The night at Festsaal Kreuzberg is gonna be a very special occasion because for the first time in Germany dÉbruit will perform in a live set-up with a band backed by a mindblowing show of hallucinogenic visuals. If you don´t believe us check out the video below!

dÉbruit | live with band

Equally hallucinogenic is the futuristic, Afro-psychedelic enigma they call Sensational. After proving his mettle on the mic by rhyming to records of German avant-garde composer Karl-Heinz Stockhausen the Jungle Brothers took him in when he was only 15 years old. His legendary performance on their album „J Beez Wit Da Remedy“ was way ahead of their time and is still blowing minds.

In 1995 he came to the attention of WordSound through producer Bill Laswell which resulted in Sensational´s solo debut „Loaded With Power“, an album like no other in the annals of hip-hop. CMJ called it: “The most bold and experimental hip-hop record of the last decade! “. The tripped-out flows, broken beats, and lo-fi ambience all created an epic event in hip-hop that unfortunately went largely unnoticed by the Puff Daddy-worshipping masses.

Unlike most rap producers, Sensational has never been one to sample, but plays all his sounds live. Hip-hop abounds with eccentric personalities such as Kool Keith or Old Dirty Bastard (R.I.P.) and just recently the genre is experiencing a new wave of younger artists like Odd Future or Death Grips breaking boundaries with their sonic explorations. As groundbreaking as it may seem though, for Sensational those boundaries have never existed to begin with.

In 2005 Sensational started collaborating with Kouhei Matsunaga, Japans doyen of noisecore. Until then Kouhei had already collaborated with the likes of Merzbow, Autechre and Conrad Schnitzler. Their first album „Sensational meets Kouhei“ was recorded in only one day while being on tour and is nothing less than a mindbending masterpiece of raw, bouncy and chest-caving beats, spectral textures, gruff, marble-mouthed self-aggrandizement and unparalleled grit.

A maverick, crazed with energy and excess creativity, Shigeru Ishiharas chance meeting with Kouhei Matsunaga spurred an isotopic explosion of activity and inspiration. The result was the new dope style distorted bass and beats of DJ Scotch Bonnet.

Swapping GameBoys and 8-bit limitation for a hefty distortion unit, Ishihara delves deep into the world of bass-driven hip-hop breaks, melding dense distorted beats with his signature pop sensibility and references Scorn, NHK, and the dance music culture of his new home-town, Berlin. Ishihara is prolific in his output, and has collaborated with E-Da (ex-Boredoms), plays in the epic psychedelic outfit DRUM EYES as well as with the newly reformed electronic pioneers Seefeel.

To check out the eventpage on Facebook click here.

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dÉbruit + Band & Sensational meets Koyxen  LIVE
Scotch Bonnet DJ
presented by Festsaal Kreuzberg, Digital in Berlin, CTM and Berlin Unlike.

Tuesday, 15 May 2012 | 20:00 CET
Festsaal Kreuzberg | Skalitzer Str. 130 | 10999 Berlin/Kreuzberg

debruit.com | Sensational at Myspace | Koyxen at Myspace | Dj Scotch Bonnet at Jaapan | festsaal-kreuzberg.de
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Volker Bertelmann, better known as HAUSCHKA, has achieved renown by reviving an instrument that ever since John Cage occupies a permanent place in new music: the prepared piano. On his current album “Foreign landscapes” Hauschka departs from the chamber music format, as for the first time he arranges his repetitive textures for an orchestra consisting of twelve string players and brass.

Hauschka | Morgenrot

Jóhann Jóhannsson founded the Apparat Organ Quartet in 1999, who have played various European festivals to great acclaim. Jóhann has also produced and written music with artists as diverse as Marc Almond (Stranger Things album), Barry Adamson and Pan Sonic, The Hafler Trio, Magga Stina and others.

Jóhann Jóhannsson | Rainwater Promo

A self-taught pianist from the age of 7, Dustin O’Halloran’s personal histories give us some clue to the thickly-woven tapestries of his music: he has lived in LA , Italy and Berlin. His arresting, heartbreaking music is as much an elegant exercise in nuance and grace as it is a pure, intuitive, personal expression – and here is where we see some explanation into Dustin’s quiet rise to notoriety and his continued ascension.

Dustin O’Halloran | We Move Lightly

With such a formidable lineup, this event is truly unmissable for anyone interested in the future of modern classical music. Digital in Berlin highly recommended!
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Hauschka feat. Samuli Kosminen (Mum) (D/FIN), Jóhann Jóhannsson & String Ensemble (ICE), Dustin O`Halloran & String Ensemble (US) LIVE
presented by Palais Wittgenstein

Wednesday, 16 May 2012 | 20:00 CET
Heimathafen Neukölln| Karl-Marx-Straße 141 | 12043 Berlin/Neukölln

http://www.heimathafen-neukoelln.de | http://www.palaiswittgenstein.com
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The early influence of visceral live experiences of NYC/Philly hip hop of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s is evidenced in the band’s massive sound system. With Original Colors, they are at once pushing forward with much heavier and more complex beats, but also returning to their more gritty, electro-acoustic roots.

High Places | Sonora

LUCKY DRAGONS are joining the bill on May 17. Their concerts-as-workshop style happenings have generated considerable interest in both the art and music worlds. With a basic set-up of laptop, homemade electronics and folk instruments the pair creates situations in which audience members cooperate amongst themselves, building up fragile networks, held together by such things as skin contact, unfamiliar language, temporary logic and the spirit of celebration.

At the heart of it all the activities of playing together, of building up social collectivities, of re-engaging the wonder and the impossibility of technological presence. They sound – and look – like simple and ancient patterns coming together and falling apart in a sincere attempt to let wires, screens and words become clear and crystal.

Next up on Friday is HAYVANLAR ALEMI. Hailing from the Turkish capital of Ankara and releasing on Sublime Frequencies, these guys are a killer hyper-colourful improvising psych-rock unit, consisting of old school friends Ozum Itez (electric guitar), Isik Sarihan (percussion) and Hazar Mutgan (bass), who successfully got themselves into everything psychedelic, exotic and adventurous.

Their joyously broad sound covers lots of bases; from never-ending psych ventures to two minute international pop covers, West African blues guitars to pulsating Thai rhythms, Floydian drums to acoustic street craft … always kept loose and driven by mood, inevitably melting into their distinctive sound and structure.

On the same night we’ll have BASKETBALL, a live electronic act, known for their insanely engaging live shows. Their sounds are created by an alchemy of sequencers, drum machines, traditional instruments such as the santoor, zurna, the banjo, guitar, live percussion, bass and vocals.

20Jazzfunkgreats labeled their sound best as shamanic disco.The combination of their sound has drawn comparisons to Modeselektor, Gang Gang Dance, Buraka Som Sistema, and Tinariwen.

KEEP SHELLY IN ATHENS will finish Kopflos Fest. Their swirling ambient sound captures that serene feeling you get on a gloomy, rainy day as your car glides over the slick city streets. With airy beats that are repetitive, but never trance-like, KSiA is an accessible and lighthearted entry into the world of down-tempo electronica.

As enigmatic as they are talented, Keep Shelly in Athens is a Greek based duo that have recently brought on two additional musicians to add to their live show. Fearing the trend of bands coasting more on their own hype than their actual talent, KSiA keep their cards close to their chest, focusing on their music, not their image. If their immediate sell-out of their last three EPs is any indication, it’s a more than fair trade-off.

Playing as first act on May 19 is ANIAETLEPROGRAMMEUR, a Berlin-based band formed in Paris by Aniajules and Hanrigabriel. They mix heavily effected guitars and vocals with massive electronic synths and beats, bridging the gap between rock music, epic composition, psychedelic electro and soundscapes.

Since september 2011, media-artist and musician Valquire Veljkovic joined the band originaly as a “light drummer”, bringing a new dimension to their live shows. He lately tends to be musicaly involved on stage with live drums and keys. The three of them constantly experiment and develop ways of controling light gears and devices on stage with triggerring and sequencers linked to their music devices.

Highly Recommended by Digital in Berlin! We are giving away 2 x 2 tickets for the Kopflos Fest. Just send a mail to win@digitalinberlin.de with
“Kopflos Fest” as the subject.
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Kopflos Fest: High Places, Lucky Dragons, Hayvanlar Alemi, Basketball, Keep Shelly In Athens & Aniaetleprogrammeur  LIVE

Djs: The Monokid, Field Agent Slow Learner & Marie Antoinette Djs

Thursday, 17 May – Saturday, 19 May 2012 | 21:00 CET
Marie Antoinette | Bogen 47, Holzmarktstr. 15-18 | 10179 Berlin/Mitte

High Places | Lucky Dragons | Hayvanlar Alemi | Basketball | Keep Shelly in Athens | Aniaetleprogrammeur | Marie Antoinette on Resident Advisor
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Cinematic, lush, wry, with his melodramatic lyrics and insistent melodies, he has created the genre he calls, “morose disco soul.”

Alexander Geist | Bad Language

Recorded between New York, Berlin, London and Dublin, his songs capture the flavour of a certain international demi-monde; the glamour, the tears, the raucous parties and the untimely deaths.

Compared to everyone from Bowie to Dietrich, Alexander Geist has nevertheless created out a unique sound for himself, at once nostalgic and contemporary.

Alexander Geist | Transparent

Backed by saxophonist Matthias Hofmann and violinist Anna Mimouni, he has consistently wowed his audience with a live show that is  energetic, dark and always compulsively danceable.

Having played throughout Europe from Paris to Zagreb, in the chicest hot spots, the most roaring nightclubs, and all the dens of iniquity along the way he has acquired a taste for success. But that was just breakfast; now he is ready for the rest of the world.
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Alexander Geist  LIVE
presented by amStart

Friday, 18 May 2012 | 21:00 CET
.HBC | Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 9 | 10178 Berlin/Mitte

thisisalexander.com | hbc-berlin.de
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Conceived as a “Family Reunion” with his Experiment aka Glasper himself on keys, Chris Dave on drums, Derrick Hodge on bass, Casey Benjamin on saxophone and vocoder & friends, this project is definitely pushes the frontiers of music perception.

Robert Glasper Experiment | “Black Radio” background information clip

Is that Jazz? R&B? Pop or rather Hip Hop? Probably a fine mix of all but the point is, these musicians are influenced by pioneers like J Dilla, David Bowie, Radiohead, John Coltrane or Herbie Hancock with something in common with them: they don’t want to have their music categorized – it’s just too narrow.

For this Berlin gig, the Experiment will be joined by DJ Akalepse, label manager/ A&R of the brilliant Brooklyn-based Truth & Soul Records, famous for releasing hot wax from artists like El Michel Affair or Lee Fields.

Obsessive crate digger & dope DJ, Akalepse is responsible, together with Rich Medina, for the worldwide respected weekly NY party PROPS. Before that he was Resident DJ at the legendary & now closed NY Venue APT.

“Now as we prepare for our liftoff, you’ll need only two things to direct your course: your ears and your soul. I bring to you the Robert Glasper Experiment: experimentation for meditation”. Can you digg it?!

Highly recommended by Digital in Berlin! We are giving away 2 x 2 tickets for The Robert Glasper Experiment. Just send a mail to win@digitalinberlin.de with “Robert Glasper Experiment” as the subject.
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The Robert Glasper Experiment  LIVE
Akalepse DJ
presented by J.A.W. and supported by Digital in Berlin, hhv, Betahaus & WDR

Saturday, 19 May 2012 | 22:00 CET
Festsaal Kreuzberg | Skalitzer Str. 130 | 10999 Berlin/Kreuzberg

robertglasper.com | akalepse.com | festsaal-kreuzberg.de
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In a lyrical left turn away from the morbid sexuality and black humor of “Made Flesh”, these songs look to the subconscious in search of innocence, morality and meaning.

Extra Life | Headshrinker

According to principal songwriter and elementary school teacher Charlie Looker, the lyrics began with a consecutive series of harrowing dreams involving children, all interconnected by recurring symbols. Claiming to be in some way spiritually reborn, Looker penned the songs while mining these dreams’ buried pasts and even watching in awe as some of their prophesies unfolded in all-too-real life.

Alternately brutal and tender, haunted by ghosts of both the dead and the unborn, the songs of “Dream Seeds” express the violent yet redemptive collision of the Real and Psychic Worlds and an archaic belief in the divine truth of dreams.

Touchy Mob is the plenty-limbed, vulnerable love affair of a hauntingly warm guitar song and the body language of beats, that are meant for a floor. It’s a long-term marriage to the lyrical intensity and comforting darkness of songwriters like Chad VanGaalen, yet with a heavy crush on the riffs of the rave, throwing in found-sound stuff like The Books do, laying a kiss on the kraut history here and there, but in Four Tet marching time.

Songs grow on instant glances of admiration instead of continuous influence, scratching along towards punchlines, that can be entirely different in sound yet cohesive in general aesthetic or mood, not a dense mass, but a mass to get lost in.
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Extra Life & Touchy Mob  LIVE

Saturday, 19 May 2012 | 21:00 CET
West Germany | Skalitzer Str. 133 | 10999 Berlin/Kreuzberg

extralifetheband.blogspot.de | touchymob.com
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The Ex is an underground band from the Netherlands. They formed in 1979 at the height of the original punk explosion and have released more than twenty full length albums since. Known as an anarcho-punk band in their first years, in later years they also became known for their musical experiments and numerous collaborations.

The Ex | State of Shock

Breaking from the relatively narrow confines of punk rock, The Ex have incorporated a wide array of influences, often from non-Western and non-rock sources. Some include Hungarian and Turkish folk songs, and more recently music from Ethiopia, Congo andEritrea (the independence song of Eritrea is covered by The Ex to kick off their 2004 album Turn). Other examples of branching out stylistically include the Ex Orkest project, a 20 piece big band.

The band has collaborated with many disparate artists, including UK anarchist band Chumbawamba , the Dog Faced Hermans (one former member, Andy Moor, has played guitar in The Ex since 1990), and with the lateavant-garde cellist Tom Cora in the early 1990s. The album In the Fishtank 5 (1999) was made with Chicago’s Tortoise, and onIn the Fishtank 9 (2001) they collaborated with members of Sonic Youth and the Dutch.
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The Ex LIVE

Saturday, 19 May 2012 | 20:00 CET
Magnet (Comet) | Falckenstein Str 48| 10997 Berlin/Mitte

theex.nl | magnet-club.de
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The swarming wave-throb, coupled with Hunter’s lyrics and redolent, charred voice, wrecks. The band’s upcoming record, Twin-Hand Movement, is eleven perfect songs long. From opener “Blue & Silver” to “Plastic & Powder”, a churning, narcotic slow-burner, not one is a space-taker.

Lower Dens | Propagation

They’re rife with the survivalist paranoia you’d expect from residents of a post-urban port hole (and this particular songwriter), crafted methodically and beautifully, and carry you enthusiastically out into the rolling breaks of industrial filth-water.

“I Get Nervous”, the lead single, starts in a kind of nebulous weird place. Its a good half-minute of straight, building disorientation before the the guitars swell in and make room for the kind of solid drum beat you might never need to stop listening to: steady hi-hat, the snare and kick patiently ticktocking.

Lower Dens | I Get Nervous

Guitars wash over everything, and the overdriven bass keeps time with the cymbal. A strummed guitar now announces each measure, and by the time Jana Hunter’s voice finally drops like soft water out of the sky, you’re floating on it. “In the same rich path, you and I align,” goes one of the lines. It could as well be about this song.

It’s three and a half minutes never feel like enough. The second side, “Johnssong”, seems to follows a simple, if tense, narrative down a doo-wop road, until the bottom drops and it suddenly veers into a somehow perfectly suited, looping guitar squall that escalates in thick shrieking layers before it finally crests, parting, making clear that sun-filled, awkward alley once again.

Lower Dens | Lamb

Lower Dens formed in 2009, when Hunter set about finding a full-time band. They spent the rest of the year sweating in attics and basements, and only stepped out of the shadows to do a quick tour and record.

Twin-Hand Movement was recorded by Chris Freeland (ex-Oxes drummer; proprietor of Beat Babies, Baltimore), mixed by Chris Coady (at his DNA, NYC), and mastered by Sarah Register (of the Lodge, NYC and the band Talk Normal.)
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Lower Dens  LIVE

Monday, 21 May 2012 | 20:00 CET
West Germany | Skalitzer Str. 133 | 10999 Berlin/Kreuzberg

lowerdens.com
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Maramag’s deep, textured, and hypnotic pop songs pay homage to the psychedelic pop that the Beatles could have imagined but cannot make today. Blackbird Blackbird’s music is made with the warmth of analogue instrumentation spliced with digital bells and twinkles.

Blackbird Blackbird | Tear

Blackbird Blackbird’s debut album “Summer Heart” was self-released by Maramag in July 2010, and is really just a collection of his past EPs: “Happy High” and “Let’s Move on Together”.

His standout singles “Pure” and “Hawaii” received high attention, and his single “Ups and Downs” helped Mikey capture the ears of Pitchfork, The Fader and other musical tastemakers.

The magical melodies and touchingly clever lyrics of Molly Nilsson (who also goes by the name formerly known as White Bread!), grow on you as you find yourself listening to them over and over again.

With her one-woman-show, this escaped Swede brings her nostalgic pop, on a journey through life and death, with love and trouble, to a No Mans Land, on the border between reality and dream.
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Blackbird Blackbird & Molly Nilsson LIVE

Monday, 21 May 2012 | 21:00 CET
Naherholung Sternchen | Berolinastr. 7 | 10178 Berlin/Mitte

blackbirdblackbird.com | darkskiesassociation.org | naherholung-sternchen.de
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This past winter, trying to keep sane in his snowed-in Montreal home, Spencer recorded another solo record. This new one is an LP called Organ Music not Vibraphone like I’d Hoped. It also sounds as the title suggests.

Moonface | Teary Eyes and Bloody Lips

Moonface began in 2010 as a solo project of already incredibly busy Montreal, Canada multi-instrumentalist Spencer Krug. Krug was at that point perhaps best known as the pianist, singer, and a primary songwriter for indie bands Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown, but has also logged time with Frog Eyes, Swan Lake, Fifths of Seven, and more.

The incredibly prolific songwriter used Moonface as an outlet for his dark pop and melodious experiments that didn’t fit with any of his various other more collaborative projects.

Moonface | Fast Peter

The project debuted in recorded form with 2010′s Dreamland EP: Marimba and Shit-Drums on the Jagjaguwar label, followed the next year by the full-length Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I’d Hoped.

Moonface’s second album, Heartbreaking Bravery, was released in 2012. Krug traveled to Finland to record the album with Helsinki band Siinai, who had toured Europe with Wolf Parade in 2009. Krug sang and played keyboards on the album, with Siinai filling out its moody compositions.
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Moonface  LIVE

Wednesday, 23 May 2012 | 21:00 CET
Kater Holzig | Michaelkirchstr. 23 | 10179 Berlin/Mitte

moonface.ca | katerholzig.de
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A special live electronica night with two futuristic one-man-bands: both interactively combine acoustic and self-built electronic instruments to augmented sound systems, challenging themselves to deliver an expressive dance music performance. Sebastian Arnold will celebrate the release of his third album “Interstellar Getaway” (beeah-music) which will be available as LP, CD and digital download.

Sebastian Arnold | Bits Keep Moving

Robin Sukroso makes electronic music played with self built acoustic guitar for the technofloor. The show revolves around the so-called “Acpad Guitar”, conceived and built by Sukroso himself, resulting in something the likes of which we are sure you’ve never seen before.

Robin Sukroso | Brazil

An unmissable double bill of truly unique one-man-band performances!
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Sebastian Arnold & Robin Sukroso  LIVE
presented by Digital in Berlin

Friday, 25 May 2012 | 21:00 CET
Marie Antoinette | Holzmarktstr. 15-18 | 10179 Berlin/Mitte

www.sebastian-arnold.net| www.robinsukroso.de | www.digitalinberlin.de/db-soundsystem
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Grischa Lichtenberger, born 1983 in Bielefeld, now lives in Berlin. The years between 2005 and 2007 saw the beginning of his works on „~treibgut“ in Düsseldorf, based on reflections on the landscape of the river Rhein.

Kangding Ray | OR

Starting at written and drawn reflections these works by now cover an extensive visual, acustic and theoretical archive.

From the produced works various installations were born (“Vinzenz“, Düsseldorf, 2007, „Waldstelle Nordpol“, Steinhagen, 2007, „Weser Portfolio“, Minden, 2008), as well as the film „Die Erzählung der vermittelten Geschichte unserer Entfernung“, 2006.

Grischa Lichtenberger | Live at Madeiradig Festival 2010

Jacki in Exile – Dark Carnival Special is presented by and highly recommended by Digital in Berlin! We are giving away 2 x 2 tickets for this event. Just send a mail to win@digitalinberlin.de with “Jacki in Exile – Dark Carnival” as the subject.
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Jacki in Exile: Dark Carnival Special
with Kangding Ray & Grischa Lichtenberger  LIVE
presented by Chez Jacki, Digital in Berlin & BL4CKM4G1CK

Djs: Dj MLZ (Modern Love) & Xorzyzt (Purge) & Douglas McCarthy (Nitzer Ebb)

Friday, 25 May 2012 | 23:45 CET
Horst Krzbrg | Tempelhofer Ufer 1 | 10961 Berlin/Kreuzberg

kangdingray.com | grischa-lichtenberger.com | chezjacki.com | horst-krzbrg.de
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The artists have consciously turned away from Western European, Anglo-American regulated rhythm in order to enrich their vocabulary with all globally relevant rhythms.

Burnt Friedman & Jaki Liebezeit | 204-07

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVO8BWUVKh0

Jaki Liebezeit: “It possibly incorporated many elements of this earth without featuring any specific elements. The individual elements have been made abstract, no ethnic or national character remains, there’s nothing typical to Seville or Istanbul, but the properties held in common by all types of music have been abstracted and processed.”

Burnt Friedman & Jaki Liebezeit | Mikrokasper

If it is still possible to establish a link with his past as a member of CAN, then it lies in the spirit with which he seeks, then as now, new musical forms. The post-CAN Liebezeit not only created his own cycle-based drum system but also developed an innovative drumset that concentrates on the essentials and permits a mode of playing that was already theoretically honed to be physically implemented in optimum fashion.

Friedman’s programmed or played sequences and placeless sound particles adhere to the same understanding of rhythm, allowing the two heterogeneous sound generators to perfectly intermesh and form a unit – both acoustically and electronically, in terms of improvisation and concept alike.

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Burnt Friedman & Jaki Liebezeit  LIVE
presented by Hardwax

Saturday, 26 May 2012 | 20:00 CET
Gretchen | Obentrautstr. 19-21 | 10963 Berlin/Kreuzberg

myspace.com/burntfriedmanjakiliebezeit | gretchen-club.de
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While Beckie’s activity with Thee Silver Mt. Zion increased through the middle of the decade and Bruce deepened his study and practice as an acupuncturist, the duo continued stoking the fires of Esmerine, with occasional live performances and special events in Montreal over the past few years – often including invitations to guest musicians to collaborate with the group on one show or another.

Esmerine | The Last Waltz

While Esmerine had made deft but sparing use of guest players on previous records, their collaborations and performances over the past two years opened the band up to two new players in particular, who were invited to join as full members: harp-player Sarah Pagé (Lhasa de Sela, The Barr Brothers) and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Barr (Lhasa de Sela, The Slip, Land of Talk, The Barr Brothers).

They were all introduced through their dear friend Lhasa de Sela while Lhasa was working on her third and final record in Montreal. With this expanded line-up, Esmerine recorded a new album,La Lechuza, in 2010. La Lechuza was predominantly tracked by Patrick Watson at his Montreal loft, and Watson sings on three of the album’s songs. Other musical guests include Sarah Neufeld (Arcade Fire), Colin Stetson, Mishka Stein and Robbie Kuster. Mark Lawson (Arcade Fire, Unicorns) mixed the bulk of the album’s tracks.

Esmerine | Snow Day For Lhasa

La Lechuza is dedicated to Lhasa de Sela, who died of breast cancer on New Year’s Day 2010 at the age of 37. The album closes with a previously unreleased version of the Lhasa song “Fish On Land” that was recorded with Bruce and Beckie in 2008 during the sessions for Lhasa’s self-titled third and final album.
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Esmerine  LIVE

Tuesday, 08 May 2012 | 20:00 CET
HBC | Karl-Liebknechtstr. 9 | 10178 Berlin/Mitte

esmerine.com | hbc-berlin.de
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Formed in the late 80′s in San Jose, CA, by bassist/vocalist Al Cisneros, guitarists Matt Pike and Justin Marler, and drummer Chris Haikus, Sleep instantly drew comparisons to underappreciated ’80s doomsters like the Obsessed, Pentagram, and especially Saint Vitus.

Sleep | Dopesmoker

Their sludgy 1991 debut was named Volume One in honor of their sonic godfathers Black Sabbath, but it wasn’t until Marler’s departure (reportedly to become a monk!) and the release of 1993′s Sleep’s Holy Mountain that their own unique doom metal vision truly began coming into focus.

The album became a favorite of the heavy metal press, and Sleep were heralded alongside other promising retro-rocking groups like Kyuss and Monster Magnet as leaders of the newly emerging stoner rock/doom metal scene.

Sleep | Jerusalem, Part 1

Such was the buzz surrounding the group that, following a short European tour supporting first-generation doomsters Trouble and English hopefuls Cathedral, Sleep were reportedly offered an unprecedented six-figure deal by London Records. But instead of grabbing their chance at mainstream stardom for all it was worth, Sleep vowed to delve even deeper into their incredibly heavy and slothful sound instead.

After almost two years of writing and rewriting material for their next album (to be named Dopesmoker, not surprisingly) amidst abundant weed consumption, the trio finally delivered its long-awaited epic, now named Jerusalem, to London Records. But to the label’s surprise, Jerusalem was comprised of a single 60-minute magnum opus to marijuana that the band refused to edit or split up into sections under any circumstances.

Sleep | Sonic Titan

A complete deadlock ensued, tying up both parties in red tape for another two years. Finally, having smoked their entire cash advance through their bongs, Sleep decided to break up rather than surrender the album. Guitarist Matt Pike went on to form a new, more energetic heavy metal band called High on Fire, while drummer Chris Haikus eventually reunited with founding guitarist (and now ordained monk) Justin Marler in the Sabians.

In the meantime, an unauthorized version of Jerusalem was quietly released by Rise Above Records, but it wasn’t until 2003 that a supposedly authentic and fully endorsed version of Dopesmoker finally reached record store shelves, bringing the convoluted Sleep saga to a close at last. The now reunited Sleep play in Berlin’s Berghain with Al Cisneros (bass / vocals), Matt Pike (guitar) and Jason Roeder (drums).
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Sleep  LIVE

Wednesday, 09 May 2012 | 20:00 CET
Berghain | Am Wriezener Bahnhof | 10243 Berlin/Friedrichshain

weedian.com | berghain.de
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