Adam Ratner, Berlin: Global City in the Center of Europe, Summer 2013
Berlin is a city with an incredibly rich and fascinating history. In 1961, the Berlin Wall was constructed by the German Democratic Republic dividing the city in two. Many families were torn apart, and both the west and east sides suffered. The wall was not torn down until 1989, and in the time that had passed there had developed a distinct split in Berlin’s people. Berliners were no longer simply Berliners, but either “West” or “East” Berliners. The city was divided, and it is in this context that one of the world’s largest musical developments thrived.
Squatting, the practice of taking over and claiming unoccupied space that is not legally yours, was a practice common before the wall fell; “Given the shortage of official university housing, students would frequently take over abandoned flats” (Feffer). After the wall fell, squatting increased considerably as West Berliners poured into East Berlin and took over the plethora of abandoned properties. Along with squatting came a lot of clubs. A club would pop up one night in some abandoned property, and then disappear the next. Dimitiri Hegemann, founder of one of Berlin’s most pivotal night clubs Tresor, explained that, “The new authorities decided to delay confronting the administrative headache of property ownership in the former East until late 1990, letting incomers seize advantage of the sprawling, unoccupied buildings” (Theodore). There were more important issues to deal with than people occupying abandoned buildings, and starting clubs in them, with no neighbors around to be bothered by the noise.
But electronic music was not just a means of recreation, experimentation, and creativity. It helped to heal the split between Western and Eastern Berlin. Anyone was welcome to join the scene and spend some time enjoying the music. Felix Denk and Sven von Thülen interviewed many DJs for their comprehensive book on the history of techno in Berlin, Der Klang der Familie (The Sound of Family). In one of the interviews, a DJ mentions that at the first official Love Parade, “Even the police also grooved along with us…The police were pigs, an instrument of The Man, the thing you were supposed to hate. But with us there was an open invitation to party, and anyone could join…” (Turner). West Berliners and East Berliners could join together, regardless of their position in society, for a night or so of dancing and great music. And in this setting, they were able to become, once again, a united group of Berliners.
Mentioned earlier, The Love Parade is an excellent example of just how important electronic music was for Berlin. The Love Parade was one of the largest and most popular electronic dance music festivals in the world. It was founded in 1989 as a political demonstration with the motto “Friede, Freude, Eierkuchen” (meaning Peace, Joy, Pancakes). The motto was meant to advocate disarmament, music, and fair food production and distribution. With only 150 participants in the first Love Parade, the event rapidly gained popularity and eventually gained crowds of over 1 million people in later years. Unfortunately, in 2010, the overcrowding resulted in a stampede that caused the death of 21 people. The Love Parade was permanently canceled out of respect to these people, but the legacy of the parade lives on. The following video shows footage of one of the Love Parades. It is a long video, but watching just a few minutes will make it clear just how large and embraced these events were.
Now of days, the club scene in Berlin is more industrialized and international. People from all over the world come to Berlin to experience the nightlife, and Berlin is considered to have some of the best nightlife in the world. It is certainly not uncommon to go to a club and meet many people that all speak different languages and come from different parts of the world. There is still a very open atmosphere to clubbing in Berlin; everybody is welcome. There are, of course, bouncers that prevent some people from entering. But with the increase in number of people trying to club in Berlin, preventions have to be taken to prevent certain clubbers from ruining the experience for other clubbers. Dimitri Hegemann explained in an interview by Resident Advisor that “we have to take care a little bit that not too many stupid people come into the scene just drinking and getting lost” (ResidentAdvisor). The interview is part of a documentary called Real Scenes: Berlin and is a great source to hear what some of Berlin’s most important producers, DJs, and promoters have to say about the scene. It is definitely worth watching!
Now of days, one can find many different styles of music in Berlin so long as one looks around hard enough. But the main clubs often play house, electro, hip hop, trance, techno, dubstep, trap and other genres that are very popular and well known by most people. You can read more about the various clubs in Berlin and what makes each one unique and special at http://www.visitberlin.de/en/experience/going-out/music-dancing. Some examples of music you might hear at a club in Berlin can be found in this nearly 2 hour track by Tresor. If you’re short on time, I highly recommend clicking around on the track to get a good idea of the variety. Don’t just listen to the first minute or so and then leave!
Berlin wasn’t the only serious contributor to the development of electronic music. Germany itself is home to some of the most influential bands in the history of electronic music. One such band is Kraftwerk which was formed in 1970. Their music was revolutionary and was strictly electronic in terms of instrumentation, and vocals. They are arguably the most important group in history for the development of electronic music, and they influenced such musicians as David Bowie. There was even a plan for collaboration between Bowie and Kraftwerk, but it never materialized. Not all people enjoyed Kraftwerks’ music though, and one critic is renowned for his comment, “For God’s sake, keep the robots out of music” (Rogers). Even today, despite our familiarization with electronic music, it is not difficult to understand how strange and foreign Kraftwerk’s sounds were to people at the time. Just take a listen for yourself!
Another influential group is Tangerine Dream. Like Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream developed in the 1970s in West Berlin. The music they played belongs to the genre of Berlin School of Electronic Music. Most people will not recognize the name of this genre, but chances are they’ve heard music belonging to it or music influenced by it. While Kraftwerk significantly influenced the development of techno, Tangerine Dream significantly influenced the development of trance. Their music is often described as space-like or dreamy. One of their most popular albums is Stratosfear, and the song it is named after can be heard here.
There are certainly a great many more groups and genres important to the development of electronic music of which Germany is responsible for. But it would not be possible for me to cover all of them here. I truly hope that I have been able to peak your interest in electronic music and its significance for Germany (and in particular for Berlin). If you would like to listen to more music, I would highly recommend browsing www.soundcloud.com where you can find some of the newest and most innovative sounds for free.
Sources
Feffer, John. “The Squats of Berlin.” The Huffington Post 2013.
ResidentAdvisor. “Berlin.” Real Scenes2011. Print.
Rogers, Jude. “Why Kraftwerk Are Still the World’s Most Influential Band.” The Guardian 2013.
Theodore, Thomas. “Music for a Brave New World.” TimeOut Berlin 2012.
Turner, Zeke. “What Berlin Owes to Techno.” The New York Times 2012.