โCount yourself lucky you travel by train in Germany. In England itโs a disaster.โ I have heard that sentence a surprising number of times over the past few months. From friends, from colleagues, sometimes with a knowing nod, as if Iโd just admitted I chose to holiday on the North Sea coast in November. And... Continue Reading →
There is a city I have not been to in almost two years. Nobodyis stopping me. I've simply decided not to go. Seattle. And with Seattle, a piece of the Pacific Northwest that has never been just a destination for me. It is part of my spiritual home, if I am allowed to say that... Continue Reading →
Some films I enjoy. There's one I revisit often; no explanation needed. Lost in Translation has become something like a visual and emotional anchor for me over the past months. I can put it on anytime, no matter my mood or the day. In the original English version, of course, anything else would feel almost... Continue Reading →
London City Airport, May. I'm sitting at the gate, looking out at the tarmac, trying to make sense of the last two days. I'm not really managing it. Maybe I didn't need to, not right away. I needed a break. A short pause before a new chapter in my life was set to begin the... Continue Reading →
But this time not for a gig, a conference, or any other work reason. This time it was a trip to spend time with an old friend and rediscover the city along the way. I honestly can't remember anymore when my path first led me to Manchester. But it's been many years now. Walking the... Continue Reading →
Some albums you listen to. Some you fall for. And then there are the ones that just move in and never bloody leave. Quadrophenia is one of those for me. Itโs a rare thing, when a film and its soundtrack get you in exactly the same way. Rarer still when theyโre still doing it decades... Continue Reading →
Iโve just come back from London. And after a few days in a city where people queue at bus stops as though it were the most natural thing in the world, Iโm sitting on the S-Bahn heading into Mitte thinking: Yes. Right. Thatโs how it was. If youโre visiting Berlin, there are a few things... Continue Reading →
The 1980s were a decade of becoming. Not just growing older, but becoming someone. Learning who you were by learning who moved you, which voices reached in and rearranged something inside you that hadn't quite found its shape yet. Depeche Mode gave me the New Romantic shimmer, that particular longing that felt almost too beautiful... Continue Reading →
There are moments you cannot prepare for. Not really. You can plan to visit an exhibition, set aside an evening, even look forward to it a little. But what actually awaits you cannot be anticipated. Last night at Fotografiska Berlin, I was reminded of that again. The museumโs entrance greets you with a charm that... Continue Reading →
It started with a cover. I was sixteen, standing in ELPI in Krefeld, flipping through the racks the way you do when you're not looking for anything specific but somehow certain that something is about to find you. And then it did. The cover, dark and embossed, and on the front, a heroic figure sculpted... Continue Reading →
There are moments when I feel something stirring inside me. Not uncomfortable, more like a quiet pull. A reminder. As if part of me is saying: Hey, there's still so much out there. When are we leaving? Wanderlust, for me, is more than just a mood or luxury. It's a true necessity. It has two... Continue Reading →
There are records you listen to. And there are records that listen back. The Ghost of Cain by New Model Army is the latter. Put the needle down, and it doesnโt just fill the room. It gets inside your head, grabs you by the collar, and refuses to let go until itโs said everything it... Continue Reading →
There's a particular feeling you get when you return to a city after fifteen years. It's not quite nostalgia, and it's not quite discovery either. It's something in between, like running into an old friend who's clearly moved on with their life while you weren't looking. I came to Vancouver for practical reasons, which is... Continue Reading →
Some Great Reward - The Album That Changed Everything There are albums you listen to, and then there are albums that stay with you. Some Great Reward definitely falls into the second category for me. As Depeche Mode's fourth album, it was the record that finally pushed them into the spotlight. It is often regarded... Continue Reading →
Losing a place is different from leaving it. 2025 was not a year of great distances. It was a year of inward movement. Of subtle shifts, of places that can no longer be reached, and of the things that endured. The farewell to the Pacific Northwest runs through everything like a quiet fault line.The PNW... Continue Reading →
I came to A Broken Frame late.My door into the room called Depeche Mode was Construction Time Again, and only after standing in that harsher, more industrial light did I turn around and notice what was already behind me. Looking back, it still feels almost unreal how much this band changed in the span of... Continue Reading →