When I came to study in China in 2008, just in time for the Olympics, there was a great sense of optimism in the country. I thought: I was born too late for the clubs in Berlin after the fall of the Wall and much too late for the New York of Warhol and Patti Smith. But I was in exactly the right place here. The subculture was booming and I knew: I want to report on this country.

During my time as a journalist in China from 2017 to 2019, but also on my research trips to countries like Kenya or Cambodia, I realized that every nation can also be explored through its pop culture. For me, music became a key to countries and temperaments. It creates a framework through which the present can be clearly experienced. And the best way to do this is while on the move.

In my reports, I try to provide perspectives on global pop culture phenomena that do not settle for exoticism and “world music” clichés, but take seriously the mantra that music is a “universal language.” How can we, for example, talk about a united Europe when we don’t even know which songs touch the hearts of our neighboring countries?

My articles, interviews and analyses appear in magazines and newspapers such as Rolling Stone, Welt, SZ, Zeit and Fluter. When I'm not traveling, I work in Berlin as an editor for the deep journalism platform Table.Media.