A musical tour of Berlin: from Wagner’s epic opera to techno raves

In our new series, we explore a city through its musical landmarks and songs. First stop, Germany’s hip, historic capital, home trailblazing clubs and inspiration for Dietrich and Bowie

Music soundtracks our travels, kills time and distracts, entertainingly. In Berlin, which has more than 300 train stations and where you can see everything panoramically from the overhead S-Bahn, a well-loaded smartphone or MP3 player turns a journey into a film with a score.

I have more records related to Berlin than to any other city. I can’t help feeling the city should have a nexus or mother venue where all the currents cross – a musical equivalent of the mighty Berlin Hauptbahnhof, opened in 2006, a powerful symbol of reunification.