THE FALL OF THE WALL, THE RISE OF THE RAVE

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Two weeks ago we published an article looking into the infamous Berghain and its rise to its legendary status within the nightlife industry. Diving into the history of Berghain captured our interest here at Tribal and we wanted to explore the culture that raised such an iconic club.

The fall of the wall

On November 9th 1989, after over 28 years the Berlin Wall fell, finally uniting the East and West of the city. With celebration from citizens across the city, Berlin looked forward to a new era. One that turned out to be dominated by subcultures.

After the collapse of industry in the East and defectors escaping to the West, buildings all over the East of Berlin were left abandoned. With little enforcement of laws, these buildings were easy to seize. Squatters able to occupy buildings for whatever purpose they desired.

The rise of the rave

The celebration of freedom flourished coming into the 90’s, many buildings became makeshift clubs and bars. Squatters would seize any building they liked, ranging from abandoned flats to warehouses and railway depots left behind by industry. While many genres blossomed now the east had access to the rest of the world, one sound emerging from Detroit defined the new era of the city. Techno.

Many clubs and bars were temporary, with organisers moving on whenever they got bored or found a new, better venue. Some, however, had the staying power to become staples of the city. Tresor, located in an abandoned vault, became one of the world’s most historically significant clubs. The club worked to bring many of Detroit’s best techno DJs to Berlin including the likes of Jeff Mills.

Freedom to experiment

Before 1989, expression of self had been limited for those in East Berlin. Newfound freedoms brought an explosion in experimentation and hedonism amongst those stifled before the fall of the wall. With this including a flourishing LGBT scene within the city, safe spaces for experimentation were in demand. The strict door and no-photo policies still seen to this day can be traced back to this.

This celebration of expression was perfectly encapsulated by Dr Motte’s Love Parade. Celebrating both the scenes and music at the core of the new Berlin, the parade sported a motto of ‘peace, joy and pancakes’.

At this time Berlin and Techno were hitting the world stage. Commercial viability had become a reality for DJ’s, producers and promoters in the scene with many having to make a difficult decision: Stay loyal to the underground, or make the jump for mainstream success.

First threats to the scene

While property and land values in the city were low, it was inevitable that property developers would sweep in. Pick up properties while they were cheap, they were set on building land value. With this surge in interest in the centre of the city, land values soared and finding spaces for raves and clubs became harder and harder, threatening the scene supporting the beating heart of the city.

One councillor had other ideas

Jutta Weitz, responsible for allocation of space in Berlin Mitte, had a particular affinity for the hedonists. The councillor worked to create temporary letting opportunities within the area allowing for clubs and arts spaces to survive now developments had killed squatting opportunities.

Then the bubble burst…

At the end of the 90’s the property bubble in Berlin burst, and along with it the techno bubble. A depression set in across the city with the collapse of any remaining industry. With no new businesses moving in and a decreasing population the future looked bleak moving into the new millennium.

An unforeseen savour

The mainstream attention disappearing was forecast to kill the rave scene in the city. Luckily it instead brought about some much needed reprieve to the underground to recoup and rebuild in a more sustainable response to the past decade.

Property development in the city stagnated, allowing promoters to set up more permanent clubs on land not yet renovated. From this the city saw the birth of many of the clubs still present today, creating the current club mile on the border between Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain.

With a more savvy approach to promotion, clubs harnessed the rising popularity of the internet. In combination with the increase in low cost air-fares, this helped nightlife tourism become the saviour of the city. The clubs provided much needed release and supported the desperate economy of the city.

In its time of need, Berlin wasn’t a city saved by businesses, bureaucracy and politicians.

It was the underground that kept the beating heart alive. Though today the Mitte area of Berlin may have lost the gritty edge it once had during the heights of the squatting raves, the true spirit of the city can still be seen and felt through the club mile and the wider city to this day.

Words and photography by Charlie Jordan