Franziska Berns: Remain
I grew up in a small town close to Frankfurt. I was 16 when I first started working at Freebase Records. A year later I played at Cocoon Club, the weekend just before it closed.
Happening to walk past a second hand record store in London when she was 16, it was almost by chance that Franziska Berns discovered the world of electronic music and embarked on her journey. With no real mentor around her, she independently cultivated her passion and was soon working at Frankfurt’s infamous Freebase Records & Sneakers. An introduction into her DJ profile – she started digging mostly German and US House. Her sound took a turn in the minimal direction as she began a residency at Dora Brilliant where she played alongside Margaret Dygas, Sonja Moonear, Tama Sumo and many more. Today she holds a residency at Robert Johnson, featuring on the Hotel Scandalös line-ups and club birthdays. Frankfurt and Offenbach have remained strongholds not only in her musical endeavours but in her connection to others, also herself. “I like to be with all kinds of people; I appreciate meeting new perspectives and visions. I want to grow together with others, building new horizons. Collaborating - doing music and art, it's refreshing. It’s essential to life. I am studying sociology to learn about the theories of these concepts.”
Speaking to Franziska, her open-minded, creative and unassuming nature can’t help but appeal and impress.
You were 17 years old when you played at Cocoon Club ten years ago. At that age I imagine the experience and emotions of that night to be somewhat indescribable. How do you remember it…
I’d never been to a venue like this before and it was my first and last time there as I played before the closing weekend. When I arrived I had to take the back entrance because I wasn’t old enough. My mother had to sign a permission for me to stay after midnight.
The club was looking like a honeycomb and you could climb around the walls to find small hidden chilloutspots.
And you’d discovered electronic music only a couple of years before that, by chance too.
When I was fifteen or maybe even sixteen, I was in London with my mama and we went by a second hand record shop. I went in just to have a look – I was curious. Back then, going through the records I didn’t understand why so many German artists were on the covers of these records in a shop somewhere in England. I bought a couple and when I was back home – a friend of mine had a record player – I listened to them. I liked the Tech House sound that I heard. I just typed that into my laptop and eventually came across Freebase Records in Frankfurt. So that’s how I went to Freebase for the first time. I remember the Perlon covers from back then, they were always jumping out at me.
I’d been to some parties already but it really started with U60311 – that was a techno club in Frankfurt under the Roßmarkt, which is in the Inner Stadt. It was underground in the middle of what used to be a pedestrian underpass. I was fifteen the first time I went there. To be honest I didn’t really know much about DJs then, I just wanted to party and dance to techno.
So you found your own way into electronic music with no real influence from your parents or anyone around with a strong musical background. What were your friends into at the time?
I wanted to know more about electronic music because I'd found a kind of refuge there, which I hadn’t managed to find anywhere else. My mother and I had moved around a lot when I was younger. Music became something for me where I could forget everything and totally lose myself. It gave me strength. I think what’s always hooked me is that you’re living a moment that just flows. It’s like meditation. You feel like a child again because what’s going on around you doesn’t matter anymore. You’re just in that moment.
And I did it just for myself. Not all of my friends were into this – some thought that I was totally crazy, on my own trip because all I did was talk about music. But others came with me to the clubs. Then in the mornings after we’d sometimes go to the record shops to listen to records. And at 10am Freebase would open – more records. Then sometime around midday back home.
So there was no afterparty!
Back then I didn’t know what an after party was!
Offenbach is undoubtedly a hub for the scene. How has it influenced you?
I’m grateful to have grown up here as I feel that there are so many talented and passionate artists and friends around me. We have a fast and easy exchange between all of us. We only have one true club for these ranges of style in Offenbach so the scene is concentrated but not too overloaded.
And Robert Johnson is a central point for electronic music. There are so many people coming to parties there from all over the world. It’s a place where music is an art form, visions are being created and people are being connected - through this exchange even more ideas and concepts are coming together.
Let’s say that you’re playing at Robert Johnson tonight - what’s going through your head, your body, your heart.
I couldn’t sleep, even in the night before.
When I think about Robert Johnson, I feel the immediate comfort of a perfectly constructed space that gives you a sense of reassurance, in almost any direction you go and with the sun as a backdrop – it’s the ideal living room yet a space that’s open for people and culture.
Yes exactly - like a living room, where you can somehow find everyone or you don’t get lost. Architecturally, it’s very practically built and that’s the same for the sound system. It’s so well aligned that you have an optimum sound experience from every point where you stand in the club. I find that the lights are also well arranged. It's not too bright or intrusive, there’s not too much strobe but it’s just kind of perfect. And you look to the right you look to the left and there are always the people around you that you know, your friends. And you always see the same people at parties. So you don't need to meet up (or even say goodbye) but you can go alone to the club and you know that you're going to meet someone. And in the morning when the sun comes up and everybody’s in a good mood, it makes you so so happy to start the day that way.
Have you thought about moving to Berlin?
I've thought about it before but at the moment I just enjoy the family that we’ve built here and the exchange between us. We talk to each other and we challenge each other (in a good way). There’s no superfluousness; it’s caring.
Here in Berlin there’s a definite sense of support but perhaps we’re not one family per se on the dancefloor – there are so many collectives and directions here that it can be more individualistic.
I feel the same. That’s why I think Berlin wouldn’t be right for me - there are a lot of people and groups – especially as I have found my place here in Offenbach. I know who my friends are and who I can rely on, where I feel comfortable.
Frankfurt and Offenbach both share great legacies in the history of electronic music. Who are your local inspirations?
My local inspirations are my friends – it’s so hard to name just one or two. I really appreciate all of their styles and their approaches. For example Koga, Markus Sommer, Bodin, Philipp Boss, Lisa Nürnberger, Simon Moncler, Martyné, Hitekjaz, Phil Evans, Tiago Walter, Jacob Chenaux, Cedric&Felix and all the guys from OCP Records, Pager, Traffic, Pressure Traxx and many more.
But that’s something beautiful, that you have so many people around you. Everyone has something to give, some knowledge to share.
We’re all supporting each other. No one’s doing it to get somewhere or achieve big success. We’re all doing other things too. Maybe that's why you can continue to make music with passion - because it’s not driven by wanting to become famous or having to earn money from it. It's passion that exists in a very pure form.
You’re still at university right, studying Sociology and Arts – have you thought about whether at some point you’d want to focus on DJing.
For sure I still want to do everything for my DJ career but I don’t want to focus just on that or burn out because I know that there are many other things that move me in life. I like to learn in general – to experience new fields of work and study – for me this is essential because that really fulfills me. I can also imagine to move to another city as I love to get to know other routines. Lately I thought about Hamburg.
I’m at home with my record collection and I’m maybe listening to it almost every day but I’m also studying Sociology and Arts Media and Cultural Education at Goethe University. Then I am working in Frankfurt with the homeless and drug addicts. We have a big trouble here with the drug scene – in the 90s' there was a huge influx in Frankfurt. If you’ve been to Hauptbahnhof, you'll have seen them on the street. At the Frankfurter Weg we provide a space where they can work, eat cheaply, get involved in art projects, also get their methadone. I’m also doing a project for my university where I work with them with on photography. I gave them cameras like old cameras from my grandfather that I collected so they can take photos and once a month we meet to see what they’ve done. So we get in a conversation and talk about our perceptions of everyday life.
Maybe in 10 years' time I'm working as a freelancer in some creative areas whilst also DJing. I can also imagine teaching at my university at the faculty of Arts Media and Cultural Education. I see myself more in the social environments. For now it’s a bit weird to think about DJing in clubs in the COVID situation but I still hope that we get it back.
You also spent a semester studying in Rome.
I studied Art History, playing sometimes too. There I met Federico Brasi and so many others. I spent a lot of time digging at Ultrasuoni and I Want To Believe, discovering so many Italian artists from decades ago. It totally inspired me. When you make such an experience you really understand your borders, you learn so much about yourself and your journey, what you really need in life - what is important to you. You also learn to appreciate many things in a different way, such as friendship.
What is important to you?
Well I realized that the most important thing for me is the people around me – good friends. And the possibility to do what I like so that I have the freedom to make art, to make music and to adapt. And to know that I am safe.
How have and do your art studies intertwine with your musical creativity? Or is one an escape from the other?
I feel like a child able to set its own rules whilst just being present in the moment. One isn’t an escape from the other.
How have you developed and found your sound?
It’s about finding yourself, where you feel comfortable. By listening to music you also observe how your perception of sound develops over time. It’s constantly being trained. So things come and go naturally. Though in general, I don’t like categorizing music or pieces too much. I try to adapt my style to my current mood. For the moment I like breaky stuff but it’s changing from time to time. In the pandemic I was digging less clubby sounds but more psychedelic rock, ambient, downtempo and pop. That was my inspiration for the mix I prepared for you.
I’ve just started producing too – I try to follow my emotions or a particular situation, which leads to an idea for a piece. I think it’s impossible to free yourself from all external influences because we are social animals. At the moment the process is actually more important than the outcome. I’m enjoying making music just for fun. A little gathering or jam with friends at the studios is always nice.
Which emotions do you associate with music?
It’s hard to put emotions into words. If I give it a try, I’d associate music with so many feelings connected to nature.
What have been some of the most difficult moments that you’ve experienced in the past 10 years?
The most difficult moment for me was and is for sure the pandemic situation. A huge part of our lives broke off and it’s hard to fill the lack. The most fulfilling and most important part of the music scene for me is to connect with people around the world that you wouldn’t meet usually. Sharing common visions, meeting new perspectives, making stories together and creating an international or even regional exchange is what I miss the most about it. It doesn’t matter if you are an artist or a music lover. Everyone is missing the experience of getting lost in music or that flow moment on the dancefloor when you are surrounded by smiling faces of strangers and your friends. Experiences of resonance and the feeling of being connected is lacking since a while and the balance of life got a bit out of control. A good solution or compensation for this situation is not easy to find.
We now try to keep our connections up via internet, social media or in the studios to keep the exchange up and to support each other. Recently we started a collective in Offenbach with artists, producers, DJs, all sorts of musicians and also social scientists where we are trying to find new ways of contribution and exchange in the music and art scene.
Is there a place in Offenbach that you go to when you’re looking for inspiration, to rekindle your creativity?
I like to walk along the Main, which is also in the area around Robert Johnson especially when the sun goes down and the water is reflecting that sunlight. There are a lot of derelict buildings with artworks and graffiti. Along the river there are just so many beautiful views that I soon find myself again. Walking is definitely the thing for me. I’ve found a white horse around there too - she's just wandering freely in the fields roaming around. But she has a home and strangely enough everyday at 7pm she knows she has to go home, back to her owner.
And finally, if you had to sync a track to some of the moments you've experienced in the past 10 years.
16 years old: Ricardo Villalobos - 808 Bass Queen
Cocoon: Mood II Swing - Do it your way
Living in Rome: The Rhythm Odyssey and knights of olde - Intro Theme (South London Ordnance Remix)
Robert Johnson: Smight - Course of action
Today: I'd like to keep it open...