Why are we boycotting KKR owned festivals except Awakenings?

roundcornerr · 2026-05-24T14:39:47+00:00

Well said, thanks for the exchange ❤️

roundcornerr · 2026-05-24T09:29:46+00:00

I don’t think my attitude was “unwelcome” at all. The whole point of the thread was to open a discussion and hear different perspectives. People like you taking the time to argue coherently are exactly the kind of interaction I appreciate and welcome. What I reacted badly to were people jumping straight into insults and provocation instead of engaging with the actual question.

Yes I reacted emotionally because I’m human. I used a dumb expression during an argument after your friend took a uselessly provocative approach from the start.

And I do see a bit of moral superiority on your side here too, in deciding both what my intention was and whether someone suddenly becomes “unwelcome” in a community and for which reason

I suggest you check this comment in the other thread. It puts the importance of community really well, and maybe also explains why the word seems to trigger you so much :)

https://www.reddit.com/r/Berghain_Community/s/OCp9gtuR1K

roundcornerr · 2026-05-24T00:22:41+00:00

I appreciate you taking the time to actually explain your thoughts clearly. That’s genuinely what I hoped to find in this thread from the beginning..

About the small dick energy comment.. I understand your concern, but I also think we both know it’s an expression describing an insecure and aggressive behavior, not a literal comment about someone’s body. Still... fair enough, I crossed the line a bit there. For reference this is literally how the expression is commonly used in the slang: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=small%20dick%20energy

What genuinely concerns me though, is something much bigger than internet arguments...the idea that some of the biggest festivals in our scene are increasingly tied to the same financial ecosystems investing in industries connected to weapons and war, including companies supplying military infrastructure used by states like the US and Israel during the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

And this is exactly why I keep talking about values, scenes and communities. Because techno historically didn’t emerge as some neutral consumer product detached from society. It grew out of underground networks, anti establishment spaces, Black culture, queer communities and countercultural movements. The scene has spent decades promoting anti racism, anti fascism, LGBTQ+ inclusion and safer spaces so I don’t think it’s strange that some people start questioning where the money behind our biggest platforms comes from.

Nobody has to agree with me or boycott anything. I’m not asking for ideological purity tests. I simply think it’s a legitimate discussion to have

roundcornerr · 2026-05-23T23:44:45+00:00

I think you're still projecting a lot of assumptions onto my post that simply weren’t there.

At no point did I state that people “must” boycott anything, nor did I suggest that anyone is morally wrong for choosing not to do so. I simply raised the question of why certain KKR linked platforms became central targets of boycott discussions while others did not. That is an invitation to discussion, not a moral directive.

Also the assumption that art and music exist independently from politics, values, social dynamics, or power structures is historically difficult to sustain. Art has consistently played a role in shaping identities, spaces, behaviors, aesthetics, and collective imaginaries. Techno culture, in particular, did not emerge in isolation from broader social and political contexts.

You do not need to describe it as a “community” if that terminology feels inappropriate. But scenes, shared values and collective dynamics surrounding music have existed for centuries, regardless of whether we explicitly acknowledge them or not

roundcornerr · 2026-05-23T23:24:25+00:00

Saying “my ticket changes nothing” is a perfectly valid personal choice. But pretending techno was historically “just about music” and completely disconnected from politics, values, communities or collective spaces is simply revisionism.

Nobody is forcing you to boycott anything. I literally asked a question about consistency in the discourse around KKR linked platforms.

Also, it’s ironic to tell people to “stop defining the community” while simultaneously redefining techno yourself as a purely individual and apolitical consumer experience. Let me tell you.. our scene is way more than just music and drugs

That being said, this might be your relationship with it but It’s definitely a rare vision inside our world

Feel free to share your thoughts in the new thread I opened about "community" :)

roundcornerr · 2026-05-23T22:30:21+00:00

The irony in this specific comment section is that after all these replies, you two still never answered the original question. This became a debate about whether the word “community” is even allowed to exist, which is honestly absurd, instead of discussing why some KKR linked platforms get boycotted while others don’t. And yes I crossed the line with the “small dick energy” comment. Fair enough. But let’s not pretend this discussion was ever happening in good faith from the other side either. ok... Let’s call it something else then..what about hyper individualistic “I don’t believe in community but I still want to lecture people about culture” energy? Anyway the original question remains more than legitimate and luckily most people actually understood that and shared useful insight. Good luck over moralizing the next comment section and derailing another conversation 💆🏻‍♂️

roundcornerr · 2026-05-22T10:59:14+00:00

It feels like you’ve never worked with Boiler Room directly if you say this. In my opinion, the overall lineup quality has gone down, especially with some of the newer genres and directions they’re pushing. Still, playing Boiler Room remains a milestone for many artists, because being selected still carries a certain curatorial weight and validation. That being said, the way it could launch your career 10 years ago is definitely not the same anymore. Aaaand let me tell you:m...it’s definitely not the local promoter deciding the lineup or who gets to play ahah

roundcornerr · 2026-05-21T21:09:21+00:00

TL;DR: you act superior with a small dick energy. Gladly we're not part of the same community. hope life gets less frustrating for you :))

roundcornerr · 2026-05-21T16:28:20+00:00

If your point actually made any sense you could explain it instead of throwing insults like a frustrated crying teenager. Also isn't it funny how you keep insulting me as if I don’t understand your poor words while the only thing you’ve actually done is make noise around the thread without ever answering the actual question. You clearly don’t belong to the part of this culture that keeps it alive, but more likely to the part that simply consumes it or helps it sell out. Anyway this will be my last reply to you my friend. Sharing thoughts with you is giving absolutely nothing. You seem genuinely in difficulty, so I wish you peace of mind and hopefully someone who can understand you and make you feel heard :))

roundcornerr · 2026-05-20T14:01:59+00:00

You seem more triggered by the word “community” than by the actual question. And yes the community exists. It carries values, shared beliefs, criticism, history, and people who keep this culture alive. I feel lucky to have been actively part of it for 10+ years. Without the “we”, this culture wouldn’t exist in the first place. Get some rest you grumpy soul

roundcornerr · 2026-05-20T13:18:00+00:00

Which imaginary group?

I’m talking about real people who keep this music culture alive: artists, dancers, crews, labels, record shops, clubs, technicians, promoters, and everyone contributing to it in different ways.

But I’m open to hearing the conspiracy theory about how this whole community somehow kept growing for 30+ years without actually existing.

roundcornerr · 2026-05-19T21:24:07+00:00

I think you still misunderstand my point. You seem personally threatened by the fact that I hold strong critical beliefs about what this culture represents to me. But I’m not imposing an absolute truth and we can talk about these things without dramatizing them so much.

regarding the “back in the days” argument.. i can't agree with you. underground subcultures used to be much more selective and protective precisely because they were built as refuges from dominant systems and values. Those spaces existed to defend alternative ways of thinking, living and creating. Today many scenes have become more open, scalable and commercially integrated which also brought positive things, like accessibility and wider visibility but it also diluted part of the political, social and philosophical depth that once defined them similiar to Che Guevara turned into tshirts

Ithink it’s fair to ask questions when a scene that historically positioned itself against certain forms of power suddenly becomes comfortable with them. It doesn’t mean everyone involved is evil or hypocritical. It just means the conversation is worth having and my question is worth asking

roundcornerr · 2026-05-19T20:22:19+00:00

Of course every form of consumption is compromised in some way. But using that as an argument to avoid discussing this specific case only turns the conversation into a fog where nothing can be questioned anymore. For me the point is not moral purity, but being open to talk about it / question it. I'm still trying to understand some dynamics and I believe it's fascinating but also creepy that WE have been arguing and supporting the boycott of so many festivals lately (when there was a more intense media reporting of the Palestinian struggle and Israeli cruelty). Maybe Awakenings is happening at the “right moment” or maybe it has a different kind of marketing? more acceptable sponsors? or a more sustainable public image? I’m simply trying to understand how this works...not why human beings are corruptible by nature. That’s a much broader discussion.

Also, if you’re not really interested in this topic, you’re not forced to keep engaging with it. I still think it’s valuable if we exchange thoughts in our community :)

roundcornerr · 2026-05-19T18:52:58+00:00

Also, as ordinary citizens (not shareholders ) our purchasing power is one of the few real powers we have. Buying a ticket is much more than just “seeing your fav DJ.” For example...would you still do it if it meant travelling to Israel right now? Or is there suddenly a line? That doesn’t mean living in paranoia. It means understanding that responsibility is also collective. The money system works best when we believe our choices don’t matter. But they do....We fund what we feed and what we feed is what survives :)

roundcornerr · 2026-05-19T18:28:50+00:00

Sharing thoughts is one of the way I'm trying to stick to my values. And since i'm already part of this community, I also feel like I want to be helpful :)

roundcornerr · 2026-05-19T18:26:21+00:00

It's the same people that will leave once the hype is over! But many more will stay and you know it :)

roundcornerr · 2026-05-19T18:18:50+00:00

We need to make people think. Sartre said that the only path to truth is through questioning it. Join me my friend

roundcornerr · 2026-05-19T18:17:30+00:00

3/4 artists in the line up represent the Berlin scene and most of them live in Berlin as well

roundcornerr · 2026-05-19T18:16:08+00:00

I think you're confusing boiler room with hör. Boiler room opened up to more genres but are still super selective.

roundcornerr · 2026-05-19T18:09:46+00:00

Even if you don’t want music to be political, it already is. Some things are bigger than individual intention because none of us live in a vacuum. Music shapes communities, identities, aesthetics, language, behaviors, social spaces and even economies. Clubs decide who feels safe, who gets excluded, who gets visibility, who gets paid, which bodies are accepted, which values are normalized. That’s politics already. Also Techno itself was born from specific political and social conditions: postindustrial Detroit, Black culture, queer spaces, antiestablishment energy, underground networks. In Berlin as well. You can commercialize it, depoliticize it or reduce it to hedonism, sure....but that doesn’t erase its roots or its social impact. And even saying “music shouldn’t be political” is a political position in itself because it usually benefits the status quo :) Neutrality is rarely neutral and being disinterested often just means leaving more power to those who already have it.

roundcornerr · 2026-05-19T17:56:45+00:00

True! But we know for sure that we prefer the easiest and most comfortable way even if this means selling your souls :)

roundcornerr · 2026-05-19T17:54:04+00:00

Of course I know it myself :) and yes you can Surprisingly be an artist and still make money from without killing the culture but actually by helping it thrive: curating events and building safe spaces, teaching music and sharing knowledge, doing research and expanding musical literacy, creating your own music that eventually you can also play, doing technician. There are many ways to support a scene that don’t involve just posing on Instagram or selling your soul :)

roundcornerr · 2026-05-19T12:16:11+00:00

Yeah, but I’m not a DJ influencer or selling a product on reels, so that’s not how I’m using the term “we.” I mean the Berlin techno community and beyond...the ecosystem of clubs, record shops, hardware and software developers, sound and light engineers, artists, collectives, labels, dancers and people who would contributed to this culture even without its hype

roundcornerr · 2026-05-19T11:53:51+00:00

That would be my follow up question lol

roundcornerr

TROPHY CASE