Killekill ends Berghain Kantine residency

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    Wed, Aug 25, 2010, 14:30
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  • The weekly party wraps up tonight with Stewart Walker, Daniel Mateo and others.
  • Killekill ends Berghain Kantine residency image
  • The last weekly edition of KilleKill is set to take place tonight at Berghain/Kantine. Hosted by Berlin promoter Nico Deuster, Killekill provided, as he put it, "a dignified place for celebrations, but also a venue for special events and opportunities for installations, and ambient listening sessions earlier in the evening." The programming was usually house and techno with an experimental twist, a sound that suited the 200-person dance floor and its Funktion 1 sound system. Over the course of its two-year run, Killekill hosted dozens of lesser-known artists alongside jocks big enough to play nextdoor at Berghain and Panorama Bar, such as Redshape, Cassy and Sandwell District to name just a few. Deuster decided to end the residency after firing up a few new projects, including Berlin's Krake Festival, a party at Suicide Circus called Freaks and a new record label, also called Killekill. Chatting via email earlier this week, Deuster gave us the rest of the scoop:
    Why is Killekill ending? First I would like to say that having the Killekill residency at Berghain Kantine has been a good thing to do and I totally don't regret having done it! We had so many great artists of all facets of electronic music playing there and with the times it developed into something like an artists' meeting place: Famous artists and people from behind the scenes showed up regularly and met and drank and partied and started things from there and that alone was reason enough to do it. And we also got a lot of public attention for it with those massive line ups and our connection to Berghain with it, so Killekill as an artist and promotion crew definitely benefited from that. The problem basically was it just didn't work out financially... Plus the fact that I got burned out slowly and my family life suffered from it, and the time and energy needed for other projects like the Killekill label or events like the Krake festival happening now in August was missing or had to be brought up additionally which meant a lot of stress. But keep in mind we will still do special nights every now and then there, just not on a weekly basis anymore. What were some of the party's best moments? There were uncountable good moments meeting nice and interesting people and getting support and respect from all sides for this project. That was unforgettable. Music-wise I can say that a lot of artists played exceptionally good sets at our club because of its private atmosphere. We heard this especially from many big artists who were totally amazed to play at a small venue like the Berghain Kantine and felt remembered of the good ol' times... we had Abe Duque, who freaked us out with his acid house set, the top friends party with Warren Suicide who blew off the roof with their sweating rock show and all their special guests on stage. The night with Redshape and Soundstream was also really good... The Asian/Berlin meeting with Hans Nieswandt, Losoul, Gebrüder Teichmann, Xhin and just so many more artists were absolutely amazing, so many nice people, so much engagement from all sides, so much good music. That was just unbelievably good. Last but not least I would like to mention the residents Acid Maria, Stype, Gebrüder Teichmann, S-Max, Frank Bean, DJ Flush, Daniel Meteo and Jochen Otto who also seriously rocked the place often. Ah, Otto von Schirach also was wicked. And Frank Bretschneider. And Plaster. And Electric Indigo! What can you tell us about the new label? What will the overall sound be? Do you have any specific artists/releases lined up? The idea for a label is actually older than the plan to make a weekly club night at Berghain Kantine, and now it's finally happening! The sound of it will be anything I like, so basically techno, house and electro in its original meaning, raw and deep. An experimental edge will be unavoidable I guess, since that is what Killekill was always standing for: pushing boundaries and finding new ways. The first releases are just being mastered. The artists they come from are definitely ones to make you go "ah, uh" but I would rather not mention them now. The basic philosophy is I contacted some of my personal heroes and asked them if they want to give me music. Same as what I did about the Killekill nights.
    Tonight's final edition of Killekill will feature live acts by Stewart Walker and Argentinian experimentalist Ismael Pinkler, with support from resident DJ Daniel Meteo and Buenos Aires-based jock Cheta.

RA