O Pioneers! in Ausland

At first look it appeared that Diane Cluck was an odd fixture for a place like Ausland. A bare small venue – very Berlin – in the heart of beautiful Prenzlauer Berg, Ausland is known for putting on kookie acts and sound-art exhibitions. Inside it might remind you of a small, protestant church, tall but narrow, the tabernacle at the back serving Berliner Pilsner. On Wednesday 7^th May it was hosting Diane Cluck who, as far as her reputation preceded her, did not seem very Berlin.

The place is non-commercially run and beyond just a venue (nothing worth its salt in Belin is ever just one thing) Ausland doubles as a workshop for artists. Beyond this it is a bar, and also puts on ilm screenings and talks. In better words than mine, Ausland’s mission statement reads: ‘The focus clearly is on experimental, non-mainstream, demanding, kind of weird stuff which either makes you comfortable or make you leave the place before you’ve even finished your first (cheap) drink ..’ Above anything else, the place is about, ‘consuming arts in its finest forms.’

In such company, on first appearance – and I admit, for me, this was – Cluck’s strain of folk music appears very normal, perhaps even a little dull ...



To read the complete article please visit ADS Records

To find more on Diane  - http://dianecluck.info/