'By complete chance': How a search for an art studio turned into the Neukölln pub, gallery and performance space Das Gift

Barry Burns of the post-rock band Mogwai, and his wife, Rachel, came upon the space that would eventually become their pub, Das Gift, completely by chance. Now, seven years later, Das Gift is a Glasgow-meets-Berlin mainstay in the neighborhood of Neukölln. We spoke to Barry about the bar’s beginnings and Berlin’s influence on it and the band.

For Barry and Rachel, who moved to Berlin in 2011, Das Gift became central to putting down roots: “It was a good place to meet people…because we didn’t know that many people and the pub was a sort of meeting place for people from all over the world.”

 Produced by Dylan Peterson