MOKA EFTI ORCHESTRA
Straight from the screen onto the stage, the original big band of “Babylon Berlin” performs songs from the famous tv series live at the United Hearts Gala After Party.
1929 the world is different place. Berlin is a wild and dirty city, glamourous and party crazy all the same. The MOKA EFTI ORCHESTRA, a 14 piece ensemble put together by composers Nikko Weidemann and Mario Kamien with saxophonist/ arranger Sebastian Borkowski, brings back the music and the vibe of the 20´s, literally inviting the audience into the Moka Efti, one of the entertainment palaces in 1920s Berlin and a prominent set location for the “Babylon Berlin” series.
Moka Efti Orchestra (c) Frédéric Batier - X Filme 2017
Moka Efti, the wild 1920s superclub that inspired Babylon Berlin, was the club where Weimar decadence exploded. A frantic hotspot where Berliners drank and danced amid Moorish arches and Orient Express decor.
THE GUARDIAN
Moka Efti Orchestra (c) Joachim Gern
Nikko Weidemann and Mario Kamien are not new to the music business. Still, the assignment to look after the on screen music for “Babylon Berlin” - the most ambitious tv series in German film history - presents a new challenge. They earn the trust of directors Tom Tykwer, Henk Handloetgen and Achim von Borries to compose in styles encompassing Blues and Ragtime, Chanson and Big Band Charleston. Especially with the title track “Zu Asche, Zu Staub”, their task is to define a vivid contemporary emotion rather than to achieve 100% historical correctness.
Marlene-Dietrich-meets-Kraftwerk
THE GUARDIAN
2018 saw the roaring debut of the MOKA EFTI ORCHESTRA at Berlin´s XJazz Festival. In the autumn of the same year the orchestra´s performance at Hamburg´s Reeperbahn Festival was met with equal enthusiasm. Next followed a special concert in front of 200.000 visitors gathered at Brandenburg Gate to commemorate October 3, the national day of German Unity. Early in November MEO performed at the GQ awards and finally, later that month, the orchestra played sold out shows at the famous Ballhaus Berlin.
Spring and summer 2019 saw the orchestra touring all across Germany´s clubs and concert halls in a sold-out tour, including the Munich Philharmonie and Kassel´s opera house as well as various festivals.
Moka Efti Orchestra - Festsaal Kreuzberg © Joachim Gern
NEWS
Moka Efti Orchestra on tour in spring 2020
Like Phoenix from the ashes, with "Zu Asche, Zu Staub" the MOKA EFTI ORCHESTRA has ascended to extraordinary hights in 2018 and 2019.
Born from the international hit TV series "Babylon Berlin" the 14-member ensemble around the composers Nikko Weidemann and Mario Kamien, as well as arranger and bandleader Sebastian Borkowski have performed in front of sold out houses all over Germany.
In Berlin alone 4,000 tickets sold, just under 3,000 in Jena, and 2,000 at the Munich Philharmonie. The MOKA EFTI ORCHESTRA stands for great evenings and full houses. Currently, the Orchestra is in the studio between concerts to complete the debut album "Erstausgabe (First Edition)", among others with the artists Severija (who will also perform live) and Moritz Krämer (The Highest Railway).
In March 2020 the Moka Efti Orchestra ft SEVERIJA will be on tour all over Germany.
CONCERT INFO HERE
The club shows will be presented by Rolling Stone and kulturnews.