Gone Trippin… Adventure 1 - TIMEWARP 2010 

Eóin Smyth and Shane duNann from DanceTrippin.tv take you you into the heart of this years Timewarp festival in Manheim. From housey havoc to techno turmoil they take you with them on their maiden voyage to one of the most hyped events of the year…All events in the story are true. Names and faces have remained the same, however copious amounts of dignity has been lost along the way…

So the journey begins with the 4 of us heading off on a 3 hour trip from Frankfurt Hahn, We’re all fired up. Camera’s at the ready, flashes prepared…  The rented Opel Corsa is banging down the autobahn like a bat out of hell… We’re on a mission and Mannheim is the destination. The German highway opens up into a sea of lanes, cars swirling left to right… As we floor it the whole way down the autobahn the calming sounds of slightly seductive techno filter through the car… This is really the calm before the storm… What was about to unfold over the next 24 hours was anyone’s guess, but we sure as hell were ready for it…

With a line up as breathtakingly prudent as this one we were like little kids on our way to get ice-cream… From Marco and Loco to Karotte, Sven to Plastikman, Liebing to Livio & Roby, the list was endless…

A few hold ups along the way in traffic didn’t cease the mood, as the stereo was fired up just to make sure all frustration was drowned out by heavier beats…

At last the sign for Mannheim was faint in the distance, we should count ourselves lucky we even made it on first attempt as German highways aren’t the most informing, but who cares… we headed straight for the train station parking…

Mannheim city center was swarming with people of all nationalities, which indicated this was not your typical Saturday evening. The air was thick with anticipation and riddled with anxiety for what was to come. The people buzzing around were dressed as if they had just arrived in Ibiza with the exception of a heavy jacket. These are the true followers… The trendsetters of the movement who religiously follow the scene, its artists, its events, and all its glory.

The last minute pocket check to make sure we had all necessities resulted in us been escorted off by four sinister German police, straight into the station,… girls to the left, fellas to the right, within seconds I was stripped of my dignity… Jeans down, boxers down… Done!!! GLOVE ON? I don’t think so buddy… Your getting know where near me with those things… END OF STORY…

So the pre-Timewarp buzz began by catching up with many friends and Ibiza buddies who descended on this town like ourselves to bust some grooves and rekindle the madness of times gone by…

It felt like most of the COCOON TERRACE was on tour… Familiar faces everywhere.

As the clock ticked on it was clearly time for a good warpin…So we went on our merry way to the venue… Quite close to the city centre, only about 10 euro in a taxi between the 4 of us… Perfect…

So we pulled up outside… The suspense outside alone was riiiidiculous!!! Hundreds of edgy clubbers scurrying to find the right cue so they can get in amongst it all as fast as possible…

The guest list line alone was a pretty good indication that these Time-Warp people have their shit together. The party animal working in the guest-list booth swiftly checked our passports, grabbed the color coded wristband that lets the security know how cool you are, told us to have fun and let us through. Press pack in hand, bands on, and clutching the set list timetable which was to be our bible for the hours to come…

We were more than ready, after all we had been watching videos of this festival for years, but had never gone.  We passed through the gates to be greeted by a giant inflatable head at the main entrance somewhat similar to the head of Carl Cox, which was used on his Carl Cox global tours a few years back. We were surrounded by the already well fueled party-goers who had obviously been there since the beginning at 7.30 and were nearly at their demise from caning it too hard at the beginning even though it was only 12am. Some people just never learn….

As we entered the grounds, the bass began to creep up almost as quick and as strong as the anxiety that built with each step. All I can hear is Spanish and Italian and English, and I can see countless heads I knew from Ibiza. “Jesus,” I thought, “us house heads are a dedicated people.” I mean we all had to book cars, plane tickets, hotels, etc just to meet somewhere, have some drinks and listen to mind crushing techno. Fuck yeah, go team!

Time-warp is not in one arena. It’s a street full of arenas. Five rooms for music, one to chill out, one to eat, and one for coat check, and in between is a street lined with drink kiosks so crowded it felt like we were already on the dance floor. I thought to myself again, “those Time-warp people must have had some practice with this festival thing.” Getting a beer was a bit strange, nothing to complain about, but nothing to write home about either. They make you buy a punch card first, then use that at the bar to buy drinks. This is probably why that beer was my last beer. I am not one for wasting time. The dance floor is waiting.

As we walked into room five, I could immediately tell why people say Time-warp is not to be missed. The stage setup, the lighting, and even the shape of the room were all aspects that make a musical journey the complete experience. It was nice to get a quick peak at what was soon to become our universe for the next 15 hours, but I needed to check my coat, find a couple of my mates, you know, get organized. I walked swiftly through the river of party people until I stepped into the coat-check room where I found a desk with four employees selling lockers for 6 Euros plus a key deposit. It wasn’t that cheap, but it was quick, and I had a locker big enough that it could have been shared. Dear Time-warp, you are still kickin’ ass, and I haven’t had a dance yet!

Okay, finally we were ready to hit the dancefloor! Blow off some steam, immerse ourselves in a sea of aural illusions and get lost! The milky bars are on me!!! We pulled out our timetable, which they handed out at the entrance, and Sven had just started in Room 3. As we began running there, we started meeting friends, one from Spain, two from Belgium, and three from Italy! They were friends that we had become acquainted with and grown to love after years of partying together in Ibiza, and our foursome quickly became an island reunion! We all looked at each other with a familiar smile and headed straight into the twisted sounds of Sven.

Room 3 was conveniently located behind room 2, easy right? Not so much. Room 2 reminded me of a building normally used by Airbus. Room 2 at Time-warp makes the Amnesia terrace look small. Room 3 is not much smaller than room 2; it took us ten minutes to work our way into a nice little corner where we could settle into some loud, clear, and colorful techno. I took a moment to just take in the chaos that is Time-warp.

First, the sound! Oh the sound! When music is supposed to fill a room that occupies 10,000 people, it can often be too loud, unbalanced, and unpowered, resulting in loose bass hits, ear piercing highs, and a shitty representation of what the music really sounds like. Well, as you may have guessed, Time-warp did right. There was plenty of power, but not too much volume, it filled the room with force, but didn’t overwhelm.

Sven’s nighttime sets are of an acquired taste as the master of ceremonies himself likes to whip up some serious chaos to his adoring crowds. I enjoy his daytime mood to be totally honest as he shifts from funkier techno to house, but not this time. The Papa played his special brand of crazy techno and it was extremely satisfying. The room proved perfect for Audiojack’s - Kicks For Kicks, Blaue Moschee by German jazz tech duo Die Vogel got the crowd screaming, and Levon Vincent’s Late Night Jam was fitting for the big dark techno cave we found ourselves in, but the highlight track for me was Jamie Anderson’s Predator. When that track kicked in I knew I was in for a good ride.

We got our cave together and made sure the space was ours which wasn’t too difficult as this room was more than big enough… Our little techno entourage began to get bigger as friends of friends decided to stop by an have a bop. A large English selective could be identified with the popular London/Leeds/Manchester style showing through “INIIIIT”. The Irish contingent ( or the Boyos as they are more locally known) absolutely gargle blasted doing what they do best an having some serious craic. Our European counterparts were clearly lappin it up, as us two (One Irish, One Yank).

The party was in full swing… Seeing as though Sven was the Timewarp mascot as usual, all stops were pulled out to make his set more of a theatrical performance… As Sven toyed with the crowd a wire dancer was hoisted high into the air to perform ridiculous maneuvers to the hypnotic soundscape throbbing around us, this combined with the magnificent visuals of Mar-Kos swept us into a frenzy, we were on form, and as I looked around I could see the whole crowd pulsating.

As we floated around room 2 we kept running into more friends! For being amongst twenty thousand other people, it was magical how often we ran into our mates. Over and over again we would meet and have a dance, then move on to stand under the next set of speakers, watch the lights from another angle, share the dance floor with another group of freaks. Walking through the crowd, seeing all the smiles, all the laughter, I could feel the satisfaction everyone else around me was experiencing. All these people under one roof, every single person soaking up the music as though they were laying on a beach underneath a sky of sound.

I knew Marco Carola was playing in the next room; I remembered from my first glance through our bible of set times, I always remember when Marco plays. We moved into a smaller room, with a little funkier décor, full of spotlights in purple and blue, and a giant disco ball hovering above. It only takes 8 bars of music to know Marco is on. His style is recognizable, and his skill on his loop machine is unmatched. He lets the music break, he let’s the crowd ask for it, then rewards us with bass. His mixing is flawless, and his track selection is mint. Rainier Weichhold’s Infernal came at the right time, but the specifics were not important to this set, the technique is what counts. It also doesn’t hurt that his stage presence is cool as ice, which makes him a unique performer. Thank you Marco for always impressing me!

As we stopped for a breather we realized that In the middle of all the fun we had in fact gone through some sort of time dimention, The confused looks on our faces when some had forgotten to put the clock forward from Greenwich mean time on arrival into Germany, others an hour ahead of time with the hour jump forward each of us were lost in our own timewarp… What was going on? Festivals are not meant to fuck with your head this much are they? Maybe they are…

I was excited to see many of the Dj’s playing that night, but Martin Buttrich had a safe place reserved in my ears, and I was not going to miss it. By then our group was reduced to three, which made our departure quick and easy and we were back in room 2 for some more main room mayhem. It was clear Buttrich was already on, the sexiness in the air signified his “Desolateness” is on and rocking. Buttrich showcased his material and style through an hour long journey that included excerpts from his recent full length Crash Test. “Im Going There One Day” resonated through that room with confidence, the uplifting synth line, and Buttrich’s stellar drum programming were something else. When I go to a mind-blowing festival such as Timewarp, It’s music like Buttrich’s that make for many memorable moments… His frequencies worked seamlessly with the powering sound system to elevate a seductive mood throughout the dancefloor… There was no escaping the bass, the percussion was perfect, the flow of his set took the crowd on an incredible journey and you could see in his face it was all done with ease… A master in his class this man oozes with ideas…

One of the central highlights planned for the weekend was the return of the pioneer himself… PLASTIKMAN… Richie Hawtin’s early 90’s guise that helped project him to stardom through the deep hypnotic drum rolls and linear grooves that he produced and we have become accustomed to over the years. This is Minimal at its finest… The preparation before this show was highlighted through updates an pictures prior to the event just to give an insight of what was on offer…The room was packed, no more people were being let in… As the clock hit 8 am Plastikman had kicked into operation… The first few sounds began to filter through and progressively building an anxious atmosphere which infused the room. People were on edge… Not knowing what to expect, It had been a long long time after all… The massive lighted dome on stage burst with colour as Hawtin controlled all of this from within… as the initial teasing came to a halt the sound dropped, Hawtin could be seen hard at work inside this outrageous structure… BOOM!!! Lights back on beats thumping back in. Here we f*cking go… He began to layer patterns over an over, it seems like there was no direction just an endless build that had everyone wanting more and more… Not only was this an audio visual masterpiece but Hawtin being the Technology addict that he is threw in the iphone app for good measure just to shake things up…Unfortunately I’m still not savvy with the whole iphone phenomenon but everyone around us had them in palm interacting with the central server with lights colours and track id’s appearing in sync as they were fused into his set… Was amazing to watch something so different from a traditional DJ set… There was a mixed bag of reports after this set as many were expecting a blend of Hawtins usual mind bending party nonsense… This was not Hawtin… We were watching PLASTIKMAN, and It did exactly what it said on the tin…

The games continued and we headed back into Carola for some more fun…His trip hoppy grooves bounced us about the floor, At this stage the club freaks began to come out from the woodwork. Two rather strange looking guys could be seen scopin about the dancefloor. Not being bad but these were seriously strange looking fuckers and I hadn’t a breeze how they had even been allowed into the event… next of all a smart, slightly eccentric Italian strutted by sporting a giant pair of sunglasses, dickie bow and to our amazement a POODLE on a leash… A poodle in Timewarp? Yeah I know we had to rub our eyes too… and of course we find ourselves in hysterics as it was a toy dog… I LOVE THESE PEOPLE, Those who go the extra effort just to freak everyone out and add a bit of quirkiness to the norm. As Marco proceeded to thrash it out, the room began to fill again, the heat inside was unreal, 15000 sweaty foreign nationalities, LUUUVELY stuff….okay time for a break…

We hit the chill out room, casualties everywhere, techno fans trying to get their life back on track, those who had fallen off the face of the earth for a few hours, curled up against the walls on there own, lost in a sea of musical silliness. I thought to myself, Sort it out people… This is Timewarp, Get yourself up an get back inside for a shake. Then all of a sudden I was one with the room, The music was fairly hefty for what was supposed to be a chill out room but it just swallowed you up and you could feel yourself gradually turning off from what was going on around. Were we ever gonna dance again? Didn’t feel like it. Quick bottle of (magic) Water and we were fired up again… 3 hours left? What shall we do? Hmmmmm I wonder… Marco, Loco Dice and Villalobos B2B2B… Pass? I THINK NOT!!!!

We get inside an Dubfire is getting things nicely moving. We found ourselves struttin our way up the front being carried along swiftly by the Gusto’s “Disco Revenge”. Now were talkin A few funkers later and “Grindhouse” is thumping throughout an everyone is in their element. Plenty of filters, white noise and delays can be heard as he whipped up some carnage with his tools; Two Native Instrument X1 controllers and the trusty Allen and Heath… Everyone has scattered to room 2 to watch the Back to back to back spectacular that was about to kick off… This was the showstopper… The three amigos came on stage to a powerful and heartfelt reception from the crowd…

This was fantastic, and the music was like nothing I’d heard for a long time, maybe it was the sound system, maybe it was the fact we have been awake nearly forty hours, whatever it was the place was groovin… The thunderous bass lines echoed deep into the room and without a doubt made every single bone in my body shake… a sudden surge of energy kicked in an we were banging our way around the place like the festival had just begun… Almost lullabyish sounds were on offer, falling trickling melodies and the magic of filters from the Allen and Heath and of course Trakor… This gear was being controlled by the masters.. An speaking of masters, who couldn’t resist another few spins, Sven continued to throw on a few sneaky numbers to stir the place even more, What a party head… Shirt off, Skarf on head, Havin a serious bop… The love on stage was amazing, All the crew were hugging and dancing an just enjoying themselves like everyone else… It’s something special to see these guys do this..look at them! All friends, all amazing at what they do…I love this…

All in all this was probably one of the most incredible festival experiences I’ve ever had. The organization, the set up, the venue, the people, the city, the music… everything was there in perfect proportion… the only thing missing was an outside arena but then again its not that kind of festival… The Cosmopop team has outdone themselves once again… With the rest of the Dancetrippin crew living it up in Miami, I was glad to be flying the flag high in Mannheim… Turned out to be a cheaper weekend then we had imagined, accommodation can be easily found, transport is everywhere and fairly priced, the locals are friendly and nearly everyone speaks English.

In conclusion… This is a must if you are serious about clubbing, Forget that… This is a must if you are in any way a party fiend as you will literally bop till ya drop… Take our word for it. Get involved ASAP!!!!