The origins of the Berlin techno scene (documentary notes)

 The origins of the Berlin techno scene (documentary notes)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWPFrWojYQ4

• Rose in the early 90s 
• At the beginning of the 80’s in Frankfurt the origins of techno began with electronic music 
• New order, Kraftwerk and depeche mode were key influences 
• Frontpage was the in house fanzine of the techno scene and was first published in 1989
• Techno was noted as expressing the emotions at the time, the dullness of society 
• The Frankfurt Technoclub was a massive historical merit 
• Techno clubs were never considered ‘hip’; they were underground for outsiders 
• There was some overlapping in Berlin with techno and house
• Acid house began opened up the techno scene in Berlin 
• The UFO opened up outside the Berlin Wall and became an acid house club; it opened up a new kind of scene. Made by the people for the people
• These new clubs weren’t styled clubs, they took place in empty buildings and warehouses 
• Acid house evolved into a nation wide phenomenon in the late eighties 
• Acid house already had a techno ish character, coined as ‘proto-techno’ 
• Acid had this drive and message of escapism; everyone was so fixated on the music 
• Acid house quickly became ‘hip’ and popular, which distracted from its underground nature
• There began to be acid house parties in established/ mainstream clubs
• The love parade celebrated music and art, with fashion designers being asked to design for people’s outfits 
• The exciting thing about the parade was that people were aware that they were party of something that would eventually get bigger 
• At the same time, the situation in east Berlin was very different; everything was state controlled and you couldn’t publicly organise parties 
• East Berlin was way more underground, there were a lot of people coming from new wave and punk 
• The GDR was falling so people drew their energy from techno and partying 
• There are rumours that techno existed before the fall of the wall in east Berlin, but it was very small 
• People in the east listened to mixtapes 
• The image of the west for the east was glamorised and the idea of an independent dance event shocked many people 
• ‘For us they were like demigods’ 
• Cafe Kanzler was a club people came to after the fall of the wall 
• UFO club became massive after the fall of the wall, it was something so alien to people from the east 
• People in the east new about it from the radio, but had never seen any DJs mix music in person 
• ‘Everyone felt so free’ 
• House and techno was the new avant garde music, which was brought in from people from the east and the gay community 
• Cyberspace club in UFO was something completely different and monumental; sometimes there were only 3 guests 
• The techno events were the first events that brought the west and east together; event organisers were trying to get both sides together after the reunification 
• Techno was a new form of ‘dance floor socialism’ 
• The goal was to create a trance like experience 
• Tekknozoid was the first race in Germany in the early 90s 
• The term techno existed, but it widely was undefined 
• There was a kind of war over ‘who defines techno?’ 
• There was a clash between EBM and technohouse; it was a war between the old and the new, with new techno being influenced by the west such as Detroit 
• Techno often is associated with the self made and DIY fashion and art scene; organisers experimented with decor and how they could create a unique experience 
• It was all about space, and to create a space where you could test a new freedom and have new experiences of perception 
• The early 90s saw these new stylistic associations with techno, working with patterns, colours and fantasy worlds 
• It was more about total abstraction from reality, with a dark kind of atmosphere 
• People called the party the scene the ‘re-alm’ and the kingdom; it was other worldly 
• At the beginning of events, there would be ‘space research’ where the hosts would test really intense things like a full line up of basses mounted on the ceilings 
• It has something very scientific about it, with experimentation of decoration and lighting 
• The decorations reinvented the clubs, reimagining empty spaces 
• You didn’t print DJs on the flyers, there was very minimal advertising 
• The guests helped to arrange the set up of the parties 
• Back in the beginnings, you partied but not that hard, it was only later when drugs and alcohol were introduced 
• A way in which people found the parties would be to hold up a red rose in a station and somebody would direct them to the location of the party 
• Busses sometimes drove people to abandoned bunkers for parties 
• Dorian grey had a Sunday culture where people would do all nighters; this idea originated in trance, which was bigger in Frankfurt 
• The love parade had the motto of ‘my house is your house and your house is mine’ 
• It was a life task for many people