Amnesia Opening was like a techno fairground where each ride was better than the next. Lets face it, with such a impressive list of respected DJs such as Joseph Capriati, Marcel Dettmann, Maceo Plex, Mar-T, Martinez Brothers and Davide Squillace it could only bring big things, but still all expectations I had were well and truly surpassed.
Marcel Dettmann’s set in the main room was three hours of driving techno. The Berghain resident has a strong following back in Berlin and the crowd reflected that, being a great mix of ages and nationalities. This summer the booth has been lowered to a level almost in line with and closer to the crowd, which was a great move as it made each set more intimate and more interactive with people finger-drumming on the top of the booth when Dettmann really started to boot off. Pan Pot took the reins in here after Dettman. It’s only in the last year that this German duo have become so internationally well known for their own tracks and their accessible but individual style of techno, and I was really glad I caught this set as they kept true to their name with a sound that could only be described as a technological paradise of pots and pans.
The Martinez Brothers are always one of my favourite duos to see as they always put on a real show for the crowd. Their charismatic style and their energy catches on to their whole audience, even in a room as big as Amnesia’s Terrace and while obviously some DJs prefer a ‘no frills’ approach and stick to winning a crowd round with their music, it’s always great to see DJs who put on more of a show, really enjoying what they’re doing and getting into each track, and these two definitely fall into that category, especially when dropping their hit ‘Won’t Somebody’. After them, Amnesia's long time resident Mar-T built the transition between the Martinez' Brothers night time slot and what was to follow later on after sunrise with a varied and energetic set. Whenever Mar-T takes control of that terrace booth at the closing or opening party he seems to bring daytime frivolities with him; his heavily percussive music and cheeky attitude spark off something in the room which brings it from dark and dirty to bright, wild and definitely still dirty.
Squillace kept true to his usual techno style but with pangs of house and disco, keeping us all guessing what banger he was going to drop next. Thanks to him, Zombie Disco Squad’s ‘Drink’ will be spinning through my head for the rest of the week. This heavyweight DJ is a hard act to follow but Maceo Plex is the perfect man for the job. Being familiar with Amnesia's Terrace already, he was the fitting choice to play the daylight set and continued to impress with each carefully picked and impeccably mixed musical gem. He stepped it up a notch playing his and Cajmere’s new track ‘Calm Under Pressure’ which should definitely be on your ‘to download’ list if you haven’t already. And in the final minutes of the morning, it only took one chord to ring out for everyone to instantly recognise 'Born Slippy', Plex's final track of a brilliant set.
One of the highlights was when the sun rose; seeing the daylight pour through into Amnesia is something incredible. By the end it was the hard-core clubbers and a lot of locals left, creating an unrivalled atmosphere that I've only experienced in Ibiza.
After this epic night of DJs and sun-drenched dance floors, Amnesia is definitely onto a winner if they can keep these unforgettable nights up.
Photography - James Chapman
