- A night of techno, drum & bass and Cardi B in Berghain's ground-level dance floor.
- In 2017, Berghain opened Säule, a floor within the club that deviates from their usual programme by dedicating every Thursday evening to experimental dance music. Last Thursday's lineup offered DJ sets from three distinctive artists who are better known for their production and live performance. Inside the venue, pillars line the space to form a proscenium arch-style stage, which houses the booth and ensures the DJ is out of reach, towering above the dance floor. Throughout the evening I caught several people staring longingly through the glass barrier that separated Säule and the rest of the illuminated club, which on this particular evening was bathed in red.
When I arrived at 10:30 PM, Errorsmith was already into a set that echoed his last album on PAN, Superlative Fatigue. Repetitive gqom-style beats and indecipherable, pitched-up vocals were spliced and looped. The crowd struggled with how to move as he darted between drum & bass, footwork and Jersey club. Spotlights shone intermittently between the booth and the early arrivals that graced the nearly empty dance floor, unveiling an unlikely crowd. A couple in their 60s stood holding hands and sipping waters. Small flashes of light revealed their relatively modest attire. When a grime-style kick drum hit, they retreated to the bar.
The mood shifted entirely as Lotic took the floor, opening with the acapella from Luniz's West Coast hip-hop classic "I Got 5 On It." The crowd, unsure of what was to come, continued to sway in anticipation. By the time Cardi B's "Money" filled the room, Lotic had won them over. Tracks were quickly faded in and out, often with spots of silence in between. The lack of technical mixing was made up for by the back-to-back vocal hits. The first Rihanna track of the night, "Pose," came at 12:36 AM. A girl in the toilet stall next to me exclaimed: "This is how Berghain is supposed to be!"
Laurel Halo was left to manage the closing shift, beginning with experimental sounds reminiscent of her Behind The Green Door EP on Hyperdub in 2013. TSVI's "Pull Up" echoed the energy of Lotic's set, but soon enough Halo resorted back to the emphatic techno that can be heard in Berghain's main floor on any given Sunday. Light swept down the room across each of the concrete pillars, in time with the sweeping effect Halo was using for most of her transitions. As 3:30 AM approached, dancers began pairing off, retreating to the upstairs chill-out area or someplace more private away from the club. Those that remained shut their eyes and began to rock back and forth, basking in Halo's hypnotic early morning selections.