Cosmo presents: BIG UP! Berlin

In the organizer's words:

Branko (Enchufada/PT) *live*
K.O.G (Heavenly Sweetness /GH/UK) *live*
Chocolate Remix (AR) *live*
Karen Nyame KG (Hyperdub, Warp, One Level/UK/GH)
Los Pulpitos (Terra Magica Rec/D) *live*

+ more

BIG UP! on the last Saturday in November, COSMO celebrates again at Gretchen. A night full of global music culture and club sounds. With Branko, Chocolate Remix and K.O.G., among others.

K.O.G. means "Kweku Of Ghana". It is the stage alias of Kweku Sackey. Rapper, singer and bandleader. Grew up in Ghana. At home in Sheffield for 20 years. He originally wanted to study urban planning there. As a street musician, however, he met with so much enthusiasm that he decided to devote himself entirely to music. Today, K.O.G. is a formative figure in the global pop world. He co-founded Zongo Music, an Afro-American collective for alternative music. He has worked with David Walters, La Yegros and Nubiyan Twist. K.O.G. likes to perform to electronic beats. His great love, however, is the old-school highlife and Afrobeat sound that influenced him as a child in Ghana. K.O.G. elegantly switches between raps and highlife songs on the microphone. His stage outfits are just as impressive as his charismatic, shamanistic performance. At BIG UP! he will perform together with his band.

Branko is a producer, DJ and label boss. And now a pillar of Lusophone club culture. With Buraka Som Sistema, he has popularized the brute dancefloor sound Kuduro worldwide. And ensured that the club scene no longer just looks towards Berlin and Detroit, but also has its sights set on Luanda, Rio and Cape Verde. Branko's current club tracks are warm, urban and organic. Like summer rain on asphalt. On his last album "Soma", Branko created a musical monument to his home city of Lisbon. And captured the city's post-colonial diversity in his sounds. Music that is at home on the dancefloor. Edgy, bass and break-heavy. But also elegant and deep. At BIG UP! Branko will perform live with his band.

Romina Bernardo alias Chocolate Remix is a pioneer in her field. As a queer artist, she turns macho-dominated reggaeton inside out. She mixes it with cumbia, baile funk, dembow and reggae. Sometimes rapping with a wide-legged stomp, sometimes poppy and funky. But always catchy. And has gained a fan base that extends far beyond her home city of Buenos Aires. Also because of her lyrics, which play with gender roles or deal with the everyday life of sex workers without using clichés. However, it is not necessary to understand Chocolate Remix's lyrics. A concert by her is above all a physical experience.

She calls herself "The Rhythm Goddess". And rightly so. The British-Ghanaian artist Karen Nyame KG has left her mark on the UK dance scene over the last decade. Her sounds are soulful and danceable. They draw on a wide spectrum of house, afrobeats, highlife and UK dance. As a producer and singer, she cultivates an elegant, electronic pop style. Her DJ sets are more robust and rhythm-oriented. Karen Nyame KG releases on Hyberdub and Warp, two of the best British label addresses for electronic music. She has also recently founded her own label. "Rhythm in the City", named after her own party series. Music for "the grown and sexy".

Los Pulpitos are Berlin-based global bass head Dirk Leyers and Felipe Salmón from the legendary Peruvian electronica duo Dengue Dengue Dengue. Los Pulpitos' live sets make nerds and partygoers alike happy. Massive basses thump, hum and push. A pleasantly weird panorama of quotes unfolds across the jungle of global pop and dance music. Los Pulpitos call their sound "Tentacle Tech". You probably also need octopus arms to bring a new form of bass music to the dancefloor from such diverse influences.

As resident DJ at the COSMO Club, Daferwa is our specialist for the dancefloors of this world. Constantly traveling, constantly searching for new sounds. Since 2022, he has also been responsible for the COSMO DJ session and provides us with that COSMO Club feeling on the radio every Friday evening. He's either at the controls himself. Or he makes room for DJ friends and colleagues from all over. Whether it's digital cumbia hybrids, Caribbean Perreo sounds, Amapiano or rave rags - the main thing is that it has to be bass and danceable.

We are offering discounted tickets for this event to give people with a smaller wallet access to culture. These contingents are limited and only available at TixforGigs. We trust in your self-assessment: if you can, book standard tickets and leave the discounted contingents to those who need to save a lot right now.