My Top 10 Tracks by Parov Stelar (Austria)

When it came to selecting a contemporary musician from Austria, Parov Stelar immediately sprang to mind. Dubbed the inventor of electro-swing, it’s possible he’s a bit of a ‘Marmite’ choice, and I have to be in the mood for his brand of eurotrash: it’s usually upbeat and sometimes cheesy, although there are works of pure …

Film Review: The Dreamed Ones (Austria)

I’m interested in literary biography, and that extends to lives examined through film. I thought this 2016 Austrian movie, directed by Ruth Beckermann, could be interesting, focusing as it does on the correspondence between Austrian writer Ingeborg Bachmann and the German-language poet Paul Celan. The film is a low-budget affair, in which two actors (played …