Berlin.... A love story. Part 1...

I’ve got to start this post with a disclaimer. I love Berlin. It is well up there with my favourite places is the world… So here’s why.

I’ve been to Berlin twice now and the main reason both times was for music. Berlin is known as one of the homes of Techno, so for me and for pretty much every other DJ in the world, it is something of a mecca. I’ve played there a couple of times now and each one has been one of the highlights of my “DJ career”.

Graffiti. Everywhere. I didn't tay still too long, they might tag me.

Berlin has a history like no other city. Divided by a wall for years, the one city essentially became two. With Germany divided up after the end of the second world war two, the Western side to be ruled by the US and Great Britain, the Eastern side by Russia, after the allied forces victory. Berlin, geographically was very much in the Eastern, Soviet controlled side of the country, by some 100 miles, but as the capital of the country it was still split in 2 by the Yalta and Potsdam agreements. So, the city was one, but politically and ideologically it was 2 very different cities that felt poles apart. Separating the capitalist West from the Communist East, meant that people were split and kept on their side, with the wall beiong constructed in 1961. Travel between the two became pretty much impossible and only allowed through three designated checkpoints, pretty much exclusively for diplomates etc and only in special circumstances. This didn’t stop many from desperately trying to head from East to West and the promise of a better life. At least 171 people were killed trying to get from East to west, by any means. Under, over or around the wall, it is thought that around 5,000 managed to successfully cross by some crazy means. Through sewers, by hot air balloon and even by jumping out of windows close to the wall to land over the other side.

The wall comes down.

The wall finally came down in 1989, with the reunification of Germany made official one year later in October 1990. The coming back together of the 2 countries led to a party explosion, the city came together and celebrated, it became something of a cultural awakening and a desire to come back as one, gave birth to a club culture like no other. In the words of Dr Motte, DJ and founder of the Berlin Love Parade, the party people from both sides of the city wanted to come together and “dance for a better world”. That is an ethos I can get behind. The epicentre of this new found party place, was an area close to the wall, a no mans land between the former East and West, a political grey area with imposing, grey and dark post industrial venues like old power stations, factories and the like…. Perfect lawless venues for hosting a true underground scene. Clubs like Tresor, E-Werk and Bunker were born and destined to make Berlin the go to place to party.

Industrial scenes, inside famous club E-Werk

The history of the city is noticeable all around. The echoes of rebuilding after the war are everywhere. As so much of Berlin was left flattened, they had to to completely rebuild, using what were, at the time, modern building methods, there’s a lot of concrete, a lot of flats, couple this with a Communist Soviet union era style of building, meaning that in some areas, the vibe is distinctly eastern European. It has a certain brutalist charm to it. Kind of unashamedly grim. Even the canals are made from concrete walls, yet they are lined with lush green parks, rose gardens and weeping willows draping over the banks. It’s a strange contrast and pretty much all of the concrete is covered in graffiti, in fact not just the concrete, almost anything that isn’t moving. It’s raw and urban and I really feel it.

Classic Berlin scene.

One of my best friends lives in Berlin, my good mate Si runs the Berlin based record label Ewax. It’s a super cool underground brand, releasing deep house cuts and promoting some great parties. We go a long way back and have DJ’d together, promoted events and danced together for over 12 years now and so going over to spend time with him and DJ with him at one of his parties over there is always amazing. On the first night of my first visit we went to one of Berlins most famous nightclubs, Watergate on the Friday. I fell in love with the place, it’s on the banks of the River Spree, the water floor has floor to ceiling glass windows and overlooks the river, the upstairs is darker with a full LED roof. We both said how amazing it would be to DJ there…. More on that later.

White labels and a pint. What a way to spend a day.

The following day, Saturday was spent record shopping, wandering and taking in the vibe, drinking coffees, then stopping for a few beers and looking through our tunes. That night we were playing at a club called House of Weekend. This is a club like no other, in the middle of the business district and on the top 2 floors of an office block. Going clubbing here feels more like going to work. To get in you enter through the foyer of the building, head into the lift and up to the 15th floor. As soon as you step out of the lift, this is clearly no place for spreadsheets and a shirt and tie is not required. A banging soundsystem and people dancing. Good stuff. We played an early set and then went back on to finish the night…. I say the night, we played until 7 in the morning, dropping the last tune, a favourite classic by Laurent Garnier – The Man With The Red Face, this sounded amazing as the morning light came streaming through the windows. After this we carried the party on. We headed to Hoppetosse, near Treptower park.

Club entrances. Morning dancefloors and DJ hands.

Hoppetosse is basically an old pleasure boat that serves as a party venue. It was packed as we got there, even early on a Sunday morning. The music was great and we carried on dancing. I hit my limit by about midday and head to go and get some sleep.

Dancing on a boat.

The party boat.

I was hoping to squeeze some touristy type things in, so was promised by Si, that he’d come back soon and show me some sights, I believed him. I headed back and set my alarm to get an hours kip. I woke up, just as Si got back in, he promised again to show me the sights… He just needed an hour. I snoozed for an hour and was ready to go….. Si was clearly not…. The afterparty had done him right over ;o) So, not one to be deterred, I packed my little bag. Sunglasses, phone and a book and off I went.

Kreuzberg vibes.

We were bang in the middle of Kreuzberg which is easily may favourite area of Berlin. During the Cold war times, it was one of the poorest areas of Berlin, which meant it became home to immigrants, young people, artists, musicians, squatters and punks….. Basically all of the interesting people, this gave rise to a counterculture type feel to the area. This has continued and in it’s modern guise, It’s home to the best clubs, loads of cool bars, coffee shops and stores. I was in my element. I did my usual thing of loading up with a double espresso and then just wandering around, following my nose and seeing what I found., with no plan, just to soak up the vibe. I chanced upon a flea market, with some record stalls and vintage clothes on offer. Well happy with that. I got a few bits then found a good bar and sat in the sun with a cold beer or 2, or maybe 3 and split my time between reading and people watching.

Life juice.

After a bit it was time to head back and see what state my friend was in. There were signs of life, so after a quick freshen up we headed back out for a few beers and a bite to eat at the amazing burger joint, The Bird. This was honestly the best burger I’ve ever had. Still suffering a little from the night before this burger really hit the spot. Then it was off to bed ready for an early morning flight back home.