From now on I will put at the beginning of the post one "soundtrack" song as an recommendation while you reading my posts.
Today's track: Manoo & Raoul K feat Ahmed Sosso - Toukan (Dixon Rework Dub)
BERGHAIN - a nightclub in Berlin, Germany. It can be described as "quite possibly the current world capital of the techno music" (Philip Sherburne, 2007). It is the reincarnation of the "legendary" Ostgut club (1998-2003). Berghain in literal translation means "Mountain grove" and the original name is portmantenau (mix of the words) of the names of two blocks that surround the club, the KreuzBERG in the West, and the FriedrichsHAIN in the east.
Photography is strictly forbidden inside Berghain and no mirrors or reflecting surfaces can be found in the club.
"Still the best club in the world for me because it doesn't care about being the best club in the world. The guys do what the want, the way they want and it continually works. No VIP, no mirrors in the bathroom, no expensive cocktails, just a good sound system and great crowd."
Jesse Rose - DJ Magazine's, 2011 "Top 100 Clubs"
The fascinating thing about this club, besides big dance floor for 1500 lucky people and almost perfect sound system, is that you cannot enter the club if you... if... ... if ... I don't know what "if"! :)
Sometimes you can wait in the queue for three or four hours and be rejected at the entrance with no specific reason provided, no explanation, just "because". The club has really strict door policy, and no one knows what is the criteria of letting people in or rejecting at the entrance. Even Berghain's major security guard (boucer) Sven Marquardt is famous because of that mysterious door policy, and of course of club's rating. In GQ's interview with Sven, on the question how to enter Berghain, he answered:
So what do you tell your guys working the door to look for in the line when they decide who comes in?
"It’s subjective. Only a few of my guys are allowed to select guests at the door. They have to understand what Berghain is all about first, and I try to give them that foundation. Beyond that, there are no set rules. My people all have their own personalities, and you can see their sensibilities reflected in the crowd over the course of their shifts. You always want friction, though. That’s the theme in any good club: diversity, friction."
Go early. Don’t try to cut the line. Know who’s DJ-ing that night. Dress casually—jeans and a T-shirt is best. Don’t go in a big group. Don’t be too young. Don’t joke or laugh in line. Don’t speak in the line. Or if you must, speak German.
[Laughs, shrugs] "We’ve heard all those things, too. But like I said, it’s subjective."
If you want to read whole interview with Sven, you can find it here: How the Bouncer of Berghain Chooses Who Gets Into the Most Depraved Party on the Planet
"Berghain’s head doorman is a man who looks like a post-apocalyptic bearded version of Wagner, the Brazilian X Factor contestant who destroyed multiple hit songs in 2010. But rather than destroying music, Sven destroys clubbers’ dreams of getting in, with highly selective decisions on who makes the grade." - Telegraph.co.uk
There are enormous web sites, forum posts and tutorials about how to enter Berghain, and neither one will give you 100% certainty that you will get in. "You need to look more gay", "just act casual", "don't be too drunk"... it's not an entry ticket. At the tripadvisor.com many people, who were bounced off at the entrance, are raging on the club and put low ratings saying that this club /door policy is racist, sexist, xenophobic, discriminatory, but Berghain, even with that many bad reviews, still has quite high rating (4/5 stars or circles), that means a lot. Sometimes even if you are on the list you will be rejected.
Even Conan O'Brien, Britney Spears and Felix Da Housecat were rejected to enter the Berghain.
"the last time I went to berghain, I didn't get in, even though I was on the list. guess that's kind of a sign"
— Zama (@ ClaudeSpeeed) 1 March 2017 Tweet.
"In the past, I’d only felt nervous outside a nightclub if I was relying on a fake ID or wearing the wrong kind of shoes. But at Berghain, the hopeful can queue for up to three hours and still be turned away from what is likely Europe's most hallowed dancefloor, thanks to a notoriously strict door policy."
Here are some, in the same time funny and sad, tweets and posts about (not) entering in Berghain:
Just got refused entry to Berghain, am I cool now
— Jake Page (@ jakeypage) 26/02/2017 Tweet
Finally I was at the front and stepped into the spotlight of what felt like a perverse border control checkpoint, staffed by five large German men in matching black jackets.
Looking along the line I saw Sven. He is a rather short man, heavily pierced and with a tattoo of brambles and moths etched into his face, and was wearing a thick coat. Not even “Europe’s hardest bouncer” could bear the freezing winter temperatures. A question was barked at me in German. As I explained that I couldn’t understand another guard helpfully translated: “Sorry, you’re not getting in.” Why, I asked? “Because we decided”. It was hard to argue with logic like that.
— Scott Campbell (for the telegraph.co.uk)
The four hours and shot down Berghain queue experience
— Oobah Butler (@ Oobahs) 15/08/2016 Tweet
And the mystery of how to get in the Berghain lives on
— Alicia Abbott (@ Alicia_Abbott) 15/01/2017 Tweet
Here are some advice from John O'Ceallaigh - a guy who was in Berghain in numerous occasions:
Speak German
Convince the bouncers you’re there to see a specific DJ rather than to gawk at clubbers – knowing your Ben Klocks from your Marcel Dettmanns helps
Don’t dress as though you’re on a night out in London's West End – Berlin is a casual city and the only people you’ll see in Berghain in heels and fake nails are transvestites
I've never been there in Berghain, but I want to, and I will go one day and try to enter the club. Who knows what will happen, maybe I'll just be one of the many rejected people, but one thing I'm sure - I will not rage on the internet about it. I will respect their decision. In the other case you will read a post called: "How I succeed enter to Berghain and how was the party?" :)
Till then... you can read article 28 TIPS ON HOW TO GET PAST THE BOUNCERS AT BERGHAIN.
Take care and kind regards!
GG