Berghain Explained

Berghain
Logo Image:Berghain-Logo.svg
Location:Friedrichshain, Berlin, Germany
Coordinates:52.5111°N 13.4431°W
Type:Nightclub
Designation:Cultural institution
Seating Capacity:1,500
Address:Am Wriezener Bahnhof
Pushpin Map:Berlin

Berghain (pronounced as /de/) is a nightclub in Berlin, Germany. It is named after its location near the border between Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain in Berlin, and is a short walk from Berlin Ostbahnhof main line railway station.[1] Founded in 2004 by friends Norbert Thormann and Michael Teufele,[2] it has since become one of the world's most famous clubs and has been called the "world capital of techno."[3] [4]

History

Berghain's origins go back to the mid-1990s. Beginning in 1992, Reichsbahnbunker Friedrichstraße was used for hardcore techno parties. Thormann and Teufele hosted a male-only fetish club night called Snax. Snax Club launched in 1994 with men-only events called Pervy Party.[5] One of the locations of Snax Club was Reichsbahnbunker in Mitte. After parties in Bunker ended in 1995/1996, Snax Club found a steady location of its own, which opened in 1998 and was called Lab.oratory.[6] Thormann and Teufele were offered to rent a depot building next to the Lab.oratory.[7] This venue occupying a former railway repair depot in Friedrichshain became Ostgut.[8] Lab.oratory hosted regular gay events, but "on certain nights of the month" Ostgut and Lab.oratory were combined into one space for Snax. Unless a Snax event took place, Ostgut was open to the general public. Despite being inclusive to all genders, Ostgut remained predominantly gay. It was a unique intersection between techno music and gay sex: "The main bar was located behind the dance floor – as well as the darkrooms, more or less to the irritation of the party people from Mitte. In Mitte’s techno clubs, gay lifestyle played only a marginal role. And vice versa: Most gay clubs didn’t care much about modern club music." Two years after the Ostgut launch, the same team opened another space in the same building, this was named Panorama Bar. All three spaces together had the address Mühlenstraße 26–30.[9]

According to Deutsche Welle, Ostgut, "known for unique parties and boundless freedoms, sexual and otherwise, is considered to have paved the way for Berghain."[10] "It remains Teufele’s and Thormann’s ultimate secret how they persuaded (or seduced) the gay crowd to dance to modern club music." Ostgut closed in January 2003, with the building slated for demolition and later replaced by a large indoor arena, the O2 World Berlin.

Berghain opened in 2004 as a reincarnation of Ostgut.[11] Panorama Bar opened in October 2004, the main space Berghain in December of the same year. A new Lab.oratory opened in 2005.[12] The name "Berghain" is a portmanteau of the two city quarters that flank the south and north sides of the building, Kreuzberg (formerly in West Berlin) and Friedrichshain (formerly in East Berlin), and has been described as evocative of the club's "post-1989 identity." The literal meaning of the German word Berghain is "mountain grove."

The club is located in the former Friedrichshain Combined Heat and Power Plant built in 1953 as part of the flagship post-war Stalinallee development[13] and abandoned in the 1980s. The space was originally rented from the energy company Vattenfall[14] but has been owned outright by the club since 2011.[15] The building has a cavernous main room with 18-meter ceilings and is dominated by steel and concrete. The design of the club's interior, as well as later interior and exterior expansions of the venue, were carried out by the Berlin design firm Studio Karhard.[16]

In 2016, a German court officially designated Berghain a cultural institution, which allows the club to pay a reduced tax rate.[17]

Nightclub

The club's main room is focused on techno, with a smaller upstairs space, Panorama Bar, featuring house music.[18] An outdoor garden opens between late spring and early fall to host daytime DJ sets.[19] [20]

Berghain has a Funktion-One sound system on its main dance floor. Its first iteration, called the Dance Stack, was installed in 2005 and was one of the company's largest club installs.[21] The Dance Stack was replaced with a new, updated Funktion-One system in 2023.[22] The Panorama Bar system was upgraded in 2017 with a four-point line-array system with an additional six subwoofers from Studt Akustik.[23]

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, in March 2020, Berghain closed along with all other nightclubs in Berlin.[24] Over the summer, it hosted several sound art installations inside the building and garden.[25] In September 2020, the indoors club reopened as an art space, hosting an exhibition titled "Studio Berlin" featuring 115 Berlin-based artists including Tacita Dean, Olafur Eliasson and Wolfgang Tillmans.[26] [27] [28] After 19 months, in October 2021, Berghain resumed indoor dance club events, with patrons required to either be vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19.

Lab.oratory

The basement holds a male-only establishment called "Lab.oratory", which Rolling Stone described in 2014 as being "known as Berlin’s most extreme sex club." For Snax parties, Lab.oratory and Berghain are combined into a single venue. This is in tradition with the old Snax at Ostgut in Mühlenstraße, but takes place much less frequent.

Culture

Berghain has become associated with decadence and hedonism. It is open continuously most weekends from Saturday night through late Monday morning.[29] The club offers dark rooms dedicated to sexual activity, and media have frequently reported of guests openly indulging in sexual acts.[30] In 2019 Frieze magazine observed that while in Berghain's early years, "the main room was mostly a space for gay men, [...] now its queer palette is more mixed [but] the club’s values remain the same: concealment, queerness and excess." The twice-yearly Snax Party is reserved for gay patrons.[31]

No photos are allowed inside the club, with patrons required to cover their smartphone cameras with a sticker. The policy was maintained in 2020 when the club temporarily converted into an art space for the "Studio Berlin" exhibition during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the toilets of the club there are no mirrors, so that guests are spared the "buzzkilling indignity of seeing their own faces after an epic partying session."

A 2022 academic study described Berghain as a unique 'pharmacolibidinal constellation', where sexual orientations may become porous, and preexisting behaviors altered, owing to the environment.[32] [33]

The club's door policy is notorious for being both strict and opaque,[34] generating frequent debate and speculation.[35] [36] [37] The club's bouncers have been accused of racism.[38] Head bouncer, who is also a photographer, is a minor celebrity in the techno scene.[39]

Record label and booking agency

In 2005, Berghain's owners started a record label, Ostgut Ton, conceived by former Ostgut resident DJ Nick Höppner after Ostgut's closure in 2003. Its first releases were by Berghain/Panorama Bar DJ residents such as Marcel Dettmann, Cassy and Ben Klock. The label's music is mostly techno, tech house, Detroit techno and minimal techno.

In 2007, Berghain collaborated with the Berlin State Ballet to create Shut Up and Dance! Updated, a ballet for five dancers that was performed at the club in late June and early July that year.[40] [41] The ballet's soundtrack, released on Ostgut Ton on May 29, 2007, is made up of five specially composed tracks by prominent minimal techno artists, such as Luciano, Âme, Sleeparchive and Luke Slater (The 7th Plain).[42] The soundtrack received some positive reviews,[43] [44] [45] while the ballet was less well received.[46]

In October 2010, the label released a five-year anniversary compilation, Fünf, for which field recordings from within the club were used. Nick Höppner explained that the idea had come from his collaborator Emika on "a regular Sunday morning [at Berghain, where] she noticed how everything in the building was resonating and vibrating and swinging and humming–she realized that there were a lot of sounds coming from the building itself. That led to the idea of doing field recordings within the building while it's not open to the public."[47]

In the same 2010 interview, Höppner stated that Ostgut Ton was turning down many recordings because there are "so many in-house artists", while the label at that time was selling more product than other labels, but not generating much profit.

Ostgut Ton closed in December 2021, having been (according to Resident Advisor) "a dominant force in dance music, beloved for its mix series and dozens of EPs, albums and compilations" for 16 years.[48]

In 2021, ARTE Concerts produced a series of three videos at the Berghain and released it on YouTube.[49]

Around 2007, Berghain also launched its own booking agency Ostgut Booking, which among other artists represented Ben Klock, Steffi, and Marcel Dettmann. In October 2022, it was announced that Ostgut Booking (which at the time represented 28 acts and had eight employees) would be closing down at the end of the year.

Recognition

DJ Magazine's top 100 Clubs

Berghain first entered DJ Magazine's Top 100 Clubs list in 2008, ranking 20th, and reached the top position the next year.[50]

Position by year

YearPositionNotes
200820New Entry[51]
2009[52]
20108[53]
20116[54]
201213[55]
201318[56]
201414[57]
201513[58]
201616[59]
201712[60]
201810[61]
201910[62]
20208[63]
20216[64]
202212[65]
202316[66]
202413[67]

International Dance Music Awards

YearCategoryWorkResult
2010Best Global ClubBerghain - Berlin, Germany [68]
2012[69]
2013[70]
2014[71]
2015[72]
2016[73]
2020[74]

In popular culture

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.xlr8r.com/features/2006/10/panoramabar-berghain Panoramabar: Berlin's Underworld | XLR8R
  2. Paumgarten. Nick. Dancing Through Berlin. 2020-12-22. The New Yorker. 16 March 2014. en-us.
  3. Rogers . Thomas . 2014-02-06 . Berghain: The Secretive, Sex-Fueled World of Techno's Coolest Club . https://web.archive.org/web/20180627202723/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/berghain-the-secretive-sex-fueled-world-of-technos-coolest-club-20140206 . 2018-06-27 . live . 2022-01-02 . Rolling Stone . en-US.
  4. Web site: The Month In: Techno . 2007-05-09 . Sherburne . Philip . . 2007-07-04.
  5. Web site: Aussenstation . Flyer Snax-Club 1994 . 2024-08-19 . www.instagram.com . PERVY PARTY · Sat. 16.07.94 · Start 11 pm, End ?! am · Bunker Albrechtstr. 24/25 Berlin-Mitte [...] Rubber? Leather? You can change into whatever turns you on. SNAX CLUB is a new concept in fetish trading for pervy men..
  6. Web site: Wang . Daniel . 2004 . Ostgut, Berlin — Discopia . https://web.archive.org/web/20071224013200/www.discopia.com/portal/issues/issue4/ostgut . 2007-12-24 . dead . 2024-08-19 . Discopia . en . The Panorama Bar, which is the smaller upper portion of the legendary techno club Ostgut, has re-opened on Friday, October 15, at its new address in the Friedrichshain area of East Berlin. [...] Ostgut was the epicenter of Berlin nightlife starting late 1998 [...]. On certain nights of the month, Laboratory was the location for the famed Snax parties, with special themes for the insatiable gay appetites of Berlin.
  7. Web site: Waltz . Alexis . Nightclubbing: Berlin’s Ostgut . 2024-08-19 . daily.redbullmusicacademy.com . en . At first, nobody knew who owned Ostgut. Michael Teufele and Norbert Thormann ran the lab.oratory, a gay sex club. The idea to open a dance club came up when they were offered to rent more space. [...] The Panoramabar opened two years later. It was accessible through a huge staircase after having passing the wardrobe. [...] The Panoramabar was more digestible for partygoers who did not relate to gay partying. There were more or less as many women as men, and the range of music was wider..
  8. Book: García-Mispireta, Luis Manuel . Together, Somehow – Music, Affect, and Intimacy on the Dancefloor . 2023 . Duke University Press . 978-1-4780-2504-7 . Durham . Ostgut, Berghain's precursor, began as an itinerant gay fetish event called,Snax,‘ which eventually found a permanent home at Ostgut in 1998.
  9. Web site: 2015-03-04 . Berlin 2001, Ostgut, Musik ist unser Leben . 2024-08-19 . Open Your Code . de-DE.
  10. Web site: Wünsch. Silke. 2021-10-02. What makes Berlin's Berghain club special. live. 2021-11-02. Deutsche Welle. en-GB. https://web.archive.org/web/20211001153725/https://www.dw.com/en/what-makes-berlins-berghain-club-special/a-59365039 . 2021-10-01 .
  11. Web site: Berlin electro club Berghain turns two . . 2007-07-04 . 2006-12-16 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070705234831/http://www.theberlinpaper.com/home/42400.html . 2007-07-05 .
  12. Web site: Studio Karhard . Projects – Lab.oratory . 2024-08-19 . studio karhard . de.
  13. Web site: Cagney. Liam. 2019-12-20. Berghain at 15: What Next for Berlin's Legendary Nightclub?. 2022-01-02. Frieze. en.
  14. News: Andreas Tzortzis. 1 May 2007. In Berlin, art among the ruins. The New York Times. 9 April 2014.
  15. News: Balzer. Jens. 2012-08-15. Berghain: Dies wäre Ihr Klub gewesen. de. fr-online.de. 2016-07-09.
  16. Web site: Phayouphorn . Anna-Maria . Karhard. "Mut zur Eleganz" . Karhard. „Courage to be elegant“ . Groove Magazin . 14 February 2017 . 2 January 2022. German.
  17. News: Thaddeus-Johns. Josie. 2019-11-14. Anything Goes in Berlin's Clubs. But Are Bouncers Killing the Vibe? (Published 2019). en-US. The New York Times. 2020-12-22. 0362-4331.
  18. Web site: 2006-07-09. New Cassy mix captures Panoramabar. 2007-07-04. Resident Advisor.
  19. Web site: Linux . Linux . 30 November 2022 . Berghain: 36 Hours Inside the World's Most Exclusive Nightclub . 14 November 2023 . PAPER.
  20. Web site: Stranzl . Joseph C. . 2021-07-08 . Berlin Club Berghain Will Reopen Its Garden This Weekend . 2023-11-15 . EDM Maniac . en-US.
  21. Web site: The Story of Funktion One. Mahrt. Emin. August 2011. Proud Magazine.
  22. Web site: Funktion-One shares details of updated Berghain soundsystem . 2023-11-15 . Mixmag.
  23. August 2017. Berghain's Panorama Bar Has A New Soundsystem. Electronic Beats.
  24. Web site: 2020-03-11. Berghain cancels all club events until late April amid coronavirus concerns. 2020-12-22. DJMag.com.
  25. Web site: 2020-07-28. Berghain is hosting limited-capacity "sound exhibitions". 2020-12-22. DJMag.com.
  26. News: Bradley. Kimberly. 2020-09-04. While Berghain Is Closed, There's Art on the Dance Floor. en-US. The New York Times. 2020-11-23. 0362-4331.
  27. Web site: Barrell. Sarah. 2020-11-19. How Berlin's infamous Berghain nightclub has reimagined itself in 2020. 2020-11-23. National Geographic UK. en-gb.
  28. Web site: 2020-08-14. Berghain to open as art gallery in September. 2020-12-22. DJMag.com.
  29. News: Pidd. Helen. 9 January 2008. Last night a cellist saved my life. The Guardian. 9 April 2014. Berlin's Berghain club is known for many things: its hardcore opening hours (starting from Saturday it stays open until Monday noon), its DJs (who play some of the best techno in Europe), and its relaxed attitude towards sex in public (walk past the booths on the ground floor and you're sure to see a bare bottom or 10)..
  30. News: Battersby. Shandelle. 2006-10-19. Ich bin ein NZer. The New Zealand Herald.
  31. Web site: May 2013. Live from Berghain [Snax Party] (30-03-13)]. 9 April 2014. Dustin Zahn on SoundCloud. SoundCloud. Audio upload.
  32. Andersson . Johan . June 2022 . Berghain: Space, affect, and sexual disorientation . Environment and Planning D: Society and Space . en . 40 . 3 . 451–468 . 10.1177/02637758221096463 . 0263-7758. free .
  33. Web site: Doherty . Simon . 2022-09-29 . Can clubbing make you gay? . 2022-10-07 . The Face . en-gb.
  34. Web site: Poll Clubs 2016: Berghain / Panorama Bar. 2020-12-22. DJMag.com.
  35. Web site: 2016-05-31. This website simulates getting in (or not getting in) to Berghain. 2020-12-22. Fact Magazine. en-US.
  36. Web site: Dundon. Alice. These 11 Secret Things Will Help You Get into Berghain. 2020-12-22. Culture Trip. 7 November 2017.
  37. News: Campbell. Scott. 2016-02-05. Berghain: how to get into Berlin's most exclusive nightclub. en-GB. The Telegraph. 2020-12-22. 0307-1235.
  38. Web site: 2015-02-24. READ FELIX DA HOUSECAT'S TWITTER RANT IN FULL. 2022-02-05. DJMag.com.
  39. Web site: Helm. Burt. How the Bouncer of Berghain Chooses Who Gets Into the Most Depraved Party on the Planet. 2020-12-22. GQ. 25 July 2015. en-us.
  40. Web site: Spielplan Spielzeit 06-07 . Staatsballett Berlin . 2007-07-04 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070503001952/http://www.staatsballett-berlin.de/spielplan_kalendarium.php?id_language=2 . 2007-05-03 .
  41. Web site: Shut up and dance . . 2007-03-23 . 2007-07-04.
  42. Web site: Various Artists – Shut Up And Dance! Updated . inthemix.com.au . 2007-06-07 . 2007-07-04 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070930155004/http://www.inthemix.com.au/music/32559/Various_Artists_Shut_Up_And_Dance_Updated . 2007-09-30 .
  43. Web site: Beatz by the Pound » Various Artists - Shut up and Dance! Updated . 2007-08-18 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080104121034/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/beatz/various-artists-shut-up-and-dance-updated/ . 2008-01-04 .
  44. Web site: XLR8R . 2007-08-18 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070824234527/http://www.xlr8r.com/topstories/2007/04/ . 2007-08-24 .
  45. News: Various Artists, Shut up and Dance! . Macpherson . Alex . . 2007-05-25 . 2007-07-04 . London.
  46. Web site: Shut Up and Dance!. Resident Advisor. Resident Advisor Ltd. 9 April 2014. Janet Leyton-Grant. Enrico Nawrath. 27 June 2007.
  47. Web site: 26 August 2010. Marcel Dettmann, SCB, Tama Sumo and others all contribute tracks to the Berlin label's new compilation.. live. 2021-11-02. Resident Advisor. Resident Advisor Ltd. https://web.archive.org/web/20131004020333/http://www.residentadvisor.net/news.aspx?id=12281 . 2013-10-04 .
  48. Web site: Berghain's agency Ostgut Booking is closing · News ⟋ RA .
  49. Web site: 2021-12-16. BERGHAIN - Der Club in Berlin Portrait & History. 2021-12-16. de-DE.
  50. News: The Berlin Night Life: Dark...and Cool. 9 April 2014. Wall Street Journal. 27 June 2011. Christopher Lawton.
  51. Web site: Top 100 Clubs 2008. DJMagazine.
  52. Web site: Top 100 Clubs 2009. DJMagazine.
  53. Web site: Top 100 Clubs 2010. DJMagazine.
  54. Web site: Top 100 Clubs 2011. DJMagazine.
  55. Web site: Top 100 Clubs 2012. DJMagazine.
  56. Web site: Top 100 Clubs 2013. DJMagazine.
  57. Web site: Top 100 Clubs 2014. DJMagazine.
  58. Web site: Top 100 Clubs 2015. DJMagazine.
  59. Web site: Top 100 Clubs 2016. DJMagazine.
  60. Web site: Top 100 Clubs 2017. DJMagazine.
  61. Web site: Top 100 Clubs 2018. DJMagazine.
  62. Web site: Top 100 Clubs 2019. DJMagazine.
  63. Web site: Top 100 Clubs 2020. DJMagazine.
  64. Web site: Top 100 Clubs 2021. DJMagazine.
  65. Web site: Top 100 Clubs 2022. DJMagazine.
  66. Web site: Top 100 Clubs 2023. DJMagazine.
  67. Web site: Top 100 Clubs 2024. DJMagazine.
  68. Web site: 31st Annual International Dance Music Awards - Winter Music Conference 2018 - WMC 2018 . 2018-09-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180902012059/http://www.wintermusicconference.com/events/idmas/index.php?wmcyear=2010#idmanominees . 2018-09-02 . dead .
  69. Web site: 27th Annual International Dance Music Awards - Winter Music Conference 2012 - WMC 2012 . 2018-11-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120129012626/http://wintermusicconference.com/events/idmas/index.php?wmcyear=2012#idmanominees . 2012-01-29 . dead .
  70. Web site: 28th Annual International Dance Music Awards - Winter Music Conference 2013 - WMC 2013 . 2018-09-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130307192804/http://www.wintermusicconference.com/events/idmas/index.php?wmcyear=2013#idmanominees . 2013-03-07 . dead .
  71. Web site: 29th Annual International Dance Music Awards - Winter Music Conference 2014 - WMC 2014 . 2018-09-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140312213510/http://www.wintermusicconference.com/events/idmas/index.php?wmcyear=2014#idmanominees . 2014-03-12 . dead .
  72. Web site: 31st Annual International Dance Music Awards - Winter Music Conference 2017 - WMC 2017 . 2018-09-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170406132231/http://wintermusicconference.com/events/idmas/index.php?wmcyear=2015#idmanominees . 2017-04-06 . dead .
  73. Web site: 31st Annual International Dance Music Awards - Winter Music Conference 2016 - WMC 2016 . 2018-09-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160630054523/http://wintermusicconference.com/events/idmas/index.php?wmcyear=2016#idmanominees . 2016-06-30 . dead .
  74. Web site: IDMA 2020 winners announced: Avicii's 'Tim' named as the best album. April 2020.
  75. News: Spiegel. Der Spiegel. 24 October 2013. Wilder. Charly.
  76. Web site: Minsker . Evan . 7 December 2016 . Watch Conan O’Brien Get Turned Away From Berghain Pitchfork . live . https://archive.today/20161212180633/http://pitchfork.com/news/68087-watch-conan-obrien-get-turned-away-from-berghain/ . 12 December 2016 . 8 December 2016 . Pitchfork.
  77. Web site: Bergnein.
  78. News: BERLIN CLUBS INCLUDING BERGHAIN AND KRAFTWERK INSPIRE HITMAN 3 IN-GAME VENUE: WATCH .
  79. Web site: Allen . Billy . In Conversation: Kittin and The Hacker . In Conversation: Kittin and The Hacker . Fabric London . en . 11 May 2022 . 11 May 2022.
  80. Web site: Barker . Stephen . John Wick 4's Klaus Cameo Hides A Wild True Story . screenrant.com . . 30 March 2023 . 30 March 2023 . March 30, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230330193138/https://screenrant.com/john-wick-4-klaus-actor-cameo-true-story/ . live .
  81. Web site: Dunworth . Liberty . Legendary Berghain bouncer Sven Marquardt makes cameo in 'John Wick 4' . nme.com . . 30 March 2023 . 28 March 2023 . March 30, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230330115738/https://www.nme.com/news/film/legendary-berghain-bouncer-sven-marquardt-makes-cameo-in-john-wick-4-3421800 . live .
  82. Web site: Scharsig . Michael . Scooter feiern Berghain, Watergate und Kater Blau mit neuer Single auf Deutsch . Scooter celebrate Berghain, Watergate and Kater Blau with new single in German . Faze Magazin . de . 15 September 2023 . 2 November 2023.

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