Recently TGEFM’s Herr KaLeu had to opportunity to speak with Florin of Berlin’s DinoSound. Although both are natives of Germany, the interview was done in their second language of English. The transcription of the interview is lightly edited for content and grammar.
Germany’s clubs, concert halls and stages have been empty for months, like everywhere else in the world. The owners, engineers, crews and everyone else who are part of the events business face an uncertain future. Last but not least, many musicians aren’t able to work at the moment and, as the mouthpieces of the scene, they are the ones who are able to put pressure on the government and help people see what’s going on.
So do DinoSound, which is a part of the #Alarmstuferot (red alert) campaign. I had the pleasure to talk with singer Florin about the whole action and the situation we all suffer from.
Hey Florin nice to have you. Tell me about you. How are you involved in the music business? How much does these times of covid-19 affect you?
I´m Florin, singer and guitar player of DinoSound. I have worked as a music producer, musician, and concert production manager in Germany for many years.
Since this pandemic everything has changed for me. Me and my wife started a bigger business in January 2020 and we invested a lot. Since March everything stands still. We are trying to hold on to our business as long as possible. This is the situation… could be better.
How bad is the situation in the German/Berlin-based) scene?
I think it’s the same all over the world. There are no events these days. It is very sad to see all my friends and colleagues suffering under these circumstances. Those are hard working people with passion, and it is so unfair to see them losing everything. We are glad to live in a wealthy country like Germany. Even here you can feel that all the event companies, promoters, and venues are broke and they have to cancel all there businesses until 2021.
Our concert and club scene in Berlin was very good. But Berlin is growing very fast and a lot of money is involved. Every club or venue that closes will be replaced by expensive penthouses. We are running out of places for live music.
What is #Alarmstuferot and what is its aim?
#Alarmstuferot is an alliance of many venues and event companies. They try to get in conversations with the government to help us. With this sign (ed. – the hashtag) the German event industry created a platform for everyone who is affected. We are stronger and more effective under one flag.
How are you involved? What is your DinoSound new song and video, “Long Long Gone (Night of Light)” about?
I have to raise my voice. Music, my passion and love is in big trouble.
I started to write a song about this situation. I see the music world bleeding. I think it is my way to express my sadness about all this. Music has a big impact on our lives. This song should be seen as a reminder of all the great moments we had with music. We have to care for it now and everybody who loves music should do everything that is possible to keep it alive.
On 22th June 2020 all the venues in Germany were illuminated in red to show all the places that we are going to lose. This campaign “Night Of Light” was arranged by #Alarmstuferot.
We filmed this night and mixed it with red performance parts of our band. As a band we felt committed to react on this situation.
What is your prognosis for the next months/years? Is there a “back to normal”?
This pandemic isn´t over and will stay for a long time. It will take years to recover from this pandemic.
It takes a lot of time to rebuild the worldwide structures of the live music industry. But Creative people are strong and they will find a way to get through this. Me included!
Anything else?
Stay healthy and i hope the world will find a way out of this misery.
Thank you for your viewpoint, and good luck with the whole campaign.
The #Alarmstuferot movement is coordinating a massive demonstration in Berlin on 09 Sep 2020, from Alexanderplatz to the Branderburg gate. Look up the hashtag on your social media of choice to learn more.
