This is the third time we've published a collection of Berlin-based photographer Frankie Casillo's work to round out the year's coverage—and 2023 was his busiest yet. Since we first published this feature in 2021, he's become particularly in-demand, thanks to his eye for capturing idiosyncratic dance floor moments and finding the beauty that exists away from the decks. His style is distinctive, too. In the same way you might be able to immediately identify a producer's choice synth or a vocalist's timbre, we've learned to recognise a Casillo composition.

In 2023, Casillo observed and appreciated an increased investment and focus in striking performance and elevated production. From Florentina Holziger's challenging Étude for Church at Berlin Atonal, where the Austrian artist had performers hanging from the ceiling from metal hooks attached to their skin; to Blawan and Skrillex's back-to-back at Draaimolen, illuminated by Children of the Light's installation that swung a beam of light over the dance floor like an acrobat on a pendulum; to his first experience of the Biennale Musica, where electronic performances at the 67th edition brought together "us and the institution, aristocratic people who attend classical events. People were so curious."

Casillo also thinks the greater "artistic touch" being paid to events is encouraging more of the next generation to want to come into the industry in more varied roles, such as lighting technician or stage designer. "More than being a DJ," he said, "I've seen an interest in [young people] expressing themselves through the possibility of building setups and installations in events in beautiful locations. It's the layer beyond the sound, and it's so needed."

Electronic music, though, continues to face many challenges. The cost-of-living crisis affects affordability for every pocket of the industry. Booking fees are on the up, ticket prices too, and punters, promoters, artists, venues and everyone else are trying to manage their respective operations with increased outgoings and decreased disposable income. And yet, in the same breath, the diary gets busier every year. "It's as if you never have to wait to come across a crazy lineup," Casillo said. "Sometimes those special moments are missing, you know, things to look forward to."

Despite this, Casillo's year was full of beautiful experiences. This collection of photographs taken across 2023 documents numerous parties and festivals, including crisp morning walks along the Baltic coast at NACHTIVILLE, the Sue Veneers dance collective at GALA, Gabber Eleganza's huge crowd at Dour Festival and even a moment with Matrix co-director Lana Wachowski at the Julia Stoschek Foundation in Germany. There are outlandish outfits, two-stepping feet, breathtaking levels of production and the odd artist portrait squeezed in there, too.

Rounding off our year in review, Casillo talks us through some of his favourite dance floor moments. These photographs capture the spirit of dancing in 2023 as we move into 2024, looking ahead to the dance floors that await us this year.

NACHTIVILLE

The return of NACHTIVILLE was an amazing experience, hosted by a team of people who really know what they're doing. The holiday park had a very '90s kitsch look and the fact everyone had a bed and a shower less than five minutes from the dance floor improved the quality of the party. In the morning, people got their coffees and went for a walk on the sweeping beach, refreshed by the cold January air. For a few hours in the evening, the water park was open and everyone went crazy on the slides. The team had also created their own 24-hour TV channel that played in the rooms, which worked so well and was very trippy. I love the picture of Sedef Adasï, who played the final set in the main pool with Job Jobse. What I like about her is she doesn't get stuck in the Berghain thing, she's out there playing everything. She can play hard techno in the darkness and disco in the swimming pool—that's important.

CTM

2023 was the first time I worked with CTM and I loved it. I especially enjoyed the talks. It's so interesting to hear people talk about their work. There was NZIRIA, an amazing artist from Naples. She has this neo-melodic style from the region of Campania, which is a traditional dialect but she gives new form to it with electronics and drones. I've never seen anything like it. Then there was this group, Team Rolfes, who did a live performance combining art and music, during which they were avatars in a game the person on the computer was creating. They performed before Amnesia Scanner.

TXL

This was a series of events in the hangars of Tegel Airport in Berlin. There was a huge amount of production and a pretty small stage and dance floor in comparison. The most unique part was the cranes around the stage which I tried to capture. And I took this photo of Freddy K. I'm interested in photos of people taking photos at the moment. At first I would be annoyed by a landscape being ruined by one person and their phone, but now sometimes I shoot the actual screen. We use our phones all day, every day and we record everything we see, and I wonder if one day, phones won't look like this anymore and then photographs like this will have another layer and be even more interesting to look at.

Tikiman Vol.1 Album Launch

Tikiman is such a character. He's lived in Berlin for decades, and this was his album release at Tresor. The album was released by Refuge Worldwide's Richard Akingbehin. I like Refuge so much as a team and a station because they are so human in what they do. The station is truly open to anything, everybody can get a piece of it if they have a story to tell. When I was at Globus I also wanted to shoot this cheesy '90s electricity ball, I did it with double exposure just as I was about to leave.

Correspondences

This was Soundwalk Collective and Patti Smith, as well as special guests Diego Espinosa Cruz Gonzalez, Lucy Railton and Nicolas Becker. The visuals were by Pedro Maia. This was the first time I ever saw Patti Smith live. The show sold out so quickly that they did another earlier in the day.

(LA)HORDE

The collective (LA)HORDE hosted an event in a gallery space at the Julia Stoschek Foundation. There were more than 20 dancers, archival videos from '90s hardcore parties, it was beautiful to watch. I love the lighting of this image of one of the dancers, he was sitting on a large digger. Then I got to take one of my favourite shots of the whole year, of Matrix director Lana Wachowski. She's amazing, such an eclectic character. She's not very social and has always lived a reserved and discreet life, so it's not so easy to get a picture of her. I took another one which is cleaner, but this expression is so her. This was the shot.

GALA

The Pleasure Dome was on fire at GALA last year, packed from open to close. To take the full crowd shot I stood on a piece of concrete to get a higher vantage point, it was one of the busiest moments I've ever seen at this stage. Since day one at GALA I've always thought the security were some of the best in the UK. They're so fun, they're always dancing and smiling. It makes such a difference when you can relate to the people that are taking care of you. There's also a photo of the new stage they had in 2023, I think they'll probably keep it for 2024 as it worked really well. Then there's the Sue Veneers troupe, who are really GALA in a nutshell. I love the cultural touch of all the white trainers. One day, people might wear different shoes and the photo will become even stronger.

Melt Festival

This was my first time at Melt and it was a pleasant surprise. The crowd is a bit younger, but I found it to be so friendly. It's a huge environment but it feels relaxed, like it has the energy of a smaller festival. Plus, it's very organised. A Song For You choir sang during one of the days, you can see there's more than 30 people on the stage. One of the pictures of the site, Ferropolis, I took at sunrise. It has that industrial touch so I spent a lot of time taking pictures of the structures. Then there's Job Jobse, he's always such a good vibe. For festivals, he's the best DJ.

ICKPA

ICKPA was originally a festival in Kyiv, which, before the war began, was really becoming the new Berlin. The team moved ICKPA to Berlin and in the first year they took over RSO. Last year they did different locations and a wider programme with talks. ICKPA also had events in New York and Prague, so I'm excited to see what comes next for them.

Transit

Transit was another festival I went to for the first time. It was very small, in a little park that had lots of greenery and trees. There was maybe around 3,000 people there, and in the busy season I really appreciate going to smaller events. Nikki Nair and Skee Mask were playing on this stage they'd built in the corner with a cage and construction nets. This was another festival where you get to connect with people quickly because the atmosphere is so intimate.

Stone Techno Festival

Stone Techno is a festival hosted by Essen-based label and party series The Third Room at one of the biggest coal mines in Europe. The site is protected by UNESCO and is next to a small forest. There's these huge chimneys everywhere and everything is red brick. It's the perfect spot for a techno festival. As you can see, I like capturing ravers' legs on the dance floor, and I thought this spot for swimming was a nice addition. It was fun there, plus it was close to the dance floor so you could hear the music but take a breather.

Gabber Eleganza @ Dour

I've been working with Gabber Eleganza for many years. Before I met him, I had no connection to the gabber scene. I've learned that it's not just about the music, it's about the culture. He creates these archival collections and he's crazy about clothing, rare T-shirts especially. It's not my background at all but I really enjoy learning about it. He's so close with the community and the experience isn't just about him but the dancers, too.

Holy Pink

2023 was ten years of Holy Pink, which takes place during Tilburg Pride. What I like about it is that because it's in the centre of the city, it attracts such a random mix of people. A lot of them are in costume, but a lot of them just walk by and wonder what's happening. Holy Pink is for everyone, there's no stereotypes. The weather wasn't the best but the Dutch know how to deal with that. Holy Pink is run by the Draaimolen team, and everything that team does always creates an excellent and unique vibe. The unicorn was the last picture I took. I'm always thinking about storytelling, it's not so much about the selection or the editing but the sequence. This tells the story of Tilburg Pride.

NACHTI

This is NACHTI. What else? It's the best outdoor festival in Germany. They've done it for 26 years—same location, similar size, everything works so well. It's rare that you come across someone who's attending for the first time—the people of NACHTI come back every year. As soon as the festival finishes, they buy their tickets for next year. They're really devoted. At NACHTI there's only one stage playing music at a time, so the people move around the festival together and within a couple of days you really do know everyone there. It's spot on.

T3R @ Henrichshütte

The Third Room hosted a second festival last year at Henrichshütte, a former steelworks and the largest open-air museum in Europe. It's about 100 KM from Stone Techno and both festivals have that industrial feel. At Henrichshütte, even the hotel we were staying in really focused on the local area and the workers—over my bed there was a huge picture of a mine worker, it was the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes! Everything in the area is about the local industry and to attract tourism. What I liked about the crowd here is that it wasn't the usual techno festival attendees, there were also lots of local people who wanted to see what was happening in their nearby village.

Draaimolen

I think Draaimolen has to be one of the most innovative festivals right now. Every year, they step it up. It's fully, 100 percent independent. The team are visionary and they don't give a fuck about the money. It's a family, not a business. It's really a life mission to do life-changing experiences for people in a beautiful way. I like close-up images like the one of this amazing person with the piercings. If you can't see the face, it leaves a bit of mystery. You can also see James Holden's setup for his show at The Chapel and a picture from Blawan and Skrillex going back-to-back. That was my favourite set of the year. I was stuck for three hours. I can't remember the last time I stayed put on a dance floor for that long.

Berlin Atonal

I've been working with Berlin Atonal since 2017. I love the whole team and it's such a unique event. What I really enjoyed last year was the addition of daytime performances as part of the exhibition, which were repeated several times a day. It meant you could be wandering around and suddenly someone would start performing out of the blue. I take a version of the picture looking from the ground floor up to the top floor every year. One day I want to put them all together in a series. These images include Blackhaine's setup during soundcheck; Pedro Maia's audiovisual show—you can recognise his work because he does everything on film and it has that analogue touch; then there's Florentina Holziger's startling show; and Humanities by Laxlan Petras, Yasmin Saleh and Amber Fasquelle, the human mirrorball with lighting that was soundtracked by powerful opera singing. The rest of the electronic music world looks to see what Atonal will do next.

Revisit Casillo's images from 2021 and 2022