‘I’ll build my house with Harmonica Windows’Some cities seem to have rather deceiving gig listings, and I sadly have to say that Berlin is one of them. I had a free evening to kill and the handful of gigs that Berlin seemed to offer on the 8th of September 2009 did not look all that promising. Suddenly it came to me that there was one site that should at least list something interesting. So last fm, saved me from writing too many reviews and growing fat on chocolate.
After an Odesey across Berlin I made it to Intersoupe, where one can find a fine music venue in the basement, of course I was late. Still I had not missed much; there was a young woman with a bass strapped around her singing in French, what a pleasant surprise! The room was square, and rather small, a bit too warm, but the acoustics were okay, and the crowd present was there for the music, those who did not want to listen had to leave. By the end of the night there were not enough seats left for everyone.
The performance I had rejoined was by Delphine Maillard, a bass player, and singer songwriter. Born in Paris, she grew up in the South of France. For almost a year she has been in Berlin now, trying to get a few gigs here and there.
Between her tracks, Delphine let the audience know in German what she just played and/or what was coming up next, all that was done in an adorable French accent. Delphine played many of her own songs which were in both French, and English, besides her own material she sang
Roxanne by the police in a more jazzy style, at times she stopped the music and talked the lyrics, just to start singing again. She sang a poem by an American poet; Delphine provided the music to the words, whilst the poet provided her with the words to sing.
Delphine’s voice is stunning, she knows exactly what she can do with it, and played around with it during her set. It is the voice of a true jazz singer, a voice that should have a future in music. There is a touch of the Dø in her voice, without a doubt she could be an asset to Nouvelle Vague. As she has only the bass to back her, it should be noted that she extensively uses loop pedals, and those very well. Thanks to them she can add more variation to her songs.
After 40 minutes of Delphine it was the turn of Dirk Markham who is a singer songwriter from Edinburgh. He did for some reason not speak German; instead he spoke in his native language, with a lovely Scottish accent. What an international evening!
Dirk played a total of 7 songs, starting of with his newest composition, and following it with a song, that according to him it did not really fit in with the other songs, it didn’t matter. The song
Harmonica Windows was especially touching, one has to think about that having a house with harmonica windows so that the wind will make music.
He too reminded me of other artists, the song
Lost and Found almost made me jump, as it made me think of a mix of
Playing The Distance by Grand National, and a song by the Decemberists, it might be
Yankee Bayonet, it could be a different one though. Listening to Dirk sing is like listening to poetry backed by music. The gig, taking place in such a minuscule venue with armchairs did give it all a more familiar touch.
If you pass though Berlin and have a chance to see either Delphine of Dirk you should definitely take it!
myspace.com/delphinemaillardmyspace.com/dirkmarkham
