Deep Dive
Opening street interviews on instruments
Janusch opens by asking Berliners if they play instruments, starting with a woman who plays piano since age six and a man who plays flute and piano. The responses come quick — some say no, one jokingly snorts in rejection, others rattle off multiple instruments. One guy started bass, then taught himself guitar, keyboard, and drums. A woman who began piano just two years ago notes it's 'ein bisschen schwer in meinem Alter' (a bit hard at my age) but she finds it wonderful. Another admits she started guitar at 50 and is 'ziemlich gut jetzt' (pretty good now). The pattern emerges early: Berlin has a working musician population across all age groups.
Classical training and shifting genres
As the interviews continue, a clearer picture of musical journeys emerges. One person played guitar for 10 years in lessons, then stopped formal training and only plays now when it's fun — singing along at parties and discos. Another studied music for five years with violin and jazz as focus areas. A drummer at 16 picked up the instrument because of a rock film (likely School of Rock vibes) and drives 30 minutes weekly to practice with his grandfather, who's a drum teacher. A mother started piano because her daughter wanted to learn, then thought 'na, das wollte ich doch eigentlich auch schon immer mal machen' (well, I've always wanted to do that anyway). The thread connecting them: classical discipline young, then freedom to play what feels good as adults — punk and emo on acoustic guitar, pop and rock mixed with choir singing.
Songwriting as self-expression
Several interviewees mention writing their own music, a detail that matters because it shows Berlin musicians aren't just cover-song players. One man writes songs in German specifically because that's 'wobei ich mich am besten ausdrücken kann' (how I can express myself best), and he values 'sowas loslassen zu können' (being able to let things go). A teenager named Lars Dasso records full productions on Spotify — he writes a song, records it, then adds instruments layer by layer. Another woman writes blues-inflected lyrics that 'immer anfangen mit irgendwas mit saufen' (always start with something about drinking), which she admits is typical blues territory. Janusch notes that songwriting isn't easy; one person describes capturing 'Gedankenfetzen' (thought fragments) on the train, then building them into full pieces at home using acapella versions from favorite singers as rhythmic templates. The process takes hours of mixing, creating 50 versions, until finally there's a product they can stand behind.
What music means — emotion and flow
Toward the end, the conversation shifts from technique to feeling. When asked what music means to them, interviewees describe it as a way to 'sich mit sich selber zu beschäftigen' (engage with yourself), express feelings, and make something creative. One drummer says that on a rough day, he can 'auspowern, so richtig so auf Schlagzeug hauen' (power out, really bang on the drums) — it's just fun. When singing a song that lands right, one person says it's 'Freiheit' (freedom), where you connect with things that happened to you, your heart opens, and you're happy and free. A woman with formal vocal training (she leads singing in church and studied music) emphasizes that flow state where you 'gar nicht aufhören kann' (can't stop). The universal thread: music is less about perfection and more about what you need it to be — Janusch even mentions he's not trying to be the next Jimi Hendrix and doesn't have the ambition for it.