Hansa Studios tour guides. Personal photograph by author. 2016.
In 1976, musician David Bowie, at the height of his career, left America and moved to Berlin. From 1976 to 1979, David Bowie reinvented himself in Berlin, creating some of the most interesting and experimental music of his career.
During this time Berlin, Bowie recorded (or got ideas for, as we will explain on the pages of this webpage) three albums of his own – Low, “Heroes”, and Lodger. He also wrote and produced two albums for his friend Iggy Pop.
The reason why we wanted to research Bowie’s career in Berlin, is because we wanted to understand how Bowie affected the music and art culture in Berlin. The conclusion that our research boils down to is this: Bowie’s music during this time draws on and brings attention to German art and music up to the releases of these albums. The purpose of this webpage is to present our research on how this music was possible and how Bowie gained inspiration from the city as well as German art and music.
Hansa Studio Tour ticket. Personal photograph by author. 2016.
Soundboard at Hansa Studio. Personal photograph by author. 2016.
Sound equipment at Hansa. Personal photograph by author. 2016.
Sign outside Hansa Studio. Personal photograph by author. 2016.