Trickster

What prompted you to start organizing parties? How did they evolve until today? 

Being surrounded by people dancing in the dirt became my passion from a young age.
Feeling my body through low-frequency pressure was an instant pleasure, and listening to repetitive beats with crazy sounds calmed my mind. The vibe at the end of the 90s in East Berlin was wild and open, and at the same time, electronic dance music was becoming a serious business. I was amazed by the clubs, which were so different from the discotheques I had known before. Raw walls and untreated rooms free you from an architecturally dictated sense of space. Strobo light and fog blur reality and fire your imagination. Heavy bass music channels all the energy to dance the night away.

The abandoned districts in the east of the city were disorganized no man's land, and you could just go into an empty store and open a bar in the living room. You didn't need a lot of money or permission from anyone. This atmosphere inspired me and suited me very well, as I was raised with hippie energy and always wanted to do everything by myself. This led to me working in a rough underground club Möbelfabrik in the early 2000s, where I learned my craft and soon became a resident DJ.
At the same time, I was studying fine arts and quickly took over the student party Sportbuffet with a friend. I soon rearranged the room and booked DJ friends to play with me. The nights went on until the start of class the next day. I took a self-imposed journeyman's exam, which I had taken by an event and bar manager. It was the closing party of the university's summer tour. After success, I acknowledged myself as an event manager and received requests from professors to organize their events.

Meanwhile many of my friends wanted to become respected DJs and aspired to be recognized by well-known labels or started their own to achieve fame. That didn't interest me so much, instead I wanted to realize my own ideas and wanted to make the most of the freedom offered by the city. I believed as a citizen of Berlin I have the right to party whereever I like. So I organized Open air parties in the middle of the city with my friends. The police regulations at the time meant that if somebody reported a noise nuisance, they would come twice to warn you, after which the music system would be confiscated, and you could be fined a few thousand. We would let them come once and then pack everything up in my fire truck. Off we went to the next district, where a different police station was responsible, and we received a new number of warnings. The name Peng Peng came about by itself. We only had a Myspace page where you could get our telephone answering machine number where the coordinates of the party were announced. Only truly dedicated party people would find us. Sometimes, we had a few hundred people, sometimes twenty, sometimes three. It was all about the passion for music, dancing, and spacing off with like-minded people. We provided those in need of a good dance with free open-air parties and acquired a certain underground myth. I was known as the godfather of the crooks - it was the best time of my life!! 

Consequently, I founded my own platform with a partner in 2005: Shitlabel! We organized the first Shitlabel parties at the Möbelfabrik and a Punk club. We represented local greats and newcomers, playing Minimal, Electro, Techno, and House music, and had art exhibitions. The crowd and vibe were always great, and the love spread quickly. It was all about authenticity. Over the years, I laid down my work for the time being and focused on fine arts. I played as a DJ regularly but didn’t organize parties anymore. A lot of illegal venues and clubs had been expelled from the center of the city. The whole atmosphere changed; I didn’t feel it anymore. 

Around 2011 I fell in love with Michael, an underground star who was known for his Reclaim The Sparkasse parties in banks, empty warehouses and subway stations. We had the same attitude and passion and dedication. Suddenly it was all there again. Times had still changed, though, and we had grown up. We became professional organizers and had weekly and monthly club events. 

In 2018 I decided to take Shitlabel out of the wine barrel and turnes out it had matured well. The taste was excellent and could be served! The expansion began. Shitlabel events can now be visited in various European cities: Prague, Tallinn, Berlin, and Riga. I, BLACK ANTHEM RESTORE and INVERSE ELEMENT, round off the line-up as residents. An inclusive and diverse booking is the foundation of every event. The aim is to create equal opportunities for people of all genders, ethnic backgrounds, religions, sexual orientations, disabilities, and ages, which is important. 

So what makes HALL and Shitlabel a good fit?

HALL in Tallinn is very close to my heart because it represents everything that inspired me back then. Elena, who runs the club, has great values with which she keeps an excellent crew together. 

Is Berlin scene in good shape right now? What has changed, and what has
stayed the same?
Hardly any open spaces are left in the city, and many clubs are closing due to high rents or being driven out by capital. The club landscape will change dramatically over the next few years, moving away from temporary venues to clearly structured and commercial venues. Self-realization and expression will be displaced. However, Berlin has always been a place of change. The young generation is creative and creates new places and visions. This will certainly happen decentrally and not in the city center, as it was in the 90s and early 2000s. 

What is the ethos of Shitlabel?
Doing whatever the fuck I like. Searching for the real shit. Questioning the socially accepted morals. The moral could be that everybody deserves everything. Understanding self-development as an elementary component of action and pursuing action out of Love. 

What keeps you going?
As always: the pumping beat and tofu! 

What are the most problematic moments in the modern party scene?
Toxic masculinity, excessive self-promotion, artists who look more into the camera than into the audience, the hunt from one drop to the next in order to attract as much attention as possible and thus earn money. The gaze is directed outwards instead of inwards. Techno events are increasingly becoming concerts rather than a communal experiences. 

Describe your typical day.
Waking up when the ice cream shop downstairs uses the coffee machine for the first time. Somatic exercises followed by a swim in the sea. Attending a meeting with my partner about booking matters, where we discuss the choice of artists. Cooking vegetarian food. Preparation of upcoming events: checking booked hotels, flights, technical riders, and staff planning. Evaluation of submitted demo tracks and renewal of my set selection. Trying to make time for myself. Meditating and sleeping soundly.
Traveling to another city on event days, picking up artists from the airport, taking care of their arrival at the hotel, solving last-minute problems at the venue, having artist dinner, trying to sleep an hour, starting the event around 11 pm, playing the closing around six and finishing the event around 9 am, driving to the hotel, making sure all artists arrive on time to their next travel, sleep 2 hours, travel home. 

What makes you anxious?
Right-wing radicalism, Stupidity, AI 

What makes you relaxed and happy?
Laughing, meditating, painting, telling long stories, being efficient, being a smart ass, standing in the wind, swimming in the sea, seeing people losing their minds in music, seeing my love walking towards me. 

Have you ever suffered from imposter syndrome?
Yes, that's a hurdle I'm constantly trying to overcome. I'm a dilettante and a perfectionist. Acting instinctively and doubting mentally. 

Do you ever feel bored?

 No! 

What is your favorite track at the moment?

Fire From The Shadows By Remco Beekwilder 

What would you tell 18-year-old you? 

Sex becomes more interesting in your 30s.