Techno's Capital

Catalog description

Techno is more than a genre of electronic dance music (EDM). First evolving in Detroit's economic decline during the 1980s, techno is a defining beat of our time, reflecting contemporary themes of technology, urban life, resilience, and escapism through its futuristic, repetitive, and hypnotic rhythms that resonate globally - with Berlin, Germany as its perceived center of gravity. In recognition of the scene's distinctive contribution to the reunified city's cultural identity Berlin techno recently earned UNESCO recognition in Germany as intangible cultural heritage. The instant dissemination of local music via the internet, along with the advent of cheap intra-European flights, helped to spread the Berlin sound, drawing crowds who want to experience the music in its indigenous storied club setting that very weekend, thus manifesting the city's status as the recognized world capital of techno. Berlin techno has a history that is inextricably tied to the political, social and cultural climate of the Cold War period, the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the chaotic aftermath. In this course we will both explore the history, impact and perception of Berlin techno as well as its roots in the rise and decline of 20th century industrialization and analyze manifestations of Berlin's clubs and music in film, photography and literature. Curious to learn how it felt to enter unassuming barracks, climb down a hidden narrow staircase into the basement, feeling the bass thump before you passed through the threshold of that mythical heavy steel door that opened an abandoned vault built of concrete walls nearly five-foot thick that shielded you from the outside world for the next 12 hours, only the flashes of strobe lights and the pounding beat guiding your body on the obscured dance floor while it is moved by 130 BPM? Knowledge of German is not required for this course. All texts will…