Volkswagen Group Art4All: Ruin & Rush with Moka Efti Octet

As part of Volkswagen Group Art4All and in conjunction with the special exhibition *Ruin and Rush Berlin 1910–1930*, Neue Nationalgalerie invites you to a free concert featuring the musicians of the Moka Efti Octet, who have appeared on significant stages internationally. Perhaps most prominently, they have been featured in the international phenomenon series Babylon Berlin.Many of the Neue Nationalgalerie’s key works date from the era of the Weimar Republic and capture the unique spirit of that time. This is especially true of the paintings currently on view in the popular special exhibition Ruin & Rush. This is why we have chosen this moment to invite this unusual group to the museum.While the music of the 1920s can feel omnipresent in Berlin, very few acts manage to bring that tense and contradictory era to life in a way that feels both vibrant and relevant today. With open eyes and without false traditionalism.The Moka Efti Octet Emerging from the sonic cosmos of Moka Efti Orchestra, The Moka Efti Octet distills that band's characteristic sound into a compact and immediate form. The smaller ensemble places greater emphasis on the interplay between the individual musicians, thereby opening up new sonic possibilities. The stylistic roots remain clearly recognizable: the typical mix of swing, jazz, and chanson that defines the Moka Efti Orchestra also shapes the Octet. The result is a new perspective on the familiar style: focused, nuanced, and with undeniable intensity.