Search Results

Our anonymous writer "Farah Haze" matched with a 50-year-old filmmaker and the rest is a juicy story. Writer: "Farah Haze" Illustration: Marta Braga I didn’t know his age when we matched on tinder. My range was set to 28–45, so I’m not entirely sure how he snuck in, the 50-year-old filmmaker who super liked me on a Monday. But in a way it was a gift from the tinder gods, during that early winter period in Berlin where isolation creeps in and the apps turn into frenzied hunting grounds for a winter lover. You know, someone to keep you warm, distract you from existential dread and go down on you while you watch Netflix. We’re a cliche. Me: a lost late 20-something searching for adventure, success and self actualisation, and getting suitably side-tracked in this city. Tired of dating my usual cocktail of malnourished club boys and guys who weaponise polyamory as an excuse to be a shitty person. Him: successful, whiplash smart, the son of a literal billionaire. A total daddy, basically. He seems to gravitate toward women half his age, and doesn’t pretend not to be insanely horny for me for one minute. Which, given the mass insouciance of the city’s dating population, is strangely refreshing. We meet late Friday and have what you could call a whirlwind weekend. We stay up talking until the bars close that morning and make out in the street. By Saturday we’re fucking in Soho House (did I mention we’re a cliche?). It isn’t purely carnal. Fueled by wine and a shared neediness for connection, we talk a lot. We indulge in each other’s messy breakup stories and conceive a half-baked plot to assassinate the 1%. I speak of feeling lost and he slips in the success of his films, which he does mostly with an admirable restraint. (Other than revealing he’s on first name terms with a certain ‘Brad’; “Well, there is only one Brad,” he offers when I laugh at the absurdity.) He tells me he recently started taking ecstasy. So I hatch another plan: get guestlist for Berghain, and prepare for a great story. “Anyone with a vague knowledge of the city’s nightlife and its pleasure-seeking corners will be familiar with the ways we like to gain or lose control.” Anyone with a vague knowledge of the city’s nightlife and its pleasure-seeking corners will be familiar with the ways we like to gain or lose control. Moving away from the classic sub/dom set-up, we bestowed new roles on ourselves for the night: the ‘driver’ and the ‘passenger’. The dynamic isn’t necessarily sexual you see, and it’s a fun game, you should try it. One person is the general decision maker of the evening and the other is free to coast along for the ride. The driving seat suits those with a specific vision for how things unfold or a nervous disposition for things to be just right. They can do whatever they please without the nuisance of having to negotiate. The passenger on the other hand gets the gift of not having to make decisions. “...scheduling toilet breaks, drinks, drug ingestion, snogs, etc. amidst the sea of sweaty bodies in the peak hours of a busy Klubnacht. ” It can be a rare luxury to feel truly mindless, free from the daily tyranny of having to know what you want. Seeing it that way, I’m not exactly thrilled to be anointed driver, but I bravely take it on. Or at least, give it my best shot. I secure entry for Sunday, instruct him to meet by the doors at 9pm and intend to continue calling the shots inside – when and where we dance, scheduling toilet breaks, drinks, drug ingestion, snogs, etc. amidst the sea of sweaty bodies in the peak hours of a busy Klubnacht. I feel momentarily smug when my guestlist slips us in with ease. It’s closing night, pre-chaos. The pit of tweaked party people is heaving. But not too packed; buying a drink or peeing is a fucking ordeal, but it’s not busy enough yet to feel airless and overwhelming at every turn. At the cloakroom I strip down to a mesh bra and collar (the most BDSM-adjacent outfit I could muster, on his request). He’s left with a grey tee and jeans, from which he pulls a rope he brought, unsolicited, to tie me up. At this point I realise we might have had different visions for the night. Dr. Rubinstein plays throbbing techno on the main floor. The walls drip and the reliably toned muscles of the Sunday night crowd glisten. He takes his top off, shimmies towards me with impeccable dad-dancing and keeps reaching for my pussy over my trousers. I’m just not a natural exhibitionist, so I’m tense, and I need a drink. How was I already losing my grip? I try and take it back, order us Campari sodas and initiate a pill. I come up in the purgatory of the neverending toilet queue, complaining softly to strangers about how I’m coming up in the toilet queue, as the doors melt in my vision. “Just as I’m settling into it, stroking daddy’s chest against a pillar, a familiar hand finds my shoulder.” But it’s the perfect dose, making us dreamy and mildly euphoric. He ties the rope around his own neck in a symbolic gesture of surrender, but continues to subtly take the lead. My self consciousness briefly slips away when I’m pressed up against the edge of the dance floor, and he insists on peeling down my bra and grazing his teeth on my nipples. I wonder how much of the game is letting me think I have control. Then, a car crash. I spot another lover swarming around with a jaw flexing like it’s been here for some time, and I’m desperate to avoid his gaze. I haul us up to Panorama Bar, where bodies spring on the blue-lit dance floor and you can feel cocaine in the air. We bump into friends of mine who gracefully skip over the question of how the pair of us met. Just as I’m settling into it, stroking daddy’s chest against a pillar, a familiar hand finds my shoulder. The other lover. Broken out of my lull, my heart drops. After a painfully awkward exchange I pull the breaks, drag daddy to a booth by the bar, and decide to assess the damage another time. “I think about how clubbing lets us chase the illusion of control, just like drugs, like tinder, like my date tonight" I’ve been a bad driver. Disappearing in toilet queues, meekly hustling for drinks at the bar, second-guessing where to park us on the dancefloor. Attempts to summon a certain experience can have a way of backfiring on you, and it was one of those nights where you find unexpected friction between you and the untempered hedonism at your feet. Now I’d completely lost control of the wheel. And the passenger’s getting angsty. So I let him direct the scene, which mainly involves seducing me in front of onlookers. So far, so predictable, but I relax into our performance, some playful grinding and slapping and kissing. Then he starts moving his mouth from my nipples to my armpits, giving them long wet licks. It’s all hilariously surreal. This time I don’t freeze up, but laugh and admit to myself I had lost the war of wills. I failed to be the architect of my initial Berghain fantasy, and submitted to the whims of his. Head back, I think about how clubbing lets us chase the illusion of control, just like drugs, like tinder, like my date tonight – all delirious games that can offer a momentary distraction from existential dread, or enhance the power struggles of the outside world. We leave around 4am, back to Soho House. We restart the engine and hope we can keep our hands on – or off – the wheel long enough to reach our desired destination. OK, now that’s enough cliche.

One of the clubbers on the cover for our fall issue is Noemi, often spotted in Berghain in her nun outfit. We had a talk about her signature look, the club community and making long lasting friendships on the dance floor. Being a nun makes people assume you have a past that you’re breaking free from, what does the costume represent to you? I think that most people of the techno scene are trying to break free from something, although not necessarily. For me it is about the dynamics between what a nun and religion is supposed to represent and what I as Noemi, as a character on my own, represent. I am a very open-minded, wide accepting, sexually-free person and do not limit myself or people around me based on social norms or internalized beliefs and let alone religious beliefs. One of the few things I religiously follow, and love, is electronic music and that is also why I am the techno nun. That music for me is liberating, is healing, is the answer. It doesn't matter if it's a festival, a club, a party, going to work, going for a walk, with friends or lovers, electronic music is always my choice and gives me the emotions of a thousand unspoken words. Have you developed different characters since you moved to Berlin, or is the nun the only one - how did it happen? The nun has been my first and only character I have developed. I remember we were making fun with my two best friends about the existence of God and the absurdity of religion when I got the idea that this was my best way of saying "Fuck you" and fuck all the principles you've showed us. I stand for none of them! What makes the club community develop these strong bonds with each other do you think? I think, for me at least, it’s the acceptance and not judging. You talk to people literally about everything you cannot talk about in everyday life with other people, and no one seems to be bothered about anything even if you are the most unusual person around. Also, I do not much appreciate the structures of our society, the class division or the capitalistic system itself. It seems like in that context, with those people, that all fades away. Although', with time passing you realize that the techno underground scene is also slowly turning into what it wasn’t supposed to be. ‌I think it should also be mentioned and not denied, that substance consuming makes it easier to connect faster and have a stronger bond, not taking in considerations how deep and long lasting those bonds generally are. In what way does the relation differ within the club community compared with other relationships? ‌It’s in itself, a way purer relationship. People do not approach you because they need something or because you are X or Y. They genuinely seek you out because they like being around you, your energy, maybe your dance moves, but generally for the simple things in life. I appreciate that. Tell us about a strong connection you’ve made at a club and how it developed. I’ve made so many and I can’t always say that they have been strong ones. But there are two people whom I met during my clubbing life, Rob and Fernanda, who I appreciate a lot. For personal reasons I decided some months ago to take a step back from club and nightlife for a while and they’ve been a big support for my emotional and mental state, and I hope I’ve been to supportive for them as well. To have people being there for you in a totally different environment than where you met, means that they truly care and you can call them friends. These two people are in my heart, although we don't see each other much lately, but the bond is still there. Clubbing has also strengthened some other bonds, as the one with my best friend, but it feels a bit unfair to that our bonding wouldn't have been this strong without clubbing. Quickies: Where are you from? I am from Tirana, Albania How many years have you lived in Berlin? I moved to Berlin five years ago, since then I fell in love with the city and I’m still in love. What’s your signature look? Well, the nun is my signature one, but you can always also find me almost naked in rave or wearing harnesses. What’s your fuel? I just love dancing for hours and hours and hours. I think I’m one of the dancers that never gets tired. Favorite DJ? Freddy K, Ancient Methods, Marron, Tigerhead, Matrixmann and so many others. Favorite hour and day of the week at the club? Starting from Sunday midday to peaking Monday morning, is always my favorite time. Especially closings on Monday mornings, are definitely my favorite

If you've been to Berghain, there is a big chance you've seen the woman in a black catsuit. We spoke to the person behind the mask – Aurélie. By: Filip Sandström Beijer Photo: Alina Rudya Why did you move to Berlin in the first place? I always wanted to move here, meeting my ex at Berghain was one reason, then the job was another one. Hamburg was too small for me, and I have dreamt of being able to always go to Berghain whenever I wanted to. What’s the story behind the catsuit? I'm obsessed with cats since my childhood. On every Halloween party, I dress as one. My friend David from the UK came for a rave, to visit me in Berlin. He mentioned that he hadn’t bought me anything. We went to a sex shop, and I found a beautiful cat mask. He bought it for me, and I call it The David. I dance, seduce, scratch, bite, and kiss. I rarely mingle, as I mostly wanna dance. Who do you transfer into when you put it on? Mostly I’m the one and only Berghain cat. I have many fans who never dare to speak to me as I look very “Intimidating”. I dance, seduce, scratch, bite, and kiss. I rarely mingle, as I mostly wanna dance. If I like a guy, I look at him intensely and the prey comes to me, it always works, they are always intrigued by my face. When I first met my ex, I scratched all his back. He had the marks for 2 years after. I used to be the techno ballerina before sometimes wearing a white tutu. The first time I met DJ Stingray, he was there without a mask, and I recognized him, he just said ‘Are you the white swan?’ He couldn´t pronounce my name. Henning Baer who was next to us told him “Her name is Aurélie and she´s French”. How would you describe the club culture in Berlin, and what does it mean to you? It was my emancipation as a woman, I found myself within this community. I can be whoever I want, and I'm accepted. You are part of a big club community today, what do these people mean to you? Most of the people I have met at techno parties became good friends. We meet outside parties too. Except that Berghain ex who broke my heart. – – – Where are you from? I am half French half Lebanese, been living in Germany for 11 years, so I´d say I´m German now. How many years have you lived in Berlin? Almost 4 years, I was visiting regularly when I lived in Hamburg before. What’s your signature look? Cat mask, The David. What’s your fuel? HARD INDUSTRIAL TECHNO. Standing below the Funktion-One and getting my ears destroyed. Favorite DJ? Hard to tell. I can name many. Speedy J, Luke Slater, DVS1, Takaaki Itoh, Matrixmann, Henning Baer, Dustin Zahn, Amotik, Setaoc Mass, Perc, Freddy K the vinyl king, Developer, DJ Nobu, Somewhen… Favorite hour and day of the week at the club? Sunday morning around 8 am, Muffin and cappuccino at the Eisbar. Where to find you in the club? I´m always standing front left, next to the door that leads to the warehouse. I always put my stuff on that door, and the people who empty bottles are annoyed ever so often.

Did you know that in Germany you could be eligible for over €10,000 of financial support from the Bundesagentur für Arbeit to pursue a new career in tech. This article is made in collaboration with StartSteps. StartSteps is here to help you take your first steps towards a career in tech, with a fully-funded pathway from their orientation class (called the Compass Class) into specialised training with top career bootcamps across Germany. At StartSteps, we know that every person and every career path is different, StartSteps is designed to reflect that. Instead of a ‘one size fits all’ approach, we offer you the chance to sample a range of different careers so that you feel empowered to decide where your new education will take you. In our compass course, you’ll find out what you love, what you’re good at, and meet a specialised training partner to continue your studies with. We help place you at the best suited bootcamp or academy. StartSteps Compass Course An introduction to Coding, Online Marketing, Data, Cyber Security & UX/UI Design. An orientation to digital skills & careers - before being placing you in fully-funded specialised training with a career bootcamp, getting you ready for a job in tech. - 22 days (Full-Time i.e. Monday to Friday from 09:30 - 16:30) - English & German Classes - Laptop sent to your door Whom is the course for - Registered as unemployed at the Agentur fur Arbeit or Jobcenter - Beginner level computer knowledge (no previous experiences or skill set is necessary) - English or German (minimum B1 Level) Try out StartSteps Compass Course - Get one month full time for free!

"A night out in Berlin possesses endless possibilities to fulfill your wildest fantasies; thus allowing my time to be lived freely, without a plan or expectation." Written by: Wild Thing There is a ferocious beast inside of me. It has taken me places so high I could see heaven and so low I shuddered at the sight of my reflection. The beast has a hunger, it wants me to relish in my sexuality and deviance, I surrender. Like loose bottles rolling on trains, I was free to roam yet easy to break. A night out in Berlin possesses endless possibilities to fulfill your wildest fantasies; thus allowing my time to be lived freely, without a plan or expectation. I had just finished a bartending shift and was already undoubtedly tipsy, but with a curious mind and an untameable heart, it was inevitable the night was young. The desire for deep conversation is what pulled me to continue my evening across the street at Sofia, a café/bar with such personality and seduction that I’d take her home for a night if I could. Stumbling into an atmosphere flooded with smoke rings, the décor is of a 70s style lodge with accents of gay erotica that are sexually stimulating. I greet the barkeep, a friendly face with kind eyes. He gives me a cheap beer that is accompanied by an unexpected shot of Vodka. I hated Vodka but a drinks a drink, cheers. I reach depths of conversation that lead me to dark places and use emotions as my universal language, something I learned through being entangled and wrapped up with foreign lovers. Beginning to drift from the words spoken, the desolate feeling of loneliness begins to kick in when noticing the number of cigarette butts sitting in the ashtray in front of me. They were all mine. Scraping pennies for a white powder that will get you nowhere but downhill, the opportunity for a line presents itself: I am high again. I ask for water as an attempt to wash away my sins. It’s 3 am and my coworkers have joined me. They have gotten word that our friends are at a squat party nearby and I am intrigued. The water I have been drinking has been confused with vodka and I haven’t noticed till now despite my glass being half empty. I suppose my pessimistic tendencies coincide with my drinking habits. We arrive at the gates of Køpi, home to those fighting to protect what remains of the cities underground. Trash bins ignite in flames attempting to bring warmth to the people while banners with political statements fly fiercely in the night. Gentrification is an ongoing threat to the community that humbly welcomes me into their home. Below the surface isn’t as dark as I imagined, the free spirits brighten the room, offering good company and strong shots that fill the glass and then some more. I allow my flirtations tendencies to work the room with confidence in the way I talk to people. Any sanctity that remains now fades, my vices begin to emerge from the shadows. I discover a cinema, it lies within a vault where secrets are told and lovers melt into one another. Makeshift seating stands in place of red velour chairs while the screen is projecting cartoons that are sending me into abstract dimensions. I am trapped in a vortex of the unknown, questioning my mischievous ways with ambitions of being taken to higher places. Blurred vision turns to white lines, now I’m French kissing bottles containing a magical powder sending me on a love trip. Slithering my way down the rabbit hole, I begin to feel vertigo as I hear the sound of alluring rhythms that pull me into a state of euphoria. The endorphins in my body are pulsating with pleasure, I want to dance in this serendipitous moment of chaos forever. I am chasing the hallucination of filling a void that remains hollow. Satiating in the substances that act as a temporary band-aid, the adhesive is never strong enough to hold together a heavy heart. I feel paralyzed amid destruction and am the closest thing I have to a voice of reason. I gather my things and make my way up the collapsing stairs towards the surface, hoping to find freedom from the thoughts viciously circulating my mind. Time has slipped away from me; it’s been daytime for a while now. I breathe in the cold winter air and light another cigarette. My thigh-high boots clank against the pavement that serves as a rooftop for the souls who continue to party on below as I begin my long journey home. The sun comes up and the blinds roll down, and with a troubled mind, I find myself to be another lost soul on an estranged path within the city of big dreams. I draw a bath and light a joint in an attempt to wash away my sins. I am born again.

ANNA Z has seen how the scene often booked females as a way of affirmative action. Today she tells women in the scene to keep going and can notice a change within the male dominated scene. This article is made in collaboration with Ableton . Download ANNA Z:s Ableton project with free samples and presets here . Get all the features of Ableton Live Suite free for 90 days here . She moved to Berlin in 2014 for her architecture studies, although it didn’t take long until she got in contact with the electronic scene and learnt how to produce herself. ”Before moving to Berlin I got my diploma in graphic design and arts. During the architecture studies my interest in acoustics, sound and all the interdisciplinary practices grew. I got in contact with WERK, who created parties at ://about blank, and started to make visuals for them. Something that suddenly became a big interest to me.” ”However, when I got my visuals online, Instagram deleted them because I didn’t own the music that I added to the visuals”, Anna laughs and continues; ”I only used them for myself, but still. That’s when I decided to start creating the sounds myself.” ”It was never a struggle for me since I found it relaxing to play around in Ableton." Taking the first step to start producing yourself is often the first introduction to Ableton. Anna got into Max from Cycling’74, as she was already familiar with similar programming that is based on blocks, patching and coding. ”My friends encouraged me in my learning process with Ableton and gave me short lessons. That together with looking at tutorials helped a lot. It was never a struggle for me since I found it relaxing to play around in Ableton.” In the beginning Anna only used Ableton for her short videos, and later on she started using it on its own. ”I think it’s very cool that Ableton gives you the opportunity to try it out to see how it works with the Demo version, as well as offering a Student version. In this way you can take it step by step. Later on, I invested in a modular synthesizer and today I have all of this”, she says and shows her production table that is now filled with gear. ”In the last few years’, many of my friends founded the label Spandau20 together. In this context I mainly work as a musician and play hardware live sets at the parties together with my fiancé J. Manuel.” It’s well known that the music industry overall is dominated by men, and that it’s harder for women to make a name for themselves. The electronic scene is trying to break with these constructions, and Anna can notice a change since the last few years. ”I get uncomfortable when being asked to play in the very last minute, when it’s clear that the only reason is to reach their «Female Quota»" ”I am noticing that the electronic scene is aiming for a change and want to book more women. Many clubs have a code of booking 50-50”, Anna says and continues; ”I get uncomfortable when being asked to play in the very last minute, when it’s clear that the only reason is to reach their «Female Quota». But I don’t think they’re conscious of it, they just live in their bubble and are too lazy to discover new female artists” ”Although 2020 was a good year in that way, because so many people were active in social media and had more time to discover cool women within the scene and realized that there are plenty. They even found interesting new artists instead of only noticing what was already highlighted.” ”Get started yourself and support will follow, don’t be afraid of the technical aspects.” Anna wants to encourage more women to believe in themselves as artists. ” If you have an interest in joining the scene actively; be brave. Get started yourself and support will follow, don’t be afraid of the technical aspects. The electronic music scene is really friendly and encouraging. Platforms like Radio80000 are setting a very good example with a pretty diverse list of residents and I am happy to be part of this platform with my own radio show called KOMI.” ANNA Z’s top 3 DJ’s: – Smokey – Steffi – Azu Tiwaline

Eat your way through Berlin this summer. This article is done in collaboration with Wolt. GET 6€ OFF YOUR FIRST ORDER WITH WOLT: USE CODE 'PLAYFULWOLT' WHEN CHECKING OUT. Berlin is filled with food culture, inspiration and taste sensations that are often a lot more casual than what you’ll find in other big cities. Although they do it so very well, and we want to welcome them back, and thank them for all the love they bring to us through their kitchen’s. We’ve therefor listed some of our favorite alternatives so that you can rest and enjoy your day to the fullest. Breakfast & Brunch Eating breakfast and brunch out in Berlin takes some patience. Get pancakes and Champagne delivered to your door and enjoy it on the balcony instead. Here's our favourite picks: – ’Royal Canadian Pancakes’ with bananas, bacon, butter and maple syrup & a bottle of Crémant from ' Breakfast Club by Quchnia ’ – ’Avocado Bagel’ with avocado, scrambled eggs, guacamole and tomato salad & Frozen ’Strawberry Twister’ Frappe from ' What a treat Kreuzberg/Friedrichshain ’ – ’Shakshuka’ - poached organic eggs in spicy tomato sauce with peppers, fresh herbs, bread and feta cheese from ’ Stilbruch Kaffee ’ Lunch Berlin offers original kitchens from all around the world, and manages to keep it simple and casual, yet outstandingly delicious. Bring your lunch outside, alone or with a friend, and don’t forget a blanket. GET 6€ OFF YOUR FIRST ORDER WITH PROMO CODE 'PLAYFULWOLT' Our favorite picks: – Chinese ’Pai Huanggua’ - Cucumber salad – though this is not roughly describing it, ’Yuxiang Qiezi’ - vegan eggplant in a homemade sweet chili bean sauce & Brooklyn Lager from ’ Kingsjoy ’ – Japanese ’Seitan Ramen’ with vegetarian broth, bamboo, shiitake mushrooms and morels & ’Honest Organic Tea’ with Peach Rosemary from ’ Hachiko ’ – Indian ’Palak Paneer’ Indian cream cheese with spinach, spices and basmati rice, ’Sesame Naan’ - wheat flour bread with sesame seeds & Mango-Lassi from ’ Singh Indian Street Food ’ Dinner Never have we been looking more forward to trying new restaurants, letting ourselves be spoiled and free. I don’t want to spend time grocery shopping or do the dishes on warm summer nights - but instead open up all windows and put on some Leonard Cohen, or Ellen Allien - everything goes together with this: Favorites: – Vietnamese ’Creamy Tofu’ - organic tofu in golden coconut curry cream with sweet potatoes, Hokkaido pumpkin, ginger, lemongrass and jasmine rice from ’ Nymami ’ – ’Pasta Frutti di Mare’ together with, yes red wine works - ’Ancilla Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 0,75l’ from ’ wn9 oysterbar ’ – Pizza ’Buffalo Mozzarella’ with ’Pittnauer Pitt Nat 0,75l’ or ’Orangina 0,25l’ from ’ Estelle Dining ’ Tapas These places have both wine and tapas that will make all your friends want to stay forever on your balcony, or in your couch. At least if you live in Berlin, where wine can be delivered to your doorstep. Yes we’re lucky here. Sorry for everyone who’s reading this from Sweden or Norway - but hey, you can still get tapas to your doorstep. Picks: – ’Entremeses’ - mixed plate with Manchego cheese, salami, air-dried Spanish ham and Iberian chorizo, ’Pulpo a la Gallega’ - octopus on a bed of potatoes with fine olive oil and hot paprika, ’Pimientos de Padron’ - fried mini peppers from ’ Atame ’ – ’Hummus’, ’Sabich Plate’, ’Roasted Cauliflower Plate’, ’Pickled Olives’ and ’Labneh Cheese’ & ’Le Rosé Gaul 0,75l’ from ’ Kitten Deli ’ – ’Vegan Cauliflower Wings’ - cauliflower fried in its own gray beer batter and panko with spring onions and two dips of your choice from ’ Eigengrau ’ Sweet tooth No explanation needed, just treat yourself. Yes: – ’The Japanese Pancake Overload’ - sweet, vegetarian, homemade Japanese pancakes with white chocolate, cranberries, thyme and pistachio crunch, served with “Eigengrau” rum cream, lemon jelly, strawberry coulis, salted caramel and banana from ’ Eigengrau ’ – ’Apple Strudel’ from the Alp kitchen ’ Wildes Fraeulein ’ – ’Oolong Peachy Milk Tea’ from ’ 90°C Bubble Tea & Cafe’

By: Chiqui Love Illustration: Lidia Garyca Sapinska It’s 9 pm at the stripper flat on a typical Saturday night - 8 girls and just 1 bathroom - rush hour for mirror space and shower time; the veterans bring a compact and shower early, but most are new recruits from countries like Poland, Bulgaria or Czech Republic who have just arrived to work over the weekend. Others were sleeping most of the afternoon because of the late night the night before. The scent of the flat is a fusion of fried chicken, hairspray, candy body spray and self-tanning lotion. 9:30 pm We rush out; the new girls following behind, and little by little we head to the club as fast as we can in order to avoid the dreaded 10 Euros fine for those who arrive even a minute later than 9.45pm. 9:40 pm We arrive and put our names on the list only to find there are already 10 girls on the list! WTF!!! It’s a small club but what choice do I have but to try and stay positive and remind myself that it only takes one or two guys who really want to spend their cash on you to make my time here worthwhile. 9:45 pm Changing room madness. There are always new faces on the weekends as well as your usual suspects - the overly excited and positive baby strippers, the veterans, the princesses, the curious girls who claim they are there for “research” purposes, the single mums, the big money makers, the showgirls, the arty ones and the ones who are spies for the owner and snitch about everyone (maybe her implants have hidden cameras and a sound recording device too, who knows! Nobody likes a snitch). This is perhaps my favourite part of the night. The excitement of seeing my friends, getting into my look for the evening, overhearing a kaleidoscope of stripper conversations, spotting tampon strings, seeing someone put glitter on their butthole, seeing the punk artsy dancers transform into real life barbie dolls. This is where the magic happens, where short hair lengthens using wigs and extensions, short nails become acrylic nails in neon green and sharp like penknives, pale skin is tanned and glitters, tracksuit bottoms become high legged neon string extravaganzas. The coven is now ready! As I’m about to head to the floor, Tania asks if I‘ll do her hair. She wants soft curls and she‘s an angel so I agree. She tells me all about her son and the long journey to Berlin from Hungary by car which she takes most weekends. I have so much admiration for her, and I might add, I did an excellent job with those soft curls - she looks stunning. We are killing it tonight! 10:00 pm No customers have arrived yet. I went for the thigh-high red pleaser boots and my electric blue undies as it makes me feel like a slutty Wonder Woman. Missy is practicing pole tricks, Susie is stretching, Monica is taking selfies, Laura is FaceTiming her Pomeranian puppy somewhere in the UK and most of the other girls are on their phone. We get a free drink, so I head to the bar to claim my dinner - a Vodka Tonic with lime and lemon; 2 of my 5-a-day fruits in just one drink! There are a total of 29 of us here tonight! Far too many for such a small club but the show must go on and the night is just getting started. 10:10 pm Jessy and I are having the following small talk: Me: I had to go to the hospital the other day because I had tonsillitis and had to pay 200 Euros! Jessy: Oh I hate going to the hospital! The only time I went willingly was when I went to get my boob job. Me: OMG, same here! The owner, who is always eavesdropping, was nearby and says: Oooh!! I also had something done. We are like wtf? Why was he even listening and why does he think we care? But he continues anyway. Owner: Guess what it was? I am thinking penis enlargement or Brazilian butt lift? Both: No idea. Plus we really couldn’t give a shit. Owner: “I had liposuction because I used to be fat and I like the good life way too much to give up eating and drinking”. Me and Jessy are both laughing at him in our heads but he’s known for having a rather fragile ego so we compose ourselves and pretend it’s not funny and make no comment whilst I try really hard not to spit my vodka tonic in his face! I make my excuses and leave because I need to share this bit of information with the other girls (aside from the snitch with surveillance cameras for nipples of-course - I’m sure she already has all his medical history). 10:20 pm The first group of guys arrive and they are a bachelor party from Glasgow. The usual suspects are: - The one who thinks he is too hot and therefore doesn’t want to spend any money - The old dude who respects you too much to get a lap dance from you - The one who has never been to a strip club before (Yay! we love these ones) - The married one who will probably fall in love with a stripper because she is not like his wife and she listens to him (for money) - The stag who is in between scared and excited (and he should be because Roxy is in da house) We wait till they get their drinks and then attack like a pack of lioness’s. The groom: I’m getting married Me: send her my condolences His mate whilst waving a fake note worth 50cents to us: “Would you look at me when you are dancing on the stage and make it really special?” Me: (Fake laughing) well if you give me something more than fake currency worth 50 cents, then perhaps (errrrrm nope!) Susie is on the stage dancing to tainted love by Marilyn Mason AGAIN!! (WHYYYYYYYY!!!) Roxy is about to go in for the kill with the groom. The group agrees on a stage show for the stag with Roxy. 10:50 Satisfaction by Benny Benassi plays in the background and the guy is on his knees with his pants down and Roxy is slapping the shit out of his bare butt in front of everyone while the group cheers. Roxy is about to fill his own shoe with Tequila and give it to him to drink. They are loving it and while everyone is watching I spot new customers coming in so the real hustle starts. 11:00 pm A group of young-looking Finns and I have been having small talk for a while. I do most of the talking as they are super shy. Me: So can I get a drink? Finnish dude: But you are at work, you should not drink. Me: and you expect me to deal with people like you while I’m sober? Finnish dude: Fair point. He laughs, gets me a drink and asks for a private dance. 11:45 pm it is my turn to go on the main stage and I’ve chosen to dance to one of my favourite tunes - a remix of “free at last” with my signature move: licking my own pleasers upside down, to the speech by Martin Luther King Jr. 12:05 My night gets quiet. There are too many dancers and not enough space to sit which is making it hard to hustle. So I head to the bar for a shot of Tequila with another 3 girls. We discuss how the night is going and witness the owner trying to manipulate the baby stripper to suck his dick in one of the private rooms. Him and his friends love young looking naive dancers, so they are packing like a group of vultures around this new gullible girl. 12:30 am The baby stripper is in the changing room, so we give her “the talk”: be careful, don’t do anything you aren’t comfortable with, charge in advance, come to us with any questions; but at the end of the day there is only so much we can do. 2:45 am Finally two Italians enter the club and me and my friend spot the potentially big spenders. One of the Italian dudes buys 3 bottles of champagne costing 330 Euros each and then asks, “How much to fuck you?“. I do need to entertain him as I get some commission for the bottles we sell, so I say: “Make me an offer I can’t refuse”. He replies, “300 Euros”. So I say “are you willing to spend more on a bottle of champagne than on an actual human?”. He answers, “well we are drinking each bottle in around 40min and I know I’m going to last just 5 with you...”. Oh dear! And they say this job is “easy money!” 5:15 am I am so tipsy and feeling sassy. I am kind of done with hustling at this point. I overhear Bambi tell a customer “Yes, I am a very innocent girl” whilst fluttering her big brown eyes. It was the dude’s third trip to the cash machine with her. I must admit I love this girl’s hustle because she does indeed look very innocent with her petite frame but she is certainly anything but! My Mexican friend tends to arrive late, and he buys tequilas for me and my friend Max. We are professional drinkers so we can take it! Never try to outdrink a stripper, we do this for a living and will be doing acrobatics while you find yourself putting your house key in the cash machine! We sit with them a while and after my 2nd tequila I get up to go to the toilet but fall on my ass! So Max who’s an excellent friend starts to dry hump my face and as I’m on the floor with her crotch on my face! I ask her, “What are you doing?”. She replies, “Chiqui! You are wasted so I am humping your face so it looks like it is part of the show!!”. This is what friends are for - always ready to dry hump your face in an emergency! 6 am It is closing time!! FINALLY!! We queue with our fake eye lashes hanging on for dear life, smelling of cigarette, sweat and cheap perfume. Bambi is still upstairs in the VIP, the dad of the bachelors party finally decided to go for a private dance with the baby stripper and after a cheeky line we are ordering a cab to go to Kit Kat club. In Berlin, the night is still young!

Advertorial: In collaboration with SEEDJ. New DJs are struggling to get in contact with labels and booking agencies, making the dream of becoming a high level DJ more and more difficult. There’s also technical gaps and lack of theoretical skills that can only be bridged thanks to expensive courses at private academies SEEDJ are turning new DJs into professional DJs through key services such as the introduction to big labels and booking agencies, as well as trainings through courses and workshops that are held online by already recognized DJ’s. What is SEEDJ? One single platform where you can have all the tools needed for your growth as a DJ. This includes technical notions and interpersonal contacts. SEEDJ is the first digital accelerator for DJs, and your first contact to some of the worlds biggest record labels and management agencies of the electronic music field. To see what you can get out of it - we offer a two month free trial through Playful. Like this you get to discover the platform and be one of the first DJ’s to get an introduction to big labels as well as booking agencies. Try it out for free with Playful and get started with workshops by some of the worlds best DJ’s. With SEEDJ you as a DJ: – Can upload your tracks on the platform that will be reviewed by SEEDJ’s label partners and management agencies partners who are looking for new talents to build partnerships with. – Participate in video courses, lectures and workshops held by teachers certified and experienced producers; among big names we find Spfdj, Adiel and Coyu . – Can download exclusive resources created by international DJs. This includes all the tools such as samples and loops needed for music production. – Get to follow music charts released by the most important media partners in the electronic scene where you will be able to buy tracks / discs thanks to the API with the most important music stores such as Beatport, Bandcamp e Discogs. Use code "Playful" to get 2 months for free when pre-ordering. LAUNCH: 30th July

The Berlin based performance duo Cryptobæbes are pioneers in the world of NFT:s. Their NFT "DEVOTION" is the first NFT of its kind that is putting together digital and physical worlds. Who are the cryptobæbes? We are a non-binary/femme artistic duo, based in Berlin. The cryptobæbes are cyborgs, the embodiment of human and android experiences. „Cyborg“ entities stand for how the human in us merges with the technology surrounding us. A cyborg has no higher belief in a god, an origin or a way of life. No pure innocence but a manifestation of tools to shape the world that shaped us. Our message is simple: the future of art is being created today, but it’s important to bring diverse points of view to make sure that this doesn’t become yet another male and white dominated space. If crypto is going mainstream, it’s important to build this future together.” So what is an NFT? An NFT (Non-Fungible Token) is a digital art piece that can be bought and sold with cryptocurrency in online marketplaces. Through blockchain technology, every transaction is monitored and part of the work. The interest in NFT‘s shot through the roof lately, with artists like Beeple selling one of his pieces for 42,329 Ether ($69.3 million). Many other digital artists have entered the space, as well as the collectors eager to get their hands on their art pieces, forming a completely new art market. What’s the deal with NFTs? NFTs allow all kinds of artists to take ownership of their work and distribute it to a wide audience. This market holds a promise of decentralizing transactions, connecting creators to their fans directly. But with every financial high, the low is inevitable and the participants have growing concerns about what’s been called a financial bubble in digital art prices. Nevertheless, groups like Cryptobæbes collective are bringing their experimental and feminist project „DEVOTION“ to the market and challenging a male-dominated space. What is DEVOTION? Devotion is the first NFT to ever be redeemable for a performative immersive face-to-face experience. The artwork is a digital collection of 10 unique DEVOTION tokens. Each token contains a unique high-resolution photograph of the two Cryptobæbes, created in collaboration with renowned, underground photographer Krousky. DEVOTION tokens function as a unique ticket: they can be exchanged for a full-night private experience, crafted from scratch for the token holder. The receiver can choose a city like NYC, Paris, London, Tokyo, Berlin or SF and have the Cryptobæbes deliver the experience to them. What does immersive mean? Immersive art is the fusion of surroundings, performance and audience. The participant is not just observing the art, but is highly involved in the narrative, the interactions and outcome of the encounter. For us, performing in these settings presents new opportunities to connect, explore dark longings and desires. We want to engage with the collector and involve them in a game taking place between the physical and digital world. Wanna know more about the Cryptobæbes and follow the journey? Visit their website . Interested in the collection? Head over to OpenSea .

DJ and producer Ron Wilson, who is also the owner of production label 777 Recordings, has added web development to his portfolio of skills. Uncertain times, and being a single parent made the decision to study the 12-week course at Spiced Academy, easy. This article is produced in collaboration with Spiced Academy . ”My father is a music journalist who later became a web developer”, Ron says. His dad is British and moved to Berlin in the ’80s and started to work at Fritz Radio. ”He was always very involved with music and the punk scene. I grew up with music, and since he worked as a host there, he had easy access to music, so he brought me to concerts, and always came home with plenty of records. When his contract ended, he started learning web development to help build the radios website.” ”They say ’like father like son’, but I didn’t learn it through him. Although I could see that it was a great job with flexible working hours, as well as pretty creative and fun too.” Ron has always enjoyed good music but didn’t listen to techno until he was 17 and then started working as a runner at old Tresor, a club he is a resident DJ at today. Ron Wilson performing at HÖR. ”Before that I thought techno was not so interesting, but when I heard it on a good sound system, I started to understand it better. I also worked with the Love Parade in 2002, and I guess I needed to start dancing to it to get into the repetitive groove to understand it better. This evolved as I turned 18 and started clubbing.” Ron met an old friend from school who showed him how to mix with records and they started to create parties together. ”All went kind of well and we started making a name for ourselves.” After several years Ron could at this point live on his music career and started his label 777 Recordings. ” In 2014 my son was born and suddenly my life changed. I couldn’t stay out in the evenings like before, and since being a DJ is a lot about making connections as well, I didn’t get as many gigs as I used to.” ”Just like many artistic works, it’s very fragile. I have many successful friends, but many DJ careers can also end after a couple of years. And it’s quite exhausting with the traveling and all.” When the pandemic hit, Ron felt it was a good time to do something new. ”I wanted to learn something new, and also to be able to provide for me and my kid. But I also wanted to do something that made sense. That solution was web development. I talked to my dad and it made so much sense to try it out and enroll into Spice Academy.” ”Everything is being digitalized and if there’s another pandemic, I’ll always have a job that is very interesting. It’s something that always fascinated me. My friend who taught me how to dj 15 years ago is also a programmer today and he showed me a couple of things helping me out understanding the complexity of programming.” Ron found Spiced Academy who offered a 12 week long course to become a Full Stack Web Developer. Something that can be payed for through Arbeitsamt . ”It was the perfect opportunity for me. A lot of courses take two years and that makes it difficult when you’re also providing for a kid. Of course, these 12 weeks are super intense with its 8 hours a day plus homework. But it’s easy to see the end of the tunnel, and the teachers are amazing. Very helpful and understanding.” Today Ron knows how to build a website and is using his knowledge to build an e-commerce web shop from scratch for his label. ”It’s also a great way for me to get a portfolio that I can show to companies when applying for jobs, which I will probably do this summer, although some people in my class probably applied for jobs right after finishing the course and started to work. I have only good things to say about Spiced Academy.” Visit: Spiced-Academy.com

By: Jake Indiana Illustration: Johannes Helgelin This text from Jake Indiana takes us back in time. Sit back and enjoy the ride. It was, I later learned, my golden birthday. Turning 23 on the 23rd of the month, an omen of symmetrical importance. But it doesn’t feel very gold. Today is violet. Today is purple princess. Today is the park picnic of the purple princess and everyone will attend. I have lived in Berlin for only eight months and I am friends with everyone, everyone knows me, and everyone will attend. I glide through Neukölln like a sparkly wraith. My hair is unicorn hair and I am invincible. Dyed purple and fading blue, I am the lanky fairy child of Cotton Candy Land, floating above the souls of Berlin and sprinkling them with kindness and giggles. It is my day today, and the world will know joy. Almost everyone is there. I am photographed and adored. I drink bottles of Sekt and flit like a butterfly. I am hailed as a beautiful object and kissed only once on the mouth. We are in the cruising area so I can watch you pee and you kiss me but it is not worth it. It is a pity kiss, and a pity kiss is to be pitied. Why have you come? I am fluffy with ketamine and am given a baby. The rush of elation is halted by the fear. This is not safe, I am on drugs and this is an infant child in my hands. The mother smiles and nods and I stare into the inquisitive pupils of a baby. I am this child’s goddess. Their godmother. I am too scared to drop them and I return them safely. It is now morning, and we are marching down the gravely path of Berghain and probing the queue. An ocean of ravers garbed in black and we slide through like violet sea snakes. I traipse sets of stairs and continue to flit. I belong to the spirits, I am a party angel. I cannot be kissed I am beyond pity. Scenes and costumes change. I am still awake and I am in a field. A hot, hilly knoll. There are sandbars and I am parched. I am at a wedding and I know neither bride nor groom. I know some, but not all, of the guests. I stumble into a wood that is bare, trees with no branches and dusky dirt for ground. It is a hot day but my memory of this moment is a chill. There are patches of merry- makers clutching phones and glasses and I am in a wood of ash and silence. The stars are opening up above us and I have no idea how to leave the field. We are in Berlin, but I have never seen so much sand here before. It is not my birthday, but I am still awake so it counts. Later, at home, I assess the day. It is a hard world for those who flit.