Music Non-Stop - Berlin Style
While on our recent trip to the World Cup we spent a few days in Berlin. If the truth be told, football was the last thing on my mind as we rolled into the hauptbahnhof. Berlin is a city I've wanted to visit for many years, not only for its vaunted history and eclectic culture, but more than anything for the chance to experience the energy that emanates from the amazingly creative music and art scene in the city. Berlin to me has always been the home of techno and all things electro. From the Love Parade, to the infamous Tresor nightclub, to record labels like Shit Katapult and techno legend Ritchie Hawtin, the city has always been at the forefront of experimental and avant garde musical expression and a place where cultural life explodes incessantly.
In areas like Kreuzberg and around the Ostbanhof, the selection of clubs and venues is so prodigious you could never hope to catch everything in a month, never mind a few days. Abandoned factories, derelict war bunkers, old cellars. You name it, it's been converted into a venue. The Thursday we arrived, we were fortunate enough to catch electro/house maestros
Tiefscwarz (performing at this years Electric Picnic) play live in Club Wockenede - a decadent joint located on the top floor of 14 story office tower in the Mitte district. We stumbled out of the place in shock and awe after the brothers busted up the place for hours with a gritty and edgy electro to a backdrop of panoramic views of the Berlin nightscape.
On the Friday night we found ourselves queuing outside MARIA, a disused warehouse on the east side of the city. That night we were there for the Shit Parade (an alternative event to the recently resurrected Love Parade). When we arrived at 2am the place was already thumping to the beats of the eccentric Deadalus. The temperature inside was well above 30 by the time
T.Raumschmiere, the enigmatic founder of the Shit Katapault label, wound up what was the greatest techno set I've ever heard. Before we could even catch our breath and rinse out the soaked t-shirts Ellen Alien and Apparat were on stage for what was an accomplished if not a mind-blowing live set. As we headed home round 7am, the streets were packed as crowds headed to many of the famed after hours parties which can spring up randomly anywhere in the city.
While techno is still king, the music scene is so incredibly diverse that on any random night everything form Brazilian funk to dub, drum'n'bass to minimalist electro, to trance and punk filters from some yet-to-be-discovered venue on every street corner of the city. Even on Sunday as we strolled through a market near Boxhanger Strasse our attention was grabbed by a bunch of people on the other side of the street hanging around an alley listening to some down-tempo hip-hop being played on hastily-erected decks nearby. It’s a city were the music never stops, not even for the World Cup final.
Tiefscwharz:
T.Raumschmiere:
Ellen Alien:
Gold und Liebe
Cross town rebels
Blog:
Great Electro Blog
tags:Berlin
tags:Techno
In areas like Kreuzberg and around the Ostbanhof, the selection of clubs and venues is so prodigious you could never hope to catch everything in a month, never mind a few days. Abandoned factories, derelict war bunkers, old cellars. You name it, it's been converted into a venue. The Thursday we arrived, we were fortunate enough to catch electro/house maestros
Tiefscwarz (performing at this years Electric Picnic) play live in Club Wockenede - a decadent joint located on the top floor of 14 story office tower in the Mitte district. We stumbled out of the place in shock and awe after the brothers busted up the place for hours with a gritty and edgy electro to a backdrop of panoramic views of the Berlin nightscape.
On the Friday night we found ourselves queuing outside MARIA, a disused warehouse on the east side of the city. That night we were there for the Shit Parade (an alternative event to the recently resurrected Love Parade). When we arrived at 2am the place was already thumping to the beats of the eccentric Deadalus. The temperature inside was well above 30 by the time
T.Raumschmiere, the enigmatic founder of the Shit Katapault label, wound up what was the greatest techno set I've ever heard. Before we could even catch our breath and rinse out the soaked t-shirts Ellen Alien and Apparat were on stage for what was an accomplished if not a mind-blowing live set. As we headed home round 7am, the streets were packed as crowds headed to many of the famed after hours parties which can spring up randomly anywhere in the city.
While techno is still king, the music scene is so incredibly diverse that on any random night everything form Brazilian funk to dub, drum'n'bass to minimalist electro, to trance and punk filters from some yet-to-be-discovered venue on every street corner of the city. Even on Sunday as we strolled through a market near Boxhanger Strasse our attention was grabbed by a bunch of people on the other side of the street hanging around an alley listening to some down-tempo hip-hop being played on hastily-erected decks nearby. It’s a city were the music never stops, not even for the World Cup final.
Tiefscwharz:
T.Raumschmiere:
Ellen Alien:
Gold und Liebe
Cross town rebels
Blog:
Great Electro Blog
tags:Berlin
tags:Techno
Published by Padraig.
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