Robin Paul Braum
Our listeners probably know the music theme of the WAA Podcast by heart now. Are you wondering who is behind it? Meet Robin Paul Braum, creator of the melody and a musician based in Berlin. He is part of the renowned disks & dance duo Athlete Whippet that just released an amazing EP with toy tonics called Vesta. For the last 10 years Robin has been living in London and only recently moved back to Berlin.
Robin, what is so special about Berlin?
It’s very different. It’s definitely not as big as the huge metropoles in the world such as NY or London. Berlin is much more laid-back, there is more space to do things that don’t necessarily need to make financial sense right away. In Berlin you can feel and see that not every meter of the city needs to be optimized - and that’s the magic of the city. Very often when you go to other cities, every spare space needs to be built into a nice building. Here you can find the historical places left as they are - the Wall, huge unused areas and other marks of the past that make the city and the people who live here more real.
What’s your personal Berlin?
On the one hand, it’s the Berlin that I grew up in with lots of old friends that still live here - that’s a big part of it. However, at the moment I am also building my modern, personal Berlin, because I haven’t lived here for 9 years and since the time I moved back it’s been mostly a lockdown. So I am still discovering what modern Berlin is for me. It’s a wild mix at the moment, not only for me, but for many, and it’s shaping up as we speak.
Who is your Woman Author of Achievement?
Difficult to say for people of our age. We have to see what we achieve and what we do because all of us are at the start of the journey. We don’t really know what we will achieve, everybody is still starting to do things. Maybe as cheesy as it is, I think my mother did pretty well. When she was about my age — late twenties, she was pregnant with me and she also studied urban planning. She then realized it was not for her at all. And while being pregnant and going into her 30s she took the leap and started studying something completely else. That takes a lot of bravery and trust in yourself. Because the easiest thing is to always just settle in what you’re doing now and drop out of things. I think that's a big step, what she did.
Which is your favorite WAA Podcast episode?
The one with Anne Philippi (E.09)! I really loved it. Super interesting topic and the fact that she also took a leap in her life and started something completely new. Exploring the unknown is very intriguing.