BAR25 Label: Dirty Doering

The legendary Berlin club BAR25 existed for 7 years and was closed in September 2010 in connection with the redevelopment of the bank of the River Spree, where the club was located. BAR25 became a legend not only because it stood out for its unique atmosphere and was a place you always wanted to return to, but also thanks to the artists it gave to the international club scene: Matt John, Philip Bader, Dirty Doering, Brian Cares, Red Robin, Jake The Rapper, Beaner, Sven Dohse, Britta Arnold, Javier Logares, Pilocka Krach, Liviu Groza, Danny Faber, Stiggsen, Niconé, Nu, Sese, David Dorad, Spoony Talker, Canson, Nico Stojan... These and many other names became known thanks to the years of work by a team that, besides the club, was developing its own label. BAR25 LABEL put out an incredible number of releases, which instantly became hits and made it into the charts of DJs such as Marcel Dettmann, Mark Henning, Ellen Allien, [Cesare vs Disorder, Nick Hoppner, Anja Schneider and many others.

One of the label's most famous releases last year was the track Dirty Doering "I Would". Dirty Doering was born in 1978 in Leipzig and took up music at the age of 19. He moved to Berlin and immediately became an integral part of its underground club scene: he was a resident of BAR25 and regularly plays at clubs such as Watergate, Tresor, Club 103, Arena, HomeSweetHome, Bachstelzen, Rote Sonne, Maria and Weekend. Dirty Doering represented the Berlin sound at the Fusion and Melt! festivals in Germany, at Sonar and Klubbers Day in Spain, and at London's club Fabric. Together with DJ André Gardeja he ran the label "Freizeitglauben" for several years, and in 2006 he founded the label ALLYOUCANBEAT together with Housemeister. His next brainchild was the Rauschenbach Music project - Dirty Doering began putting out his releases there - right up until BAR25 opened its own label. Dirty Doering is also known for his remixes of Oliver Koletzki, Chilly Gonzales, Nicone, Console and Bonaparte.

I moved to Berlin back in 1987, so it's hard to compare my impressions from that time. The first parties that made a big impression on me I attended in Karlsruhe, Mannheim, Frankfurt and Stuttgart. But none of these cities can be compared with one another - perhaps because I always found myself in the right place at the right time. And of course I'd recommend that everyone who often visits Germany drop by my home city for a day: there are lots of good DJs, musicians and clubs there.

I don't remember exactly, but I'm sure that party was magnificent :) I've known the people who ran the club, and who now run BAR25 LABEL, for a very long time. We worked together even before the bar opened. So for me this place is above all connected with a very close circle of friends with whom I've spent the last ten years of my life.

Yes, in the first season. And I played there every month. But in the early years the club was completely underground: no one knew exactly who would be playing the next weekend, everything happened very spontaneously, there were no approved line-ups. Over time the situation changed, of course; the club developed relations with the press, and the audience developed its favourites.

There are a great many. I love Brian Cares's album "Fingerprints", Nicone's tracks, the first releases Matt John put out. BAR25 LABEL presents very different artists, with different music, for any mood.

Once I worked in the record shop "Freizeitglauben", and there was a label attached to it. That way I learned a lot not only about electronic music but about running a record company. The hardest part of it is making money from non-commercial music. And the most enjoyable is realising that
you're making your contribution to this difficult endeavour. I enjoyed doing everything - from creating the design for record sleeves to signing new artists. These are interesting creative tasks.

It so happened that I did nothing but remixes all winter :) Recently my remixes of Colorsound "Fly with me" and Klein&Meister "Cares" came out. And very soon you'll be able to hear fresh collaborations with Nicone, Heinrichs & Hirtenfellner, Bonaparte and Console.

Yes, a new count of time has begun. The bar didn't operate in winter, so we're all still under illusions, not fully grasping what has happened. But with the arrival of spring and summer, it'll become clear what we've lost. I miss BAR25 very, very much.

photographs - John Michael Hoppen

BAR25 Label party
18 March 2011
club Solyanka (ul. Solyanka, 11)
23:00 - 06:00

Dirty Doering (DE), Britta Arnold (DE), Danny Faber (DE),
Yolka (RU), Lymarev (RU), Erikona (RU)