Berghain: Techno with a Pinch of the Downright Ridiculous...

For many music lovers & dreamers, the dream is to get inside one of the worlds most illusive nightclubs. The infamous Berghain. What lengths would you go to in order to get a taste of the sunrise in PBar, or to be at the front of the warehouse during a 6hr Surgeon set?

Having recently spent a year in Berlin I discovered many things... club mate, the joy of records, and clubbing on a Sunday morning.

[ Record Shopping ]

So it's been a crazy busy week for me. Blogging just slipped my mind altogether. Have been working nights and doing various things in the day then of course going to work once more. I have to say though, none of it feels like a chore like it would back home. I had an interview for an internship with Ex-Berliner Magazine last week, so fingers crossed that works out. In addition to that I've made a few more cheeky purchases in OYE & Hardwax. I just can't resist!

 

Straight from 1989 is 808 State with Pacific State. God I love this tune. My Mam had this on one of her many 'Ibiza Gold/Cafe Del Mar' chillout CDs so it was a constant growing up. When I heard it playing in Hardwax a couple of weeks ago I just couldn't resist and stuck it in the pile despite it being the odd one out. Absolutely glorious.

The next purchase on the list was this lovely little number from René a.k.a. Wax a.k.a. Shed a.k.a you get the idea. Seamless techno. One of the few artists that can make even a few basic beats loop together and pull you in. I've been a fan of Shed for awhile now and it's safe to say he's not getting tossed out of the ipod anytime soon.

[[ Techno & Graffiti: Adam X - - - Three Cuts ]]

Yet another interesting feature from Resident Advisor.

This time we see Adam X talking about three of his favourite tracks and recounting some of his favourite rave day memories. Mmmmmmm techno.

'It's no mystery where Adam Mitchell's steely techno sound comes from. As a teenager, he spent his days tagging trains in New York's subway system, a dark and sprawling network of tunnels that still inspires him today. Things got heavy after a while—by the end of the '80s he was the most-wanted graffiti artist in the city—but music offered him a way out. Some 20 years later, he says without hesitation: "techno saved my life."

A lot's happened in Mitchell's life since then. Throughout the '90s he was a key figure in New York's techno scene, both for his music and his record store, Sonic Groove. In the next decade he moved to Berlin and built a cult following with a mysterious side-project, Traversable Wormhole. These days he lives a relatively quiet life on the outskirts of Berlin, producing, painting and watching the trains go by. Each of the records he picks in this Three Cuts invites us into one of these eras.' - Will Lynch, Resident Advisor.

linkage!

[[ Waze & Odyssey ]]

I think it's safe to say that almost every boiler room set out there does not fail to provide top notch choons but Waze & Odyssey just bring it to another level for me. It's 5pm and I'm dancing around my flat as if it's last Friday night at Club Der Visionaire.

If you had asked me about six months ago who this UK duo were, I couldn't have told you, but ever since I played their R Kelly remix of Bump N' Grind at a gig back in March I've been seeing nothing but mention of them all over the online dance community with remixes and originals alike.

'The UK duo of Waze & Odyssey have quickly become a reputable outfit in club music circles, responsible for a consistent run of bass-infused house rollers that have landed them spots on labels like Southern Fried, petFood, Disco Bloodbath, and more. Recently, the pair lent a blistering track to the killer More Music label compilation—the mixed version of which is available exclusively from Beatport Mixes—which came just weeks after Waze & Odyssey’s “Turn the Volume On”/”Rejected” single dropped via the London-based Body Work imprint.

Suffice it to say, the duo has been putting in work, and as their output has picked up speed, so has the demand for their DJ sets around the globe.'

 
linkage!

Need I say more?

[[ Honey, I'm Home. ]]

Teufelsberg, Berlin

First of all, I am deeply sorry for such a long absence. It took me an absolutely ridiculous amount of time to get Internet sorted in my flat here in Berlin. Thankfully it is now up and running and I can get back to doing what I love most, spamming the masses with musical goodness.

So, I've been here in Berlin for almost two months now. Shocked at how fast the time has gone. I never expected to love it here as much as I have been. I cannot describe exactly how much of a different world it is to home. Even drinking a beer on the S-Bahn home from work is OK, and yeah, I can buy that at 3.30am if I so wish! 

Even after my short time here so far I don't think I can ever see myself being a permanent resident of Ireland ever again. Though with that said, I really do miss Dublin quite a bit. The nightlife there seems to be going from strength to strength. With the announcement of Shed playing The Twisted Pepper on July 27th, I couldn't help but feel a bit sad about missing it, even though I can see him anytime he plays in Berlin? It just feels like seeing him in Dublin would have been amazing. But anyway, I'll stop being a sap now. 

[ I'll just leave this here #4 ]

Sorry for the lack of updates folks, I've just moved to the natural home of Beer & Techno, Berlin. Hopefully I'll be sorted with an apartment in the next week or so and I can resume blogging then!

To keep you occupied in the meantime, are a series of mixes by some lad called Gerald. Part one spans the late night vibe which spans into part two with the early morning vibes. Really enjoying it at the moment as the weather here is a scorching 27 degrees (Well, after an Irish winter it feels like scorching!) and it is the perfect sunny day accompaniment. If you happen to be in Berlin on this wonderful day then you can catch A Guy Called Gerald playing the Berghain tonight along with Charanjit Singh and Mobiletti Giradischi. Anyway that's all for now. Can't wait to start updating you with more photos from my first days here. Enjoy yourselves and party hard this weekend where-ever you are. :)

*AFTER THE AFTER SELECTION PT. 1*

&

*AFTER THE AFTER SELECTION PT. 2*

:)