As long as one is respectful, follows the rules and doesn’t hurt anyone or the space, Berlin techno clubs offer a rare kind of freedom. Long celebrated as spaces to freely express oneself, the city’s dens of sound and hedonism allow those who are fortunate enough to be granted entry an environment to truly let their freak flag fly.
While many club goers are content with a mixed crowd of people simply looking to check out the music and people who are also, depending on the club, searching to challenge and explore their sexuality in a public setting, some might be on the hunt for spaces and parties that are more explicitly devoted to the kinky, the sexy and nights out that maybe Mom doesn’t need to know about.
Here then, intrepid Berlin nightlife journeyer, are five scenes recommended for those club fans that are looking to explore their limits, beyond the usual parameters of how long one can dance.
But first a note on rules which, as the cliche goes, we here in Germany just love, and are very important in spaces such as these:
• Every party will have its own rules and dress code, and these are to be strictly adhered to.
• First and foremost, all Berlin sex parties are set up to be SAFE SPACES for mature, responsible, consenting adults to meet and play, safely, with protection and not places to simply “get laid.” If you’re simply looking for easy sex, this isn’t the place. As I once overheard a bouncer say to a young man as he rejected him from the KitKat Club, “This isn’t a bordello.”
• Also, a friendly reminder: Just because sexy things can happen in all Berlin clubs, does NOT mean that all Berlin clubs are sex parties.
So, a good rule of thumb would be to do your research, and know which party to keep your clothes on at and which to rip them off.
A smaller venue located a bit on the outskirts from the city center in the district of Tempelhof, Insomnia is a club with a stated mission to “recreate a mixture of Roman orgies and Studio 54 in NYC.” With a history of throwing parties in collaboration with KitKat Club going back to 1996, Insomnia is a fixture in Berlin erotic subculture, and boasts a variety of programming with different styles of music ranging from Techno to rock. Selection for entry can be very strict and a sexy dress code is a must.
A queer-positive Techno party that recently celebrated their 14th year at KitKat Club, Gegen is a place where people are excited “to take their identity off, like their clothes.” Inspired by the eponymous German word that means both “against” and “around,” Gegen offers a place to explore boundaries. With parties happening most frequently at KitKat and RSO, Gegen events also regularly appear in other European cities. Selection is strict and the dress code specific as evidenced by their last event: “Mirrored, reflective, blinding, fractal, glittering, prismatic, illusory, slick, fetish or simply bare. Read the concept carefully and reflect on it yourself.”
An art collective and party promoter, Pornceptual is a group that, according to their mission statement, “presents pornography as queer, diverse and inclusive. We aim to prove that pornography can be respectful, intimate and artistic, while questioning usual pornographic labels. Can art succeed where porn fails – to actually turn us on?” With parties happening regularly at MUENZE, a club located within the repurposed 1930s State Mint Alte Münze, Pornceptual boasts line-ups of hard techno for a queer crowd that also includes straight people, with a dress code that is said to be less strict than other sex parties.
Every Wednesday at KitKat, Symbiotikka features great DJs and top sound in Berlin’s storied kinky venue. Dress code is definitely strict and those without leather or latex may have a tough time getting in.
Formed in 2016 in London, Klub Verboten is a “provider of contemporary pro-pervert spaces” and offers visitors and members “laboratories for modern BDSM and fetish culture.” With a private Instagram account, a strict selection policy and membership offerings with a thorough vetting process, Verboten is a better fit with the hardcore, more experienced sex party crowd.
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