I took the tour of Hansa Studios last Friday. This tour has been a "dream pilgrimage" for me, since I read that Nick Cave and Blixa Bargeld hung out here in the early 80s, and Nick recorded "Your Funeral...My Trial" here. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Turns out a whole bunch of great albums were recorded here - Bowie's Low, and Heroes, Iggy's Lust for Life and the Idiot, and many more (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hansa_Tonstudio#Selected_recordings).
One can only imagine the dark world of Berlin in the late 70s, Christiane F. ran wild in the subway and the wall loomed everywhere and the Hansa building was half demolished. Thilo brought it all to life with stories and anecdotes about what went on in the studio, both serious and funny. He does fill you in on the nerdy audiophile recording equipment stuff, but balances that out with good colorful stories. Also, he knows enough about the artists to provide details on U2, Depeche Mode, Bowie, and Nick Cave, and even Einsterzende Neubauten. I went in to the tour a Nick Cave fan, and emerged as a U2 fan.
Wish I had been able to take the bus tour, but next time. Auf wiedersehen! read more