I’m happy, Headman gave me his last mix but he also recommended 3 restaurants he likes when he is in Berlin.
→ Relish, le label d’Headman
His recommendations of restaurants in Berlin
1) Bonfini
Memhardstrasse, 3
10178 Berlin
Tél : +49 30 24 72 66 70
→ le site
Very nice place to hang out and eat a plate of pasta.
It used to be the main spot in Mitte a few years ago, where you could also go late
to have just an espresso and an averna.
As mitte is changing loads there are a few more options right now
but it’s still a cool spot to hang out.
2) Grill Royal
Friedrich Strasse, 105b
10117 Berlin
Tél : +49 30 28 87 92 88
→ le site
If you wanna eat a very nice filet, entrecôte or steak tartare you should go to Grill Royal.
You get a nice mix of of people, a very arty nice interior and it’s situated under the bridge near the river.
It might be a bit pricy if people think berlin is just cheap!
3) Transit
Sonntagstraße 28,
10245 Berlin
Tél : +49 30 26 94 84 15
It is an asian food place also in Mitte. There have been laods of new places and restaurants in that area in Mitte. They offer a very nice selection of small plates.
You can choose between shrimps, meat and vegs. Usually you are pretty full if you order 3 and some rice to go along with it.
It has a nice uncomplicated atmosphere.
I had a flash when I discovered Brassica‘s work and so I got in touch with him. I had the intention to write a special post about him, asking him a playlist and a list of restaurants he like. His answer was much more that what i expected. He had the idea of doing a special post about 5 friends of him who deserve more light and he’s the one who came with the title : 5 Extraordinary Talents That Everyone Should Know About, “I seem to have a lot of friends who make music. Some of them are already well-established and need no introduction from me. Here is a list of artists who I believe are soon to be famous.” : Serious Lover, Tommy Walker III, Jacob’s Stories, The One and Bill Ambrose.
1) Serious Lover – Got It Wrong
2) Tommy Walker – Closed Out
3) Jacob’s Stories – Pearls Before Swine
4) The One – Double Life
5) Bill Ambrose – Mix
Brassica gave me an unreleased track “Yen” for this article
1) Serious Lover
Serious Lover is the home studio productions of Sam Ryan from his flat in Brick Lane. Sam and I attended a further education music school together when we were 16 years old. After spending years playing session guitar in pop bands, smashing equipment onstage in metal, hardcore and industrial bands and generally being a party animal, Sam finally decided to settle down and explore his deep nostalgic love for electro-soul. The early 80s Minneapolis sound was a big part of his childhood – Jam & Lewis-produced artists such as SOS Band, Cherelle and Alexander O’Neal were a strong fixture on his parents hi-fi system.
Serious Lover live performances are sometimes a full band with drummer, bass player and Sam playing guitar, synths and singing. Other times it’s one-man show with Roland Jupiter 6 synth, Linn Drum and Roland R-8 drum machines. He also does some special sets of obscure electro-soul vinyl, digitised into Ableton and played-out as extended DJ sets.
2) Tommy Walker III
Tommy Walker is from Chester. His real name is Danny. He sometimes comes to London to play nights which is where I encounter him, but I also visited his house in Chester recently where I learnt that his music is made with the smallest amount of equipment feasibly possible, basically a laptop and a beastly midi controller which makes him living proof that you don’t need tons of fancy hardware to produce music that sounds amazing.Danny has millions of ideas, makes music quickly and seems to have fun doing so – something that perhaps some of us have forgotten how to do. The musical results are never short of complete and utter genius. In my opinion, he is a kind of modern-day folk musician.Danny is also a bass player for the band Silverclub. His bass playing is influenced by Parliament Funkadelic which can be recognised in some of his electronic music. He refines and extends his electronic adventures with Bad Request and Nicky Elite.
3) Jacob’s Stories
Jacob’s Stories is the musical mask of Stuart Lee from Brighton, UK. I first met him when I used to play in hardcore bands about 10 years ago. He would regularly jump on the stage with Johnny Truant (then called Severance) and scream backing vocals ferociously. So it was a shock when I first heard his Jacob’s Stories 3-track demo cassette – shimmering high voice, mute organs, beat-less, almost pure silence at times. He has perfected his live vocal/piano performance to the highest degree and often leaves a room full of chatting punters silent, with their jaws wide-open. When it comes to recording, his highly creative mind leads him to all kinds of situations from working with classical musicians to beating a sofa with a microphone to produce drum sounds.I don’t want to make any musical comparisons, I will leave that to you. But his music is delicate, humorous, multifaceted, bittersweet and uniquely his own. Listen to everything he has done, walk away a slightly better person and then tell all your friends to do the same, you wont regret it!
4) The One/Joe Ryan
The One is a band of 4 live musicians with all music written by the talented drummer, Joe Ryan. Joe is the brother of Sam “serious lover” Ryan, so much of their childhood music memories are also celebrated here too. Sam plays guitar and keyboards in the live band, the big voiced Emeson Nwolie brings his soul and sweat to the equation and Curtis Weir binds the grooves with a raw synth bass.Joe has been an accomplished drummer since his early teens. He has spent the last few years as a session drummer playing live for Heartbreak, The A Human, Ebony Bones touring with bands like The Slits, Metronomy, La Roux, Shy Child, Infadels and Friendly Fires. He is also part of the ultra-cool trio Fair Ohs who are about to take over the world with their ‘tropical punk’ sound. Everything Joe touches is amazing. His drumming is relentless, earning him the title “drum machine”, all for good reasons. Check some of the live videos on his pages.
5) Bill Ambrose
There are many DJs in London playing disco and its close cousins but Bill Ambrose is fast-becoming one of the best of his style. Bill was an avid record collector and enthusiast before he touched a pair of turntables. He has a mind for drawing strong comparisons between music which others overlook and regularly blows the dance floor away with his choice and mixing style.
Bill is also a great producer with a keen technical interest and works regularly with chic London promoter and DJ Fonteyn on their Banished to Fridgia project which tears up the rule-book and the dance floor on a regular basis. Bill’s own productions take on a more solid synth-disco form with interesting musical choices made from strong production skills and self-taught ideas. It’s a uniquely Ambrose sound which encompasses his much-loved character by everyone who knows him. The world will be a better place when more people know him.
Bagarre – Lemon Sweet
Vivian Vee – Remember
Paul Parker – Don’t Stop
Irene Cara – Breakdance
Cyber People – Void Vision
Vivian Vee – Heartbeat
Jamie Principle – Waiting On My Angel
Yazoo – Don’t Go
Private Lives – Private Life
Bobby Davenport – Time (Has Come Today)
Laser – His Name Is Charlie
Matzia Bazar – Ti Sento
I’m Guillaume, dj7 and I share my passion about food, music & Paris on “716 que je vois la vie” (“Thats the way I see life”).
716 Food
I recommend restaurants serving an authentic food and having a friendly service
716 Music
I share some music I love
716 Ride
I propose fully exclusive and original rides around Paris
Je suis Guillaume, dj7, passionné par la musique, la gastronomie et Paris.
716 Food
Je recommande des restaurants à la cuisine authentique et au service chaleureux
716 Music
Je partage des musiques que j’aime
716 Ride
Je fais visiter Paris sous l’angle de l’originalité et de l’exclusivité
Check also :
→ my parisian reviews on Yelp : Guillaume L
→ myspace : dj7music
→ youtube : dj7videos
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Interview by King Adz
Guillaume is a DJ and Food Writer, which is a great and very unique combination. He writes a great blog about where to eat on any budget in and around Paris.http://dj716.blogspot.com
How did you get into being a DJ and writing about food?
I always made a link between food and music, as I think it has the same kind of interest and attitude. In food, I can enjoy a small and simple restaurant with authentic food as much as an expensive one with a famous chef. Same for music, I can enjoy techno as much as good pop songs, African music as well as opera, no discrimination! I put a line on my Myspace: ‘Music is nothing but sharing!’, I think it’s the same for food. I mean what I like with these two passions is the way they can be shared. The type of music fans or gourmet I like to hang on with are those who are open minded.
A few years ago I launched a musical collective with a friend which was called “La Tambouille” (Parties, Radio & TV show). La Tambouille means something you cook with everything you find in your kitchen. Our device was “Flavoured music for all tastes”. The jingle of our radio show was issued from a song that does totally the link between food and music. The guy explains how to do a disco hit like if it was a recipe.
At the time, I was known as ‘the restaurant specialist’ among my group of friends, the one you can call and ask ‘I am in this neighbourhood with my girlfriend, I want something nice and quiet, I have this amount of money, what would you recommend?’From this, I decided to put my nice spots on a blog with no prices discrimination: the nice sandwich for 3 Euros next to the very good restaurant for 40. Only good food and good service. I will say also that food and music are both key elements of a certain culture. That’s why also when I travel I try to keep interested by both. You can check, for example, two subjects I put about Colombia on my blog, one is about nice restaurants that I visited, the other is about music.
What does street culture mean to you?
Street culture is typical of these big metropolitan cities where you have so many different people in the same space and no countryside. So from this urban background associated to a huge melting pot, some new cultures will emerge, from sneakers to street food, slang to music, and so on. I would say this is someway related to a certain energy, some electricity.
What is your favourite food?
Honestly, like I said before, I like too much food to chose one. We have a French expression that says “tout est bon dans le cochon”, “everything is good in the pork”! I truly believe in that sentence, and not only for food.
How important is a healthy lifestyle?
Personally I pay attention to what I eat, I try to eat current season vegetables and fruits, eat less fish and meat but pay the price for good ones when I can afford it. I’d rather buy a tasty ham at the butcher than some ham in a plastic box at the supermarket which won’t be any cheaper.
That being said, I think also this preoccupation is particularly central in rich countries. I can do all that because someway I have the money and the time to do so, that’s why I won’t impose my conception to anyone else. I hate so much people who give advice to others without ever being conscious about how privileged they are.
Where is your favourite place to eat?
Honestly in Paris, I have so many, and it’s so depending of the mood and the budget. That’s why I would say ‘Generous places’. I will always prefer places with simple but authentic food and a nice service than super snazzy food with a bad atmosphere. Going to a restaurant is not something so common, I mean you could cook at your house but you decide to eat somewhere else and pay for it. And not everyone can afford it, far from that! So I appreciate when you feel the people working in a restaurant are conscious about that.