- The German Cultural institute in South Kensington on a cold Monday evening in November doesn't strike one as the kind of place to find a stripped back, bare-bones and off-the-hook techno party. But it's always nice to be surprised, and on this night the Goethe Institute did just that: Marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the group turned things over to a cultural ambassador from the Kreuzberg/Fredrichshain institution Berghain, Ben Klock.
We were welcomed, free of charge, to the salubrious Regency building on Museum Mile, within sight of the Science Museum, and behind Imperial College, to an evening of the best the German capital can offer. Klock's set was accompanied by an intriguing video montage by London VJs Insight, featuring images of Berlin before the Iron Curtain fell, and was set in the black-walled confines of the Institute's auditorium: an appropriately intimate and aesthetically minimal space for Klock's trademark Ostgut sounds. Mixing both educated clubbers from the (British) capital and the great and the good of London's German cultural establishment celebrating one of their nation's most significant dates, this event was unique to say the least.
Photo credit: Horst A. Friedrichs
For the 150 people present, it felt like a privilege to be marking the day that effectively began German reunification with a soundtrack of the very highest quality. Klock played one of the finest short sets I've heard from him, ranging from the deeply atmospheric "?" by Mark Pritchard, to perfectly paced tracks from Planetary Assault Systems, other inimitable releases on Ostgut and his recent album One. This three-hour, condensed set of contemporary Berlin techno had the room dancing for the duration: no let-up from the get-go (there wasn't a chance, we had to be out of there shortly after 2 AM).
Speaking with a person from East Germany on the way out, the poignancy of the evening was highlighted: Just over twenty years ago, she couldn't have been here, dancing in the capital of Western Europe, without difficulty and political risk. We might not have come so far in those years, but in Europe we can now all live, work and dance together. That, at the very least, has got to be worth going out for on a cold and damp Monday night.