The Infamous Club Scene of Berlin in the 90s

The Infamous Club Scene of Berlin in the 90s

When it comes to the party scene I feel like I have seen quite a bit in my time here since 2000. I’ve known a time before Berghain. There were definitely more underground places, big factory raves, illegal parties in Treptower Park. Everything was a bit more secretive, word-of-mouth was the number one way to communicate places, and these were also changing locations quite a bit, always moving out of the radar of authorities. But there is one big thing that I totally missed out on: The infamous 90s. I came to Berlin in the 90s only once and I was so disoriented and had really limited ways to inform myself that I ended up in all the wrong places. It was still fun and exciting – of course a 17-year-old was easy to impress at the time. But there are some club names that keep popping up even 20 years later that I never stepped foot in and I wish I had.

This short documentary segment from the TV show arte TRACKS from 1997 gives us a little glimpse into the early days of iconic clubs like Tresor and Matrix, but also less known underground places that maybe only existed for a short amount of time – may they rest in peace in club heaven. Have a look for yourself in the video below and be inspired by Berlin’s 90s club scene.

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Stories from the Wild Years: Berlin Heartbeats

Stories from the Wild Years: Berlin Heartbeats

photo: Philipp von Recklinghausen / bobsairport

The true difference a book can make, in a time when it’s pretty much all said and done, is have a clear, authentic voice, and this is exactly what ‘Berlin Heartbeats’ has. ‘Berlin Heartbeats’ is a collection of intense photo stories and essays, of people who experienced the 90’s in Berlin and the time right after the wall fell until the early 2000s, and a new reality revealed itself to them; “old structures dissolved giving space for improvisation and experiment”. Frank, genuine perspectives and testimonies, not of a romanticized Berlin, but of a city as experienced by them, giving raw, simple, but magical accounts. You see the abandoned and run-down areas of the once divided city, you see revolts in the streets, the crazy underground art and music scene, alternative living projects, street parades and so much more.

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Jump House Berlin: Back to the Nineties

Jump House Berlin: Back to the Nineties

My professional experience in viral topics connected to Berlin would result in following list: Berghain, Berghain, Berghain, Porn, Sex, Avocado Toast and Bouncy Castles. Yes! Bouncing castles and bouncy houses are totally a thing now in Berlin. A couple of years ago a giant bouncy castle was opened in Berlin for a contemporary dance festival (one of those events that was described as super pretentious by mainstream society, but was actually super fun instead). The lines where huge and the hype legit: the bouncing castle was one of the funniest thing in my life.

Where there is a hype – there is a business man making money with it. Last Friday a place called Jump House Berlin opened its doors for the adrenaline hungry Berliners who can not wait to encourage their internal organs to switch places inside their body (who cares about natural order, it’s Berlin after all!). The promo video (with an interesting choice in music) was shared so many times in my Facebook stream that I started wondering if I should look out for new friends. The bold color choice of orange and purple reminds me of the sport center SEZ at Landsberger Allee: the biggest sport park in the history of the former GDR. Maybe it’s the nostalgia for your childhood when you were listening to Jump for Joy by 2Unlimited and literally jumped on your bed up and down, or maybe it’s the curiosity to experience something completely new: the Jump House Berlin is waiting for your in all its atrocious beauty in the “Szenekiez” Reinickendorf. More about the jump after the jump.

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Berlin in the 90s

Berlin in the 90s

photos: Michael Lange

It’s too easy to take for granted the Berlin that we all know today. Beautiful old Altbauten next to modern light apartment buildings, an abundance of cafes, restaurants and little independent shops along the big malls. A city full of life all connected with a great transportation and infrastructure system.

But over 20 years ago the streets looked very different and especially East Berlin was all but a big opportunity after the reunification. Temporary clubs and galleries spruced up in the deserted building giving new life to the waste open spaces while at the same time countless construction sites were a sign of what was to come. Berlin based photographer Michael Lange captured this truly unique time and the rapid change that was taking place all over the city in his black and white photographs. See more of his pictures after the jump.

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Post-Wall Wonderland – Berlin Mitte in 1991

Post-Wall Wonderland – Berlin Mitte in 1991

This quirky little home-made video popped up these days that shows a part of Berlin Mitte in the post-wall time of 1991. It shows some areas around Linienstraße, Tacheles, Museum Island and Oranienstraße, and more interestingly a few flats from the inside. When you look at the interior design and at some of the fashions you will realize that this could be also today… Enjoy the video by Jörg Langkau after the jump.

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Berlin Wonderland Book

Berlin Wonderland Book

photo: Hilmar Schmundt/bobsairpor

If you want to get a little bit nostalgic and remember the good old times of this beloved city than there’s nothing better than visiting a photography exhibition featuring the analog highlights of the past. Around the fall of the wall Berlin was really a mysterious wonderland for both sides of the German population. A place where you could jump naked in a pool at night, meet crocodile-transvestites on the street and bungee jump at Brandenburger Tor. Everything seemed possible with the lowest of efforts. The empty houses and bumby streets were not perceived as a depressing background but more as a diorama of multiple possibilities. Collected from several photographers the curator Anke Fesel and Chris Keller choose over 200 pictures all around the first years of the 90s. The result is a coffe table book full of good old memories.

More photos from the book Berlin Wonderland after the jump.

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How it Felt to Move to Berlin in 1992

How it Felt to Move to Berlin in 1992

Rosenthaler Platz, 1999. photo: Michael Lange

The magic about Berlin are not only the rare moments of strange intimacy with strangers or the delicate observations of your surroundings but also the turbulent past this city has gone through. The next strange magic story is somehow a biography with a magical atmosphere by the american Berlin lover Jeff Talton.

Jeff Tarlton has been a denizen of the Berlin music community since re-locating from his home town of Detroit back in 1992. He fell in initially with the Eastern European shamanic music scene. He has put his distinctive stamp either singing or playing guitar as a session musician or featured collaborator, on essential Berlin music labels such as CitySlang, Kitty-Yo and Monica Enterprises, as well as having his own compositions find their way into theatre and film. Indeed, during his more than 20 years in Berlin, Jeff has organized and/or performed at countless local events under his own name & aliases from Columbia Fritz to the most intimate off-the-grid experiments in outer suburbs. As 2013 winds down Jeff is preparing his next live presentation Treason Of The Glitch as well as composing music/sound design for a major German art film due next year. Read his story after the jump.
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Oh so Nineties

Hercules and Love Affair are going to release a new album named Blue Songs at the end of January (read the recent article here) and here is the new video My House, so new it shines. Remarkable how 90s club-fashion is here brought back to our minds. More after the jump:

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