Hinter den Kulissen #4 | Berufe im Musikbusiness
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Because you have lo live your dreams. I came to Berlin after quitting my job in Brussels. I’ve always been the afterhours musician. Now I get to live my passion.
Text: Angela Beyer | Fotocredits: Barkett Berlin
Nachdem ich euch Anfang des Jahres Barkeeper, Sonnenschein und Booker Vlad vorgestellt habe, folgt nun das Interview mit seinem Kollegen Michael Bennetsen. Der hat nämlich auch ein bisschen Senf zum Thema „Berufe im Musikbusiness“ auf Lager. Michaels zweites zu Hause liegt ebenfalls zwischen U-Bahnhof Kleistpark und S-Bahnstation Julius-Leber-Brücke. Ihr wisst nicht, wovon ich spreche? Dann wird es höchste Eisenbahn, denn das Barkett veranstaltet seit längerem schon feine Konzerte in gemütlicher Atmosphäre, wie auf den Bildern hier unschwer zu erkennen ist.
Michael erzählt euch, wie ein Arbeitstag bei ihm aussehen könnte, welches seine Aufgaben sind und warum er das tut, was er tut. Außerdem verrät er euch höchst errötet, welches bisher die größte Panne war, die er wegstecken musste und was er daraus gelernt hat.
Wenn ihr Michael oder Vlad bei ihrer Arbeit über die Schulter schauen wollt (aber bitte unauffällig), dann schaut doch mal, ob euch eines der folgenden Events zusagt, die ihr auf der Facebook-Seite findet. Solltet ihr einem der beiden über den Weg laufen, grüßt doch recht schön von mir (bitte möglichst auffällig).
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Wie nennt sich dein Beruf?
Sound Engineer and Booker.
Wo arbeitest Du derzeit?
Freelancer Barkett Bar in Schöneberg/Kreuzberg, Lido, The Famous Gold Watch Studios.
Wie kam es dazu, ausgerechnet diesen Job zu machen?
Because you have lo live your dreams. I came to Berlin after quitting my job in Brussels. I’ve always been the afterhours musician. Now I get to live my passion.
Wie sieht ein normaler Wochentag bei dir aus?
As a freelancer I’m definitely not having regular 9 to 5 days. Also because I switch between live mixing and studio work, and keep on writing my own stuff in between, I lead a very varied and seemingly unpredictable life. I love it!
Arbeitest du alleine oder im Team?
Again it depends. As a booker for Barkett I do work in a team with Vlad, JJ and more recently Fatma. It´s amazing to work together with motivated people that have a strong mind and vision. We all care a lot about the experience of/for the people at Barkett and we all want to deliver quality. I appreciate that a lot. But producing music can also be a very solitary endeavor. Quite the challenge at times. But it’s also very rewarding at the end of the day.
Was sind deine spezifischen Aufgaben?
As a live-engineer: looking after my ´Bühne´, welcoming the bands, Soundchecking, and last but not least mixing the gig.
As a producer and Studio engineer: facilitating the creative process. it means that you need to take care of the technical aspects of your studio. Shit needs to be operational. But it also means that you help conceptualising sound. You lend your expertise and experience to an artist to help him/her throughout the recording/production process. It’s almost like a coaching relationship. As a booker more emailing and telephone calls, and last but not least a fair amount of research to find new interesting bands for our venue.
I love the combination of these three roles. They influence each other a lot of course. I know some people would say it’s better to specialize. I can agree with that. But until now I can also appreciate the fact that the different experiences out of these different roles seem to compliment each other.
Was ist das Ziel in deinem Beruf, worauf kommt es an?
When I work people need to feel they are in good hands. Being ´the soundguy´ is a lot about trust. And it should be, you are (partly at least) responsible for the translation of the performance to the audience. So a bit of people management, a lot of knowledge (which I constantly try to improve), and attention for detail is what i believe to be important.
Was denkst du sind die wichtigsten Fähigkeiten, die man für deinen Job mitbringen muss?
The most important ability is listening.
Musst du viel rumreisen?
Depends on the season. For example during the festival season you travel a lot with the bands. Most of the time in Berlin though.
Was macht ihn so besonders?
I don’t know why my job would be more special than any other job. What is important is that I personally and professionally am doing something I am very passionate about. That’s what everybody should try and establish in their lives, I believe. It doesn’t mean that all is joy the whole time – of course I get to do shitty concerts – but in general I can say i really love my job.
Deine größte Panne bisher war?
At a festival. Stage time was 2 am. It was a 8 headed band and there was no time for soundcheck. The whole concert I was fighting a bassy feedback tone. It was just horrible. Couldn’t find what it was. until I discovered that the monitor mixer was not really doing his job… because I was stressed, I didn’t even consider that option. Always keep cool is the lesson I guess.
Dein größtes “Hurra-Erlebnis” bisher war?
Last year i finished a Jazz album with Belgian band called Compro Oro. I recorded it at the the old east German radio buildings, funkhaus in Köpernick, Berlin. After recording I also mixed the whole thing. It got released on vinyl in Belgium, and was recently re-pressed. The album got very good reviews.
Welches ist Deine letzte musikalische Neuentdeckung?
Porches
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Du kennst jemanden, der/die auch einen Job hinter den sagenumwobenen Kulissen hat? Melde dich oder noch besser: die Person darf sich bei uns melden, wir freuen uns darauf! Die Mail geht mit den Stichworten „Hinter den Kulissen“ an uns.
