Club scene: Anti-drug initiative puts music first

Record decks. Photo: Flickr (CC) JP(kedakai)

What attracts you to techno music and rave events?

The fast pace and energy of it all, plus the fact that everybody gets along with each other. Even during the big open-air parades, when more than one or two million people get together in one place, everything is really peaceful. Especially compared to hip-hop and rock events, where you have a much smaller number of people but significantly more fights. At techno events, everybody connects and instantly starts dancing, without much ado about it.

How long have you been a fan?

Since 1998. Back then we started Ravesite.de [the German-speaking techno parade portal] and began attending events like the Street Parade in Zurich with our own parade truck. The police would always stop our car and search us for drugs after each parade, sometimes up to three or four times in one night.

Was that the impulse for starting your counter-movement?

Yes, at some point, we decided it was time to start our own initiative, Techno Statt Drogen (“techno instead of drugs”). I mean, at hip-hop events they smoke marijuana to no end and nobody says any-thing. But with us ravers it’s implied that we are all carrying ecstasy [pills] at all times.

When did the initiative start?

That was around 2006; there were around ten people in the founding team and now up to twenty of us attend events under our banner. In 2007 we even hosted our own parade under the “techno instead of drugs” motto in the town of Celle, and 3,000 people came to dance and protest peacefully against drugs.

How is the response in the scene so far?

More and more techno websites are entering into partnerships to link to our initiative or host our logo. So the initiative’s logo is definitely spreading. We are always looking for partners and everybody is welcome to visit our site, download the logo and spread the word.

As far as the drug situation in the techno scene goes, would you say some people don’t even care about the music anymore, only about getting high?

For sure, one of my ex-girlfriends insisted that you can only “endure” the music when you’re on ecstasy. But then she would be in a good mood for a few hours and fall asleep later. As for me, I’d rather drink two Red Bulls...

Your initiative’s website maintains that with plenty of water and without drugs, people can party much longer.

That is our motto. It’s much better if someone consumes energy drinks and water to dance all day. On ecstasy you hardly notice much about the music anyway...

When you attend techno events with your initiative, do you do any drug education or outreach?

We don’t approach people to educate them directly. There are already initiatives and campaigns for that, some by the Federal Health Ministry for instance. But if people ask us about the dangers, like when they see our truck and our “techno instead of drugs” logo on t-shirts and banners, we will tell them what can happen when they engage in drugs. Then again, most people know that already – and do it anyway!

So you don’t try to preach?

No, what’s important is that we are people right from within the scene who approach others inside the scene with our message. So we’re not an outside agency condemning drugs as “evil” on television or the like. We’re not out to demonize drugs altogether. Some people maintain that even alcohol is a drug, but we have no problem with people drinking a couple of beers at a rave, as long as they can handle it. But I find ecstasy and the like really unnecessary...

Would you say that some techno clubs need to be avoided because of their drug scene?

Yes, there are definitely some locations where you get hit up for drugs every couple of meters, like “Got some pills?” So it’s no surprise that there are constantly drug raids at these locales. But I always say that people who like to party out in the open daylight, like at the big outdoor rave parades, are the ones who party without drugs and only want to fully enjoy the music. So they don’t need drugs, only the ones who head to dingy downstairs clubs after midnight to party until the late morning hours do.

Is it even possible to go to a techno event without being confronted with drugs?

Yes, definitely. Especially if you go to the open-air events. And it’s also a matter of what style of techno they play. If it’s more the “Schranz” style of [rough] techno or the [psychedelic] Goa style, there will most likely be drugs. But with the [dance-oriented] “Hardstyle” or “Jump Style,” as is popular here in Hamburg, it’s mostly drug free.

What is your favorite club in Germany?The ZAK in the town of Uelsen near Holland. It’s a great “Hardstyle” club frequented by lots of Dutch guests and DJs. It’s a gigantic space, not some dingy basement hole. I highly recommend it! They have nights when they play classic techno styles with live DJs, which trends to be a rare treat these days.

Any advice regarding the German techno scene for international visitors?

If you’re really curious about the scene you should attend some of the parades. Maybe not necessarily the Love Parade, which is clearly past its prime, but definitely the upcoming Street Move parade in Trappenkamp, or G-Move in Kiel or the Beat Parade in Empfingen. We have all the dates on Rave-site.de.

In closing, what is your message to the techno scene?

People need to focus more on the music, and if they really enjoy the music, they can also party without any drugs.

Matthias, thank you very much for the interview.

Weblinks:

Techno Statt Drogen initiative website:http://www.technostattdrogen.de/

Ravesite, the German portal for open-air music parades.http://www.ravesite.de