On 27 August 2026, KEYI Magazine returns to Berghain’s Säule for its fourth curated club night, bringing together Oppenheimer MkII (live), L.F.T. (live), Samantha Togni, Bézier, and KEYI Magazine founders Berlin Bunny and Eyes Dice.
are you in town?
Formed in 2012, Oppenheimer MkII brings together London and Brighton-based singer/songwriter Andy Oppenheimer and Vienna-based electronic musician and producer Mahk Rumbae, joining synthpop with darker electronic influences.
With a history stretching back to the early 1980s and a distinctly theatrical approach to performance, the duo has continued to shape its own place within today’s underground electronic landscape.
Ahead of their appearance at Säule, we speak with Oppenheimer MkII about their story, their music, and what they have in store for the night.
Who are Oppenheimer MkII?
We are Andy Oppenheimer, singer/songwriter based in London & Brighton UK, and Mahk Rumbae, electronic musician/producer, based in Vienna, Austria.
We are a synth-pop duo with darkwave influences formed in 2012.
What connects Andy’s minimal-synth legacy with Mahk’s industrial and experimental background?
Sometimes opposites attract lol!! I hope it isn’t a legacy just yet, seeing as I’m still alive…I think… if you mean Oppenheimer Analysis, I guess that goes before me as music from the early 80s that people still want to listen to and buy…
I was very keen to work with other producers and break into new ground. Mahk was a willing victim…
I like to think my changing flow of song ideas goes well with anyone experimental. We shared a love of 60s pop and 80s synthpop and I was beginning to enjoy and consider working toward a more industrial, harder techno type sound fused with synthpop, catchy tunes… I love most types of music and will try anything.
As I started in the 80s, when synth/electro evolved to become mainstream – it’s been quite a change adapting to the present scene – what is now basically a counterculture, an underground genre. I’ve worked with the military in three countries, so I’m a bit ‘Establishment’… but a rebel, disruptor and misfit at heart. And the electro-tech element is very apt for me now
I love writing songs with a strong theme, and Mahk has been very kind and patient to indulge my beyond-reality obsessions!
What first drew first you together, and when did you realize that the collaboration had its own identity?
We were introduced by Walter from Klanggalerie label in Vienna. I visited Vienna and met Mahk who assisted me on stage at a solo gig, and we decided to join forces from there.
Yes, we had to make sure the collaboration stood out as totally separate from my previous band, Oppenheimer Analysis. It took some time, and it’s still WIP.
I’m always changing identities… it’s much harder to do that these days, people expect the same, and sometimes they think you’re still the same, even after you’ve changed many times.
As OA’s early material had been released by Minimal Wave Records (NYC) in 2005, I had to put out as much promo + info as possible on social media etc re our new project.
People are very caught up with the 80s – it’s undergoing a revival right now. And it was quite hard to get a new band to stand out – even harder now, that there’s so much going on both on socials and elsewhere.
Also, we were carving out totally new ideas as Oppenheimer MkII, and me with a totally different musician and producer – although it’s still synthpop mainly, we have our own style and everything Mahk does obviously sounds different due to the different technology and techniques we use.
Your music feels rooted in synth history while remaining urgent and contemporary. How do you balance memory with reinvention?
I realised only recently that some OA songs from 1982 have a current relevance, like… The Devil’s Dancers, ‘the future’s here, said the pioneer’… Back in those early days when synthesizers were on the up as a new music form, I was working for a futuristic magazine, Omni. So I’m always thinking about the future…
As for reinvention – I have spent my life reinventing myself, and I go from one persona to another in my songs, books, talks, etc. I pick big themes, world-changing big characters.
I think that there are some connections between the very contemporary theme on our new album Embrace the Dark – and the old stuff. Those old songs were as much about science and tech taking over the world. So fast forward to now – I’m doing a Tech-Bro Bond villain theme on Embrace the Dark… which is very contemporary, and very urgent…
When creating a track, what usually comes first: the voice, the lyrics, a machine or an atmosphere?
Mahk composes a backing track, I write lyrics and a makeshift tune to it here in UK and record a rough first take on a studio mic Mahk gave me and send it to him. Sometimes I can write a song within a day of hearing the track, often while walking on the seafront where I live.
Then Mahk works on it further in his studio, we add changes, and at some stage later I will go to Vienna and record the vocals in the studio. We will augment it here and there, until we have the finished song.
I leave the machines to my long-suffering music partners… My tech expertise is in bombs, missiles, rockets… I am not a musician but have been absorbed in all kinds of music since childhood. I rely on instinct on what sounds good and how a song is structured.
Two musicians, producers and performers—how do your different instincts challenge each other in the studio?
Basically, I’m a pain in the neck and I can’t sing very well. So my partner/producers do amazing work in the studio to make me sound half decent.
Mahk has many other projects: Codex Futura, Konstruktivists, and Mitra Mitra with Violet Candide in Vienna.
I don’t do any of the technical work, it’s all done by Mahk. I love to perform…much of what I do is theatrics, I’m a showman… I’m also Asperger’s – so I’m one helluva challenge all ways. Mahk is the technical genius. But two different temperaments can work very well as – hopefully – they complement each other.
What are you bringing to KEYI Magazine’s showcase at Säule on 27 August?
A super high-octane show. We Take No Prisoners!
Several cracking songs off our new album Embrace the Dark, just released by Wave Tension Records (Netherlands) on vinyl, Bandcamp and other digital outlets. And new versions of songs from our first album The Presence of the Abnormal – and a few surprises!
How does Säule’s intimate, industrial atmosphere influence the way you approach the performance?
I’ve never played there before, so as in past shows, we will instantly sense the atmosphere and respond to the audience as we go.
What side of Oppenheimer MkII will the audience experience that night that?
The Dark Side!
Follow Oppenheimer MkII on IG
Tickets available : click here …
Our next event : Säule, Berghain – 27.08.2026
