Quick access:

Go directly to content (Alt 1) Go directly to first-level navigation (Alt 2)
Claim Goethe Institut Claim Goethe Institut

Canada

Techno Land
 Glossary

Recognizing the impossibility of creating a complete overview of the movement, the entries have been limited only to those mentioned by the Techno Land interviewees, but will hopefully get the uninitiated and the too-young-to-remember up to speed on some of the time- and location- specific influences faster than you can say 'Einstürzende Neubauten'.

 

Term category From To Description
Achim Szepanski Musician/ Labelowner 1957 present German experimental musician who in 1994 formed the label Mille Plateaux, which was influential in the continued development of techno subgenres in Germany, such as minimal techno and glitch.
Acid House Genre 1985 1988 Subgenre of house music that emerged in the mid-1980s in Chicago, known largely for its distinctive use of the Roland TB-303 "squelching" sound effect. The sound would become popular in Europe and influence the development of the techno and rave scenes, which were interrelated and developing contemporarily.
Acid Techno Genre 1989 1995 Techno genre that was derived from acid house in Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s that, like acid house, used the "squelching" synthesizer sound effect of the Roland TB-303 synthesizer, but was used to create a harder techno sound.
Airave Event 1994 1996 A series of raves that took place internationally between 1994-1996 and were organized by advertising agency Megacult on behalf of the cigarette company Camel. DJed by leading figures in the international scene, and with parties taking place on the ground and in airplanes flying overhead, the project symbolized the growing popularity of the techno movement, as well as its increasing commercialization.
Atari Teenage Riot Musician 1992 present Berlin-based band formed in 1992 by Alec Empire, Hanin Elias and MC Carl Crack that fused hardcore punk with German techno. Using anarchist and anti-fascist approaches, their music represented a mode of techno music as protest that was popular Germany in particular.
Basic Channel Musician 1993   Berlin-based music project and record label founded in 1993 by Hard Wax founder Mark Ernestus and Moritz von Oswald. Inspired by dub reggae, the group's output is considered to have pioneered the subgenres of minimal and dub techno.
Berlin-Detroit axis Term     Informal alliance of techno and house musicians that became a conduit for new music and DJs into Berlin. Particularly influential in fostering these relationships was the record collector Boris Dolinski, a Berlin native who spent time in the New York dance scenes in the mid-80s and was familiar with the musical landscape and development of the genres, which had yet to arrive in Germany. On his return to Berlin, he secured exclusive releases from the young Detroit-based labels for the Hard Wax record store, supplying the DJs who visited the shop with new music for their sets. The relationships would strengthen with the opening of Dimitri Hegemann's Tresor club, which brought in Detroit techno musicians and figures such as Underground Resistance to Berlin for the first time.
Black Music Genre     Grouping of multiple genres that refers to music by Black musicians. As the term can include genres as varied as hip-hop, soul, Detroit techno, or gospel, it is not widely used. The term can also be used to describe music made by non-Black musicians using production techniques employed by Black musicians. According to Carl Craig, "Black music was not only music that was Black or just music that was from the United States. What made Black music was that other shit that was funky, too.”
Blake Baxter Musician     Detroit DJ that emerged as part of the city's first wave of techno and house musicians in the late 80s. On invitation from Hard Wax and Tresor, Blake and other Detroit musicians traveled to Berlin to play their first shows in the country, building an audience on the continent. Blake would become one of Tresor’s earliest house signings and continue to tour Europe.
Boris Dolinski Musician     Berlin-based record collector and clubgoer who, after spending several years in the New York dance scene of the mid-80s, returned to Berlin in 1990 and began working at the Hard Wax record store. His understanding of and connections to the American dance music landscape helped secure records from independent, artist-run record labels in Detroit and other US cities, cementing the "Berlin-Detroit Axis." He would eventually become resident DJ at Panorama Bar and Berghain in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Bunker Bar/Club 1992 1997 Former club in a WW2-era above-ground bunker in Berlin-Mitte. Opened in 1992, it became known as "the hardest club on earth," owing largely to Wolle XDP's Hartcore parties. The space also hosted the first Snax parties, organized by Michael Teufele and Norbert Thormann, who would later create the clubs Ostgut and Berghain. Club nights in the space ended in 1997 due to legal issues, but the space remains open today to visitors as the Boros art collection.
Cabaret Voltaire Musician 1973 1994 Sheffield-based band formed in 1973 that is considered a pioneer of industrial music. Beginning more experimentally, they grew to incorporate technology into their music in the service of more danceable music, opening up new possibilities for artists working at this intersection. The band would also begin producing acid house and techno themselves, before going on a 25-year hiatus in 1994.
Carl Craig Musician     Detroit DJ that became a central figure in the city's second generation of techno. His Planet E Communications was one of several Detroit-based labels to provide their material to Berlin's Hard Wax record store, allowing for relationships to form between DJs and promoters in the early 90s. One of the genre's most successful DJs, Craig was nominated for a Grammy in 2008, and continues to play internationally.
Chicago House Genre 1979 present Genre that developed in Chicago following the aftermath of the Disco Sucks movement, which culminated at a disco record burning event in the city in 1979. As local DJs looked for new music to fill the clubs, they took to more electronic sounds, making use of the new instruments such as the Roland TB-303. The genre was primarily developed by Black musicians in the city and would continue to grow throughout the 80s, as well as spreading to other cities such as Detroit, where it developed into different variations (ie. acid house, techno).
Chromapark Event 1994 1997 The first major exhibition of techno art, held at E-Werk in Berlin between 1994-1996. Organized by Elsa Wormack and Ralf Regitz, it contributed to the development of the techno aesthetic and the incorporation of digital artworks and technologies into Berlin techno culture.
Cyberpunk Term     Science fiction sub-genre that emerged in the 1960s and 70s and employs a juxtaposition between technological achievements and dystopian social worlds. The genre informed much of the music aesthetics of the 1980s and onwards, particularly in electronic music.
Cyberspace Club Club Night     Weekly Wednesday night event series at Ufo 2 established by Tanith in 1990. Decorations were by techno artist Elsa Wormack (aka Elsa for Toys), and helped contribute to the aesthetic of techno in Berlin.
DJ Rok Musician     AKA Jürgen Rokitta, Bavarian-born DJ who moved to Berlin in the mid-80s and became a resident at Ufo, and later Tresor. He would continue to be a fixture of the scene throughout the 90s and into the 2000s.
Dorian Gray Bar/Club 1978 2000 Studio 54-inspired discotheque that opened in the Frankfurt Airport in 1978, and one of the largest in the country, with a capacity of up to 2,500 guests. Though its more commercial backing and professional sound system by New York sound designer Richard Long were in contrast to Berlin's illegal rave culture, it became a hub for the city's emerging techno scene in the mid-80s and early 90s. The club hosted many of the top DJs of era until its closure in 2000.
Dr. Motte Musician     AKA Matthias Roeingh, musician turned house and techno DJ who organized the first Love Parade in 1989, alongside his partner Danielle de Picciotto. He would continue to oversee the parade into the coming decades as it grew in size, until it was permanently canceled in 2010.
Dschungel Bar/Club 1978 1993 Disco and club in Berlin-Schöneberg that ran from 1978-1993. Considered a counterpart to Studio 54, notable attendees included Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Romy Haag, Nick Cave, and Martin Kippenberger. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the rise of techno music, Dschungel fell out of fashion in the late 1980s as new clubs opened, leading to its eventual closure in 1993.
E-Werk Bar/Club 1993 1997 Techno club in a former electric station near Berlin's Checkpoint Charlie that became influential in the city's techno scene. Discovered by Planet crew member Andreas Rossmann, who ran it alongside Hilke Saul, Ralf Regitz and Lee Waters between 1993-1997. Its resident DJs were DJ Disko, DJ Clé, Jonzon, and Woody, among others. In 2005, it was reopened as a multi-purpose venue.
Einstürzende Neubauten Musician 1980 present Experimental music group formed in Berlin in 1980 that helped define the industrial music scene in the city, and was a major protagonist in the "Geniale Dilletanten" art and music subculture, which grew out of the punk and post-punk scene in Germany. Their Antonin Artaud-inspired performances included harsh sounds and made use of found and custom built instruments such as jackhammers, bones, or scrap metal. These artistic provocations and anti-commercial sentiment of the early and mid-80s would contribute to Berlin's status as a hub for new and experimental music, out of which the techno movement drew inspiration.
Electronic Music Genre     Umbrella term for any genre of music created using electronic musical instruments. The use of electronics in music dates back to the end of the 19th century, but mostly took the form of scientific or artistic experimentation. As developments in computer technology emerged in the 1960s, they were applied to new instruments such as synthesizers and drum machines, which would increasingly find their way into existing popular music genres and eventually give way to a wide variety of new subgenres of its own.
Fischbüro Art Space 1986 1986/1988 Dada-inspired music, performance, and gallery space opened by Dimitri Hegemann in a former shoe store in Berlin-Kreuzberg. First opened on Wrangelstraße in 1986, it moved to Köpenicker Straße in 1988, where its basement served as the location for the Ufo club. Notable guests included psychedelic drug advocate Timothy Leary and author and mystic Robert Anton Wilson.
Fischlabor Bar/Club 1988   Following the Fischbüro’s closure, Fischlabor was a bar in Berlin’s Schöneberg district that was a meeting place for Berlin’s underground art and music community. Ellen Allien, then a teenager, worked the bar and would later become a resident DJ there.
Frontpage Magazine     Publication founded in 1989 by Stefan Weil and Alex Azary as a fanzine to promote the Frankfurt-based party Technoclub. It expanded in size and influence as the techno movement grew, eventually moving to Berlin in 1992, with contributor-turned-editor Jürgen Laarmann taking on a greater role. The magazine would become a major promoter of events such as Mayday and Love Parade.
Gabber/Gabba Genre     Subgenre of hardcore techno (itself a subgenre of techno, acid house, and other influences) that arose in the Netherlands in the early 1990s. Known for its extremely fast speed of up to 190 BPM, its sound – even harder than hardcore techno – developed as an oppositional response to the more commercial leanings of the house scene in the Netherlands, particularly in Rotterdam, and incorporated elements of the Belgian New Beat genre. The style also became popular in Germany, where an even more aggressive subgenre was called Gabba with an "a" and internationally.
Grandmaster Flash Musician     Barbadian-American DJ and rapper who pioneered DJing techniques including cutting, scratching and mixing within the hip hop genre in the late 1970s and early 1980s. His techniques contributed to the use of the turntable as an instrument in and of itself, which would be adopted by the later house and techno musicians.
Hard Wax Record Store 1989 1986/present Record store opened by Mark Ernestus in 1989 on Kreuzberg’s Reichenberger Straße. One of the oldest electronic music record stores in Berlin, it became an important meeting point for DJs in the scene’s early days. As one of the only sources of house and techno record imports from Detroit, it played a pivotal role in the “Berlin-Detroit Axis”, and employed many musicians and figures in the city’s techno scene. It moved to a new location in 1996, where it continues to operate as one of Europe’s most influential vinyl retailers.
Industrial Genre 1975   Music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by English music group Throbbing Gristle. The genre took inspiration from and fused together a wide array of sources, including the avant-garde, noise, rock, punk, and German electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk and Faust. Particularly its electronic experimentations would influence the development of house and later techno in Chicago and Germany.
Johnnie Stieler Club owner     Co-founder of Tresor with Dimitri Hegemann, as well as of the Tekknozid parties. Stieler was pivotal in the development of Tresor, discovering the location with Hegemann, and renovating with club manager Regina Baer, booker Alexandra Dröner and others over the course of several months before finally opening in 1991.
Jonzon Musician     AKA Jürgen Stöckemann, Berlin musician who played in the punk scene in the early 80s, before becoming involved in the emerging acid house scene in the city, throwing some of its first parties at Turbine Rosenheim (in collaboration with Dr. Motte). He would become a resident at many locations in the early years of the movement, regularly playing at Ufo, Tresor, Planet, and E-Werk throughout the 1990s.
Juan Atkins / Derrick May / Kevin Saunderson (The Belleville Three) Musician     Detroit-based techno musicians who are considered to be the progenitors of the genre. Each musicians in their own right, the trio were known as The Belleville Three, named after the town where they lived during their high school years, just outside of Detroit. Respectively dubbed The Initiator, The Innovator, and The Elevator, they would be associated with techno's first wave in the mid-80s and find success internationally.
Kid Paul Musician     AKA Paul Schmitz-Moormann, Berlin DJ who despite being only 13 years old, became a fixture of the acid house scene from 1988, regularly playing Ufo and other parties. In 1993, he and his musical partner Cosmic Baby produced one of the trance genre's most enduring tracks, Energy 52's Café del Mar. Moormann left the DJ scene in 1995.
Kraftwerk Musician 1969 1983/present German electronic music group who were one of the first to popularize the genre in the early 1970s. The band would be a major influence on early house and techno producers in Chicago and Detroit, as well as numerous other genres of electronic music, from synth to hip hop.
Kumpelnest 3000 Bar/Club 1987 present Berlin kneipe (dive bar) opened as a “ready-made” art work by then-art students Mark Ernestus and Wolfgang Ramsbott in 1987. Still open today (under different management), the bar was a meeting spot for eclectic music and artist scenes. The success of the bar led Ernestus to open the Hard Wax record store, an important meeting point for the new techno scene in Berlin, and source of new house and techno imports in Berlin.
Love Parade Event 1989 2010 Techno parade founded in Berlin 1989 by Dr. Motte and Danielle de Picciotto as a political demonstration for "Friede, Freude, Eierkuchen" (Peace, Joy, Pancakes - ie. world peace, music, and fair food distribution). Beginning with 150 attendees in its first year, the parade grew in size and media coverage, producing powerful images that demonstrated the growth of the movement. Eventually attracting millions of international attendees, it helped establish Berlin as a hub for nightlife and techno music tourism. The parade was canceled permanently in 2010 after a crowd crush led to the death of 21 people.
Mate Galić Musician     Yugoslavian-born DJ who immigrated to Cologne and became a regular DJ in the city's techno scene, playing regularly at spaces such as Warehouse, as well running Space Club. Galić later relocated to Berlin, joining music software company Native Instruments in 1999, where he would eventually become President and oversee the development of industry standard products such as Traktor and Reaktor.
Mayday Event 1991 present Music festival founded in 1991 in Berlin by DJs Fabian Lenz (DJ Dick) and Westbam, as well as event organizer William Röttger. Supported by Frontpage magazine, it became one of the most popular electronic music festivals in the country, after the Love Parade. The festival continues to take place in several cities throughout Germany and Europe.
Mille Plateaux Label 1994 2004/present Frankfurt-based record label founded by Achim Szepanski in 1994. Created as a sub-label of the Underground Resistance-inspired Force Inc., its releases have been influential in the continued development of techno subgenres such as minimal techno and glitch.
Mystery Of Love Track 1985   1985 house music track created by Chicago-based musician Larry Heard under the alias of Mr. Fingers. Often credited as the first example of deep house (a subgenre of house music that fuses elements of Chicago house with 1980s jazz-funk and touches of soul music), the track was created almost by accident. Heard, whose background was at live music clubs and had no connection to the club scene, acknowledged in an interview “I didn’t know anything about house music, it just turned out to be a house track.”
New Romantic Term 1979 1982 Underground subculture that emerged in the late 1970s in London that fused together glam rock era fashions with 18th and 19th century Romantic period aesthetics. Known for its use of dramatic makeup and primarily all black clothing, the subculture informed the look of synthpop music of the early 1980s. The aesthetic carried over to Germany, but as it declined in the mid 1980s, would come to be replaced by the brightly coloured outfits of the early techno clubgoers.
808 State: Newbuild Album 1988   Pioneering 1988 acid house album by Manchester music group 808 State that represented a departure from the more soul-influenced Detroit and Chicago acid house sounds. The album would be an influence on artists who would go on to develop the harder sound of the acid techno subgenre.
NuGroove Label 1988 1992 Influential New York house label run by Frank and Karen Mendez between 1988-1992. Originally established to release the recordings of R&B-turned-house musicians Rheji and Ronald Burrell, the label released some of the house genre's most important pressings.
Obst und Gemüse Bar/Club 1992   Kneipe opened by Udo Rehm on Oranienburger Strasse in 1992 in the former GDR grocery chain Obst und Gemüse ("Fruit and Vegetables"). It was one of many disused spaces in the former East turned into nightlife spots following the fall of the Wall and, alongside the squatted Tacheles art space across the street, signified a location shift of the city's night life away from the former West.
Omen Bar/Club 1988 1998 Frankfurt-based club opened by Sven Väth and partners in 1988 that became a major hub for house and techno in the country, hosting international DJs as well as making Väth a star in the scene. One of the first in Germany to operate at a professional level, it stood in contrast to the more DIY, illegal party scene in Berlin. Forced to close in 1998, the final party was so large that loudspeakers were set up outside, with hundreds of clubgoers spilling onto the streets.
Oranienbar Bar/Club     Berlin-Kreuzberg bar that attracted artists and musicians in the 1980s. Along with SO36, it contributed to the district’s new status as a nightlife spot for artists, which had previously been centered in the Schöneberg and Charlottenburg districts.
Paradise Garage Bar/Club 1977 1987 New York disco that ran from 1977 to 1987. Though open only by invitation and to members, its focus on dancing rather than socializing set it apart from Studio 54 (1977-1986) and would come to influence the development of modern club spaces. Larry Levan, the club's resident DJ, was also an early experimenter with electronic music equipment in a club space, which would also be adopted in Chicago and Detroit as the house and techno movements.
Planet Bar/Club 1991 1993 Temporary club space in an abandoned factory in Berlin-Kreuzberg that ran from 1991-1993. Founded by Dr. Motte, Ralf Regitz and Andreas Rossmann, with interiors developed by artist Danielle de Picciotto. It had a somewhat more colourful environment and a more eclectic mix of music than the harder aesthetic and sound of Tresor. Its resident DJs included Dr. Motte, Jonzon, Terrible, and Woody.
Planet E Communications Label 1991   Detroit record label founded in 1991 by Carl Craig which released his own music, as well as that of other contemporary techno artists.
Post-punk Genre 1978 1984 Genre of rock music that emerged in the late 1970s following the decline of the punk movement in the UK and US. By incorporating more avant-garde techniques, experimentations with electronic instruments, and dance music, the genre would inspire the independent house and techno music scenes of the mid to late 80s.
Radio 4U Radio Station 1990 1992 Short lived youth radio station of Sender Freies Berlin that emerged from the long running show "S-F Beat." It aired Monika Dietl's weekly show "The Big Beat" between 1990-1992, and became an important source of new house and techno music, as well as hints for the locations of illegal techno parties.
Roland TB-303 Bass-Line Instrument 1981 1984 Bass synthesizer released by Japanese music instrument manufacturer Roland between 1981-1984. Initially designed to simulate bass guitars, it instead became a favourite of electronic musicians due to the "squelching" or "chirping" sounds that it produced. These sounds became a defining feature of the emerging genres of acid house, Chicago house and techno. Other instruments by the company, such as the Roland TR-808 drum machine and its successor the TR-909, would also frequently be used in the tracks produced at the time.
Second Generation Techno Genre     Second cohort of Detroit-based DJs and musicians that emerged in the early 1990s, following the success of the first wave of Detroit techno musicians such as the Belleville Three (Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May). Just as the first wave's exposure to and interaction with European audiences and DJs influenced the development of subgenres on the continent (eg. gabber, tekkno), the European influences that informed these subgenres (eg. industrial, New Beat) would then be incorporated into the Detroit music scene. Producers such as Carl Craig, Richie Hawtin, and Underground Resistance would develop a harsher sound, and come to be known as the "second generation."
Sender Freies Berlin ("Radio Free Berlin") Radio Service 1954 1990/2003 Public radio and TV service for West Berlin from 1954 until 1990, after which it served a reunified Berlin until 2003. In the late 80s and early 90s, its subsidiary stations SFB 2 and later Radio 4U would become home to the Monika Dietl-hosted programs "S-F Beat" and "The Big Beat", which were one of the few places to hear new techno tracks outside of the emerging club spaces.
Spex Magazine 1980 2018 Music and pop culture publication founded by a group of writers and editors in Cologne in 1980. The publication would grow in size and critical reputation over the 1980s and emerge as an important independent voice in German music culture, but its editorial direction was not particularly invested in the emerging techno and house music scene, allowing for other publications such as Frontpage to occupy the niche.
Sprung aus den Wolken Musician 1980   Experimental music group formed in Berlin in 1980 by Kiddy Citny and Renault Schubert that was part of the "Geniale Dilletanten" art and music subculture. Alongside other artists from the movement such as Einstürzende Neubauten and Mania D, in 1982 they performed at the first iteration of music entrepreneur Dimitri Hegemann's Atonal festival, a precursor to his other more electronic-focused projects such as Ufo and Tresor.
Stakker Humanoid Track 1988   1988 acid house track by Scottish-born musician Humanoid (aka Brian Dougans). As well as being popular in underground clubs, it reached number 17 on the UK singles charts, exposing the genre to a more mainstream audience.
Strictly Rhythm Label     Highly influential New York house music label founded in 1989 by Mark Finkelstein and Gladys Pizarro. Particularly Pizzaro's A&R tactics and a weekly artist showcase with resident DJ Louie Vega at Sound Factory Bar helped to promote the genre and foster a house scene in New York and internationally.
Tacheles Art Space     Former department store building in Berlin that sustained damage and underwent periods of disuse and deterioration during WWII and the following years. Slated for demolition following the fall of the Wall, the artist group Künstlerinitative Tacheles squatted the building in 1990, turning it into an arts space that became symbolic of the way many young artists would use run down or abandoned spaces in the former East.
Techno Genre     Genre originating in Detroit in the mid and late 1980s by artists who fused genres such as European and Japanese synthpop with African American genres of funk and house, particularly Chicago house. The term itself originated early in the 1980s in Frankfurt to refer to "techno"logically created dance music such as the industrial and EBM genres, but the genre would eventually come to refer primarily to the American iteration of the music. The genre would however be further developed in Germany in the late 1980s and onward as a set of relationships formed between the two countries (as well as the UK and Belgium, among others), spawning many subgenres.
V.A. : Techno! The New Dance Sound of Detroit Album 1988   1988 record released by Virgin Records UK imprint 10 Records and considered by some to be the first major compilation of early Detroit techno. Compiled by Detroit techno producer Derrick May and A&R scout Neil Rushton, it helped distinguish the term "techno" as the name for electronic dance music emerging out of Detroit in the 1980s, which had previously been viewed as an offshoot of Chicago house. The compilation was particularly relevant to European markets, exposing the genre to a new audience for the first time.
Technoclub Club Night 1984 2000 Frankfurt-based party founded by DJ Talla 2XLC and Matthias Haibach in 1984. Predating the development of the techno genre itself, it promoted the use of the word “techno” in the country as referring to "technological" electronic music such as synthpop and EBM. As a separate concept of the techno genre developed in Detroit and Berlin, the use of the term transformed, with fanzine Frontpage helping to mediate the genre's definition in Germany between the Frankfurt and Berlin scenes. The party would be held in various locations until eventually landing in the Dorian Gray club in 1987, where it would also become an important meeting point for the acid house and techno community. The party continued until the club's closure in 2000.
Tekknozid Event 1990 1991 Berlin rave series organized by Wolle XDP and Tanith between 1990 and 1991. The name was a portmanteau of acid and "tekkno," a term promoted by the organizers as a distinct variation of techno that leaned into more European influences such as synthpop, industrial, and electronic, and away from North American disco, house, and electro funk influences. As such, it became known for its harder style.
Throbbing Gristle Musician 1975 1981 English band formed in 1975 that grew out of experimental performance art group COUM Transmissions. Their label, Industrial Records, is credited with creating the industrial music genre, along with Cabaret Voltaire, and would be influential for its experimentations with technology in music that would further the development of electronic music genres.
Trance Genre     Genre that grew out of several electronic music styles in the early 90s, including trance, acid house and new age. The genre found particular success in Germany and tries to loosely achieve a state of hypnotism through its melodic structure. The genre grew in popularity throughout the 90s as it spawned various subgenres of its own.
Trax Records Label 1984 1991 Chicago-based record label founded by Larry Sherman in 1984, who would bring on musicians Jesse Saunders and Vince Lawrence. The label played a major part in the development of house music, releasing some of the earliest recordings in the genre, before folding in 1991. In the decades following the success of Chicago house, the artists released on the label have fought for unpaid royalties and residual payments owed to them by Sherman, who died in 2020.
Tresor Bar/Club 1991 2005 / present Berlin techno club opened in the disused vault of a former department store in early 1991 by Dimitri Hegemann and his partners, following the closure of their Ufo 2 space. Considered a prototype for today's Berlin clubs and one of the most famous of the era, alongside Hard Wax it became another nexus for the "Berlin-Detroit Axis," its industrial interiors and sounds contributing to the modern aesthetics of techno. The club existed in its Potsdamer Platz location until 2005, before re-opening as a new space in 2007, where it continues to operate today.
Turbine (Rosenheim) Bar/Club   1991 Schöneberg club in a former drug store that hosted some of the first acid house parties in Berlin. Founded by Dr. Motte, it was forced to close in 1991 before eventually finding a new location in Kreuzberg in 1994.
Ufo Bar/Club 1988 1989 / 1990 Regarded as Berlin’s first acid and techno club, Ufo was founded in 1988 by Achim Kohlberger, Dimitri Hegemann and Carola Stoiber. The club's resident DJs included Tanith, Jonzon, Rok, Dr. Motte, and Kid Paul, and is also known for having hosted the afterparty for the first Love Parade in 1989. Like many clubs of the era, it operated illegally. Entry was only possible through the basement of Fischbüro, and held only 30-50 people. Closed due to noise complaints, Ufo existed in an itinerant form before eventually settling in a new location (a former supermarket) as Ufo 2 until 1990.
Underground Resistance (Mike Banks, Robert Hood, and Jeff Mills) Musician 1989   Detroit-based radical collective founded in 1989 by DJs Jeff Mills, Robert Hood, and Mike Banks. Taking inspiration from the Black Panthers, they created the project to respond to racial and economic injustices in their city and nationally, using music as a tool for spreading their political messages. The three became key figures in Detroit's second generation of techno, and also found support in Berlin, releasing on Tresor's in-house label and strengthening the Berlin-Detroit axis.
Walfisch Bar/Club 1991 1993 Afterhour club that existed from 1991 to 1993 in a former kneipe on the upper level of Berlin-Mitte Heinrich-Heine-Straße subway station. Founded by Zappa, it became an early and important institution of the Berlin techno scene. Resident DJs included Zappa, Der Würfler, Frankie, Tanith, DJ Rok, and others. The space is now home to Kit Kat Club.
Warehouse Bar/Club 1990 1996 Cologne-based club founded in 1990 that became an outpost for the acid house and techno scene. The space hosted many international and German DJs, as well as co-promoting the second Mayday rave in 1992. After being forced to leave its original location in 1994, the club moved to a new space before eventually closing for good in 1996, though parties in various locations have been thrown in subsequent years.
Warp Label     Sheffield-based label founded in 1989 whose compilation series Artificial Intelligence (1992-94) is considered one of the earliest examples of the IDM (intelligent dance music) and ambient techno genres. Intended to be listened to at home rather than the club, the compilations fused the atmospheric sounds of ambient music with the rhythmic elements of techno. The label, now based in London, continued to be influential in electronic music over the next 30 years up until today.
Westbam Musician     AKA Maximilian Lenz, German punk musician who transitioned to DJing in the mid-80s, becoming heavily involved in the techno scene in the country. Westbam would play the first Love Parade in 1989 and every year therafter until 2008, as well as writing the Love Parade Anthems between 1997–2008. In 1991, he also co-founded the popular Mayday Festival.
Wolle XDP Musician     AKA Wolfram Neugebauer, organizer of some of the first large scale raves in Germany, such as Tekknozid. A former East Berliner, his parties made use of locations in the former GDR such as former youth clubhouse Haus der Jungen Talente, and developed an audience of former East Berliners that attracted those from the West as well.
Zappa Musician     AKA Stefan Fellenberg, an early protagonist of the Berlin techno scene who founded the afterhours club Walfisch, and was a resident DJ at influential events and clubs including Tekknozid and Tresor, where he was also the maintenance person.

Back

Top