Mike Litt in conversation with Sven-André Dreyer and Michael Wenzel

How's it going, Düsseldorf?

Our podcast "Alle Rhein" for culture in times of Corona. What Mike Litt wants to know: How did the talk guests perceive the surreal times? What has changed for them? What projects are they working on now?
In episode 23, Mike talks to music journalists and book authors Sven-André Dreyer and Michael Wenzel.

Since summer 2019, the Düsseldorf Tourismus program has included the music city tour "The Sound of Düsseldorf - Iconic music venues and their songs". The successful walk from the Dreischeibenhaus to the Mannesmann-Hochhaus focuses on the city's great musical heritage. The two guides, Sven-André Dreyer and Dr. Michael Wenzel, have now added a digital version to their vendor's tray. The online experience "The Sound of Düsseldorf - Walk along the SoundLabs of NEU!, Kraftwerk and DAF" celebrated its premiere as part of "die digitale" and can now be booked on a regular basis.

The story: Düsseldorf has repeatedly produced influential and successful pop music. Musicians, artists and other creative minds have been meeting in the Altstadt for 50 years, forming bands and influencing each other. Where are the roots of the electronic pioneers of Kraftwerk, where did DAF learn their electro-punk ABC - and which DJs play in the world-famous Salon des Amateurs these days? The pop music tour "The Sound of Düsseldorf" shows legendary clubs and pubs. And, of course, the most important songs "Made in Düsseldorf" are played along the way.

Dreyer/Wenzel are local music journalists who have published the book "Keine Atempause - Musik aus Düsseldorf". They went in search of clues, conducted exclusive interviews with numerous stars of the scene and visited the most important creative nuclei. The musical myth of Düsseldorf from 1970 to the present day is brought to life in words and pictures. Mike Litt talks to them in "Alle Rhein" about the music metropolis Düsseldorf, about the standard work "Keine Atempause" and the Düsseldorf sound labs in the music exhibition "Music, Makers & Machines" by Google Arts & Culture.

Our host

Mike Litt was born in the US state of Virginia and lived in Bochum for many years. The globetrotter usually works in Cologne but lives with his family in the beautiful Düsseltal district of Düsseldorf. He is a radio presenter (1Live, WDR 2, DLF Nova), a DJ with Mayday festival experience and an author (‘The loneliest DJ in the world’). For our podcast, he holds fascinating conversations with other people from Düsseldorf’s cultural scene.

Photos
Cover photo: © Photo: Thomas Stelzmann
Mike Litt: © [email protected]
Music / Sound: Christian Moster / Mike Litt