Welcome back to ‘Stadium DJ Of The Week’, where in each issue we put some serious and not so serious quick-fire questions to a stadium DJ from the world of sport! This week we sat down for a chat with FC Union Berlin DJ, Sven König.
- Name: Sven König
- Occupation: Stadium DJ
- Club: 1. FC Union Berlin
- Club Website
- Arena: Stadion An der Alten Försterei
- Capacity: 22,012
The Interview
SM: When did you begin DJ’ing for FC Union Berlin?
SK: I started my career as a stadium DJ in the summer of 2005 when Union Berlin was relegated to the Oberliga, which was then the fourth division.
SM: How did you initially get into the role?
SK: After the relegation, the club was looking for a new team for stadium sound management (stadium announcer and DJ). Since they also wanted to save some money, they decided to try using fans from within the club. Fortunately, I knew the guy who later became the stadium announcer and he asked me if I wanted to complete his team as the stadium DJ. Although the experiment was abandoned after half a year and the club changed the team, the new stadium announcer (Christian Arbeit) liked my music selection and invited me to continue working as a stadium DJ with him.
SM: Can you remember your first football match/stadium experience as a kid?
SK: Of course. That was in April 1997 against Sachsen Leipzig. Union had won!
SM: In your time with Union Berlin, who’s the best player you’ve seen play live?
SK: Football is a team sport, and I’ve never really admired individual players. But Max Kruse’s shooting technique and some of his passes looked quite impressive at times. Across teams, I remember the visit of Robert Lewandowski with Bayern Munich.
SM: Who is your favourite artist/band of all time?
SK: That’s a very difficult question, as I have too many favorite artists from very different music genres. It’s always a bit dependent on my mood, and often artists or bands have changed musically over a long period of time, so that their music eventually didn’t excite me as much anymore (or vice versa, I only started to like later works). However, the punk band WIZO still draws me to their concerts even after more than 20 years as a fan.
SM: Which piece of music do you think is the ultimate track for motivating a football team?
SK: “Alles auf Rausch” (“all in for the thrill”) by Feine Sahne Fischfilet.
SM: Do you have an all-time favourite track that you play at games?
SK: Again, it’s very difficult to name just one song, especially because I’ve always tried to bring variety into the playlist. But I believe the song “Hand in Hand” by the Beatsteaks has made it into the playlist quite often.
SM: What are the main songs used week in, week out in your sets?
SK: The only songs that repeat themselves are the anthem “Eisern Union” by Nina Hagen and the very popular Union punk song “Eisernet Lied!!!” by Sporti.
SM: On a final note, are there any funny mishaps/cock-ups that have taken place that come to mind when you think about your career so far?
SK: Nothing particularly funny, and fortunately nothing has gone wrong in all these years. But at the beginning of my career, I accidentally played Weezer’s song “Buddy Holly” twice within a few minutes. Perhaps I had my after-work beer too early.
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