STUDIO 'MAN IN A VAN' MARTEN BERGER HITS THE STREETS OF EUROPE WITH HELP FROM SHURE

German Record Producer Teams Up With Shure To Record Street Musicians  Throughout The EU

Microphone manufacturer Shure has teamed up with German record  producer Marten Berger, whose next project is to tour the countries of  Europe in a mobile recording studio, capturing performances by street  musicians "from every corner of the continent" for release on CD and as a  double vinyl album. Shure has provided microphones and headphones for  use in Marten's studio, a converted Volkswagen ice-cream van, when the  grand year-long project begins in May 2017.

Marten, who has been studying music recording and composition in the  Dutch/German border town of Enschede for the past few years, dates the  genesis of his project to an experience he had two years ago, when he  encountered a gifted street musician, Christiaan Mauer, in the Dutch  city of Groningen, and was inspired to record him. He began thinking  about all the musicians living on the streets throughout Europe, and how  he could help the world to hear some of their musical talent, or, as he  describes it, "secret beauty, hidden in the streets of our cities".

Marten hatched a plan to create a crowdfunded, portable recording  studio and travel through 30 countries in Europe, recording all the  street musicians he could find and releasing the best on an album at the  end of the project. Using affordable video and internet technology, he  is shooting footage of the performers he meets and the music they  create, and releasing it as a series of vlogs on his website and via  social media as his journey unfolds. His route will take him north to  Scandinavia in summer 2017, and then south and into Eastern Europe as  the year goes on. He plans to finish in summer 2018, depending on how  his funding lasts. "I feel like a European citizen," he comments. "I  want to bring all these cultures and countries into this tiny van."

Following five trial runs in his van to different parts of Europe to  test out his idea, Marten has raised over 7000 Euros and is ready to  begin his journey. Music and videos from the trips he has made so far,  plus full details of his itinerary, the project and how to donate to it  can be found on his crowdfunding page at https://soundslikevanspirit.eu.