Preview: Anything BUT Berlin Music Week!

If you are reading this in the hopes of finding some hot tips on Berlin Music Week or BMW for short (cute acronym) then I am afraid that you have come to the wrong place. My reasons for ignoring such a huge event are practical: this blog is based on my personal experience and I could not attend half of the offical BMW parties myself, not even if I was magically bestowed with the stamina of a 20-something and an unlimited supply of drugs and cash. There are many other websites covering the festival though, if that's what you're into. On with the preview, then! Above: Stattbad Wedding by Celine Gaulke.
The event that I am looking forward to the most this weekend is the Re-opening of Stattbad Wedding. I have never been there before but its reputation precedes it. I'm eager to verify the rumours and continue exploring the fresh sights and sounds which are emerging from Wedding.


Taking place this Saturday, the party will see the dark minimal tech sounds of Berlin Mitte Institut's Fresh Meat mingling with the perkier vibes of Studio 80's Flowing, to name just two recognizable acts from the promising line-up. The rest of the DJs on the list cross an equally broad spectrum of electronic music, encompassing everything from drone to funky minimal to disco. Sounds like it will be a balanced mix of dark and light, yin and yang, earth and water... an appropriately-themed playlist for a party in a subterranean pool, in other words.
Below: Decor at Wiesenweg 5-9
All alone in the 'budget-friendly open air parties for a worthy cause' department is the Lautleise Supports Viva Con Agua Open Air party at Wiesenweg 5-9, also known as Kili Lounge. The party is a fundraiser for the charity Viva Con Agua, whose goal is "to enable people in developing countries to access clean drinking water, sanitation and hygiene facilities." So remember to put your hands in your pockets and donate even if the sign says 'free'. None of the DJs had mixes on Soundcloud so I can't give you a musical preview but, if their club credentials are anything to go by, the playlist will be high on electronic integrity... and so will you!

Below: Wuhleheide train track.

And finally, a tip for fellow east Berliners...
This Sunday afternoon, the Wagendorf Wuhleheide will be holding a legal open air party from midday onward. The location is ideal for techno heads who either have kids, or still are kids on some subconscious level (which most of us are, in my experience). The party takes place in an artsy wagon village that's smack-dab in the middle of unbroken forestland, quite a lot of which is within hearing range of the sound system, in case you feel like wandering off. For the really immature there is also a kiddy train running around the entire park and a scale model of Berlin within handy reach of the party. You may have to endure the baffled gazes of upright locals taking their Sunday walk if you decide to take advantage of those particular attractions, however.

As of writing, the weather forecast for Saturday and Sunday is to partly sunny and temperatures in the mid-twenties, hence my inclusion of two open-air parties. Fingers crossed...



Last minute addition: Heinz Minki, a well-hidden little gem in the vicinity of CDV has undergone a fabulous transmutation this summer. Its small sandy garden has more than doubled in size since I was last there, and its visual space has been expanded by dozens of red lanterns hanging from the tree branches like ripe, luminescent fruit. The place still has the same friendly service as ever though, plus a new dancefloor which has been equipped with some unavoidably loud speakers to keep the dreaming masses in its garden wakeful. The reason why I am adding this to my preview is that I have just discovered that Heinz Minki is hosting a Voltage Musique Records club night this Friday, which is worth checking out if only for the stellar setting. (For continuity's sake, I am just going to pretend that I didn't read the bit about it being a part of BMW.)

Have a good one;-)