Can you introduce yourselves and the band?
Salman: I'm Salman, one of the 6 OMS volunteer music teachers who are part of the Auslander*IN - Hejmo music school's first teachers-led band project. I've been a volunteer music teacher for about three years now.
In our band, I play the guitar and also sing. Tessa, who teaches piano at the school, plays the keys and also sings. Charan, a fellow guitar teacher, is our guitarist; Chris is on drums and also teaches drums and percussions like Sonika, who did vocal percussions on our song, "You and I." Then we also have the multiinstrumentalist Francesco who plays the bass in the band, but he's actually a piano teacher at the school.
Sonika: I perform Konnakkol, the South Indian art of vocal percussion. It involves reciting rhythms vocally and has its roots in Carnatic music as a means of communication. Over time, it evolved into a performance art of its own, combining rhythm, improvisation, and voice.
How did a band made up entirely of OMS teachers come together?
Salman: The band was formed when the music school director Joe shared the project details with us, I think I might have been one of the first people to jump on it because this was really exciting: usually, you know, the band projects at Hejmo are for students only, so when this new opportunity was announced, I was like, YES! This great opportunity allowed wonderful teachers at the school to come together and basically practice what we preach in our classrooms :), and it all happened thanks to the music school.
Who are the Auslander*IN?
Salman: The Auslander*IN is a rock band, we are the outsiders, the strangers, the outliers, the immigrants with rich and very diverse heritage and life stories. We chose that band name because it made sense: given the context of Germany's divisive political environment where immigrants unfortunately face the racist "Auslander raus" reality in their everyday lives, our band name and the song we came up together in a way tries to flip the script a lil bit and shine a light on a more hopeful dream in Germany.
You are usually the ones supporting others in learning music. What was it like to rehearse and perform together yourselves? What moment from the band project stood out to you, and why?
Salman: It was awesome. I remember the first day we jammed at the Noisy Rooms in Berlin. I think some of us were a lil bit anxious about what to expect and whether this would work because we had never played together. But, once we all settled in the jam room, I started playing on the guitar this four chord progression I had in mind, just to start off things and see how folks react and feel about it, and then suddenly we all just started to rock over it, and while jamming in that moment, I remember feeling in my heart, yeah this is going to work, something good will come out of this :) I had a great feeling from that moment on and look how far we all came since then! We now have a solid song titled "You and I", in which each band member brought their own flavor and heart into it. So yeah, it was great fun playing together, but also great to share different perspectives and finding the balance where nobody feels they weren't a part of this beautiful process to be creative and awesome.
Tessa: It was great working together. And I learned new things, which I think is important especially as a teacher. A teacher is never a finished end product, there is always stuff to learn. And being an active participant in my own learning process for me makes it even more easier connecting with students. Being in this band for me was an interesting process varying between creating, adjusting, listening, leading, following. I learn a lot more about other instruments as well by playing with them.
Charan: The challenge in terms of learning in this context was based more on learning the styles and tendencies that each member felt comfortable in. Being a group of diverse musicians with very different preferences it was interesting to see how this unique potpourri of ideas came together to create a piece that represents each member of the band beautifully.
What moment from the band project stood out to you, and why?
Charan: The second rehearsal session. I remember feeling frustrated by the first session because nothing really stuck but after we left some time to settle into the initial idea and refine it the momentum shifted instantly and everything started working like a well oiled machine.
What was it like to perform at Open Music Night in front of the OMS community?
Salman: There were many interesting moments during this project, but the one that stood out for me was when the whole band performed together for the first time at Hejmo's music performance events in front of our peers. Before that event, I wasn't completely sure if everyone would show up or whether our sound would be in the best shape etc etc, but in the end, it all turned out so nice, and I think everyone in the band felt so relieved and happy that there weren't any major glitches :) And of course, a lot of people also appreciated us, which probably also meant that our song resonated with folks.
Chris: Hard to hear and judge what on earth was going on until we finished and there was a great response.
Tessa: Probably the performance night. It feels great that we created a song together and crafted it until the point that we work like one machine. Performing the song is like a cherry on top of the process.
Charan: It’s always a pleasure to play on an Open Music Night. Having played with the band twice, I can however decidedly say that the second go around felt a lot better given that we had everyone present. It felt like a crowning achievement after the adventure of working with all these great musicians.
Why do you think music is important for connecting people?
Salman: I think the beauty of music is that it is able to touch people's hearts across cultures, across all these barriers that society and states imposes to keep us divided. Especially in a place like Berlin and Germany, where workin class immigrants are in a constant state of struggle just to make ends meet and have their voices heard, music is that bridge that helps remind folks that at the end of the day we are all human, worthy of havin our stories heard and turned into song.
Tessa: Music is important for connecting people because it doesn’t necessarily need words. It is a great activity to do together, where you follow your gut. There are so many ways in which you can make music, and you will always keep on learning from one another. It is also a great tool to share stories, emotions and thoughts that we all have sometimes. I can’t think of anything more connecting than music.
Chris: It's a generally universal language that brings people together to experience emotions.
Charan: Music is one of the only languages in which you don’t have to understand it for what’s being communicated to mean something and make you feel something. In a time where each statement can be polarizing with regards to what is said in it and how it is said, music is a way to share emotion in a raw state while still being digestible regardless of the millions of factors that separate us
What do you hope people feel when they see OMS teachers playing together as a band?
Sonika: I hope people see that there is a place for everyone on the OMS stage, regardless of who they are or where they come from. I also hope they understand that mistakes are a natural part of learning and that none of us are perfect on stage. We grow through practice, repetition, and supporting each other.
Chris: A mixture of "I could do that" and "I could do better than that" in equally positive and negative ways.
Salman: I hope the feeling they take away from seeing us play together is the inspiration that they too can find refuge and solidarity through music. That people in this city, in this country, can still come together despite what hate spewing politicians say about the differences in their heritage, the color of their skins and their passports, gender, and the way they dress, and produce something beautiful, like a heartfelt song.
Tessa: I hope they like it :)
Charan: A personal goal of mine when joining the band was partly to use techniques that I’ve observed cause difficulties among students. I hope that the song showcases small things like that in a way that comes across as approachable to them specifically. In a wider sense I’d hope that this also inspires more collaboration between teachers and/or students across the various classes in OMS so we all get the opportunity to break out of our own bubbles and take full advantage of the invaluable network that we all have access to as a part of Hejmo.
Can we expect to see Auslander:IN continue writing and performing in the future?
Salman: I really hope the band continues in some shape of form. We are a six member band and who can say what the future holds for all of us, but I find reasons to remain hopeful that we will end up writing more songs. In fact, some of us have been sharing ideas on more music, so, yeah, fingers crossed.
For several years, Anschutz hilft, an initiative of the Anschutz Entertainment Group, has generously financed our band coaching.