The Special Spot (Friday, March 4, 2011) Beyond stamp: The Bunker w/ Marcel Dettmann, Surgeon & Steffi @ Public Assembly On Friday, we gleefully headed over to Public Assembly to catch the latest installment of The Bunker, one of NYC’s best techno nights. This occasion was one of their Berghain/Panoramanar residencies, which were started last year and entail the promoters bringing DJs from that storied institution in Berlin, which as you may recall I recently had the chance to visit, over to Brooklyn to play for us stateside fans. We entered just as the place was beginning to fill up—we suspected it would be crowded, since the evening’s lineup was so immense. Immediately we headed for the bar in the back room, where I went to stand on The Special Spot. This is a metal plate on the floor in the corner which, when you stand upon it, you completely feel every bit of vibrating bass emanating from the speakers. It’s like a foot massage or something, and is one thing I will very much miss about Public Assembly once I have moved to London (ahem, next week). We had a nice in-depth discussion about the build up/release structure of techno, and I likened it to taking a shit. There’s probably a more nuanced way to explain this, but I find that pretty accurate!Soon enough, Surgeon took to the stage, for the North American debut of his live audio/video set in tandem with his adorable wife, who manned the  visuals. Peering behind the speakers to check out his gear, we watched as he manipulated the controls to craft a sweeping, atmospheric set that drifted in and out of a straight up hard techno style. The accompanying visuals were perfect, featuring abstract lines which, at times, evoked an ultrasound. In the front room, Steffi was playing a fun house-fueled set, as a guy stood on the dancefloor drinking wine which somehow looked incredibly badass. We only stayed there for a few minutes, because, in the back room, Marcel Dettmann had just come on. As one of Berghain’s resident DJs, he is considered amongst the best techno selectors in the world. I must say, in my somewhat limited experience of the genre, he completely lived up to the expectations. Quiet moments interspersed with the big-room sound which is his trademark, and the crowd was dancing like crazy. I only hope that the next time I catch a live set from him, it’s on the floor at Berghain. Proper. (Thanks, as they are so often due, to Nils A. for the photo assist).

The Special Spot (Friday, March 4, 2011)

Beyond stamp: The Bunker w/ Marcel Dettmann, Surgeon & Steffi @ Public Assembly

On Friday, we gleefully headed over to Public Assembly to catch the latest installment of The Bunker, one of NYC’s best techno nights. This occasion was one of their Berghain/Panoramanar residencies, which were started last year and entail the promoters bringing DJs from that storied institution in Berlin, which as you may recall I recently had the chance to visit, over to Brooklyn to play for us stateside fans.

We entered just as the place was beginning to fill up—we suspected it would be crowded, since the evening’s lineup was so immense. Immediately we headed for the bar in the back room, where I went to stand on The Special Spot. This is a metal plate on the floor in the corner which, when you stand upon it, you completely feel every bit of vibrating bass emanating from the speakers. It’s like a foot massage or something, and is one thing I will very much miss about Public Assembly once I have moved to London (ahem, next week). We had a nice in-depth discussion about the build up/release structure of techno, and I likened it to taking a shit. There’s probably a more nuanced way to explain this, but I find that pretty accurate!

Soon enough, Surgeon took to the stage, for the North American debut of his live audio/video set in tandem with his adorable wife, who manned the  visuals. Peering behind the speakers to check out his gear, we watched as he manipulated the controls to craft a sweeping, atmospheric set that drifted in and out of a straight up hard techno style. The accompanying visuals were perfect, featuring abstract lines which, at times, evoked an ultrasound.

In the front room, Steffi was playing a fun house-fueled set, as a guy stood on the dancefloor drinking wine which somehow looked incredibly badass. We only stayed there for a few minutes, because, in the back room, Marcel Dettmann had just come on. As one of Berghain’s resident DJs, he is considered amongst the best techno selectors in the world. I must say, in my somewhat limited experience of the genre, he completely lived up to the expectations. Quiet moments interspersed with the big-room sound which is his trademark, and the crowd was dancing like crazy. I only hope that the next time I catch a live set from him, it’s on the floor at Berghain. Proper.

(Thanks, as they are so often due, to Nils A. for the photo assist).