Although Athens is lauded as a “party school” with a strong bar culture, the town pales in comparison to the party scene in Germany. I’ve spent the last month living in Leipzig, a city with an abundance of bars similar to those on Court Street and any other college town in the U.S. However, Germany also contains a type of nightlife not seen in Athens: techno clubs. Bringing the techno scene to Athens would introduce a rich global history, diversify the going-out culture and bring big-city energy to a small town.
In Germany, the iconic techno scene was established during the Cold War when the country was divided into West Germany, controlled by the Western allies of World War II, and Soviet-controlled East Germany.
According to NPR, the strict curfews on nightlife in both areas of the country caused a hotelier named Heinz Zellermayer to make a case to the commander of the American sector of West Berlin. Zellermayer argued that getting rid of the curfew would help the economy and boost the morale of the disgruntled citizens. West German leaders voted to get rid of curfews in 1949, which was adopted by East Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Since then, the techno scene has exploded in Berlin and cities beyond, including the nearby city of Leipzig. Clubs stay open until the early hours of the morning and offer a place of escape for many city dwellers.
For example, a club in Leipzig called Institut Für Zukunft (Institute for the Future) is just one of the many clubs that don’t allow cell phone cameras within the walls of the dance hall. Clubgoers are free to let loose without fear of being recorded and can stay disconnected from the outside world. Clubs are dark and engulfed in powerful dance music, and with no fear of being judged by social media or other clubbers, the environment is positive and free of toxicity.
While Berlin is often praised as the origin of the techno scene, the real dawn of techno clubs occurred not too far from Athens in Detroit. According to The New Yorker, American techno began as a combination of disco and funk. Those genres were then electronically altered by Chicago-based DJs like Frankie Knuckles to create house music. This new genre of music spread from Chicago to Detroit, and then back again with new alterations, proving the inter-city connection of music is infinitely possible.
Introducing the techno scene in Athens would provide another option for those who don’t like the energy of most bars in town. Those who don’t like trying to dance to rap music and would rather go to an EDM club, where the music is designed to be danced to, would love a European-style techno club. Having a club that stays open past the usual closing time of 2 a.m. would be economically good for the town and would give the small town more of a big-city feel.
Although Exron Music cites many places in Europe on their list of the top 10 electronic music cities in the world, half of the cities on the list are located in the U.S., including Chicago, New York City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Miami. All but the last city on that list are in the top 25 largest cities in America, and all of them are world-renowned for their parties and going-out culture. The popularity of electronic music festivals and techno clubs in those cities is a large part of that appeal, and bringing similar outlets of celebration to Athens would give the town the energy of a large city.
The techno clubs I’ve been to are much more accessible to a wider range of people. There’s less pressure to be intoxicated and a larger focus on dancing. The music is often too loud to hear people speaking, but there are spaces throughout the building to sit and talk. The techno scene has an expansive history, some of which began just one state over from Ohio, and bringing that history to Athens would diversify the town’s party culture and bring a slice of big-city life to OU students.
Sophia Rooksberry is a sophomore studying journalism. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk more about it? Let Sophia know by tweeting her @sophiarooks_.
