Berlin beats

IN ITS FIRST attempt to spread the gospel of contemporary German music, the country's internationally active cultural bureau, the Goethe-Institut, has put two of Berlin's most popular acts on the road. Barbara Morgenstern and Maximilian Hecker mark the end of a 35-city world tour - through Europe, the Middle East, North and South America and Asia - with a finale in Hong Kong.

'Both artists live in Berlin - generally considered Germany's music capital,' says Alice Ho, of the Goethe-Institut's Hong Kong office, in explaining why the two were selected for the tour. 'The pair have three things in common: they belong to the same generation; they come from Berlin-Mitte, the heart of what was once East Berlin; and they are at the start of international careers.'

Morgenstern has been cutting discs since 1998, but singing seriously for a lot longer, once being part of an a cappella group. Hecker has been in the music business for more than two years, and has two albums to his name. His debut Infinite Love Songs, in 2001, won a place in The New York Times Top 10 Albums of the Year.

In a recent telephone interview, after playing to a lively crowd of several hundred in Tashkent, the two were keen to stress that neither of them is represented on the German hit parade. 'I'm part of the independent scene,' says Morgenstern, 32, who regularly tours Europe. 'People who like electronic music come to my shows. There are usually about 200 people there, which is enough for me.'

'My band is considered 'alternative',' says Hecker, 36, who is a musical all-rounder, being handy with guitar, bass, keyboard and drums. 'We play in a classic rock'n'roll band way. We make rock hymns. There are no special effects in our shows.'

Both are backed by their regular bands on this tour. Despite her embrace of electronic instruments and recording and mixing technology, Morgenstern insists on using musicians on stage. 'Musicians play guitar and drum on stage, and I handle keyboards and drum programming,' says the programming whiz, who engineered her first albums and EPs herself. 'I don't want to be performing electronic music with a lot of playback. I've tried that before and it's quite cold. Live players add warmth and a sense of euphoria, and allow for some improvisation and immediate reaction to the crowd response. And I love it when we surprise each other in a live group.