"It’s about the city’s rough edges, but also the strange beauty you find in them. That's Berlin's 24-hour culture: exhausting, intoxicating and unforgettable...this song perfectly captures the chaos and honesty of the city. And let’s face it, we've all been there!"
Whether it's the prevalence of classical music in Weimar Germany, the post-Cold War punk movement, or the explosive popularity of dance music following the fall of the Berlin Wall, Berlin's musical legacy is intrinsically linked to its political and social history.
Today, Berlin's musical landscape is recognised globally as a hub for creativity. A significant number of artists and works of recorded music have been inspired by Berlin's reputation for revolutionary spirit, largely tied up with the rich music culture of East Berlin and the GDR, when censorship pushed much of the punk and rock scene underground in the 1980s. The landscape has since evolved from the days where many bands were playing in churches or circulating homemade tapes in secret, with the emergence of workers' movements, radical art, nightclubbing and hedonistic escape. Attributes which have only evolved the city's appeal to music artists as a fertile ground for experimentation.
In 2023, we were lucky enough to begin our very own chapter in the German capital, opening an office and warehouse in the vibrant Neukölln neighbourhood, followed by the opening of Rough Trade Berlin in 2024. In April 2025, our Berlin team celebrated the store's one-year anniversary, reflecting on a year of discovering new music, killer in-store live performances and two Record Store Day events.
To understand Berlin's enduring musical allure, it's only right that we look back at the key releases which have shaped the city's diverse musical offering today, spanning around six decades of timeless works.
Traversing eighties punk, German hip-hop, internationally known DJs and Bowie's Berlin trilogy, our Rough Trade Berlin staff revisit the full gamut of city's musical legacy in 20 songs.
Read the team's list below and scroll for the dedicated playlist.
Berlin, dein Gesicht hat Sommerprossen
Hildegard Knef (1966)
Hildegard Knef is a legendary German actress and singer with a complicated past. In the sixties she took a break from acting to pursue a singing career. This song, which translates to "Berlin, your face has freckles" is one of her best and perfectly describes Berlin. A city whose "imperfections" are what make it so wonderful.
Chris, Rough Trade Berlin
These Days
Nico (1967)
For me, Nico is always connected to Berlin in spirit. These Days from her album Chelsea Girl (1967), might not be the most “Berlin” song, but for me it is personally connected to the city and its introspective, melancholic energy. During the 1970s, Nico lived in Berlin, which profoundly influenced her work. Her final performance was in Berlin in 1988, and she is also buried there. I recently went to revisit her grave, feeling the presence and energy of her enduring spirit in the city she made her own.
Ingrid, Rough Trade Berlin
Heroes
David Bowie (1977)
Yes, I know, it's the obvious, easy choice for many but nevertheless, it's one of the songs that will always be one of the first ones to pop into my head when thinking about Berlin. Ten years ago, I went on a music tour that should have included the infamous Hansa Studios, where Bowie recorded it, but it was taken off the itinerary. The guide called me the next day and said he was doing a private tour for someone and asked whether we wanted to tag along? Errr, yes, please. It's hard to describe how it felt, standing in the grand 'Meistersaal' with its wooden coffered ceiling, wood-panelled walls, high windows, strip parquet flooring and sparkling chandeliers with only four other people and a sound engineer present, who then put on Heroes just for us. One thing I know is that I will forever treasure that moment. Not "just for one day".
Nina, Rough Trade Office
The Passenger
Iggy Pop (1977)
The Passenger captures Iggy Pop at his coolest, and it’s long been a favourite through the years at Rough Trade (Lust for Life a staple Essential album). Written during Iggy’s Berlin years with David Bowie, the track bottles the city’s nocturnal grit and restless energy into a timeless anthem of motion.
Emily, Rough Trade Office
Auf'm Bahnhof Zoo
Nina Hagen & Spliff (1978)
There is no Berlin list without Nina Hagen, the 'Godmother of German Punk', who was born in East Berlin and raised in a politically outspoken artist family. Trained as an opera singer, she defected to the West in the mid-70s and quickly became a cult figure with her wild stage presence and impressive four-octave vocal range. She recorded Auf’m Bahnhof Zoo with members of for her 1978 album Nina Hagen Band. The song is a nod to the notorious Bahnhof Zoo, the Berlin train station long tied to drugs, sex and excess. Hagen herself defines the city’s spirit – defiant, eccentric, fearless – and helped cement Berlin’s reputation as a place of radical self-expression.
Your Turn to Run
Malaria! (1982)
Came out of the early eighties punk and underground art scene of West Berlin and featured members of Die Krupps and Liaisons Dangereuses. Like many of their German contemporaries, their music was antithetical to traditional rock music tropes of the US and UK. This track is arguably their best. Dark, menacing and very Berlin.
Chris, Rough Trade Berlin
Everything Counts
Depeche Mode (1983)
With industrial samples, sharp melodies and lyrical critique of greed, Depeche Mode's Everything Counts mirrored Berlin's difficult political climate of the time, the city’s stark contrasts of capitalist West and socialist East. Equally, the band's darker themes and electronic experimentation were influenced by Berlin techno and club culture. The official music video for Everything Counts was filmed in West Berlin, featuring footage of the band performing the song at the Hansa Studio concert hall (Hansa by the Wall), mixed with outdoor shots around West Berlin. The band have long maintained a connection to the city, recording Construction Time Again (1983), Some Great Reward (1984), and Black Celebration (1986) at Hansa Studios and supporting the Violator world tour with two dates in Berlin.
Woman
Saâda Bonaire (early 90s)
Berlin plays a huge role in the story of the Bremen-born band Saâda Bonaire, who blend minimal German electronic sounds with the funk of Turkish and Kurdish folk, a musical heritage and culture prominent in Berlin following the boom of migrants following World War II.
Set to release dancefloor anthem You Could Be More As You Are in 1984, the then brand new synth pop group were sidelined by EMI due to a lack of budget. In 2013, Berlin dance punk band Thieves Like Us stumbled upon the single and a year later, the band's label, Brooklyn indie imprint Captured Tracks, released the lost album. It was believed that all of the band's music had been discovered at this point until, again, another Berlin discovery was made: German DJ Ralph "Von" Richthoven (Saâda Bonaire's founder) stumbled on a well-worn cassette in a relative's cellar in East Berlin with the words "Saâda Bonaire ‘91". This inspired him to reach out to ex-bandmate Andrea Ebert, who had also found a number of recoverable tapes in an old suitcase.
The tapes held various songs which Saâda Bonaire worked on in the early ‘90s, including the chic, stylish, off-kilter, textured, trip-hop leaning track Woman. Captured Tracks released 1992 in 2022, compiling 12 tracks from the long-lost early nineties material, which introduced the suave vocals of Andrea Ebert, perfectly complementing the deadpan style of original vocalist Stephanie Lange.
Georgia, Rough Trade Office
READ: Saâda Bonaire In Profile
Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
U2 (1993)
While not recorded in Berlin (it was recorded in Dublin as part of the Zooropa album), the video is a homage to Wim Wenders’ *Wings of Desire* – one of my favourite films, which was shot in Berlin. There’s something about the way both the film and the video show the city that feels really special: not polished or perfect, but full of character and small details you notice when you spend any time here.
Simon, Rough Trade Berlin
Alberto Basalm
Aphex Twin (1995)
Alberto Balsalm feels like the perfect soundtrack for wandering Berlin's streets, especially as autumn blends into winter. The track's rough, tinny textures echo the city's industrial jungle, while its playfulness brings warmth and hope to otherwise grey days. There's something swampy and futuristic about it. An ultramodern landscape that invites curiosity and the will to explore. When I first moved to Berlin in October 2021, this song became a companion to my daily walks. As the days grew shorter and colder, it provided both a soundscape and a sense of quiet excitement, transforming empty streets and S-Bahn rides into something cinematic. It captures that Berlin duality - harsh yet comforting, raw yet endlessly inspiring.
Ela, Rough Trade Berlin
Knights Of The Jaguar
DJ Rolando
Having moved to Berlin around 2014 from New York City, I'd only started my introduction into techno & house a few years prior. A seminal track in the history of techno, Knights Of The Jaguar, was on repeat on my iPod during my early years in the city. Fresh-faced and completely naive, the song soundtracked my exploration of the city along with the joys and pains that come with moving to a new country on your own. And so, this song always conjures memories from my early years in Berlin. This song being a more personal & nostalgic selection.
Hinna, Rough Trade Berlin
Berlin By Overnight
Max Richter (2008)
A hauntingly elegant miniature from Max's 2008 album 24 Postcards in Full Colour. It unfolds like a moonlit journey through the city that shaped him, the artist having lived and recorded in Berlin for many years prior to moving to the UK. Intimate, emotional and true to Richter form, deeply atmospheric.
Emily, Rough Trade Office
Hey Moon!
Molly Nilsson’s Hey Moon! was released in 2008—though I didn’t discover it until a couple of years later. By then, she was already a vital part of Berlin’s indie music scene: self-releasing her own records, running her own label, and shaping the city’s underground DIY spirit. Over the years, the song has popped up in different places and times, always carrying that warm, melancholy feeling, with her delicate voice giving it an intimate, nocturnal glow. I’ve also had the chance to see her live, and every time, it reminds me of that raw energy that makes Berlin feel so open and full of possibility.
Ingrid, Rough Trade Berlin
Schwarz zu Blau
Peter Fox (2009)
This track tells the story of Berlin’s nightlife through the eyes of someone stumbling out of a club after a heavy night and into the city’s messy beauty at dawn. It moves us from dark, chaotic nights full of noise and excess to the cold, sobering blue light of morning. It’s about the city’s rough edges, but also the strange beauty you find in them. That's Berlin's 24-hour culture: exhausting, intoxicating and unforgettable. German hip-hop plays a huge role over here, and this song perfectly captures the chaos and honesty of the city. And let’s face it, we've all been there!
Nina, Rough Trade Office
Ich will nicht nach Berlin
Kraftklub (2012)
Highly entertaining track from Kraftklub's debut record Mit K. Back in 2012, this 'tiny' band from Chemnitz claimed they didn't want to go to Berlin, making fun of the city's hipster culture. The band is set to release their 5th studio album in late November 2025 and has gone from strength to strength in recent years, becoming a well-regarded institution in the German music landscape.
Curt, Rough Trade Office
Where Are We Now?
David Bowie (2013)
A sonic postcard from David Bowie - released in 2013 long after his well known hey-day in Berlin - the track reads like the artist taking a stroll down memory lane. Having moved to Berlin in 2017, I found myself strangely following Bowie's shadows, with my fresh perspective colliding with his dream-like introspection.
See Thru
Mechatok (2016)
Munich-born of Turkish and Tunisian descent, DJ and producer Mechatok spent his teen years studying classical guitar before moving to Berlin aged 18, where he released his first couple of EPs and began collaborating with European collective STAYCORE and Bladeee. Embracing the larger city life and club culture, Berlin was where Mechatok began to build an impressive catalogue of euphoric, minimal pop, including 2016 debut EP See Thru. Now based in London, the producer expands the bright melodism of his sound, melding pop elements with electronic without boundaries on his debut album, Wide Awake, his first release on London label Young.
Georgia, Rough Trade Office
Berlin got Blurry
Parquet Courts (2016)
Parquet Courts' sharp, sharp-witted and painfully accurate song about Berlin and the expats who occupy it. One could call it an ode or a clever critique. References to Döner, rolled cigarettes and smoky bars, this could not be more perfect.
Chris, Rough Trade Berlin
Witches
Alice Phoebe Lou (2020)
Alice Phoebe Lou has made Berlin her home, and you can hear the city running through Witches. It’s a song about strength, softness, and standing together -something that feels very Berlin, where people come to find their voice and their tribe. There’s a fragility in her delivery, but also a quiet fire, like the city itself: rough around the edges, yet endlessly full of magic. Listening to Witches feels like wandering Kreuzberg streets late at night and realising you’re exactly where you’re meant to be.
Ela and Curt, Rough Trade Berlin
Allein in Berlin
Odd Couple (2025)
Allein in Berlin captures a feeling many of us know: being surrounded by millions yet moving through the city on your own. But instead of treating that as something heavy, the song turns it into something liberating. It celebrates the freedom to take things at your own pace, to not always have a plan, and to let the city surprise you. And the best part is, in Berlin you’re never really alone for long - a chance encounter, a late-night bar, or just bumping into someone on the U-Bahn can instantly turn solitude into connection.
Helen, Rough Trade Office
Further Listening
Ideal - Berlin
Leonard Cohen - First We Take Manhattan
Berliner Philharmoniker - The Berliner Philharmoniker and Herbert von Karajan: 1953–1969 live in Berlin
Marlene Dietrich - Ich hab' noch einen Koffer in Berlin
Lou Reed - Berlin
The Ramones - Born To Die In Berlin
Bloc Party - Kreuzberg
K.I.Z - Berlin Wird dich töten
Japan - Surburban Berlin
Marcel Dettmann - Phantom Limbs
Experience the Berlin buzz all in one place.
Here's a playlist of 20 songs capturing Berlin's musical legacy, handpicked by our staff in Neukölln.