The Guardian warned this week that anti-gentrification Berliners have threatened to start targeting tourists, in an article headlined ‘East Berlin fights back against the yuppy invaders’.
The British newspaper said radical magazine Interim issued the threat before Christmas and singled out the imminent demolition of the city’s best-known artists’ collective Tacheles as one of the key symbols of the divisions within the German capital. (Tacheles on Wiki: http://bit.ly/19olE9 )
Long term Tascheles occupant Yvonne Hildebrandt said she expects the landmark warehouse space ‘to be closed any day’ though Guy Called Gerald, who also has a studio there, told Skrufff he understands the situation is less clear cut.
“It hasn't closed yet. The artist's are still there. The situation is complicated and it's day by day. It's the owners not the authorities wanting to close it,” he explained. (http://www.guycalledgerald.com )
“I’m not planning on moving out at all,” he added, “Tascheles is a space that's creative and I feel you have the freedom there to do what you want.”
The Manchester-born drum & bass pioneer moved to Berlin in 2003 after living in New York’s Brooklyn for several years and said he’s noticed small but significant changes in recent years.
“It's seems like there's more cars in Berlin now,” he mused, ”And it's not as visually quiet as it used to be - meaning there's a lot more corporate advertising on the streets.”
“Do I feel that I’m contributing to the changes by having moved here? Not at all,” he added.
“I enjoy supporting the more leftfield fringes and underground scenes. And I doubt I would even be recognised by any kind of corporate art person in Berlin,” he smiled.
“I think the government should recognise the percentage of young people who are travelling to Berlin and why they are coming here; I know they are not coming to see the museums,” he pointed out.
“I think there needs to be a creative body of decision makers. The government has to seriously look at what makes Berlin unique and be careful not to destroy it.”
DJ Hell (http://www.djhell.com ) branded Berlin ‘the world’s number one Mecca for electronic music and nightlife’ and similarly stressed the importance of defending the city’s underground ethos and club culture.
“I was part of the early techno and house movement in Berlin in the early 90s when characters such as Dr Motte had a great idea with some friends to protest and dance on the street and invented the Love Parade,” said Hell.
“Back then the original ideas which spawned the club scene were inspired by love and belief in this musical revolution. Over the next 20 years I played at hundreds of parties at both legal and illegal clubs, usually for very low DJ fees: Berlin was never an El Dorado for superstar DJs,” he pointed out.
“For many years now there has certainly a lot of investment coming into Berlin of course this affects nightlife and the whole party scene, plus there’s an Armada of young folks coming in every weekend who want to see the real Berlin nightlife,” he said.
“On the other hand, nightlife and clubbing have become big businesses in general and that also applies in Berlin and lots of new faces are trying to take a piece of the cake, Large investors- invaders- and lots of new promoters are jumping into the Berlin nightlife.”
“There is no way back though what I think has always made Berlin nightlife so great has been when people concentrate on the music, doing the real- and right thing, and never selling out,’ The Gigolo Records chief concluded.
“And what’s been great to see in the last few years is the renaissance of after-hours clubbing. Plus Sunday has become a really important day for clubbing in Berlin. And what’s great about Sunday clubbing is that most of the tourists have already left. And clubbing during the week is also thriving when only the real deal party people are out and about.”
http://bit.ly/gKthqV (The Guardian: radical activists are moving more towards a strategy of making Berlin "unattractive" to the incomers distorting its social fabric . . . Holm suggests it does reflect a new trajectory among Berlin's activists. "The feeling," he says, "is that we have to de-attract the city to the middle classes and investors . . .”)
http://bit.ly/19olE9 (Tacheles on Wiki)
http://bit.ly/fJ7fYA (Tacheles on Youtube)
http://www.guycalledgerald.com/
Jonty Skrufff: http://listn.to/JontySkrufff
