Review: Still Free and Proud 8 Years On

Truth is like love: putting a price tag on it makes it seem... cheap.

EIGHT YEARS' FREE

(Scroll to Weekend Picks for the party suggestions)

You wanna know one of the main benefits of checking out party recommendations on my blog? (Admittedly, I don't recommend parties as often as I used to, but bear with me please).  I don't get paid one red Euro-cent for the parties that I pick. That means you can rest assured that no cash incentive was involved in me recommending any of the following gigs - and that is a lot more than you can say for most electronic music blogs and websites on the Internet, these days. Some of those sites would probably say that I'm dumb for not capitalising on this space, maximising its traffic potential by renting my words out to hidden advertisers. They're wrong: I'm stubbornly idealistic.

I believe that writing about parties is an art form - an end unto itself, not just a vehicle to fuel superstar egos in their aim of reaching the stratosphere. Party writers are meant to be personalities, the outspoken voice of the Everywoman on the dancefloor who notices everything and talks to everyone, rather than just taking in the details that can earn the fastest, easiest cash for some faceless dude who pays her to stay silent about the less-than-savoury aspects of his business. To me, that dude is a cheat: he's duping people to pay entrance and then legging it with the cash before they can call him out.  Yes, plenty of people do that in business these days but then, plenty of people also run over pedestrians when they're in a hurry. 

Whenever I step into a new party, I flashback to my beginnings in a party scene that was also a community. I ask myself would I want to share a flat, a street or (worst-case scenario) a jail cell with these people? It's that perspective that is being lost, not just in techno parties but in the world. It feels like we are all being dazzled by special lights and cutting edge sound and forgetting temporarily that we all have to live here, too. 

Speaking at the audience's eye level is my small act of defiance against the crass capitalists who keep invading parties, the world over. Their system holds everyone to ransom in exchange for earning a living wage outside, in the daylight. At the very least, the hidden edges of the night should be a space that's free from all that: a place to construct dreams and visions of whatever does not exist. 

I'm happy to keep this small, hidden edge of the Internet free to preserve what remaining integrity the party scene still has, because then I can write about them with sincerity and passion. And it pays dividends to the reader, too: through this blog you would have been among the first to hear about Urban Spree, Griessmuehle, Sisyphos, Gretchen and Mensch Meier in English, as well as now-defunct legends like Naherholung Sternchen and Brunnen 70. All were just blips on Berlin's word-of-mouth radar when I first began recommending them. Clearly I have some good taste (and heaps of modesty to go with it, natch). 

Having said all that, I am still up for adventure and would happily to consider new or different events and venues. Feel free to recommend your own picks in the comment box below or by emailing me, anytime! 

WEEKEND PICKS

BEST PRE-PARTY

If you feel like duck-ing a bar before heading out on the town, try Sisyfass, a watering hole connected to the not-so-local local's club Sisyphos. DJ's will be spinning and / or pressing buttons behind the decks from 21:00 on Saturday, March 29th.

Slightly more peripheral - but edgier, as a result - is the new Disconnect record and book shop in Friedrichshain. On Friday March 29th, the shop will host a live noise & drone installation by Sinister Sveta from 6 p.m. onward. This will put you in the right headspace for browsing the selection of 'off-radar artefacts; edgy music, radical books and forbidden art' on offer.

MOST BANGING

Friday March 29th Berlin's free party fanatics Sick Crew will take over Fiese Remise on Kopernickerstrasse and serenade the tranquil waters of the Spree with the chill sounds of IDM and breakcore.

If you're looking for a party that's just plain banging, old school acid, check out Edge Detection vs. Sachsentrance at about:blank this Saturday March 30th, when Thomas P. Heckmann & Minimum Syndicat will rock the joint.

MOST P.L.U.R.

For a rave with a heart, check out the Sea Watch Projekt's soliparty at Mensch Meier on Saturday. Trust me, you'll rarely be disappointed by the venue or the people regardless of the event, but this shindig has its heart in the right place, too. 

QUEER AS F*CK

If you're deep into the queer scene check out Buttcocks vs. Gegen Residents at Schwuz which will bring the hammering industrial techno of a darkened warehouse to the, erm, dark room. I'd be lying if I said I had much interest in Schwuz's disco and pop floors but, from past experience, I know that they'll lighten your mood no matter how shadowy you feel after checking out the Gegen residents, whom I fervently recommend.

MOST UNDERRATED

Best under the radar event of the weekend will probably be  when The Dexorcist starts playing at Rituals on Sunday, at Suicide Circus.

Enjoy the weekend!