Something visible, audible, strong and shaking the landscape. A earthquake in Munich. Or a lightning striking the city, maybe. Nope, this was the Alien Kick, and to this much-needed invader, we wish the warmest welcome and hope it will come back soon.
From trance caused by polyrhythmic melodies to shocked awe in the face of purity and the ecstasy of a burning dancefloor, Alien Disko was a sanctuary of intense emotions. Alien Disko was everything everybody had hoped for and even more.
This weekend, I fell in love with Munich again. I fell in love again with the music, but also with the power of a masterfully planned party. A well-curated festival, such as this one, makes the audience go deeper into their own appreciation of the music that is offered to them as time goes by in the night, which leads to incredible Soundclash dance floors at three in the morning, and dives at Tam Tam bar until/past sunrise for those who can’t just get enough.
I fell in love again with the proximity that I yearn for so much when I’m not in town. Sharing the gift of live music together. Seeing happiness on others’ faces. Hearing “This is one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time” more times than I can count. Being at the center of things, at this very weird frontier between stage and audience, flirting with the fourth wall and feeding on the electric energy coming from both sides of it.
This new wave of love is fuelled by hope. Hope that we can make soundclashes a thing, to have monthly habits of after-concerts with Munich bands in unusual spaces. Hope that this audience will be back for more. Hope that we can manage to create new structures that make weekends like this a little more accessible to people with less money and from different cultural backgrounds. Hope that we can continue this dialogue between international and local artists on a more diverse and independent basis. Hope that we can continue with this great collaboration and solidarity between networks, because this weekend was a total proof that when parts of the Scene get together, beauty happens and touches people very, very deeply. The links between the Munich Scene constellations seem more intricate than ever and, as a lot of people say covertly already : things are moving.
So, what is life post Alien Disko? Let’s make it a life where the raised awareness of the successes of the Scene will encourage more initiatives like this festival. A city where great minds come together and use structures in sensible ways because it’s the only way to do it. As it was enunciated in the Monokultur discussions : in a city where survival mode is the only mode and where there are no spaces available, all that is left is your own creativity and how you can use it to create some “mental space” in the form of new structures of promotion, networking and partnership.