The new style

I'm just back from Hamburg, which I found unexpectedly "alternative" and "much-going-on" city. There is something of Berlin party/arty vibe in this port town, but its smaller, more compact and less touristic than the capital. I spent there three nights – a party every night.

The 1st night

We went to a really tiny and trashy place at the harbour - The Golden Pudel Klub. Cheap beer, free admission, a smoky room… I would expect to hear some alternative rock or punk rock there, but music was really cool and up-to-date. I'd even say that it may be the new trend – a mixture of electro beat with some IDM influence and a massive bass (not that massive and evil as in dubstep though). The new LP by E.Allien and Apparat comes to my mind. Surprisingly I recognised just few things (for instance, the DJ played a rocking remix of the classic Aphex Twin's tune Windowlicker), but music was so good! What was even more surprising was that the DJ was a quite old guy, looking more as an old-school rock guy… Well, he rocked! My friend told me that actually Pudel Klub is a really popular spot in Hamburg, often being a place for afterparties.

The 2nd night

A gay party at Uebel & Gefährlich was on. It happened in a former bombshelter – a big, grey concrete building, one of those buildings you expect to see in the post-soviet Eastern Berlin not in Hamburg. I must confess that I missed the live act – Namosh –, which was shorter than foreseen. DJs played some glamour electro-house tunes, which were OK, but nothing really extraordinary.

The 3rd night

This night we were in a place called Planeten & Blumen where Remute played live. Amazing, the venue was a really undergroundish again – looked like a basement. Despite it, the club was cosy, just with really few decorations, some basic lights, cheap admission (5 EUR) and great music. There were two DJs in the beginning, who was spinning nice tech-house / minimal. Then Remute (the real name: Denis Karimani, pictured aside) followed. The opening tracks were nothing so special, but slowly they became more sophisticated, kicking and energetic. In general it was a mixture of tech-house, electro, lots of (neo)acid and some techno. Fortunately he was not one of those boring guys who passively stand behind a laptop - he was twisting knobs and sliders on controllers and other gear thus actively fucking up the outcoming sound. The party was not too crowded, but practically all people were dancing. Cool vibe! As the last thing he played his latest release Please say something (on Ladomat 2000, see it below) with a bit cheesy, robotic sample "say something… go to hell!" Brilliant!

In brief, that was Hamburg by night. It's certainly a place where I'd like to go again.

Remute - Please say something