Prestigious German award for tutor Chad Matheny

The German Ministry of Culture has awarded BIMM Berlin tutor Chad Matheny with a €40,000 grant for the development of his famed music venue, Donau115.

Chad, who is best known for his work as Emperor X, was presented with the award by Germany’s Secretary of State for Culture, Prof. Monika Grütters.

His venue, which is recognised across Berlin for its exciting roster of live music, was awarded the prestigious Category 1 venue of the year prize at this year’s APPLAUS event. As for the fund, Chad plans to invest it all in artist development and a new bar.

Speaking to BIMM, the former chemistry teacher turned sound engineer who has supported the likes of Thurston Moore and Sun Kil Moon, said:

“We had to hop a bus to Dresden with my colleagues to pick up the award. Crazy times!”

“It’s all going directly into the venue and the jazz community. Like all venues in Berlin, we’ve had problems with noise complaints, so we’re investing in some pretty epic sound isolation. We’re also knocking a few walls down and expanding both the stage area and the back room so that we can get a bigger crowd in the door and make the donation jar for the musicians even more stuffed than it usually is. Towards the end of the summer, we were really bursting at the seams: most concerts would have a dozen people or so crowded around the door, clawing like curious cats at the fogged-up window.”

He added that “anything left over after these infrastructure improvements is going into a fund which will be used to boost payout for the musicians. We also have some secret plans involving hoodies and schallplatte and guerrilla marketing campaigns, but it’s early days, and I don’t want to say too much too soon. 2018 is going to be exciting, no matter what happens.”

Chad, who teaches BIMM’s live sound and Personal and Business Development courses, has also revealed his plans to provide even more opportunities for our Berlin students when the club re-opens in early 2008.

In the meantime, Chad has invited all students and lecturers to join him at the nearby IPA Bar on Saturday 9 December for his Dot Product v The Beamz w/ Appleblim, YLDM, J Sander, and E.X event. Chad will be performing as Emperor X. Click here for more information.