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!

World Beat Bremen ~ Caribbean Groove

"Caribbean Groove" was the motto of the World Beat Bremen e. V.-Party on April 11, 2015. As you know ~ if you know me ~ this is my thing! So I went along to Bürgerhaus Weserterassen with my camera to capture the event organised by World Beat Bremen e. V. and take in the beats including reggae, ska, calypso, reggaeton, soca, zouk and more played on three different dancefloors by varying DJs (details on the flyer) and accompanied by very moody light shows.

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/WorldbeatCaribbeanGroove?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!

World Beat Bremen ~ Caribbean Riddim

Thanks to Ralph "von" Richthoven I was able to take pictures at one of the World Beat Bremen e. V.-Parties on November 8, 2014. The motto was very close to my heart "Caribbean Riddim" including reggae, ska, calypso, reggaeton, soca, zouk and more.

The party took place at Bürgerhaus Weserterassen, a beautiful location by the River Weser and is organised by World Beat Bremen e. V., a non-profit organisation, who have been organising these parties - with different cultural themes - since 2003!

The music was played on three different dancefloors by varying DJs (details on the flyer) and accompanied by very moody light shows. If you are not familiar with this event-series, you should definitely check it out!

   

For all of you reading/viewing with iPhones or Androids please click the link below to see the photos!
https://picasaweb.google.com/102895067673602587741/WorldBeatCaribbeanRiddim?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Feel free to tag yourself in the photos on my Facebook Photography Page and "Like" the page 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 @ cnicely dot com". Thanks and see you soon!

Silverstar @ Dancehall CoNNect

..::| Stardate: February 1, 2014 |::..
..::| Planet Earth, Germany, Bremen, a reggae enclave called Dancehall CoNNect @ Club Moments |::..

Silverstar Sound had flown in from London for this evening. King Ralph was playing the warm-up when I arrived so I had a few moments with Randy and Gussie to chat and take a few pics. Thanks to both for also posing for Help Jamaica for me!

Randy and Gussie of Silverstar Sound

The Silverstar set was a good mix of dancehall, foundation and current and the latest hits in dancehall and roots. We even got to palance likkle bit to some few soca selections. All of us had a great night and hope to see you again soon, Silverstar!

To see the full album you can click here. Of course, you are welcome to tag yourself there.

Reggae Nights # 119 - Sound Conference

Reggae Nights on April 13, 2013 at Magazinkeller and was entitled Sound Conference because the 2 visiting sounds SWS (Sound with Soul) from Berlin, Hakuna Matataa from Saxony and Roots Ashanti, the hosts in Bremen played in a friendly get-together style, taking turns and even playing together at times and most of all dancing and having a great time behind the decks. Likewise everyone in attendance and here are the pics to prove it:

SWS (Sound With Soul) - Berlin, Germany

Hakuna Matata - Saxony, Germany

Please take a look at my Facebook Photography Page and "Like" it there to tag yourself and to follow my photography postings.