s also from Wochenende #timstwitterlisteningparty

As well as hosting the exhibition, Berlin (via AEG and Siemens) manufactured most of the lightbulbs for Europe at the time & was known as the City of Light. I loved the way the lightbulb worked as both a literal figure for the city & a metaphorical one #timstwitterlisteningparty

… there’s no better symbol of creative inspiration or an imaginative breakthrough than the humble lightbulb after all. We used a lot of lightbulbs as percussion in this track (photo by Andrew MacColl) #timstwitterlisteningparty

I also wandered up and down Leipzigerstrasse with one of these (somasynths.com/ether/), ‘a wide-band receiver that makes it possible to perceive the electromagnetic landscape around you’ #timstwitterlisteningparty

Leipzigerstrasse was the first in Berlin to be fully electrified with streetlights. I thought picking up these pulses & adding them to the track would be a cool and very geeky idea. The static bursts, bass drum & hi hat are all formed from these sounds #timstwitterlisteningparty

We smashed a big lightbulb for the end of the song - here’s @psb_wriggles at the key moment (photo by Andrew MacColl) #timstwitterlisteningparty

3. DER RHYTHMUS DER MASCHINEN
This is another track about the building of the city itself - the heavy industry and railways which drove so much of the expansion of Berlin in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (‘the rhythm of the machines’) #timstwitterlisteningparty

I always enjoy echoes of earlier works in other bands’ albums so putting in these samples from Progress was an attempt to do just that here - plus it tied in so well with the song #timstwitterlisteningparty

These industrial sounds are all from Wochenende so are all original Berlin sounds from 1928, cut up and rearranged into rhythmic parts. They add a lot of atmosphere to the track #timstwitterlisteningparty

Shred🔥! I look forward to getting this repeatedly, and awfully, wrong on tour every night this autumn #timstwitterlisteningparty

Working with Blixa was as intimidating and interesting as you might imagine. He was perfectly nice, & collaborative, but obviously I was terrified and didn’t want to come across like an idiot. I was amazed he said yes to the track #timstwitterlisteningparty

The ‘theme’ from Der Sumpf has re-emerged here, played on the modern CS-80 (Vangelis’ ‘Blade Runner’ synth), the Deckard’s Dream. It’s on every track on the record and is a real beauty #timstwitterlisteningparty

4. PEOPLE, LET’S DANCE
We’ve moved now from the first part of the record - the physical building of the city and its industry and status as a city of light - into the second, building the myth of Berlin. The nightlife is obviously a massive part of that #timstwitterlisteningparty

The title is taken from Rory MacLean’s book Berlin: Imagine a City (with kind permission!), which I can’t recommend enough. His approach to summing up the history of Berlin in such an imaginative and creative way was a massive inspiration for the record #timstwitterlisteningparty

This was the second track we recorded with @EERAmusic, after Gib mir das Licht (more on that later). Her vocals in the verses are pitched down and re-played about 5 semitones below where she sang them which helps with the androgynous feel #timstwitterlisteningparty

Depeche Mode were very kind to let us use the riff to People Are People, also recorded at Hansa & one of the biggest gay anthems of the 80s. Our track is about permissibility, acceptance, the joy of movement, so it's an honour to reference theirs #timstwitterlisteningparty

‘Komm tanzen / und loslassen’ - come, dance, and lose yourself. I was once told by a dance teacher (don’t ask) that there aren’t many shortcuts to joy in life, but dancing is one of them. She was 100% right #timstwitterlisteningparty

I must like this one as I've just turned it up #timstwitterlisteningparty

This song turned into a bit of a monster.. about 250 different tracks in the project, but weirdly it felt wrong taking any of them out as they all play a role in the energy and feel of the song #timstwitterlisteningparty

I love the way @EERAmusic takes it up and away for the outro - I asked her to do something Liz Fraser-esque, but I think it reminds me most of Annie Lennox's Eurythmics vocals (There Must Be An Angel especially) #timstwitterlisteningparty

5. BLUE HEAVEN
This is about Marlene Dietrich, her self-made image, her power, her myth, her illusion. She’s simply one of the most extraordinary figures of popular culture of the entire 20th century in my book #timstwitterlisteningparty

There was a sample over the start from The Blue Angel - 'I knew you'd come back... they always come back to me', but we were turned down by a very officious response.. so just imagine that if you can #timstwitterlisteningparty

This is named after My Blue Heaven, a song she performed and which she said first made her dream of moving to America. At the same time it ties into the idea of her as a kind of serene, untouchable celestial being to be worshipped by us mere mortals #timstwitterlisteningparty

‘Am I the moth or a flame’ - again tying back to Im Licht, Berlin as a city / source of light attracting people from all over the world but also echoing Dietrich’s ‘Falling in Love Again’ from the Blue Angel (blue again, obviously) #timstwitterlisteningparty

Andreya Casablanca is one half of Berlin-based band Gurr. She did such a sensational job on this song - her energy and punky spirit were exactly what we were after to pay tribute to Dietrich and her take-no-prisoners approach #timstwitterlisteningparty

The drop-down section is very much inspired by Just Like Honey by The Jesus & Mary Chain, a song we both loved #timstwitterlisteningparty

‘Ich hab noch einen Koffer in Berlin’ - I still keep a suitcase in Berlin, a famous line from one of her songs, but also in my mind a nod to her decision to be buried in Berlin despite living in self-imposed exile for so long… #timstwitterlisteningparty

She (like Bowie) controlled her myth to such an extent that she even turned her death into a beautiful theatrical performance of sorts. Amazing. If you don’t know her story, please, read more about her (Rory MacLean’s book is a great start) #timstwitterlisteningparty

6. GIB MIR DAS LICHT
This (‘give me the light’) is about Anita Berber, the epitome of the Weimar era and a symbol of beauty, excess and debauchery. The lyrics are based on a poem she wrote called ‘kokain’ (it’s not great, but @EERAmusic's lyrics are) #timstwitterlisteningparty

She was famously addicted to cocaine, morphine, opium and alcohol, and most fond of chloroform too. She died very young, aged 29, of pulmonary tuberculosis (presumably the above didn’t help either) #timstwitterlisteningparty

The painter Otto Dix captured her in his ‘Portrait of the dancer Anita Berber’ - it’s a remarkable painting #timstwitterlisteningparty

Reading Alexandra Richie’s ‘Faust’s Metropolis: A History of Berlin’ led me to Berber. Richie described her as the ultimate metaphor for the Weimar age, a ‘shimmering dream’, and that’s how I wanted this song to sound #timstwitterlisteningparty

We recorded an 8-piece clarinet section in the famous Meistersaal (the big hall by the wall) for this one - they were amazing and I love the textures that they brought to the song (photo by Andrew MacColl). Arranged & conducted by our man @rittipo #timstwitterlisteningparty

The ending of the song starts to fragment - the guitar glitches, there are audible tape artefacts on the strummed guitar, the tempo starts to wobble around and the whole thing starts to dissolve a bit, an attempt to mirror the dream falling to pieces #timstwitterlisteningparty

Plus, of course, @EERAmusic's vocals take it all the way up the ladders to heaven #timstwitterlisteningparty

7. THE VISITOR
This is named after the album that Bowie’s character produces at the end of The Man Who Fell To Earth. If ever there was an ultimate ‘visitor’ to Berlin from a creative perspective, there’s a strong argument for it being Bowie #timstwitterlisteningparty

Low's side B is such an inspiration; I wanted our Bowie tribute to kick off our own side B of sonic exploration - nearly all instrumental with no samples (and no English). Berlin has acted as a muse for so many & I wanted to see where it would take us #timstwitterlisteningparty

Sonically it aims to recall Warszawa from Low with the piano and synths, as well as the sustained bends on the guitars (‘Heroes’) and the pitched down snare drum (most of side A of Low), while still being new and ‘ours’ #timstwitterlisteningparty

I’m not much of a pianist but I was never going to pass up the opportunity to record some grand piano in the Meistersaal - here I am, somewhat ham-fistedly tinkling the ivories (photo by Andrew MacColl) #timstwitterlisteningparty

We had originally wanted to use a sample of Bowie (‘I’m not an original thinker… what I’m best at doing is synthesising those things in society… refracting them’) but it didn’t work out. I think for the best as it’d be too on the nose #timstwitterlisteningparty

8. LICHTSPIEL I: OPUS
We’re into the first of the three Lichtspiel (‘light-play’) pieces now and this is the 'bright magic' of the title. This piece is based on Ruttmann’s film of the same name, the first abstract animated film in history #timstwitterlisteningparty

Having laid the foundations of the city and some of its mythic figures, we make the creative leap through Kubrick’s stargate, off into pure abstraction & expressionism and our own previously mentioned leap into the unknown. Plus Pseuds Corner too #timstwitterlisteningparty

I found these films on a day off in Berlin on our November 2018 tour, at the Berlinische Galerie (my favourite gallery in Berlin). I had the title Bright Magic in my head but no clear idea of why or how.. then saw these and the lightbulb went off #timstwitterlisteningparty

Stills don’t really do the film justice (I’d recommend watching it in full: vimeo.com/262027844) but some of the shapes definitely inspired Studio Posselt’s amazing album artwork and illustrations #timstwitterlisteningparty

Most of this track is just one synth track from the Deckard’s Dream, with me ‘playing’ the organ-style pitch control to create some of the high shimmers. Using physical instruments like this is a very satisfying, tactile & inspiring way of working #timstwitterlisteningparty

Ruttmann wrote that his film was ‘develop[ing] the formal motif with time’ and I think that’s what I tried to do here, perhaps subconsciously - a 32 bar phrase which moves between keys and adds layers as it goes #timstwitterlisteningparty

The clarinet section is on this track as well, towards the end. It’s a little hard to hear due to the saturation and general busy-ness of the mix but their Steve Reich-esque pulses fit in quite well I think #timstwitterlisteningparty

9. LICHTSPIEL II: SCHWARZ WEISS GRAU
Named after László Moholy-Nagy’s film of the same name, another one I’d recommend viewing in full - it's a beauty: #timstwitterlisteningparty

Moholy-Nagy was a Hungarian who moved to Berlin & became a key part of the Bauhaus movement (later founding the New Bauhaus in Chicago when he left Germany before WWII). His photos, paintings and photograms are incredible #timstwitterlisteningparty

The film is a document of his Light Space Modulator, a contraption he built to refract and reflect light and create all these shimmering reflections. The main, floaty, endlessly changing refrain is an attempt to mirror that process #timstwitterlisteningparty

I originally thought I’d make the song just three chords, one for each colour, and that’s how I started writing it - that became limiting, though (and boring), so it expanded into this more full piece #timstwitterlisteningparty

The ‘theme’ from earlier in the record resurfaces here, modified slightly… I think it pops up a good four or five times across the album proper #timstwitterlisteningparty

I had to be quite careful on the vocoder to say ‘Schwarz’ very clearly, as ‘schwanz’ apparently means something quite different in German #timstwitterlisteningparty

10. LICHTSPIEL III: SYMPHONIE DIAGONALE
This is my favourite of the three films we wrote about, Viking Eggeling’s Symphonie Diagonale, which premiered in Berlin in 1925: #timstwitterlisteningparty

I originally intended to use only ‘diagonal’ waveforms for the track as some kind of high-concept mirror of the film, but it was too limiting as well as being far too pretentious, so I went back to tinkling on the piano again instead #timstwitterlisteningparty

The ‘Blade Runner’ synth is all over this again - it adds such a mournful, evocative character to the whole record I think. Lang's Metropolis was a big influence on BR (and on this record) so in my mind there’s a thread / connection #timstwitterlisteningparty

I faded out the synths, reverbs, atmospherics and so on for the end to leave it very delicate and exposed - I’ve often done the same trick in reverse but I think it works very nicely like this to bring things into sharper focus #timstwitterlisteningparty

11. ICH UND DIE STADT
This is named after Ludwig Meidner’s extraordinary painting of the same name #timstwitterlisteningparty

The wonderful German actor Nina Hoss is reading the equally wonderful Kurt Tucholsky poem ‘Augen in der Großstadt’ here (‘eyes in the big city’). I don’t think you need to be able to speak or understand German to hear the beauty in it #timstwitterlisteningparty

Carrying on the Blade Runner parallels we end with the sound of rainfall, recorded in Schöneberg where we stayed during the recording. The cars driving past sounded like rushes of white noise or waves - serendipity #timstwitterlisteningparty

It’s definitely worth looking up the poem & having a read of a translation as it sums up so much of life in a big city - opportunity, alienation, chances gone in a flash, collisions, happiness. Recording it during the pandemic felt even more bittersweet #timstwitterlisteningparty

And that’s it - ‘vorbei, verweht, nie wieder’ - thanks for listening. This album is pretty dense and there’s a lot going on and a lot of references (plus a lot of German) - it definitely asks more of the listener and won’t be for everyone… #timstwitterlisteningparty

.. but if you’re interested in more though stay tuned for the podcast series we’ve recorded (Rory MacLean & JW talking about Berlin & about the album) - it’s genuinely quite interesting, honest! More info next week. Thanks folks & thanks @Tim_Burgess! #timstwitterlisteningparty