Berlin

English translation from German

Berlin, you are so wonderful

you were partying till almost three
walking across the gloomy city
a car passes you by
I get out, it’s almost three
I think I know where you’ve been

you look at me, you don’t see me
where do you come from, where do you want to go
I think I know where you’ve been
“I’m going home, it was my last beer”
you’re beaming at me, it’s so beautiful
I think I know
where you’ve been

you wanted to leave
you dreamed of Berlin
you wanted me
in the lonely city of Berlin
you drink way too much
your eyes are so tired
and I’m getting you outta here

I’m taking you home
and I’m taking you to mine tonight

I’m taking you home
and I’m taking you to mine tonight I’m taking you home
and I’m taking you to mine tonight

I’m a German-Mongolian singer-songwriter currently living in Würzburg. I spent my youth (from 7-10, then 12-19) in Berlin. My childhood until the age of 7 was spent with my grandmother and other relatives in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. In between, I attended elementary school in Edinburgh, Scotland for 2 years because my mother found work there. All of these cities had a huge impact on me—but Berlin and Ulaanbaatar especially. Music has been my companion since I was 8 years old. First I learned classical piano and later taught myself guitar. I quickly realized I want to write my own songs, I want to tell my own stories. My puberty was spent in Berlin, where music became my refuge: I would put on my headphones and walk for kilometers through the streets of Berlin to drown out the everyday problems in my head.

At the time I suppressed my Mongolian roots and felt more “German.” Perhaps it was a kind of defense mechanism to keep me from feeling too torn. In my music I work through my own impressions.
In the process, I realized that I had a very deep and special connection to my Mongolian grandmother. Shortly before her death, I felt an inexplicable force inside me telling me I had to visit her. A year later (2015) she passed away. Since then she has been with me in my heart, and I dedicate everything beautiful that happens in my life to her. 

After my grandmother’s death, I rediscovered the Mongolian roots that had gone forgotten. I’m especially fascinated by traditional Mongolian music and other traditions. In my life music has accompanied me throughout the good times and the bad. The mood in my songs is a mixture of melancholic, dreamy, and happy. The song “Berlin” in particular reflects the emotions I went through in Berlin. Nowhere else have I felt so melancholic, happy, and sad—so many emotions all at once. 

 “Berlin” is about a young person who feels free but also lost in this huge city. After a warm and boozy summer night spent partying in Berlin-Kreuzberg (Kottbusser Tor), a friend picks them up and takes them home. That feeling of ecstasy, distraction, confusion, and bliss on such an evening is what I wanted to express in the song. Berlin’s atmosphere holds a very special magic for me: the moments in the middle of Kreuzberg and the people you meet one evening (if only for brief conversations). You get the feeling that you’re experiencing a unique moment right now, this very evening, but you’re also sad that the moment will never return.

My music project is pretty ambitious, but also holds many surprises for me. It’s a journey into my own self. It’s wonderful to engage with your own roots. A big dream came true in 2020: I could finally connect my music to my roots. I was working together with wonderful musicians on my debut album and I kept thinking something was missing. I started searching and found a Mongolian musician who lived in Hannover. He came to Würzburg just to contribute the sound of the Mongolian horsehead fiddle and his throat singing to two songs on my album. 

It was a special, emotional moment for me when I heard this musician in the studio for the first time. We also played a concert together in Würzburg this summer and it was wonderful. I would never have dreamed of all this before. Music is an important aspect of my life because it gives me the opportunity to realize great projects and meet beautiful people—all this true to the motto: “music connects people.”