Words and Interview by Glenn Elliott
For many in Berlin’s nightlife, Kyiv feels far away—a city framed often by headlines of war and destruction. But for Christoph Faust, the connection is personal.
Christoph Faust is a producer and DJ who, until recently, was based in Berlin. This interview lands as Christoph Faust drops a new release with SEVEN Berlin—the label behind Hinterhaus. “The Window Upstairs” is available now from the label.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, Faust has travelled to Kyiv more than a dozen times, building bonds with the city, its artists, and its nightlife culture, which he says is resilient even in wartime—and building its reputation on the world stage as a music destination.
What keeps him returning to the city isn’t just gigs or his role as Head of Programming at the legendary club ∄ (K41)—called the “club that does not exist” by The Guardian newspaper in the U.K.
What Christoph Faust loves most about going there is the journey itself, the people he meets en route, and the life lessons he carries back to Berlin.
“The trip is long,” he says. “But it’s a completely different experience compared to, for example, travelling to Australia or Thailand. Those trips also take a lot of time, but you arrive exhausted. That’s not the case with Kyiv.”
How do you get from Berlin to Kyiv?
Christoph Faust begins his trip the same way every time: a train from Berlin to Warsaw—the first train. Six hours pass easily in the comfort of a Polish carriage, made more pleasant by what he insists is “the best on-train bistro I’ve ever seen,” which he describes as far removed from the limp sandwiches of Deutsche Bahn.
At the Warsaw station, there are a few hours to kill in the surrounding neighbourhood—a park for a quiet stroll, a handful of restaurants, and enough calm to reset before the night train. Then comes the ride to Chełm, a small city in eastern Poland, about 25 kilometres from the border with Ukraine. And that is where the real ritual begins.
Once in Chełm, Christoph Faust heads straight for the nearby supermarket.
“The train from Chełm to Kyiv is very comfortable, but it doesn’t have much food,” he says. “They sell some snacks, coffee, and tea, but it’s better if you prepare a little something. My routine is always to go to the supermarket in Chełm, buy a salad for the evening, and maybe something to drink if I want a beer or something to have a cosy moment before falling asleep in the cabin. And for the morning, I usually have some fruit.”
You love the last train the most. Why?
Boarding the third train—the Kyiv-bound sleeper—feels like stepping back in time. The carriages are old. “The train gives you this vibe, like reading an old book—something like the Orient Express—and I like that kind of nostalgia. It’s something I connect with the feeling of Kyiv.”
There’s also the human touch: the stern, sharp presence of the attendants who stride down the train’s corridors.
Most likely, an old Ukrainian lady is your assistant. They have a powerful presence that reminds me of East Berlin. In the morning, they open your cabin door and shout: ‘Kava? Chai? — coffee or tea. It gives me a warm, nice feeling.
Border controls punctuate the night—first in Poland, then in Ukraine—with soldiers checking passports in the dark. Once that’s done, there’s only the steady rocking of the train, lulling passengers to sleep.
You wake up perfectly fine after a long sleep on the train. It rocks you to sleep, and you wake up refreshed.
For Christoph Faust and his fiancée Abida, the journey has even carried moments of romance. He remembers a New Year’s Eve spent in a private cabin as midnight struck: just the two of them, somewhere between places.
When the train finally glides into Kyiv, it’s late morning. Passengers step into the vast hall of the central station, light streaming from golden chandeliers.
What was your first visit there like?
Christoph Faust recalls his first arrival in Kyiv.
I had this picture in my mind of a city full of smoke and destruction. But then you arrive in a city where the sun is shining, and people show you how strong they are, and that they’ll never let themselves forget about their lives, despite the threat from Russia.
How much evidence do you see of the war?
Christoph Faust’s first gig in Kyiv was in June 2021, just months before the war began.
Since then, he has played there ten to twelve times during the conflict. When asked why he keeps going, he says. “It was just a feeling in my heart—‘Yeah, I want to do this.’”
I wasn’t even thinking about the dangers, to be honest. I had this intuition that nothing would happen. I trusted the city.
The first months of war brought nightlife in Kyiv to a grinding halt. Clubs closed—some, like K41, were used as bomb shelters.
With half-metre thick walls, the club—originally an industrial brewery—has survived two world wars. The sprawling interior space, renovated by Berghain architects Studio Karhard, is a brick and metal maze of dancefloors, darkrooms, and toilet cubicles, with a meaty sound system.
Eventually, Kyiv nightlife gently restarted, and Christoph Faust liked seeing it blossom, even in wartime.
Nobody wanted to be disrespectful to the war. But it was clear people wanted and needed this. It’s a beautiful moment when the community comes together and recharges their batteries for life.
Now, Kyiv is once again on the map for international DJs. Festivals are back, major names are on the lineups, and the scene carries an intensity not easily found elsewhere.
Christoph Faust met Radio Slave there, saw Paranoid London do a weekend set, and namechecks a Giegling showcase he attended in the city.
“One thing I hear the most on subsequent visits was: ‘Finally, this was a gig that was not about business, but about the music and the community.’”
That’s the Kyiv scene—it feels like real underground resistance. Everyone is united on the floor, and you really feel that in the mood of the people. No one is on their phone.
The contrast with Berlin, he says, is sharp. He likens Ukraine’s scene to an aeroplane on the runway, preparing to soar, while much of Western Europe feels stagnant.
“The Ukrainian music scene is becoming a major pillar of the global industry, driven by a wealth of talented and inspiring artists. Some are already shaping history, others are just emerging. Meanwhile, much of the Western European scene, around 85%, feels like a sinking ship.”
What lessons have you taken from visiting Kyiv?
Every trip leaves Christoph Faust with a sense of perspective. In Kyiv, life is lived with urgency and gratitude, shaped by the uncertainty of tomorrow.
“In Berlin, a lot of the time, people have nothing to fight for. Everything is taken for granted. People run into bars and clubs and say, ‘Okay, this is nice, I’m enjoying this.’ But the way they do it—telling themselves they’re enjoying it—looks so forced. In Kyiv, if you sit together with your friends, you really feel, ‘Oh my god, this is the best thing ever, to have you all here.’ Everybody is genuinely enjoying and appreciating every moment of life. It’s really inspirational.”
Returning to Berlin, he says, always feels like he’s coming with a new life lesson.
This connection runs so deeply that he is planning a permanent move to Kyiv—most likely to the Zoloti Vorota area, known as the “Golden Gate” of Kyiv.
The neighbourhood is famous for its Golden Gate, a reconstructed city gate that still draws tourists today. In the 11th century, it was where a large gate stood—the main gate in the fortifications of the city, built in imitation of the Golden Gate of ancient Constantinople. It was dismantled in the Middle Ages, leaving few vestiges of its existence, but was rebuilt in the ’80s in its current form.
What is the Christoph Faust day plan when visiting Kyiv?
Off the dance floor, Christoph Faust has favourite Kyiv haunts. He likes to stay at the Bursa Hotel in Podil, which he says is like a friend’s house.
“Everybody on the team is already a friend of mine.”
The hotel’s restaurant, Supra, is one of his regular spots. Another spot, Kanapka Bar, has become an obsession. “The duck breast with mashed carrots and cherry sauce—it’s insane. And the quality of the food there is on a completely different level. Even the vegetables taste incredible.”
He marvels at Kyiv’s affordability compared to Berlin.
“I could invite you to a nice candlelit dinner—we’d order starters, mains, dessert, three drinks each, and have a great time. For both of us, I’d pay maybe 50 euros. Here in Berlin, a dinner like that in a nice restaurant would easily cost 150 to 200 euros.”
Beyond food, the city’s geography fascinates him. Kyiv is sprawling, with 4.5 million inhabitants, and marked by dramatic shifts in landscape. “You have Eastern European flavour everywhere: brutalist buildings, and then right next to them something from the 1800s that looks like a magical castle where you’d want to drink hot chocolate in the wintertime. A Harry Potter vibe.”
When I asked him what a new visitor to Kyiv should have on their “must-see” list, he answers that for him, the city itself is the main attraction.
“The first time, you should just see the city,” he says. “Don’t focus on museums or specific sights.”
Walk around Zoloti Vorota, go to the park and take in the view over the city, down to the Dnipro River. Then watch the sunset—the whole city covered in golden-red light. It feels like a fairytale.
Let’s talk about your new EP.
I know Christoph best as a producer. His new EP, “The Window Upstairs,” released with SEVEN, is a banger that will come out in January 2026.
With this EP, Christoph Faust says he aims to “showcase the diversity of House music across four tracks.”
The tracks range from tech house to clicky minimal, mysterious deep house, and classic Chicago style. On the B-side, there’s a surprise remix by Berghain regular and Room Trax co-founder BLANKA, adding a dubby tech house twist. Inside the vinyl is a QR code linking to a bonus digital download—a remix of the same track by Lydia Eisenblätter.
Have you produced any music in Kyiv?
He hasn’t, although he thinks the spirit of the city has inspired the music he has made on his return.
“When I come back from Kyiv, from the events I’ve attended and the energy of the city, that automatically flows into my creative process.”
He’s excited about the talent already emerging locally—producers like Vitalii Shevchenko, Recid, Serge Jazzmate, and Aliana.
“They’re already making outstanding stuff,” he says. “I’m really excited for the moment when the gates open again. I think there’ll be a whole new, fresh wind blowing into Western Europe.”
He recalls his early pre-war gig at K41, alongside Oman Breaker and Aiden. Half the Berlin scene seemed to be on his flight.
“I got on the plane, looked around, and thought, ‘Wait, I know you, and you, and you.’ By the end, I realised half the plane was people I knew.”
That pull remains strong today. Once you’ve been to K41, he insists, you’ll always want to go back.
Everyone says the same thing about K41, like there’s some secret drug in the air making people addicted. Everyone wants to come back.
He adds, “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Are you excited to move to Kyiv?
More than a city of war, Christoph Faust sees Kyiv as his new home. It is a place of golden sunsets, old streets, brutalist towers, Orthodox churches, good meals, and nights where music is a form of political resistance—where joy is fragile but deeply felt.
What’s next? He’s ready to call it home.
Words and Interiew: Glenn Elliott
Images: Mara Menzel
Edits: Alexander Cheves
