Last night I dropped in to Watergate. Solomun was playing the whole evening on the main-floor, and being a big fan of his productions, I was keen to hear & see him spin in front of a crowd.
Watergate gives me the impression that this is what Studio 54 must have been like... Getting in was a mission; they're not super-selective like Berghain, just super slow at processing people. Everyone around me was warming up with various forms of booze - and when the queue is that long, you can put away a fair bit before you're in-sight of the bouncers. Note to self: bring a pre-beverage for the queue next time ;) second note-to-self: find out who you have to speak to, to get yourself on the doorlist and bypass the queue... (as there's a second, shorter queue for those in-the-know... very exclusive, very Studio 54, perhaps?*)
Once you're in: Upstairs it's all very lights & disco - and it was packed. Solomun dropped hours and hours of contemporary house grooves. Lots of rubbery-Crosstown-Rebels-esque bass lines. Here's an example chosen almost randomly (by looking up Crosstown's latest releases):
cue the b'line (1:49):
Didn't love the layout of the main floor. Too much foot-traffic hustling & bustling... and there were some pushy people... Fuck-wits some would call them...(not a lot, but it only takes a few - downstairs and the crowd was much more welcoming)... I imagine it would be a much nicer experience when it's not so busy.
Sometime around 6am, the sun was up & streaming through Watergate's downstairs wall of glass (looking out to the Spree). Feeling a bit claustrophobic with the upstairs floor, it was time to wander down and catch some rays. By this point, I was considering having one last look around the place before heading-off. And then I got locked in a groove...
In terms of music, some of the best nights I've had in the past, have been under similar kind of conditions. You get to a point where you think, 'Ok, I'm outta here' (for whatever reason; another party, food/booze/sleep, other commitments) - and you tell yourself, 'a few more tracks, then I'll make a move'.... and five hours later, you're still there! Locked in a groove and loving it. Some things are worth sticking around for.
The jockee-of-discs in question was local spinner, Sven Von Thülen. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for more sets of his (edit: got in touch via facebook, and might have solved my doorlist problem - he offered to pop me on a list for his Watergate gig with Kenny Larkin - sounds like fun). From 6am-10am-ish, Sven's grooves-of-choice were a kind of uptempo (128-ishbpm), melodic, deep-house... but in a soulful kind of vibe... think: Larry Heard, Theo Parrish, Motor City Drum Ensemble... including a few of my all-time favourites:
timeless...
(if you're listening on shitty speakers, you won't hear anything above till 0:27 - but it's worth the wait)
...and the rest of his set was comprised of grooves unbeknownst to me, but sounded gooood.
In terms of gear (anyone who doesn't care about technical stuff can skip this paragraph), Sven was playing across two CDJs, a Xone 92 mixer, and one turntable (which he was looping up with a looper/FX unit - that I've forgotten the name of... They're not a new toy, but I've never seen one in action before)... as a side-note; have noticed the Xone 92 mixer seems to be the club-standard here. It's used in both Watergate booths, plus the Berghain and Panorama booths - except for on Friday, when Arto Mwambe & Roman Flügel were using this rotary-fader (?) unit that looked like an old analogue synth (maybe that's exactly what it was; a synth for Arto's live-set, but doubling as a mixer via some line-level inputs... I'm not sure, but I've definitely never seen a mixer like that in any Dj booth).
***
Having spent a lot of the weekend in densely-packed clubs, I'm looking forward to when the weather picks up and more open-air parties are being thrown... A little more space to move is always appreciated : )
(having said that, there are some really tempting gigs at Berghain/Panorama & Watergate over the next few weeks - more crammed, sweaty, body-grinding is likely... and I'm still yet to see & hear KaterHolzig and Wilde Renate first-hand...)
(* I think David Mancuso had a better idea of how to throw a party with the Loft, and its more-openly-welcoming-than-Studio-54 ideals - he really set the blue-print)
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