What a lot of non-EDM fans don’t understand about the art of DJing is just how much consideration and attention goes toward reading the crowd and making sure the vibe is maintained, heightened or lessened at the appropriate times. By constantly taking the temperature of the mood inside the venue, DJs can more accurately feed fans the kind of tracks that they’d like to hear. Breaks in the energy, unexpected drops or the inclusion of “classics” at the right time can separate a good DJ from a great one. But what happens, THUMP asks, when the crowd is focused on something entirely separate from the music?
The team recently visited Berlin, a city known for its blurred sexual lines and raunchy, sex-fueled nightclub experiences. Orgy parties are the norm in certain establishments and, of course, they come equipped with a DJ to carry the room’s vibe. They sat down with an owner of one such club, Insomniac’s Dominique (not the Insomniac of Electric Daisy Carnival notoriety), who gave them insights into the process behind curating the perfect playlist for the occasion.
When asked what the differences were between what she does and what more conventional DJs play, she said that the best vibes tend to come from hard techno and hip hop. 
“I’m not a DJ as such, I’m the owner of the club and I do every task necessary. But the point is, during the week we have sex parties with more-or-less background music. Friday and Saturday we have erotic dance parties where sex also happens, so this is really a different concept. For the sex parties, techno is for sure the best and hip-hop is also nice—you saw earlier how the whole club was fucking with the same rhythm. Hip-hop is great for fucking because we do what they sing!”
Certain varieties of dance music, she said, draw the wrong kind of crowds. To make sure the club remains appealing to those inside, she avoids less ‘sexy’ genres like rock music or psychedelic trance.
“What didn’t work was Goa psychedelic trance because of the people—it doesn’t bring in the right crowd. Also rock does not work very well, it’s too unsexy. We tried it because people asked for it, but it doesn’t work. What a pity. And dubstep, I like it but it’s not possible to create an erotic atmosphere with it, although it works for stage performances. And I’d love to put on a full hip-hop party, but the people who come tend not to want to actually do what rappers are talking about!”
When speaking on the general state in Berlin, Dominique said that the local scene is much dirtier and equal than in some nightclubs. People are given the same attention no matter how much money they bring in or who they know. This, she said, is what separates establishments like Insomniac from the more mainstream spots.
“No—quite the opposite is true. You can smoke anywhere you want, if you’re not in a really high-class club you can fuck pretty much anywhere, there is less of a divide between straight, transsexual and gay crowds. This is really special in Berlin that they are all celebrating together. It is getting more expensive here, but Berlin always finds possibilities, areas where it’s cheaper. And what is nice, everybody has the same worth here, whether they have money or not. There’s not bottle service like in Munich or somewhere. Berlin is underground. It’s dirty, rough and poor, but it’s sexy.”
To read the full conversation, visit THUMP‘s report here.
Source: THUMP
