Unscene Berlin

This is Berlin Where SoHo is so over NoHo is no more The hip and happening districts here are all in the MoFNo (Middle of Fucking Nowhere). The MoFNo isn't just limited to a static piece of land, though, with boundaries as concrete as a fence. No - the epicentre of cool is defined as being any place that everyone else isn't, and has never been: it is continuously dispersing even as people flock to it, like a tail pursued by its comet. In Palma de Majorca, the locals blame Germans who flee to their beaches for spoiling their coastline, now southerners fleeing to Berlin are blamed for spoiling the city, as well. Blamed for bringing the cold iron fist of law down in their wake, condemning the residents to eternal flightiness. Both complaints are expressions of the same illness: discomfort within one's cultural skin, a skin shaped by outsiders and authorities we can't see. In the Berliners' devotion to vagueness, I see the idea of having a c...

The venue: an uncomplicated, abandoned-rail-arch-style club space with patio dance floor @ Jannowitzbrucke  The music: thumping, upbeat techno & spacey, breaky house.  The crowd: crammed but accommodating & dressed to cut loose. Mainly young and bright eyed, but mixed in with enough seasoned party faces to keep a 'college party' vibe at bay.  50/50 mix of guys and girls.  Few voyeurs. The crew: were like part of the crowd - unrepressive and enjoying the high spirits in the air The atmosphere: energetic, friendly and uninhibited, especially after the patio started to empty out around 6:00 p.m. and there was more space to move. Indoors was more club than open air, dark and striving for an industrial feel.  The time: started at 3 p.m. and it was still going strong at 10 p.m when we left. The cost: 5 Euros was a bit high for an open air party but not bad value for the size and indoor space. The sound: a bit ...

This post isn't named after a stylish techno night founded by Sven Väth; it's a description of the way I feel after spending an entire week wrapped up in bedding with reading materials pressed to my face. I feel coccooned. My wings were clipped a few days ago because I had to have a bit of surgery to repair a tear in them. It wasn't major but almost overnight, I have been transformed from a nimble social butterfly to a lumpy caterpillar, too sluggish to even hump over to the next twig and sample a new leaf. What with it being spring now, there are new leaves in abundance too, budding all over the metaphorical party tree. I'm regretting the loss of my wings... whenever I can see anything beyond the hazy hull of sleep and painkillers, that is! As the weekend approaches I feel the usual metamophosis happening. The wings might not be fluttering but the senses still are.  If excitement is blossoming on your branch of Berlin I'd like to hear about it. I wanna know what ...

English-speaking Berlin writers! Have you lived here more than a year? Do you have an serious interest in Berlin's activist, arts and music scenes? Then read on... I have been writing about subcultural events in Berlin for two years and am now about to launch a print zine which covers an expanded range of Berlin topics: activism, women's issues, tourism, the environment, expat life, independent film a nd theatre, arts, festivals, street parties, clubs, openairs, gigs, reviews... basically, anything that's shaking Berlin's subterranean communities to their foundations. You will work in collaboration with the editorial team to put the zine together and spread the word, so you should be dedicated and wiling to help with all aspects of publication. This is not going to be volunteer/internship - all contributors get a share of the revenues. Please get in touch before March 1st if interested and pass this info on to your writer friends. To apply, please send an introductory ...

In Berlin, I've noticed that there are a lot more references to 'acid' going around the club scene, lately... and we're not just talking about the lick n' stick party favours.  Acid is a key ingredient of musical chemi stry as well as body chem istry .  The word refers to the looping analogue riff generated by a Roland TB-303, and it's present in many styles of music , not just those with the word 'acid' in the name. In Berlin today, you're most likely to hear the 303 sound in techhouse or psytrance but plenty of other per mutations have danced their way out of the primordial soup of acid house , the sound that rerouted youth cultur es of the late 1980s and took them in a radical new direction .  Even Prodigy, a band that people don't usually think of when they're talking about acid, has also laid down distinctive and uncategorizable 303 tunes , like Claustrophic Sting .     Another name that is not usually linked to...

This weekend, there will be loads of unofficial and openair party activity around so why not let Club Alien be your eyes and (bunny) ears? I'll be checking out a plethora of tips that I've plucked from Berlin's online orchards up like so many Easter eggs. Since it's both complicated and unwise to post such information online ahead of time, I will not be doing my usual weekly preview. (I should have plenty of photos and stories for this blog by Tuesday though!) In the meantime, if you're after a blow-by-blow account of what parties are on or off, do check out @UnsceneBerlin on Twitter between Saturday and Monday. This free party chick will be tweeting all about all the underground sights (sites) and sounds that are keeping the Easter bunny bouncing. Happy Ostara!

I have been experiencing technical problems with my home internet for the past few weeks but promise that I do have some new entries up my sleeve. Just as soon as I get access to a good connection they will be posted, so please do check back later this week for new entries. Thank you for your patience and your interest in my blog!