Festival Star 

Moka Efti
Orchestra
feat. Severija

September 16, 2023 (Saturday), 7:00 PM 

Wytwórnia Club, Łąkowa 29 Street

What connects Łódź, the iconic bands Jazzanova and Meute, the legendary downtempo duo dZihan&Kamien, and the extraordinary TV series "Babylon Berlin" directed by Tom Tykwer? We have the answer!

On September 16th, the legendary Moka Efti Orchestra will perform on the stage of the Wytwórnia music club as part of the Four Cultures Festival in Łódź. The group, known to fans of the cult series "Babylon Berlin," which was directed by the highly acclaimed Tom Tykwer, will give their only performance in Poland.

The band was created by composer Nikko Weidemann, composer Mario Kamien, and saxophonist and arranger Sebastian Borkowski for the purpose of the film, which transports viewers to Moka Efti, a reconstruction of the famous pre-World War II Berlin club known for its vibrant nightlife, far from brown nationalism.

"In the series 'Babylon Berlin,' set in the late 1920s and early 1930s, the capital of Germany is a city of enormous social differences, political conflicts, revolutionary moods, and the impending specter of Hitler's apocalypse," explains Marcin Tercjak, music journalist and member of the program team of the Four Cultures Festival. "At the same time, it is a source of modern trends in art, flourishing cinema, avant-garde experiments, and the European center of nightlife and entertainment. Moka Efti Club is one of the key locations in the series, attracting a diverse range of guests - from aristocrats, wealthy industrialists, and artists to ordinary citizens seeking to escape reality and enjoy the nightlife. It is a place where different cultures, social classes, and ideologies meet. Music and dance serve as a link there while also highlighting tensions and conflicts."

Creating music that would capture the diverse atmosphere of pre-war Berlin was not an easy task. "From the very beginning of the series, the composers and arrangers were tasked with focusing on the musical definition of contemporary living emotions and not worrying about achieving historical accuracy. It was an ambitious task for the most ambitious series in the history of German cinema," explain the band members.

The plan worked perfectly. Joyful ragtime, pulsating swing and Charleston by the Big Band, interspersed with sentimental songs, blues improvisations, and klezmer interludes, create a mosaic of emotions that, instead of being a background, becomes one of the film's characters, as envisioned by Tykwer.

”Creating music that would capture the diverse atmosphere of pre-war Berlin was not an easy task.”

During the performance, the vocalist Severia will accompany the band, whose character was inspired by the stars of the German stage at that time, such as Marlene Dietrich and Anita Berber.

The creators of Moka Efti Orchestra are veterans of the music scene. Weidemann has been deeply rooted in the international music subculture for decades. He performed with Frank Zappa at the age of only 17 and later worked with the iconic band Einstürzende Neubauten, Nena, and Nick Cave. Since 2016, he has been leading the Moka Efti Orchestra project. Mario Kamien is half of the well-known late 90s downtempo duo dZihan&Kamien, who recorded the music for the cult film "Arizona Dream" by Emir Kusturica. Sebastian Borkowski is a talented saxophonist and flutist who has performed worldwide with Jazzanova and the street band MEUTE.

The tremendous international success of the TV series "Babylon Berlin" has turned Moka Efti Orchestra into a full-fledged band that began touring and performing throughout Europe. Taking advantage of their popularity, the orchestra released their debut album, "Erstausgabe," in 2020, and now they present their second album, "Telegramm."

"Film fiction has become reality. In the history of cinema, we have several examples of bands that were created on the pages of a script and, after the success of the film, began their concert activity – such as the Blues Brothers, The Commitments, and... Moka Efti Orchestra, which will take us to 1930s Berlin during the Four Cultures Festival," explains Marcin Tercjak. "The Four Cultures Festival is a time and place to celebrate diversity, seek inspiration, and establish connections through art. Moka Efti Orchestra, inspired by Berlin's complex history, will remind us of the importance of nurturing culture even in the most difficult times."

After the concert, we invite you to a dance afterparty with sounds straight from the Moka Efti Club.

Dofinansowano ze środków Ministra Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego z Funduszu Promocji Kultury w ramach programu „Muzyka” realizowanego przez Narodowy Instytut Muzyki i Tańca

GŁÓWNI PARTNERZY

Zadanie jest współfinansowane z dotacji Miasta Łodzi:

ORGANIZATOR

PATRONAT HONOROWY

PARTNERZY

PATRONI MEDIALNI

 Dofinansowano ze środków Ministra Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego pochodzących z Funduszu Promocji Kultury, uzyskanych z dopłat ustanowionych w grach objętych monopolem państwa, zgodnie z art. 80 ust. 1 ustawy z dnia 19 listopada 2019 r. o grach hazardowych.