Stone Island's München Kollektiv is Munich's Creative A-Team

THE TWO HALVES OF THIS DYNAMIC DUO ARE LEO BAUER, INTERIOR ARCHITECT AND DJ, AND FELIX FLEMMER, GRAPHIC DESIGNER AND CO- FOUNDER OF ZIRKA IN MUNICH.

Their shared passion for music and community led them to establish Radio 80000 in 2015. The duo built the non-commercial online radio station from the ground up, with a vision of creating a platform for locals, connecting guests from around the world and fostering a community of like-minded individuals. Today, Leo and Felix lead a team of 25 people who together keep the radio running smoothly.

HOW DID YOU BOTH MEET AND HOW DID YOU BOTH GET SO INVOLVED IN THE MUSIC WORLD?

We met in high school and shared like-minded interests from the start. Music was an early impulse for this exchange. After school, we started to host our own events and got into DJing more and more. The nightlife was an important influence as well, getting to know the different clubs, genres, the people behind it, and the culture surrounding it.

WHY DID YOU FEEL THE NEED TO START RADIO 80000? DID YOU FEEL MUNICH WAS LACKING A COMMUNITY SPACE FOR EXPRESSION?

Yes, Munich is definitely lacking space for everything regarding culture and youth — and this is for sure a big part of why we started Radio 80000, the cultural space ZIRKA and all other projects we keep busy with. We try to create opportunities to express ourselves and to implement ideas of any kind, not only for us but for the people around us too. We try to connect and collaborate with different people, projects and institutions, not only in Munich but throughout Europe, to keep things interesting and to never stop learning.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE CREATIVE SCENE IN MUNICH? HOW HAS IT CHANGED OVER THE YEARS?

The creative scene in Munich is thriving, we think it always was. It lacks visibility and confidence, though. There are a lot of interesting artists, crews and collectives, so it’s just a matter of time to see them on the big stages. Also, the scene is kind of divided between venues and projects that need to work in a more profit-oriented way in order to be able to handle the extremely high operating costs. This makes it difficult to establish things long term. The ones that try to push boundaries are unfortunately mostly temporary. There is a lot of talent in this city and we would love to see it recognized. All we can do is continue to make our contribution to this process and support the next generations to do so as well.