- When the motion picture industry converges on Berlin for the annual Berlinale Film Festival in February, we say 'Berlin ist für eine Woche der Bauchnabel der Filmindustrie', which literally translated means 'Berlin becomes the belly button of the film industry'. Tonight, however, it was unlikely there would be any navel-gazing with the celluloid freaks and their red carpet having departed a few days earlier, and M.A.N.D.Y's Phillip Jung and production duo Pig & Dan on the line-up for the Playkula & Wilde night, the new party collaboration between the two German booking agencies of the same names.
Organised by Patricia Weil (Wilde) and Tania Cappelluti (Playkula), the pair say the intention of Playkula & Wilde is to bring artists from each of the rosters together like a 'class reunion', enabling them to not only party and play together, but also find out what their peers are doing. For the booking agents themselves, it's also a chance to experience what and how their artists perform first-hand, as well as the perfect platform to introduce new talents to the discerning Berlin crowd.
When we arrived at the Watergate at 1am the club was almost crowded; Mobilee protégé Sebo K spinning a psycho-touched blend of tech house downstairs on the Waterfloor, while upstairs Phillip Jung, one half of M.A.N.D.Y and part-owner of Get Physical (the first ever German record label to earn DJ Mag's "Label of the Year" award), was milking every drop of music out of some warm and funky tech house tunes. Having just returned from a tour of Central and North America, Jung seemed to relish his first opportunity of the year to play in Berlin before Samim and Signore Andreoni showcased their e-guitar based live act.
At 3:30am, Pig & Dan, playing their first ever gig in Berlin, took over from Sebo K. downstairs. Right from the opening track, they blasted their way onto the Waterfloor with some driving, 126 BPM, tech house. Playing a set consisting exclusively of their own tracks and remixes, the expansive floor next to the river Spree soon became crowded as condensation began running down the window panes. Their excellent remix of Oliver Koletzki's "Mueckenschwarm" still fresh in people's minds, it was, however, their impressive "Oh Yeah" (released last month on Cocoon) and a bootleg of a Pink Floyd classic which really took by the people by storm before wrapping up their set 2 hours later.
Big props to the joint intiatives of Playkula and Wilde for hosting a friendly, international event which was massively appreciated by the party-hungry crowd, the ducks on the river Spree (who were regularly seen casting an eye over proceedings), and even turntable-rocker Michi Beck.