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Neukln
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Wikipedia article
"'Neukln'" is an instrumental piece written by David Bowie and Brian Eno in 1977 for the album '"Heroes"'. It was the last of three consecutive instrumentals on side two of the original vinyl album, following "Sense of Doubt" and "Moss Garden".
Neuklln (correctly spelled with a double "L") is a district of Berlin. Bowie lived in Berlin for a time in 1977, although not in Neuklln but in Schneberg.Roy Carr & Charles Shaar Murray (1981). 'Bowie: An Illustrated Record': p.92 The music has been interpreted as reflecting in part the rootlessness of the Turkish immigrants who made up a large proportion of the area's population.David Buckley (1999). 'Strange Fascination David Bowie: The Definitive Story': p.325 Edgar Froese, founder of Tangerine Dream, was also from southern Neuklln. Froese's album Epsilon in Malaysian Pale, mostly played with Mellotron (just like 'Neukln'), was according to Bowie a big influence and a "soundtrack to his life in Berlin".
'NME' journalists Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray described "Neukln" as "a mood piece: the Cold War viewed through a bubble of blood or Harry Lime's last thoughts as he dies in the sewer in 'The Third Man'. The final section features Bowie's plaintive saxophone "booming out across a harbour of solitude, as if lost in fog."
The main character Christiane from the film Christiane F. - We Children from Bahnhof Zoo, starring David Bowie as himself, is also from southern Neuklln. Bowie produced the Christiane F. soundtrack which gave the film a commercial boost.
Dylan Howe covered the piece for his album 'Subterranean New Designs on Bowie's Berlin' in 2014, in two parts, part one is called 'Neuklln - Night' and part two 'Neuklln - Day'.
Cover versions
* Philip Glass '"Heroes" Symphony' (1996)
* Dylan Howe 'Subterranean New Designs on Bowie's Berlin' (2014)
Notes
Category:David Bowie songs
Category:1977 songs
Category:Rock instrumentals
Category:Songs written by David Bowie
Category:Songs written by Brian Eno
Category:Song recordings produced by David Bowie
Category:Song recordings produced by Tony Visconti
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