The Berlin Sessions (New Mixes & Travel)

Lynnée Denise visited Berlin, Germany this month to conduct preliminary research for "The Global 80s," a multi-city community based research project that engages the DJ as a cultural historian and explores musical responses to social and political challenges facing the 1980s African Diaspora. The goal is to use music as a point of entry to examine  HIV/AIDS, mass incarceration, the War on Drugs, and racist immigration policies that disproportionately impacted communities of color in the 1980s. 

The second mission of the trip was to record "The Berlin Sessions," a four part series of mixes to be released over the course of this year's winter and spring. "The Berlin Sessions" is an extension of Lynnée Denise's Artist in Residence in the Amsterdam south eastern predominantly Black neighborhood called the Bijlmer. The Amsterdam 80s is the first city to launch "The Global Black 80s Project" putting Lynnée Denise in proximity with the other European cities to be featured which include Berlin and London. The first mix released is a sound collage featuring music from the artist Bjork. The mix can be downloaded for a small donation here: http://www.djlynneedenise.com/locations/  

Lynnée Denise was hosted by South African expatriate DJ Leratho Khathi who offered an incredible studio space, making the marathon recording session possible. Leratho, a resident of Europe for the past two decades, will be a featured DJ in the 'Global 80s' project. She offers incredible insight about crack addiction and HIV aids in South Africa, the role of South African music in her development as a DJ and the isolation one feels as a Black person now rooted in Europe.