Berlin Techno

The signature sounds of the German capital reflect a cultural melting pot with strong ties to Detroit

Some music scenes are defined by artists, some by labels, some by specific sounds or tracks. Berlin is different. Yes, you can pick out key contributors to all of those categories, but it’s somehow not enough to explain the broader creativity of the German capital. Perhaps the best way to trace the evolution of techno in Berlin is instead with the names of the city’s legendary clubs: Tresor. Bunker. Elektro. E-Werk. Ostgut. Berghain...

Berlin latched onto techno in the early days of the genre, and has remained loyal ever since. As with so many musical scenes, it’s impossible to tell the story without explaining the cultural context. It’s a hell of an understatement to say that Berlin in the late ’80s was a city undergoing a transformation, but in this case the shifting social context coincided with genre-defining musical events. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 symbolised the beginning of the end of the Cold War, the decline of the Soviet Union and a new era of open-mindedness for the city.

The influence of American house and techno was already clear in Europe, but things began to get more serious around this time. Looking back, you can see the seeds being planted. In 1989 alone, Mark Ernestus founded a new record store, Hard Wax; the first ever Love Parade street party was held, attracting a crowd of 150 people; the afterparty was held at Kreuzberg’s Ufo club, a hotbed of early acid house and techno.