Dimitri Hegemann - Call it Techno - Interview

Ok, so the wait is almost over. After the much-lamented closure of the original venue in 2005, the legendary Tresor club is due to open on 24th May in an extraordinary new location - inside a disused power station in the centre of Berlin. What's more, the former steam heat plant - which used to supply electricity to the whole of East Berlin - is to be the incredible setting for a major new gallery of electronic arts. Since 1991 Tresor has gained a phenomenal reputation for being perhaps the ultimate techno destination, for clubbers and turntable maestros alike. The calibre of past guests is astonishing, quite frankly - hardly a famous techno artist or DJ has not played at the club. The prospective line-up for the new venue will be no different. Underground Resistance, Luciano and Sven Väth are amongst those already tipped to play. We can't wait to check it out! It's going to be one hell of a summer. So what can we expect? After tea and a few, welcome blasts of some favourite tracks, club founder, label owner and techno visionary Dimitri Hegemann reveals all.

Hi Dimitri, a pleasure to meet you. What's that music on your stereo? Ah, that's Clock DVA (proto-techno industrialists from Sheffield). This is from the late eighties. It still sounds fantastic. Do you like it? They made this music on some of the earliest Macintoshes.

Nods all round. We approve. So Tresor is to reopen in this amazing site. This is very exciting news for Berlin - and of course, for anyone who enjoys clubbing. Whatever gave you the idea to transform a derelict power station? Sounds like a bit of an undertaking.. I love a challenge, you see. I feel I have a gift for finding spaces. When I find something that strikes me, I will research it and imagine it within a new context. When I saw this place everything just made sense. The old Tresor - in the bank vault in Potsdamer Platz - was of course a very special space..

Ah yes, Tresor means vault in German.. That's right. The old location was wonderful, yet I feel the power station has an even stronger character. It's fantastic. I'd been looking for somewhere to develop this idea, where I could host a new home for Tresor and this new gallery. This was it. It's an incredible space, you must see it! (Shows photographs of vast, space-age interior)
I love ruins, you see. I'm a very romantic person. This is such a romantic space - it's so vast and bright. I can project so much into it; it gives me huge freedom. I'm so happy about it.

And 'power station' translates to 'Kraftwerk', which for those of us not so well-versed in German, may see for the first time as rather fitting.. Yes, as I said, everything just made sense.. In fact Kraftwerk themselves are planning a sound installation, which is very exciting news. The new project is be called ´Modem.Berlin´. Modem is a conduit between the old analogue and new digital world. It is destined to welcome electronic and media art, as artists can use our small gallery, but there is also space for larger productions.

Can you tell me more about the types of exhibition you plan to host? I am planning on a series of installations. It's a huge space - there are 20,000 square metres across four levels. In this space we will present avant-garde genres of electronic art with particular emphasis on light installations, video and digital art, as well as music and sound projects. I saw Olafur Eliasson's Weather Project at the Tate Modern in 2003 and was transported. (Eliasson lit up the expanse of the Turbine Hall with representations of the sun and sky)
He has been a huge inspiration for me. The power station is already an art piece. The challenge for the artist is to illuminate it in the right way. The space is very versatile. At the end of January we hosted a fashion show there. We are very lucky to have found a place where it will be possible to bring together genres of art that never usually meet.

How will the new club compare with the old venue? Actually I took a lot of the fittings out of the old club - the vault, the gutters, the steel, the big amazing doors.. I wanted to rebuild the old Tresor, as it was. I wanted to make an art piece out of it, so people could come and touch it - perhaps it could become like a Mecca for people who wanted to see the space. It will be familiar to people as Tresor - the old club, with the same kind of feeling - but in this amazing new location.

What will it be like inside? The club will be structured with three floors: the "Batterieraum" as the successor to the legendary Globus; the "+4 Bar" with its magical view into the old power station ruins; and of course the Tresor basement floor, which can be reached through a 30-meter long tunnel. I want to keep it intimate, so DJs and artists can really engage with the audience. I will work on the acoustics and make sure it is clean and safe, but I don't plan to decorate. I'm not interested in this glamour-disco style. It's not my thing. I want to keep the space it as it is, keep it industrial. So many places, particularly since the wall came down, have been cleaned up and painted with white walls and so on - but somehow I feel the soul of spaces is lost. I love this feeling of character, when something looks real. When you experience a ruin - it can be magical. Away from the dancefloor it will be possible to experience the gallery installations from a balcony - you look up and it is like staring up inside a cathedral. I want to create a quiet space, somewhere that brings people back to earth again. If you go into this big ruin, this power station, you will enjoy a special feeling. I'm not particularly esoteric or anything - but it's such a powerful sensation. It's amazing. Sometimes I just go there to relax and contemplate.

Cristian Vogel describes Tresor as the 'benchmark for authentic techno culture: a dirty and anarchic space, a safe and tolerant place, open to anything yet controlling itself and always with a a close-knit community around it'. Do you think this is something you can recreate in this space? Of course! This is what Tresor is all about. (Smiles)

What role do you feel the centre will play in Berlin? I think in Berlin this will be a really great attraction. My idea is to develop a new attitude in running a club or gallery. I think it will close the gap between the National Gallery and similar institutions in the city such as the Hamburger Bahnhof or the Deutsche Museum. It will be a space in the centre of Berlin where you can show great productions that wouldn't find exposure at these other places. Most of them are restricted in what they can do as they have to look after private collections, for example. They can't be so flexible. However I don't need to worry about this. I can experiment with different concepts - I have so much more freedom. It is so big!

Has Berlin changed much since Tresor began? Things have changed a great deal since 1989, when the wall came down. In '91, '92, '93 - the early years of the club - there was an incredible atmosphere in the city. The authorities from East and West had to negotiate how to run the traffic and so on. It was a crazy time. People from both sides were at last coming together. There were so many disused buildings in East Berlin, which gave us so much space for parties.
It was a real opportunity for the underground movement to thrive. Anyone who had an idea - a gallery, bar or club perhaps - could take the initiative. It seemed anything was possible! In some ways I miss the wall. Together with the fittings from the old Tresor, I have actually kept some pieces of it for the power station.. Really, I can't say goodbye to the wall..
Nowadays things have settled down, but the city is constantly evolving - it will always remain a hotspot for creative people, seeking new experiences and great parties. It has such energy!
There's no city in Europe with such a strong tradition of underground movements, clubs, galleries and theatre spaces. Compared to London or Paris, it is relatively cheap here - so of course it is a very attractive place for artists and musicians. So many great djs and producers choose to live here. Berlin has a big future! (Grins)

So the new club is due to open very soon. Needless to say we are very excited about the artists and djs who will play. Who can we expect to see at the controls? Oh, you know.. There will many great DJs and artists of course. (Smiles enigmatically) I don't think anyone will be disappointed, shall we say.. We will open on the 24th May, with Sven Väth. It will be his first appearance in Berlin for three years.

When not listening to techno, what is your favourite music? I love dub reggae. Augustus Pablo in particular - he's the king of melodica. My god, he played some masterpieces! Later on, I will play you a track I really like. Also Jah Shaka, King Tubby - I'm a huge fan of all that old dub. I'm always interested to hear new forms of music. This week I'm going to a dubstep night.

Tresor Opening Line-up:
24 May Sven Väth, Melanie Houston, Recyver Dogs Live PA, Phonique, Daniel Rajkovic, Kriek, Baeks
25 May Blake Baxter, Alan Oldham, Dash, Dry, Djoker Daan, Wimpy, rama aka Princess Lizard
26 May The Advent Live PA, Heiko Laux, Pacou, Daffy, Martin Moeller, MGI, Trias, Special Guest
27 May Rok, Jonzon, Stewart Walker Live PA, Todd Bodine, DJ Luke
30 May - FIRST BONITO HOUSE CLUB!!!
Dole & Kom, DJ SPUD, Dave DK, MasCon, Mike Dehnert Live PA, S.Sic, Subtronic

Location:
Tresor Club
Köpenicker Str. 59-73
10179 Berlin Mitte
(U-Bahnhof Heinrich-Heine-Straße)

Doors open: 23:00 Uhr / 11 pm
No admittance under the age of 18!

By Melanie Houston