Hey guys,
Next week I will flying from San Diego CA to Berlin Germany. I will be staying out there for about a month and a half. I was just wondering if anyone from the area or anyone who has been there has any recommendations for getting into the music scene and meeting local djs. I don’t know much about the city, so any advice about the nightlife or music scene out there would be great. I would just like to get an idea of the “must go to” places out there as far as music and DJing is concerned.
Visit some record stores. Notable ones include Hardwax, Space Hall, Rotation, and Core Tex.
De:Bug is a Berlin-based online and print magazine which reports about non-clubbing events in Berlin. exhibitions, conventions (such as the Berlin Music Week), and such present decent opportunities to meet others involved in the scene. There are a couple of other websites and fanzines/magazines to check out. Unfortunately, those I can think of right now are all in German just like De:Bug.
final words: no worries, techno (the generic term with which germans refer to electronic music as a whole) is f**king huge in berlin. you’re bound to get to know people involved just by hanging out there.
The only people in germany referring to electronic music as a whole as “techno” are the mainstream media…
And saying that you’re bound to get to know people involved in the music business just by hanging out in Berlin is about as true as saying you were bound to get laid by a hot blond chick just by hanging out in the streets of stockholm…
That said, electronic music really is big in Berlin, i.e. if you are more into some more “underground” type of music, if you’re looking for stuff like Avicii, SHM or any other of that “EDM” stuff Berlin is not a single iota more interesting than any other city in this world.
I still like Tresor a lot. Less pretencious as Berghain, easier to get in, and always about danceable techno (Berghain tends to loose itself in weird nights with experimental stuff, in other words; empty dancefloor)
Then maybe Munich is not a part of Germany (kinda like that thought, though… ), or the Germans I talk to about music who refer to house as “house”, to trance as “trance”, and to techno as, well…, “techno” aren’t really Germans but disguised aliens who are trying to confuse me…
i would recommend katerholzig, too.
also the “club der visionäre” is a nice place to be.
if you like minimal, deep, tech stuff you will love these locations. people are great and soundsystems are fantastic.
and if you want to party with people from berlin start partying on sunday/monday, when all weekend tourists left.
there are good partys on every day in the week and some clubs are open for like 72 hours
Wow thanks guys! This is really great stuff to work with. I’m excited for the adventure.
Is club culture out there similar to vegas? What i mean is as a guy, to get in to the better clubs you gotta be with a bunch of girls or pay a hefty cover?
no, the concept of handing a bunch of $20s to a doorman or to pay for a bottle/table is pretty much unknown in berlin.
obv, coming with girls helps. for the most part, though, you can get into most places no problem. berghain may be an exception but i’m not 100% sure. i haven’t been there for a while. when i went, we mostly got in. you gotta be a little smart in picking the right time to go, that’s all.
Suicide Circus also has some legendary parties. Recommendable if you are keen on meeting people from Berlin as it usually isn’t as packed with tourists as Berghain and the likes.
Rate Tresor over Berlin any day. Just make sure you go on a Sat so the +4bar is open.
Things to check out:
Mustafa’s Kebab - outside Merringdam Station
Jewish History Museum
Museum of Musical Instruments
Weekend (club on 3 floors at the top of a city center tower block).
Club der Visionaere.
The Reichstag
Sightnicht - a restaurant where you get served and dine in pitch black by blind waiters… (book at least 3 weeks in advance though as it books up quick!)
East Side Galley, 1 mile of Berlin Wall decorated by worldwide artists - get off the U-Bahn at Warschauer Strausse for this.
Cassiopaiea, lush little club in the east.
