About two months ago I sold all of my belongings and bought a one way ticket to the Techno capital of the world, Berlin. You would be surprised (or maybe you wouldn’t be) the amount of times I’ve heard the following questions:
“Why did you pick Berlin?”
To which I usually say something boring like:
“I don’t really know, I just felt drawn here for some reason.”
or
“I’ve alway wanted to live in Europe and Berlin is one of the cheapest European cities, so here I am.”
If satisfied with my answer, they will then usually segue into:
“So, do you like techno?”
Wow, well that’s a loaded question. First of all, I don’t really even know what techno is. When I hear someone say “techno” I immediately hear “I’m Blue” by Eiffel 65 while images of glazed raver kids wearing pink fuzzy boots, rainbow bracelets and pacifiers dance through my head.
Depending on who asks, I usually say something like;
“Well I like to dance, so I like anything that I can dance to.”
But truthfully, I have no idea what the hell is even considered techno these days. One thing I do know, however, is that I fucking love it—whatever “it” is.
Listening to techno is like being in a virtual reality where beats are king and lyrics are irrelevant. The moment that the DJ releases the build up, you can feel a weight being lifted off the entire crowd. Imagine a room full of people communicating with their bodies only, shedding layers of insecurities and stress with every beat drop. Before you know it, you’ve been in the basement of a bar dancing for 7 hours. As you make your way home, the sun is barely breaking through the horizon. You smile and notice how much lighter you feel. Could it be that a good DJ is more effective than a therapist?
Ringo, Joris Voorn
Joris Voorn is my latest obsession. His DJ mixes are incredible (and he offers a lot of them for free on his Soundcloud page.)
Nicole Paulus, Nico New Media
Images by Phillippe Leroyer, Flickr
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