Rapper Romano at Copyshop in Dresden
Rapper Romano at Copyshop in Dresden
Editor's Note: These two articles originally appeared in the publication of motio, the German reprographics association. They are reprinted here with permission.
Rapper's New "Copyshop" Album a Hit
The world of Berlin copy shops is something very special. The rapper Roman Geike (whose stage name is “Romano”) emerged from this environment. Two years ago he created his first songs, and now the singer has released a new album called “Copyshop.”
“Yes,” said the rapper, “I worked in the copy shop to finance my life and have something in the fridge,” he told an interviewer on the German station n-tv. “There are people who stay in the copy shop for a very long time. They sit for hours in the self-service area on the computer. That’s when you really get to know bizarre types.”
Romano described some customers with interesting orders: “There was, for example, a sweet couple. When the prints came out, they showed them both during sex. The whole thing should serve as a carton for a VHS cassette. I looked at her - and they winked at me. There were many such situations in which I thought: Wow, what's going on here?!”
Romano trained as a media designer at the company Copy Print in Berlin 2000 to 2003. Later he worked at Kopie + Druck in Berlin, and then moved to Blueprint Berlin. Overall Romano worked for about eight years in digital printing operations between 2000 and 2013, gathering strange experiences the whole time.
“Copyshop” consists of eleven tracks based on his life in copy shops, where he spent a long time standing at the laser printer. He’s taken the insights he gained there, while watching people duplicate their efforts, and cast them in youthful, entertaining music. Click here to watch the "Copyshop" video.
Rapper Starts His Tour at motio Member Copyland in Dresden
Before his tour appearance in Dresden, the Berlin rapper Romano reentered his former copy shop world. He visited the digital printing company Copyland in Dresden.
Sebastian Hauffe, branch manager of the Copyland printing center, describes the exciting encounter with the Berlin musician:
“Romano was already known to us in the company through his first album, ‘Beyond Köpenick.’ But when his second album ‘Copyshop,’ with the eponymous single came on the market, it became even more popular with us, and the song was often played in our shop. At some point I heard that Romano was going to start his copy shop tour in the Dresdner-Neustadt and had a crazy idea - why not invite him directly to the only true copy shop in Dresden for sparkling wine and cake?
“One evening, we posted an ‘Open Letter’ to him on Facebook and Instagram. Shortly thereafter, he personally called our printing center and confirmed his coming. When he finally arrived in our shop after a bit of waiting, there was no stopping him and the show started.
“His unofficial touring debut in Copyland ended with the live performance of the song Copy Shop. Romano took a good half hour for us and was incredibly personable and cordial - an unforgettable event for all of us.”