Midas, the Ancient Greek king, is generally regarded as an allegory for the plight of wealth. However, after seeing the light, Midas became a follower of Pan, the lascivious, cloven-hoofed god of goat-herders, fittingly part of Dionysus’ retinue, who was worshipped as the promiscuous god of the wilderness and ecstatic music, and as the instigator of panic and madness. And so it was in a flash of recalcitrant folly that Midas alone took sides with Pan, after having stepped-in to arbitrate a musical contest between the latter and Apollo, god of the arts, poetry, and moderation.
What a rich and perfect parable this is for the club music of today, torn as it is between the demands of the market place, the thrill of sensory overload, and illuminating idiosyncrasy. How this applies to Simian Mobile Disco and Skream, who understand better than most acts how to harness the emotions of the crowd and create fantastic hands-in-the-air moments, or to the work of Anika and DJ Sotofett, who despite their supposedly rational approach to music still manage to conjure cathartic mayhem, is best left to you to discover.
King Midas, by the way, emerged from this divine contest wearing a pair of donkey’s ears – Apollo’s curse for defying him - which became the mark of both the deaf critic and, more importantly here, any rebel who refuses to be patronised. Midas’s attempt to hide his ears apparently gave rise to the Phrygian “liberty cap”, a symbol of emancipation and the pursuit of liberty, that also serves as the anarchic Mr Punch’s most emblematic garment.
Berlin may be the unofficial home of techno, but some crave a different kind of party. When philosopher-musicians BlackBlackGold (Gucci Goth), xorzyzt (Bl4ck M4g1ck), and Tom Ass (Gegen) first came together as a unit in September of 2011, the ritual of DJing together was the synthesis of a shared longing: fog, heavy vibes, aural evil. Collaboration was inevitable, and from that day these three kings have birthed two distinct parties with similar goals: violent dancing and the end of party apathy. When you enter our space, you are part of the cabal.
PURGE was the first spawn of their united ideology. Emerging in the winter of 2011, the logo told audiences everything they needed to know: the antithesis of acid’s positivism and the rawness of black metal. The first edition presented the ice-cold sounds of HTRK and the Cocteau Twins-inspired Bruises, followed by a dancefloor of the bleakest, crunchiest bass, drones, and filth available. This live/DJ combo was an important factor in the formula: to give a feeling of belonging to the crowd, of community through a physical presence—the organic electronic.
Since that evening, the bi-monthly PURGE has mutated through different incarnations and a flurry of guest DJs to suit the shifting desires of the UnReaL trio: the second party featured the industrial techno of Ancient Methods and devolved into a combination of DJing and nude performance art. The third was a crushingly heavy, fogged-out warehouse okkvlt with Modern Witch, Sewn Leather, and Dracula Lewis, and the fourth an open-air drone metal rave with Nadja and Jaws. Doom-stretched guitar chords and codeine-wave wove through a field of slowly swaying freaks under black skies and summer stars. In a pentagram of flowers and a circle of jack-o-lanterns they made Halloween magick with the jagged digital hardcore-influenced filthstep of Deathface, celebrating their beloved holiday the best way they knew how: loudly.
There’s something to be said for the shifting and personal nature of Tumblr. Never before has it been easier to share your desired aesthetic with a wide range of people—and to change the aesthetic of the whole thing at a whim. This ephemeral philosophy of Impermanence has also shaped the dance desires of a new generation: a party shouldn’t consist of single and similar genres, but a sea of varied sounds that create a similar vibe—and where else could Britney Spears a capellas fit so perfectly over Throbbing Gristle instrumentals?
A post-goth's wet dream, #gHashtag (pronounced GASH-tag) is PURGE’s "softer" sibling, a cross-genre/cross-dressing URL/IRL connection. The only party in town where you can hear a combination of R&B club, 90s grungepunk, trap, and gangsta shit combined with industrial-dance evil; Southern screw and NON too. The perfect solution for genre-nonspecific weirdos who want to hear everything that inspires them in one singular evening. Live remixes and reconceptualizations are the keywords, Top 40 through a glass darkly. “Don’t take your music genres and your subcultures so seriously” is what they mean to say, but also “Find new ways to love old sounds.”
2013 will find them expanding their nightlife ideology even further, and with a plethora of beautifully dark ever-emerging sounds, their aural palette (and that of their audience) can only expand as well.
In collaboration with Purge / #gHashtag. Some of this night's performances will be streamed live via Red Bull Music Academy Radio. http://www.rbmaradio.com/
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