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MUSEUM

Expo fetes Berliner who put 007 in space

A new exhibition in the German capital celebrates the set-building prowess of 93-year-old Sir Ken Adam, the Berlin-born designer who made volcanoes slide open and Fort Knox surrender its gold bullion.

Published: 10 December 2014 11:16 CET
Expo fetes Berliner who put 007 in space
One of Adam's sets for the 1979 Bond movie "Moonraker". Photo: Danjaq, LLC and United Artists Corporation

When Ronald Reagan became US President in 1981 and first toured the White House, he asked to see the "War Room", so convinced was he by the military nerve centre depicted in Stanley Kubrick's 1964 Armageddon movie Dr Strangelove.

The set was the work of Sir Ken Adam, a German Jew who emigrated to Britain in 1934 and went on to capture the world's imagination with sets for epic movies from "Ben-Hur" (1959) to "Moonraker" (1979).

Due to open on December 11 at the Deutsche Kinemathek film museum, "Bigger than life: Ken Adam's film design" presents 4,000 of his drawings, as well as photos, documents and personal memorabilia from a life that was as vivid as his sets.   

Tankbuster to blockbuster

Born in Berlin 1921, Klaus Hugo Adam and his family fled Germany as Nazi persecution of the Jews gathered pace.

After studying architecture in London he went on to become one of just three German-born pilots to serve in the Royal Air Force during World War Two.

Adam's daring exploits flying a Hawker Typhoon fighter-bomber against German forces in Europe earned him the nickname "Heinie the tank buster".

He first entered the film industry as a draughtsman in 1948 and was still active as a production designer in 2001.

Adam was the creative genius behind more than 70 productions that deftly merged fact and fiction for movie lovers around the world.     

He has received numerous awards for his work, including two Academy Awards (Oscars) for Best Production Design for the films "Barry Lyndon" (Stanley Kubrick, 1975) and "The Madness of King George" (Nicholas Hytner, 1994).
 
 
 
Based on concise geometric forms, his drawings and designs often depict unfathomable, exotic and nightmarish places drawn with the highest intensity.
 

True to his design philosophy “bigger than life”, Adam used his work to push the boundaries of what is possible – often highly emotionally, occasionally playful or humorously, and yet always believably.
 
He was especially gratified to know his portrayal of Fort Knox in the 1964 Bond movie "Goldfinger" had many viewers convinced that it had actually been shot inside the US Army post in Kentucky where US gold reserves are kept.
 
 
A long-time resident of London with his wife Letizia, Adam was made an honorary citizen of Berlin in 2012
 
He donated his collection to the Deutsche Kinemathek in 2012, expressing the hope that his work is used to inspire subsequent generations.
 

Adam’s archive is currently being prepared for archival use and will be available online next year.
 
"Bigger than life: Ken Adam's film design" will run until mid-May 2015.

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MUSIC

Meet the Spanish rapper bringing flamenco and bossa nova into hip-hop

Spanish rapper C. Tangana was taking a big risk when he started mixing old-fashioned influences like flamenco and bossa nova into his hip-hop -- but it's this eclectic sound that has turned him into a phenomenon on both sides of the Atlantic.

Published: 23 May 2021 08:38 CEST
Meet the Spanish rapper bringing flamenco and bossa nova into hip-hop
Spanish rapper Anton Alvarez known as 'C. Tangana' poses in Madrid on April 29, 2021. Photo: Javier Soriano/AFP

The 30-year-old has emerged as one of the world’s biggest Spanish-language stars since his third album “El Madrileno” — the Madrilenian — came out in February. That ranks him alongside his superstar ex-girlfriend Rosalia, the Grammy-winning Catalan singer with whom he has co-written several hits.

C. Tangana, whose real name is Anton Alvarez Alfaro, has come a long way since a decade ago when he became known as a voice of disillusioned Spanish youth in the wake of the financial crisis.These days his rap is infused with everything from reggaeton and rumba to deeply traditional styles from Spain and Latin America, with a voice often digitised by autotune.

“It’s incredible that just when my music is at its most popular is exactly when I’m doing something a bit more complex, more experimental and less
trendy,” he told AFP in an interview.

And he is unashamed to be appealing to a wider audience than previously: his dream is now to make music “that a young person can enjoy in a club or someone older can enjoy at home while cooking”.

‘People are tired’

The rapper, who sports a severe semi-shaved haircut and a pencil moustache, has worked with Spanish flamenco greats including Nino De Elche, Antonio Carmona, Kiko Veneno, La Hungara and the Gipsy Kings.

In April he brought some of them together for a performance on NPR’s popular “Tiny Desk Concert” series, which has already drawn nearly six million
views on YouTube.

Shifting away from trap, one of rap’s most popular sub-genres, and venturing into a more traditional repertoire was a dangerous move — especially for someone with a young fanbase to whom rumba, bossa nova and bolero sound old-fashioned.

“I think people are tired. They’ve had enough of the predominant aesthetic values that have previously defined pop and urban music,” he said.

Parts of his latest album were recorded in Latin America with Cuban guitarist Eliades Ochoa of Buena Vista Social Club, Uruguayan
singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler, Mexican folk artist Ed Maverick and Brazil’s Toquinho, one of the bossa nova greats.

“What struck me most everywhere I went was the sense of tradition and the way people experienced the most popular music, and I don’t mean pop,” he said.

A new direction

C. Tangana started out in 2006 rapping under the name Crema. When the global economic crisis swept Spain a few years later, hard-hitting trap was
the perfect way to voice the angst of his generation. But after more than a decade of rapping, things changed.

“When I was heading for my 30s, I hit this crisis, I was a bit fed up with what I was doing… and decided to give voice to all these influences that I
never dared express as a rapper,” he said.

The shift began in 2018 with “Un veneno” (“A poison”) which came out a year after his big hit “Mala mujer” (“Bad woman”).

And there was a return to the sounds of his childhood when he used to listen to Spanish folk songs at home, raised by a mother who worked in
education and a journalist father who liked to play the guitar. The Latin American influences came later.

“It started when I was a teenager with reggaeton and with bachata which were played in the first clubs I went to, which were mostly Latin,” he said.

Studying philosophy at the time, he wrote his first raps between stints working in call centres or fast-food restaurants.

As to what comes next, he doesn’t know. But one thing he hopes to do is collaborate with Natalia Lafourcade, a Mexican singer who dabbles in folk, rock and pop — another jack of all musical trades.

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