Fun In The Church Vinyl, CD & Tape 44 Items

Chris Imler likes to play drums standing up. He‘s the dandy with the killer offbeat, or, as
one major German newspaper once put it, the "Grand Seigneur of the Berlin
Underground". He has been making his mark on countless Berlin musical affairs since long
before the fall of the Wall, with The Golden Showers, Peaches, Oum Shatt, Driver
&Driver, Die Türen, Jens Friebe, to name but a few. He has also been perfoming across
Europe as a solo artist for the past decade.
In "Operation Schönheit" (German for "Operation Beauty"), he has recorded his most,
well, beautiful album to date. But Benedikt Frey's warm production subverts its own
beauty with a multitude of clanking and ingling synth sounds, making the work very much
about the cosmetic surgery it performs on itself. It's all in the tradition of the more
experimental and electronic side of post-punk in which Imler and his unique groove are
rooted. It doesn't take insider knowledge of Berlin's post-punk underground to realise that
that Imler groove consists of rhythm that sings, vocals that dance and a look that fits, as
illustrated by "Disappoint Me", his latest video: https://youtu.be/YeVJ75ljjB8
Elsewhere - such as in "Movies" - the rhythm sings, less electronically reduced, into the
acoustics of an old, high-ceilinged Berlin apartment; metal clatters, a zither trembles and
Imler plays with the metronome. Sometimes he moves ahead of time, sometimes trails
behind it. He always manages to be in his very own groove, which carries everything
along. And this is precisely the essence of the Imler rhythm, which lends itself to being
applied to the very rhythm of life: Stretch and compress your time and loop it according to
your own groove! Optimise nothing but feel everything! And dance to it! Even when
contemplating everyday information overload, as Imler's high-speed mumbling suggests in
the hectic yet smooth opening track "Temperature".
But being the ultimate night owl he is, Imler manages to make even the odd bout of
paranoia seem like a good thing: like some kind of krauty, groovy B-horror-soundtrackinflected high-pressure environment, "Whip Me" is a cross between Conrad Schnitzler
and Bauhaus. In the title track, whose lyrics were written together with Jens Friebe, he
intones: "You want to be something greater / You break your leg / When it heals again /
You break it again" and sounds like the most gleeful fatalist you can imagine.
Because in his city, one can still lose oneself better than anywhere else - a night easily
becomes a whole universe that can be traversed, marvelled at and played with, and one
might find one's old self again only when hearing "church bells" and "small birds singing".

Markus Göres, Fun In The Church, Erich-Weinert-Str. 57, 10439 Berlin
markus@funinthechurch.com, Tel.: +49 (0)30 39838155, +49-(0)-177-7535745, www.funinthechurch.com
At least that's how Imler illustrates it in "Emptiness full of stars", and it seems likely that
those "stars" are the human companions of the Berlin night in question.
And so once again Imler becomes Berlin's most important cultural ambassador: that scene
of the eternally, and somehow successfully, failing creatures of the night, once the envy of
the international postmodern bohème, has, despite many claims to the contrary, not been
completely "optimised away", and its attitude to life is perfectly summed up in Imler's
groove. And, of course, his look. "Schau Hin" (German for "Look!") , he sings in the track
of the same name, masterfully dubbed out with the help of Melbourne's Leo James.
Quite right! Look - and listen.
Yours, Johannes von Weizsäcker (The Chap)

Haoua and Azera Doga, also known as Les Soeurs Doga, are twin sisters from Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou. The power duo, which has long been a household name in its home country, has been active since the early 2000s and surprises with its ability to switch seamlessly between traditional idioms, which are mostly sung in their mother tongue Mooré, and modern, almost rap-like songs. And in doing so, they address the most pressing problems of their country, such as terrorism, poverty or hunger, while at the same time transforming them into rousing call-and-response anthems that are 100% positive. Or, as the Burkinabe press put it: "A strong spiritual message coupled with festive optimism". We are delighted to be able to present these outstanding artists in Germany once again.

They will be accompanied by their Hamburg friend, beatmaker and sampling wizard Viktor Marek. The globetrotting producer and DJ is the manager of the infamous Golden Pudel Club in St. Pauli and is known for his involvement in projects such as The Kings of Dubrock, 8 Doogymoto and his dubstep/folk project Sufi Dub Brothers, which he runs together with Pakistani sitar virtuoso Ashraf Sharif Khan. A first taste of his collaboration with the mighty Doga Sisters appeared last year on his solo album "Mr. Subtitle".

Limited to 100 copies.

Coming-of-age heartbreak madness in 90s indie rock style from the Ruhr area! Here come EAT THEM, ladies and gentlemen. Behind it is the musician Johannes Hofmann, who has recorded more than 20 albums single-handedly to date. And don't worry, Johannes is only in his mid-20s, he just started recording music at the age of 14, which he then burned onto CDs for his grandma to play. A little later: The own Bandcamp account.
Now a kind of best-of collection from the first 10 years of his creative work will be released at the end of June: EAT THEM ALL!

12 tracks on vinyl with a small art zine included. Everything designed by Johannes Hofmann himself.

All songs remastered by Norman Nietzsche. Lo-Fi becomes Hi-Fi Lo-Fi in no time!

The LP is intended as an introduction to the inexhaustible EAT THEM multiverse. Because there is about as much to discover here as on the legendary Shimmy Disc label or the Guided By Voices: indie rock, lo-fi pop, shoegaze, krautrock, math rock, punk rock or heartbreaking power ballads! In the meantime, Johannes has found two colleagues to bring EAT THEM live on stage. Please don't miss this!

As (Tocotronic discoverer) Myriam Brüger recently said so beautifully after the first EAT THEM show in Berlin: “Finally a really uncool band again!” That was actually meant as a big compliment!

In keeping with the holistic aspect of the project - and complementing the band name - titled "ALL", the album covers the full spectrum: from drum machine and sonic youth guitar melange, nervous post-funk to anthemic lo-fi indie -Rock, everything an indie heart desires can be found here.

The first single released today is “Do You Love Me When I’m Dead?”, a catchy song that takes place sonically where it is most beautiful in the rich history of suburban pop: in the garage. The piece reflected the live line-up, which was expanded to include bass and drums. The beat clatters happily and the open guitar chords flow! However, Hofmann transcends the suburbs with reverberated singing about an emotional urge to move and flies into the city, the disco or even through clouds and the landscape.

Limited edition of 100 copies, only available at HHV!

One of the most proliftic and influential works within Iranian pop music. "Me without you, the spring without you" is a collection that is a refined and remastered version of Touraj's songs performed between 1973 and 1978. All songs were arranged and orchestrated by Eric Arconte.

Magnetic Ghost Orchestra! It's a 17-piece big band from Berlin between jazz and electropop under the direction of their bandleader and composer Moritz Sembritzki. Moritz Sembritzki is a guitarist and composer living in Berlin. His music is characterized by simple basic ideas, to which something unexpected regularly happens.Besides his own bands "Magnetic Ghost Orchestra" and "Koerper", he plays guitar in the band "Holzig". In addition, MS works as a commissioned composer (film music, big bands, etc.) and as a lecturer at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Leipzig.

Limited to 100 copies-

One of the most proliftic and influential works within Iranian pop music. "Me without you, the spring without you" is a collection that is a refined and remastered version of Touraj's songs performed between 1973 and 1978. All songs were arranged and orchestrated by Eric Arconte.

Limited aqua marine vinyl edition including a lyrics' fanzine. 150 copies only, only at HHV Records.

After 20 eventful years as a drummer, singer, producer and composer in her hometown São Paulo, the Brazilian Mariá Portugal moved to Duisburg some time ago.
On November 12, 2021, she is now releasing her latest album, Erosão. Her debut for Fun In The Church will be released as a collaboration between selo Risco (Brazil) and Fun in The Church on vinyl and digital.

Initially sparked by a disappointing experience in Los Angeles, EUROPOP is Carl Schilde’s first solo album. Feeling out of place and out of time in the music world, he started to embrace his own limitations, subverting themes like “making it” and pre- internet nostalgia with a Jim O’Rourke- inspired wink in his eye. While holed up in his Toronto basement, a lifelong obsession with outdated pop trickery and yesteryear’s preset sounds launched him into an alternate sonic universe—one where The Beach Boys’ late- 70s albums were big hits, and long-forgotten Italian soft rock is the style du jour.
The resulting ten songs were given their final sheen by mastering impresario Dave Cooley (Tame Impala, Blood Orange, J Dilla).

Born and raised in West Berlin sometime in the 80s, Carl has already had several musical incarnations.
From a Berlin Art Prize nomination for his single-note vinyl record (“The whole concept makes me upset” — VICE), to glimpsing the album charts by co- writing an aging crooner’s magnum opus (“Glamorous” — NY Times), he has always been more interested in exploring different angles than building a career. Since a transcontinental move to Canada, his focus has shifted from the conceptual to the immediate music-making process, with all its imperfections. An avid live performer, Carl is also a member of Playdate, whose album “Manitoulin Tapes” (“a blissed out lo-fi ambient gem” — The Wire) was recently released on Séance Centre.

Following the self-released single TOP 40, which has reached over 130k streams on Spotify, EUROPOP is scheduled to be released on February, 4th, 2022 on Staatsakt’s new interplanetary imprint, Fun In The Church.

Limited to 150 copies in gatefold cover, with bonus instrumental LP.

The regular album is black, the instrumentals are magenta. Mieke Miami's "Montecarlo Magic", the follow-up album to her debut "In the Forest", (2016, Sonar Kollektiv) no longer darkens through the forest, but there is truly no light constraint either. Rather a special, positive mood that radiates inward and outward, describing a state that seems to be inner contemplation and journey at the same time: Florida, California and Brandenburg nestle very close to each other here. Perhaps a river still rattles through the picture and certainly somewhere magicians*innen play with things hide: intoxicated, dreamy and certainly easy to find. Because in this world no one should look around for anything. Find what you want, says Mieke.

Right away the opener "Californio" makes me think of a stay in Los Angeles, an imagined Los Angeles, more imagined than real. Absurd: I was still invited there in February 2020. Silver Lake, in the first light of a new day. Walking along a spring morning, I hear from the garden of a hippie commune this chorus with bright bell piano, space echoes and fine refrain wafting over. "Californio ...". How close it gets to me? Very. I'd like to go back to where this music is playing and realize that this is happening just as much there, in that distant LA at a certain time, as it is in the here and now in me. Beautifully displaced simultaneity. The single "Horse", pre-released at the end of 2020, tells quite a lot about it: bass clarinet and the constant Angerauschte, loose, casual, played. An atmosphere of voices, instruments, delays and, if at all necessary, more painted than planned, the image of a (in itself) polyphonic world.

Unison different: bridges and choirs slipped from front to back, singing sometimes lead sometimes back. Generously overlapping themes, verses, choruses to song worlds. Which you can listen to like this or like that, says the artist. All get into each other, without effort and with horny opacity: Montecarlo Magic.

A confession: yes, I immediately thought, "'Californio' = Los Angeles, garden, world, music, and that hidden yet tangible new humility, hippie USA." I thought all that. But then Mieke tells me about ghost ships, souls and wanderings, and danger? No, it fits. Every dream is true, Yes and No, A and Not-A one: "So many out-of-the-way things had happened lately, that Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible." '***

Soon this cover version of the Beatles will follow! Who does something like that? "Cry Baby Cry" Maybe the Fab Four in their Los Angeles days? Wiki says India. White album, Lennon on the peak. Supposedly he doesn't like the track later, here it fits. And Mieke Miami becomes, so to speak, for a very brief moment, the most humble John Lennon in the world, and then dreams on, and the band, which is actually herself, dreams itself alongside her.

A record like a garden: "The king was in the garden picking flowers for a friend who came to play." '**. So nice to hear something from John Lennon again and easy translated. Thanks Mieke.

And where I just thought myself listening to Los Angeles and India, doing something mysterious and simple, the record now leads me - via bumper cars and Abbey Road - via London to San Francisco: Swimming Pool. A street-of-Francisco feeling, with guitars and choirs - and soulful grooves that are as oppressive as they are pleasantly dirty. Nix urban soul though, but country road soul, which triggers a crazy wanderlust right now (and far beyond now). And at the same time dissolves it, because whoever listens is amazed - and understands: Brandenburg, Florida, California: It's all here. This melancholic wanderlust likes to blow away completely in the pollen of the places and regions of our desire. More than ever.

The last song: "Golden Ships" is then actually my favorite title, because then I can already start again with this magic music.

Mieke Miami - Montecarlo Magic appears in the second Corona summer on Fun in the Church. Dit fits

Limited to 300 units. Only at HHV.

Limited to 150 copies on silver colored vinyl. Only at HHV!

The swing of Ashraf Sharif Khan and Viktor Marek is performed live with their Beats, Bass and Sitar, leaving behind rows of earthlings* with their mouths wide open (grinning) - and just as open soles (dancing). Their album "Sufi Dub Brothers" is a testimony to this decree of comet-like fate and gathers nearly the complete recorded song material of this musical sensation.

An elusive "Sufistep" (Viktor Marek) somewhere between HipHop, Acid, Electro and Dub meets a masterful Sitar performance (Ashraf Sharif Khan). The two of them took more than 10 years of time in the Hamburg Ebbe-Road-Studios to find a suitable sonic space for this album. A long way, after all they transform South Asian classical music into western club music - and not vice versa. Except in the song "Maschinenland" which is a cover version of a song originally performed by the German group Abwärts.

Ashraf Sharif Khan, born in Lahore, Pakistan, is the son of sitar master Ustad Muhammad Sharif Khan Poonchwala, at times just as famous in India and Pakistan as Ustad Vilayat Khan and Pandit Ravi Shankar. Like his father and grandfather before him, he belongs to the Poonch Gharana Sitar tradition. He is a member of the Pakistani Music Hall Of Fame.

Viktor Marek is an outernational superstar. His sensitivity is also evident in his ongoing collaborations with Jacques Palminger or Knarf Rellöm and in spontaneous encounters with, for example, Felix Kubin, Jamie Lidell or Anthony "Shake" Shakir. In the early nineties Marek and his trio 8Doogymoto released on Matthew Herbert's label soundslike and travelled the world. With no other project before, Viktor Marek has come as close to his musical core as in his recent work with Ashraf Sharif Khan.