There’s a Ghost in My House (Friday, November 19, 2010)

‘Beyond’ stamp: Berghain/Panorama Bar night with Ben Klock & nd_baumecker at The Bunker @ Public Assembly

Handwritten ‘x’: Subway Soul @ Public Assembly Loft

Currently, I’m reading a great book called Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey by Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton. It charts the history of dance music through the specific lens of the rise of the DJ, from the first music played on the radio and in clubs to Northern soul, reggae, disco, hip-hop, garage, house,  and techno. It is admittedly a bit dated—the original publication date was 1999—but it’s a pretty interesting resource nonetheless.

It is this book, in part, which inspired the idea for last Friday night’s festivities: what would it be like to attend a techno party and a soul night? We went to The Bunker first, dancing in front of the speakers amidst a packed room (the back room, of course). Then, we decided to check out Subway Soul. I’m sure we were the only people emerging from the dark, bass-heavy street level venue and ascending the stairs to the loft. What a stark contrast: while the disco ball downstairs was literally at a standstill (or, as we joked, turning one revolution per year, at an appropriately sluggish minimal techno pace), the one upstairs was in full swing. I’d never been in the Public Assembly loft before, and it’s a very cool space with wood floors and colored tape on the walls.

After dancing a bit to good old tunes, we went back downstairs to catch Berghain resident Ben Klock’s set. Much to my surprise, he played super dancey techno. Totally ace. It’s still a bit weird to me to experience electronic music in a club environment where I’m not familiar with at least some of the tracks, but I’m learning!