Worldbeat Club Mondial ♪♫♪ December 2015

World Beat Bremen e. V. hosted another "Club Mondial" sponsored by Funkaus Europa and held at Mensa Academia, the trusted venue underneath the University of Arts - Music Branch on December 12, 2015

This time the organisers had changed the set up a little and ~ I assume because it was a very rainy night ~ the venue was not as packed out as the last time. It was pleasantly crowded and we could dance and enjoy the music and lights without bumping into someone every two seconds. :-) Please refer to the flyer for the line-up!

DJ Biljana

Hanna, DJ Gülbahar Kültür, DJ Viram

Here are the photos:

For all of you reading/viewing with iPhones or Androids please click the link below to see the photos!

https://picasaweb.google.com/102895067673602587741/WorldbeatClubMondialDecember2015?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Thanks to everyone who posed for my photos and feel free to tag yourself in them on my Facebook Photography Page. Please also visit the Worldbeat Facebook page here. Appreciate my work? "Like" the page! Want your photo removed or have a query, contact me there or at "chrissie at cnicely dot com". Thanks and see you soon!

Dancehall Hot Again III - December 2015

The lovely Anna and Robby John of Cranic Production hosted their third event in the series "Dancehall Hot Again" on the famous Reeperbahn in Hamburg on December 11! The headliner was Lionface aka Babyface formerly King Addies out of New York City! The other sounds present were all local and the vibe was wonderful.

Anna & Robbie

When I arrived there was a huge Christmas market in front of the venue but I didn't manage to take any pictures because it was raining and cold and I just wanted to get inside where I saw a giant lion head hanging over the stage. This was kindly arranged by Club Docks and made for some good photos while the DJs were doing their thing.

Soundgirl and Soundboys

Backstage there was food, cooked by the host himself, fruit and home made rum punch for those who wanted to have a drink. I only tasted it because I was driving but let me tell you, it was delicious as was the vegetarian food!

The massive celebrated the various playlists and especially that of Lionface because he brought the special New York vibe with him. Enjoy the photos, that ~ in my humble opinion ~ speak for themselves.

Here is a link to this event on facebook. For all of you reading/viewing with iPhones or Androids please click/follow the link below to see the photos!

https://picasaweb.google.com/102895067673602587741/DancehallHotAgainVolIII?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Feel free to tag yourself in the photos on my Facebook Photography Page and "Like" it there to follow my other photography postings. Should you want to have your photo removed or have a query, you can also contact me there or at "chrissie at cnicely dot com". Thanks and see you soon!

Nuff love to all ♥ ♥ ♥

Worldbeat Latino Nuevo ♫ November 2015

Once again "Latino Nuevo" held the by World Beat Bremen e. V.-crew at Bürgerhaus Weserterassen, their home-venue, and I was around to take pictures of those who were willing to be in them. Following line-up on three different dancefloors was enjoyed by all who attended and danced to their heart's content to the different music styles:

@Big Floor – Caribbean & Latin
dj pablo cuesta (Latino Urbano, HB)
DJ Viram (Kantine 5, HB)
Styles: Merengue, Reggaeton, Calypso, Zouk, Samba, Mestizo, Soca, Kuduro, Bachata, Ska, Tropical
Wicked&Mono – Video Performance

@Small Floor – Reggae & Afro
DJ King Ralph (Club Moments, HB) – Styles: Roots-Reggae, Dancehall, Loversrock, Raggamuffin, Azonto, Bongo Flava, Naija, Dogba, Afro Hip-Hop

@Club Floor – Global Bass
DJ Biljana (Jungbrunnen, Club Mondial, Klub5)
DJ Ralph "von" Richthoven (Funkhaus Europa)
Styles: Deep House, Tribal House

If you wish you can also check out their event-series here on the Worldbeat Facebook Page. There should be one party per month! Below are my photos:

For all of you reading/viewing with iPhones or Androids and don't see the photos above please click/follow the link below to see the photos!

https://picasaweb.google.com/102895067673602587741/LatinoNuevoNovember2015?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Alternatively, you can see the photos on Facebook. Feel free to tag yourself there! Want your photo removed? Contact me on Facebook or at "chrissie @ cnicely dot com". Appreciate my work? "Like" my Facebook Photography Page here.
Thanks for posing for me. It was fun! See you soon!

DJ Pisces and DJ Rizzzle in Bremen

Photos I promised to some people from above event:

Feel free to tag yourself in the photos on my Facebook Photography Page and click "Like" on the PAGE. Should you want to have your photo removed or have a query, you can also contact me there on Facebook or at "chrissie at cnicely dot com". Thanks and see you soon!

Worldbeat Club Mondial

World Beat Bremen e. V. invited me to document their party "Club Mondial" which was sponsored by Funkaus Europa and held at Mensa Academia, a very nice venue underneath the University of Arts - Music Branch on October 24, 2015.

Because the venue is not super-sized it was totally packed out and one could hardly move when I arrived. They do have a very nice courtyard but being the end of October, there really was no incentive to use it - even though it was not a rainy night. When we needed a breather - or a smoke in some cases - we used the yard in front of the building which is completely covered in white tarpaulin (or plastic) for renovation at the moment.

Well, what can I say, the party was a scorcher, the guests were in the best of spirits and danced to their hearts' content when they found the space to do so. The line-up was as follows:

@Mensa Floor – Global Pop

DJ Pablo (Latino Urbano, HB) – Styles: Reggaeton, Salsa, Mestizo, Afro, Merengue, Reggae
DJ Gülbahar Kültür (Lolas World Rec.) – Styles: E-Swing, Bollywood, Neo-Soul, Oriental, Balkan

@Club Floor – Global Bass

DJ Viram (Kantine 5, HB)
DJ Ralph “von” Richthoven (Funkhaus Europa)
Styles: Deep-House, Afro-House, Latin-Minimal, Tribal-House, Oriental-House, Soul-Re-Edits

Here are the photos:

For all of you reading/viewing with iPhones or Androids please click the link below to see the photos!

https://picasaweb.google.com/102895067673602587741/WorldbeatClubMondialOctober2015?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Feel free to tag yourself in the photos on my Facebook Photography Page and "Like" the page. Should you want to have your photo removed or have a query, you can also contact me there or at "chrissie at cnicely dot com". Thanks and see you soon!

Dancehall Hot Again ~ Hamburg on October 2, 2015

Once again I was invited by the Robby John and Anna of Cranic Productions to be the photographer at Cranic Production's second "Dancehall Hot Again"-event in Hamburg on October 2! This time, their special guest would be Big Mama Sound from Mannheim! I had met Cuttia Ranks before but never met Nimeesha or Lynn Luger, let alone heard them play, so it was a first for me in that respect.

Crucial B of Crucial Vibes Sound

Crucial B - resident sound - started off the night with his Crucial Vibes and I shot one or two photos of him this time. Up next was Ini Man of Caveman Intl. from Munich/Jamaica followed by Juggla Minott of Talawah Sound from Hamburg. ~ As usual I was chatting with people and taking pictures here and there while taking in the latest reggae and dancehall tunes as I went around the large club "Docks" on Hamburg's most well known street the "Reeperbahn".

Frankie's Birthday

Frankie has been my friend from our wild teenage days. It was the era of Punk and later New Romantics (New Wave). We hung out with skin heads - the non-racist kind that still existed in those days before the extreme right took over that movement - and with the most extraordinary people. In fact, Frankie was one of these!

We had both moved to England in the meantime - separately of course. I returned to Germany at some point but he stayed in London where he is now running a therapeutic massage practice and has developed special scented candles that are low in pollutants when burning and could even be used as massage oil while warm. Take it from me, they are lovely. He brought them along and so we celebrated the party surrounded by the most beautiful scents!

My handmade card for the biggest Frida-fan of all: Frankie!

For this special half century birthday, Frankie decided to have one get-together with all his important friends and family and since his mum still lives in our hometown the party was to be held there. The venue was in an even more remote place in the countryside near our town complete with a very unusual wood fired cast-iron heater oven that reminded me of canon come steam engine. It was a beautiful afternoon and the mood was golden, not just because of the autumn sunset but also because all the inter- and outernational guests made it so. I must say, I have never met such a harmonious crowd of people.

As usual, I didn't just take pictures but also talked to a lot of his friends, most of whom I had not met before. I had a great time hearing everyone's story! Of course, I also loved seeing all our mutual friends from back in the day and my sister who was always part of our crowd and is to this day one of my best friends. The Dutch gang - part of an ABBA-Fan-Club Frankie has been a member with for decades - brought along an extra guest: Abraham. Apparently, you get to see him when you turn 50 and also something to do with mustard that I did not quite understand. Abraham was placed next to the small stage to observe the proceedings.

Billie Ray Martin

One of the highlights of the evening was the performance of Billie Ray Martin who's singing career took her all over the world and who now resides in Berlin. She has been Frankie's good friend throughout all these years. Her voice is absolutely amazing and she was not so secretly backed by her biggest fan in front of the stage... Frankie!

George, a DJ from Hannover who has been a huge celebrity there since the New Wave-days took over the set after Billie's performance and played tunes from back in the day to the latest remixes. As expected Frankie grabbed the mic once more to sing himself and everyone joined him in this ... dancing the night away!

For all of you reading/viewing with iPhones or Androids please click/follow the link below to see the photos!

https://picasaweb.google.com/102895067673602587741/FrankieSBirthday2015?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Feel free to tag yourself in the photos on my Facebook Photography Page and "Like" it there to follow my other photography postings. Should you want to have your photo removed or have a query, you can also contact me there or at "chrissie at cnicely dot com".

Thank you for this lovely evening, Frankie and friends! ♥ ♥ ♥

Lukie D ~ Cry Over You

At the beginning of the year I met Lukie D in Berlin, took some pictures and received the awesome jingle from him. Since then I made some Uploads of which this is one. The tune grew on me so much since I first heard it. Now I just love it.

Title Photo ~ Cry Over You © Christiane Nicely

Lukie D's hit 'Cry Over You' on the 'Fix It'-Riddim was produced by Lee Francis in August 2014. It is now available on iTunes

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/cry...

You can follow Lukie D on social media at

https://twitter.com/iamlukied
https://instagram.com/iamlukied/
https://soundcloud.com/iamlukied

For more of Lukie D's music you may wish to check out the iTunes and Amazon-links:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/lu...
http://www.amazon.de/Lukie-D/e/B000AP...

Photo © Christiane Nicely @ www.cnicely.com aka GermaicanLady
Styling and video by Christiane Nicely

Please leave a comment on my Facebook Photography Page and "Like" the page to follow my other photography postings. Should you have a query, you can also contact me there or at "chrissie at cnicely dot com". Thanks! ♥

Jugglerz @ Moments in Bremen

Last Friday, June 19, I was invited to document the appearance of Jugglerz at Club Moments which was a novelty! Usually, and the duo simpatico are here in Bremen regularly, they are booked at a different venue. Club Moments is a great place for this kind of event because they have a fair sized stage on which the MC can run and jump to his heart’s content. And – trust me – Shotta Paul made ample use of this, so much so that he had to change his t-shirt several times throughout the evening!

This was also the first time I met Meska and Shotta Paul although I regularly read and hear from them as they are very active in the reggae scene, for example with their website jugglerz.de and the German reggae charts they run – and of course I contribute regularly most of the times, generally prompted by the Riddim Newsletter, which always features the charts. They have also made a name for themselves as producers, their latest offering being the Reggaemiles Riddim.

I would have expected more people to turn up for such a great dance but the Jugglerz were not the least bit phased by the rather empty room. They did their thing as if playing for the millions and as the night progressed into the early hours more and more people actually came - something quite typical for Bremen. What can I say, the vibe was great! Thanks Jugglerz! And props to King Ralph who was opening and closing for them.

Here is a link to this event on facebook. For all of you reading/viewing with iPhones or Androids please click/follow the link below to see the photos!

https://picasaweb.google.com/102895067673602587741/JugglerzAtMoments?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Feel free to tag yourself in the photos on my Facebook Photography Page and "Like" the page to follow my other photography postings. Should you want to have your photo removed or have a query, you can also contact me there or at "chrissie at cnicely dot com". Thanks and see you soon!

Nuff love to all ♥ ♥ ♥

Dancehall Hot Again ~ Hamburg on June 6, 2015

DJ Maya from New York is in Hamburg! I was happy to be invited by the lovely host Robby John and Anna of Cranic Productions to be the photographer of the night and the event! In fact, I couldn't wait to get there!

What a beautiful night it was! When I arrived Crucial B was spinning some tunes. Sorry in advance for not having any photos to document this but you can take my word for it: It was nice. He was followed by Daddy Bantam from Berlin and Ini Man from Munich/Jamaica. I spent most of this time chatting with people and taking pictures here and there, catching some anthems with one ear... and enjoying meeting everyone I had not seen in quite a while listening to some personal stories and banter with the other ear.

Then it was time for the star of the night DJ Maya who had arrived in the morning fresh outta Brooklyn, New York! As anticipated she touched on different styles from reggae to dancehall to soca. She had the massive palancing through the dancehall as if we were in T&T!

Anyone would have thought that it would be hard to keep up with this vibe but if you have ever seen Massaya Sound you know that they would be up to the job! Their set was massayassive! When I left at around 5:30 am they were just coming to a close and Crucial B set up to play the last set for the morning.

As I left the club Dock's located right on the famous Reeperbahn known the world around for the night life and other amusement - mainly for men - the sun was shining and putting a golden shimmer on the houses and even on the littered streets. I drove home into the sunshine with a happy smile on my face...

Here is a link to this event on facebook. For all of you reading/viewing with iPhones or Androids please click/follow the link below to see the photos!

https://picasaweb.google.com/102895067673602587741/ReggaeNights127?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Feel free to tag yourself in the photos on my Facebook Photography Page and "Like" it there to follow my other photography postings. Should you want to have your photo removed or have a query, you can also contact me there or at "chrissie at cnicely dot com". Thanks and see you soon!

Nuff love to all ♥ ♥ ♥

KdK Carnival of Cultures ~ 2015

Yes, I'm a lucky girl! I have a friend in Berlin who puts me up (or puts up with me... as the case may be) and also shows me the beautiful side of the city every time there is an event in Berlin I like to attend. We always have a nice time chatting and this time we did so to the early hours so we had a late start going to the Carnival which we were going to shoot as the groups assembled in the side road in the morning. Saying that, we were late but far too early for the last groups who were due to start later in the afternoon.

It was a beautiful day and the sun shone down on us at midday when the parade started. That is never a good thing for photography! However, there was also lots of shade under the trees in this particular road which was a good thing for me and also for the groups - 62 of them altogether - who had some hours to spend here before entering the main road into the procession. So, I tried to mainly use the shade to get some pictures.

This carnival comprises a lot of different people from all over the world donning their traditional attire or fantasy costumes representing figures from film and TV ~ even some German TV-personalities could be spotted amongst the participants. Some groups were making aware of social problems like immigration, racism and the ever present financial issues Berlin faces with living space being turned into developments by big corporations.

As I had to catch my ride back home to Bremen I could not stay all day so I had to miss a lot of groups, particularly the reggae groups and trucks of YAAM, Reggae In Berlin and the Dutch Soca Lovers, which I am sure were awesome. Thankfully though, I saw Franky Fyah of the Soca Twins preparing his truck and later quite a few other members of this group including the lovely Barney Millah and Alison who were all getting into the party spirit which must have culminated much later that night according the postings I later saw on facebook!

The past few years have been critical as to the financing of the Carnival and the street festival and in particular this year it was not clear if it could actually take place. I am glad it did and I was able to see a fraction of it alongside the other 1.5 million visitors! Hopefully, the German saying "Totgesagte leben länger! (The condemned live longer!)" will hold true and I can attend it again in the future! It was quite an experience to see so many people - masses of them - working for one aim: Party and Enjoy Life!

Here is a link to this event with more information in English. For all of you reading/viewing with iPhones or Androids please click/follow the link below to see the photos of the slide-show above!

https://picasaweb.google.com/102895067673602587741/KarnevalDerKulturenBerlin?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Please click "LIKE" https://www.facebook.com/CNicelyPhotoGraphy

Feel free to tag yourself in the photos on my Facebook Photography Page. Should you want to have your photo removed or have a query, you can also contact me there or at "chrissie at cnicely dot com". I'm looking forward to hearing from you and hopefully to see you again next year!