View source for Neuköln

{{About|the instrumental work|the neighborhood Neuköln in North Rhine-Westphalia|Oberhausen|the mine Neu-Cöln|Borbeck-Mitte|the administrative borough of Berlin|Neukölln|the borough's quarter|Neukölln (locality)|Neu-Cölln, the historical district of Berlin|Cölln}}
{{Infobox song
| name     = Neuköln
| cover    =
| alt      =
| type     = instrumental
| artist   = [[David Bowie]]
| album    = [["Heroes" (David Bowie album)|"Heroes"]]
| released = 14 October 1977
| recorded = July–August 1977
| studio   = [[Hansa Tonstudio|Hansa Studio by the Wall]], [[West Berlin]]
| genre    = [[Ambient music|Ambient]]
| length   = 4:34
| label    = [[RCA Records|RCA]]
| writer   = [[David Bowie]], [[Brian Eno]]
| producer = David Bowie, [[Tony Visconti]]
}}
"'''Neuköln'''" is an instrumental piece written by [[David Bowie]] and [[Brian Eno]] in 1977 for the album ''[["Heroes" (David Bowie album)|"Heroes"]]''. It was the last of three consecutive instrumentals on side two of the original vinyl album, following "[[Sense of Doubt]]" and "[[Moss Garden (song)|Moss Garden]]".
[[Neukölln]] (correctly spelled with a double "L") is a district of [[Berlin]]. Bowie lived in Berlin for a time in 1977, although not in Neukölln but in [[Schöneberg]].<ref name="Bowie: An Illustrated Record">[[Roy Carr]] & [[Charles Shaar Murray]] (1981). ''Bowie: An Illustrated Record'': p.92</ref> The music has been interpreted as reflecting in part the rootlessness of the [[Turks in Germany|Turkish]] immigrants who made up a large proportion of the area's population.<ref name="Strange Fascincation">David Buckley (1999). ''Strange Fascination – David Bowie: The Definitive Story'': p.325</ref> [[Edgar Froese]], founder of [[Tangerine Dream]], was also from southern Neukölln. Froese's album ''[[Epsilon in Malaysian Pale]]'', mostly played with [[Mellotron]] (just like ''Neuköln''), was according to Bowie a big influence and a "soundtrack to his life in Berlin".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/classic-tracks-david-bowie-heroes|title=CLASSIC TRACKS: David Bowie 'Heroes' {{!}}|website=www.soundonsound.com|language=en-gb|access-date=2018-09-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/bowies-berlin-the-city-that-shaped-a-1970s-masterpiece/|title=Bowie's Berlin: the city that shaped a 1970s masterpiece|work=History Extra|access-date=2018-09-24|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://groove.de/2015/01/26/zeitgeschichten-tangerine-dream/|title=ZEITGESCHICHTEN Tangerine Dream - Groove|date=2015-01-26|work=Groove|access-date=2018-09-24|language=de-DE}}</ref>
''[[NME]]'' journalists [[Roy Carr]] and [[Charles Shaar Murray]] described "Neuköln" as "a mood piece: the [[Cold War]] viewed through a bubble of blood or [[The Adventures of Harry Lime|Harry Lime]]'s last thoughts as he dies in the sewer in ''[[The Third Man]]''.<ref name="Bowie: An Illustrated Record" /> The final section features Bowie's plaintive [[saxophone]] "booming out across a harbour of solitude, as if lost in fog".<ref name="Strange Fascincation" />
The main character Christiane from the film ''[[Christiane F. – We Children from Bahnhof Zoo]]'', starring David Bowie as himself, is also from southern [[Neukölln]]. Bowie produced the ''[[Christiane F. (album)|Christiane F.]]'' soundtrack which gave the film a commercial boost.
[[Dylan Howe]] covered the piece for his album ''Subterranean – New Designs on Bowie's Berlin'' in 2014, in two parts, part one is called "Neukölln - Night" and part two "Neukölln - Day".
==Cover versions==
* [[Philip Glass]] – ''"Heroes" Symphony'' (1996)
* [[Dylan Howe]] – ''Subterranean – New Designs on Bowie's Berlin'' (2014)
* [[Shearwater (band)|Shearwater]] – as part of a live performance of the entire [[Berlin Trilogy]] for [[WNYC]] (2018)<ref>{{Cite web|last=Dorris|first=Jesse|title=A Surprising Tribute to David Bowie's Berlin Trilogy, Played in a Manhattan Mall|url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/live-review-a-surprising-tribute-to-david-bowies-berlin-trilogy-played-in-a-manhattan-mall/|access-date=2022-11-26|website=Pitchfork.com|date=23 October 2018 |language=en}}</ref>
==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
{{David Bowie singles}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neukoln}}
[[Category:David Bowie songs]]
[[Category:1977 songs]]
[[Category:Rock instrumentals]]
[[Category:Songs written by David Bowie]]
[[Category:Songs written by Brian Eno]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by David Bowie]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by Tony Visconti]]