B EAST Magazine website

B EAST’s DDR Disco party was a huge success, thanks mostly to the kitschy-cool set played by our cassette DJs. Täter and Ostbrot played for a full two hours using nothing but tapes - most of which were probably older than the people dancing to them! And they weren’t afraid to use the microphone, MC-ing between songs.  Their mike technique reminded us of the skills that DJs were once expected to possess. “If you have a request, write it on a twenty euro bill and pass it up,” they said, reaching back into their catalog of old jokes (although, we would have thought it more authentic if they’d have requested East German Deutschmarks). The SPUs (they weren’t called DJs) showed their professionality, drinking only one beer each, and keeping track of their songs in a notebook. After all, these guys once had to pass an exam to receive a performing license, back in the days of the DDR. Before the gig, Ostbrot confessed to us - “I haven’t played a concert in twenty years!” Well, we’re certainly glad they came out of retirement to serve us a decent helping of ostalgia.

A big thanks also to VJ Linards Kulless from Riga’s Space:Garage crew, who supplied amazing visuals throughout the night. And a huge round of applause for the laptoprock team Shameless Limitless, who stepped up to the plate to perform an extra set after DJ Andrei Oid called in sick. The party raged until 5am, not bad for a Thursday night. Stay tuned for the next B EAST Berlin party.

By Joel Alas, B EAST editor

“Recently, I am planning something quite illegal,” Prague artist David Cerny told B EAST six months ago. Now we know what he was talking about.

Yesterday (Jan 14), Cerny unveiled his newest sculpture - a huge map of Europe, with each nation depicted by not-so-flattering stereotypes. The sculpture was erected in front of the European Council building in Brussels. It was a gift from the Czech Republic to mark the start of the Czech presidency of the EU.

Already, the ambassadors of several nations have filed complaints about the sculpture, which shows Bulgaria as toilets, France as a nation permanently on strike, Germany as autobahns that slightly resemble a swastika, and Romania as a Dracula theme park.

Cerny was commissioned to create the sculpture by the Czech government, who really should have been prepared for a shock. After all, the last EU-related sculpture Cerny created was a statue featuring two men pissing on a map of Czech. He also designed a huge statue of a masturbating man (complete with regular  ejaculations of water) to be mounted to the top of the National Theater - though sadly the idea was rejected.

When Cerny started his career, his installations were always illegal, and were usually erected under the cover of night. Now governments ask for his work, a turn of events he describes as “bizarre”.

In our last issue of B EAST, we dared to suggest that Cerny might be losing his edge due to his success. We can admit when we’re wrong. Cerny, you’re clearly still a beast.

By the way, if you like Cerny’s work, you should also pay attention to Peter Fuss, a Polish shock artist who uses a false name to hide from religious fanatics who are angry with his anti-Catholic sculptures. We met Fuss in Wroclaw, where he hung a giant poster predicting Barack Obama’s assassination.

Prague stunt artist David Cerny has shocked the EU with his new sculpture. Pic by Jaroslav Brabec.

Posters on the streets of Tallinn this week:

The Death of Communism (Poster advertising a play at Teater No99).

Is There Life After Capitalism? (Poster advertising a program of discussions and plays at Von Krahl theater).

As the West drags the world into a financial meltdown, some in the East are celebrating the chance to start over again. Fucked by communism, raped by capitalism, Eastern Europe has never been given a chance to decide what kind of social and economic system it truly wants for itself.

This weekend B EAST ran into a group of neo-hippies on the cobbled streets of Tallinn who are embracing the potential collapse of financial systems. “If the banks fail, the government will pay only 50,000 EU to every customer. What could be better than that?” they said.