If you hail from outside of Germany (and surrounding areas of Europe), it’s a possibility that the first thing that springs to mind when you hear the word ‘Silvester’ is a washed-up, over-muscled action movie star dubbed ‘Sly’ hurling bags of illegal steroids off of a hotel room balcony as the police close in. A comical mental image, no doubt. But now that you’re in Berlin, its time to remove this humorous connotation with the word and replace it with the concept of the biggest w.e of parties, opulence and downright degradation of social decorum throughout the whole year. Out come the crazies, out come the wasted, out come the idiots; out come the crazy wasted idiots (a.k.a your friends). Whether you call it Silvester, New Years Eve or The Annual (Almost) Universal Night of Trashiness, its the time to get all sentimental and loved-up with your loved ones on dance floors all over town and make optimistic and intoxicated resolutions that you’ll be lucky to even remember by the next day (or whenever it is that you finally stop spinning and contemplate the next twelve months of this crazy little thing called life settling precariously around your ungraciously throbbing head). How lucky you are that you get to do all of this in the party capital of the world.
Grounded Theory 13 X CLR kicks off your NYE weekend tonight at Arena, with a tasty line-up featuring some of pioneering label CLR’s finest players. The CLR acronym symbolises the venture to create, learn and realise, which is exactly what British born, Berlin inhabiting DJ Tommy Four Seven does in musical form with drool-worthy effect. T47’s sound is one aptly described in bios as ‘deep’ and ‘uncompromising’, and the words ‘brutal’, ‘thumping’ and ‘huge’ also fit rather nicely. He is joined by Brian Sanhaji, Monoloc plus Grounded Theory organiser and DJ, Henning Baer.
Over at Cookies tonight, the Solomun Is Dynmaic and Thyladomid is What We Hav 2 Diy 4 party lays out another quality night of entirely different proportions and intentions (and a really long name). Drop the BPM down to deep, groovy pop-inflected house’s region of rhythm, throw in a few hits, a lot more melody and a more commercially desiring crowd (probably wearing a lot less black than the above) and you’re starting to get the idea.
Back at Cookies on Saturday night, more of the people’s favorites can be found at Embrace 2012, featuring hit makers No Regular Play, Tale of Us and support from the lovely La Fleur - the instigator of up and coming Swedish label, Power Plant Records.
Bodywerk! looks towards 2012 on Saturday night at Horst Krzbrg, with a live performance from American Jimmy Edgar, who has a reputation for creating tracks with the “quality of Rolex watches - shiny like immaculate platinum, encaged by the highest precision beats and with no false understatement”. Also featuring Hessle Audio boys Pangaea and Blawan, the event is sure to find a sizeable bunch of forum-informed, download-junkie music heads navigating their serious-about-the-electronic-scene way into 2012.
Weekend club has snagged Brit techno / house veteran Richie Hawtin, along with Gaiser and Ambivalent for its Minus New Year’s Eve Bash, while Fuck Me Now & Love Me Later f*cks you into the new year and loves you with Sacha Funke and a huge roll call of DJs on the current local lust list. The following day at Watergate, The Day After party drops some more big name action with Ellen Alien, Thomas Muller and others encouraging you to drag on the festivities towards calling-in-sick-to-work territory.
And there is no better reason to call in sick to work all week than the Berghain Klubnacht Total – Silvester 2011 / 2012 event, beginning on Saturday night and continuing through until god knows when. Let’s skip dropping names from the line-up – one that is as big as expected and garnished with every god-status resident to shake and thunder you into next year until you don’t know which way is up or which way is forward, but do know that if you keep walking around in circles everything will keep sounding, looking and feeling really amazing.
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