Psychedelic comedown in Germany

Germany, historical grail of Techno and Trance, is currently having difficulties facing up to the great reputation it has developed over the years. Despite being having plenty of experienced artists, veteran organisers and some amazing indoor and outdoor locations, something is missing.

Due to political and economical circumstances, partygoers have less money than in the past meaning they have got as much for the open-air season and the many different parties. And so, while the Fusion festival, blessed with excellent weather, reached record numbers and turned over more than a million euros, the smaller, more underground festivals faced financial fiascos and for a few it proved the final blow.

This year's Antaris and Waldfrieden’s wonderful Wonderland were unpretentious and had good atmospheres, and one of this summer's highlights had to be Tshitraka. Stephan and Sirko Woetanowski aka Montagu & Golkonda aka Symphonix had a well arranged musical line-up and despite financial difficulties they created one of the season's best festivals. The brothers are also doing well as DJs and a live act and are putting a lot of energy into their own label Blue Tunes.

Another happy tale is that of Spintwist Records, an equally progressive label that, after starting with more House-like artist such as Sync, Vaishiyas and the Hamburg lads, has now welcomed more and more international acts like Aerospace aka Guy Shanti, on board. There is a lot happening in the German Progressive scene at the moment and the group made of Mapusa, Fabio Fusco and Magical have put some quite diverse, yet always successful, projects together. Then there is El Zisco, real name Francisco Oryarc Zavala who is best known for his sets on the progressive floors at the big German festivals. Originally from Chile, he has been based in Hamburg for ages and produces brilliant music across all the progressive genres between Progressive House, TribalTechno, Breaks, Techhouse and Progressive Trance. He's currently working on a fantastically varied album for the Israeli label, Dance'n'Dust. Definitely give it a listen.

While D-Nox and Beckers are enjoying more attention internationally than at home, Hendrik Dwardzik, aka Neelix, is without a doubt the current home favourite with his special, energetic, progressive style. The announcement that there would be a limited edition CD of his for the first 300 guests led to a rush at the Somnambul party in Hamburg's Hühnerposten in November. After albums on the smaller labels Mental-Arts and Sinn-Tec, Neelix will now release his third 'official' album on YSE/ Millennium. Other 2007 releases on this label in 2007 include Daydin's debut and the new Psytrain album from Cubase founding father, Wolfgang Kundrus.

There are also some really good Full-on projects in Germany such as Galaktica, a project from Alex Dorkin, aka NOK that should also gain international appreciation soon. A new, yet still extremely impressive artist is Andreas Otto, aka Magoon from Hamburg who also recently released his debut on Millennium.

Hamburg, the classic Trance stronghold in Northern Germany and home to mushroom magazine and Chaishop.com, is currently having difficulties due to poor communication and egotism between organisers, something that was all the more obvious over Christmas and the New Year. There are various crews doing parties throughout the year, the most regular of which thought is the Thursday night ZappelLounge. However in Munich, the opposite seems to be the case and Artists United, Macrocosmos and Schmox Family party together in various locations. As far as events in the Ruhr district are concerned, most are courtesy of the former Vibez magazine Editor, André Hensen. However, after spending the last few years focusing on his massive New Year's party "Odysee" in one of Berlin's more fascinating venues, Tacheles, legendary promoter, Ralph Hirsch will be launching a new series of nights with the Kesselhaus and various promoters from Berlin. Three parties are planned for February, March and April so far and, assuming all goes well, three more will follow in the autumn.

Trance has certainly seen happier times, but according to DJ Sangeet, the music is better than ever. What works, works really well, and there's no room for coldheartedness, mediocrity and nonreflective tradition in psychedelic Germany. But then again, we never wanted in this scene anyway...

Facts

Germany is home to over 80 million inhabitants, however, the population is falling.
The „Goa High-way“ between Hamburg and Berlin has festivals almost every weekend over the summer
Northern Germany is much more liberal than the South