Taking Berlin are “psychaboogie”. Yep, psych-a-boogie. That’s how the Sydney quintet quantifies their sound, incorporating any measure of psychedelia, funk, blues, folk and surf at any one time. Formed in May 2012, the five-piece have already managed to grace such prominent Sydney stages as The Vanguard, The Standard and The Annadale Hotel, as well at a headline gig at Sydney’s Good God Small Club mid last year. On top of this string of shows, they also scored an opening slot for Melbourne alt-rockers The Getaway Plan – it’s safe to say Taking Berlin have been busy, busy bees.
On the back of this immediate hype, they released their debut EP Love Me for My Mind in July 2013. Citing influences such as Cloud Control, The Strokes, Tame Impala and Queens of the Stone Age, the lead single Juice You garnered attention from triple j and FBi radio. They backed this up with the double A-side Madchester/Carbon at the start of this year, exhibiting their finest work to date with mature lyrics and a sound that jumps from a funky-bluesy Red Hot Chili Peppers vibe to a rockier Kings of Leon-esque style in the space of two tunes.
You can’t help but have love for Taking Berlin with their self-depreciating and light-hearted attitude and the elegant songs it allows them to produce. Describing themselves as nothing more than ‘surprisingly good’, you’ll find that their unique, ubiquitous psychaboogie certainly is a pleasant surprise. All their recordings are available on their soundcloud page, so do yourself the favour and check them out.
