XOX recently took on Berlin, whizzing round afternoon raves and investigating the cultural history of the town on the worlds slowest ever bus tour (yes, we got stuck in traffic for an hour due to Berlin Wall celebrations, forcing the tour guide to inanely talk about everything in sight - "That cafe does the best chicken salad" was a highlight).

It was an awesome trip made even more so by the magical ‘Bear Pit Karaoke’ which consists of a Grecian amphitheatre vibe and people crazy enough to actually sing in front of hundreds! The best participator had to be a man of substantial years singing "My Way" in German which received a standing ovation. And the two girls who dressed up as fairies to sing Prince.

While on the M10 (the wonderful met which stopped outside our apartment and took us everywhere) we also encountered many sub-cultures of Berlin which got me thinking about the 'vibe' there.

There's always the obvious techno-heads who dance for 48hours straight in abandoned industrial warehouses and the thriving indie disco scene but, as I stared at four mohawked heads riding the M10, what about the punks? The rebellion and the thriving thirst for change has to be steeped in Cold War Berlin history somewhere - especially as our trip coincided with the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the wall.

We took a trip to Kreutzberg where the world-famous SO36 (Berlin’s answer and rival to CBGB’s) which not only had Iggy Pop thrusting around a lot of the time but also championed the punk movement in the seventies.

The eighties saw bands like Jingo de Lunch criss-crossing over genre and supporting The Ramones and Bad Religion. Due to obvious political tensions in the East any punk sounds there had to be underground and when finally some bands like Die Skeptiker were allowed to be listened too they were accused of liaising with the governments and lost credibility. It's bands like the archetype Slime though who took their political refuge in punk and produced songs like “"Bullenschweine" (Police Swine) and eventually were banned by the German government.

Turn your head and look back home to Manchester . Where, kind of like Berlin , there seems to be a healthier fare in Hacienda tripping or New Wave indie than anything else. It’s refreshing then to see TNSrecords flying the flag for UK punk and taking their base in Manchester. Taking the DIY ethic they are producing and distributing punk and ska music all over the UK .

They are whirling away from the “bastardised crap” which pollutes the mainstream and burrowing underground to find the best new releases around. It’s a finger-in-pies situation too as they produce a fanzine, run a radio podcast and host live events all over Manchester.
And all of this non-profit! True punk ethic it seems can be found in the intention and the cause - like the Berlin based punks from the 70s-90s TNSrecords are steeping their ethos in making music which might have been marginalised easier to procure. There is a rich history of punk in the UK and it’s always cool to see a record label which brings music into the future too! You can check for the next live events at: http://www.myspace.com/tnsrecords_uk