Happy New Year!

Midnight recording from the streets of Neukölln, Berlin, on New Years Day 2009. In Germany, this is the one day of the year when members of the general public are allowed to set off fireworks. Echoes of bombs and fusillades ring out across the city, while clouds of smoke tumble menacingly through the streets. Close by, a peaceful child sets off sparklers, and is astonished by the display. In the morning, the streets are littered with their remnants -- charred bits of paper, streaks of red ash.

Recorded with an Edirol R-09.

From a contemporaneous news report:

"Clashes in three German cities marred New Year celebrations, with police facing their toughest challenge from a crowd of mostly young revellers in the capital Berlin in the small hours of yesterday.

One small breakaway group from that crowd, which numbered 1,000 at the peak, tried to fire a skyrocket inside a police station and invade it, police spokesman Frank Millert said.

The rocket lodged in a broken window and burned itself out, but several police were injured by the flying glass. Police arrested three on arson charges.

Earlier, elements from the same crowd in the Prenzlauer Berg district had smashed the windows of a passing tram and bombarded a police patrol car with firecrackers.

The trouble abated about 3am."