Follow the Fellow #12
Monthly notes from Les Vynogradov
24. Januar 2025 | Les Vynogradov
24. Januar 2025 | Les Vynogradov
I met a black-headed gull on Alex and it told me many things. Here’s a recap:
Amidst the grey mundanity of a January morning, you are only one step away from wonder.
Beneath the asphalt and pigeon shit and the crowds and self-induced numbness of the city, the cold mighty waters are rumbling that will wash you away and into the ocean.
To a seagull navigating the heavy leaden skies above you, the Fernsehturm is a lighthouse.
There is a certain comfort to numbness but no joy. The joy is only found in those icy waters. To ride them, you’ll need sails, not anchors. But don’t be fooled: there is no reward at the end. What you will have earned is only measured in years.
This is my final FtF entry and as much as I’d like to give a sense of closure to this 12-month Berlin odyssey of mine, my Ithaca—alas!—is not an inch closer. I’ve lost connections that meant everything and succumbed to the sin of regret more than once. I will consider this my sacrifice to implacable gods of change—at least these guys have a (twisted) sense of humor. On the upside, I’m learning to master the ship and enjoy the ride despite an occasional tour of Scylla and Charybdis. Learning to build windmills instead of walls.
To be fair, my fellowship wasn’t all drama. There were so many precious moments, walks, gigs, conversations and silences that could only happen in this city. So much überlecker food. Of course, all the Kyiv Contemporary Music Days projects—eight, to be precise—including three unforgettable concerts in Berlin. I even joined a church choir at one point (courtesy of Nina Ermlich) and made my debut at Gethsemanekirche. I had the rare pleasure of introducing Berlin to my parents who loved it more than I could dream. But on top of it all… I met the fox of the Zeiss-Großplanetarium park! My mission here is complete.
This journey wouldn’t be the same without the beautiful people of INM whose smiles brightened my darkest days. Marion, Lisa, Katharina, Inka, Axi, and Christian—this is not a goodbye, just a good occasion to thank you for everything and declare my unrestrained love and endless admiration! You are truly Berlin’s finest.
~
And with that, I leave you to one hour of the sunniest and dreamiest music you’ll get this winter. It’s by Chillera, a psychedelic trio from Odesa now partially based in Berlin. It’s a bittersweet cake because the apartment where this session had been recorded got damaged in a Russian drone attack in November 2024.
Don’t miss Chillera when they’re playing in town.
Sayonara, dears.
»Follow the Fellow« is made possible as part of the Weltoffenes Berlin fellowship program of the Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt.