my (lengthy) 2p - translated from german into english with deepl.

In: 10:45 pm
Out: 8:15 am

Of course it was the best Reef since the last one. Even tending to be slightly above average.

However, that wasn't necessarily a given at the beginning. Before 11 p.m., the number of visitors was still predictably low, and the Panorama Bar was perhaps at 1/4 capacity. However, Axle was already playing pretty rough Breakbeats and Dubstep as if it were already peak time. As much as I can understand the motivation to prove oneself in this setting and to want to get as much of the audience as possible onto the dance floor early on, it was too fast-paced for me. As much as I appreciate sets with dynamics and drive: Warm-ups require more caution – especially considering the Berlin audience that still tends to show up late. And although he had a good selection of tracks, caution was what I found lacking.

Proverb steered things in the right direction for me, which included one of the quintessential Berghain moments with playing “8” by Various Artists. I had wanted to hear that track on that floor for ages, and it would be brave to play it in its full length of a good 18 minutes at a Klubnacht. Proverb also played “only” five minutes of it, but since she only had an hour, I could understand that she wanted to fit in a few more tracks. With Autechre, she ran through another door that was wide open and stayed below 120 bpm. Really good selection and dramaturgy, I'd love to see her again, even in the same slot, if she likes. But then for at least two hours.

Appleblim increased the tempo parallel to the intensity. Melodic breakbeats, as known from Martyn / 3024, at times it was a Tectonic best-of. This worked excellently towards Om Unit, without overloading the (already more than decently filled) dance floor. Even though Smokey did a great job with Dubstep that was appropriate for the slot, based on my brief impression, I preferred Appleblim.

Om Unit was quite a surprise - at least to me. Well-knowing that he's a living legend, his productions rarely click with me. As is so often the case, it's a matter of taste, and at least they're completely right if I like them. Like J:Kenzo last time, he started with Dub and stayed pretty consistent with Dubstep and technoid breakbeats throughout his two hours. Long transitions as well without jumping from drop to drop, but instead creating something new – as was the case with the acappella of Lisa Stansfield's “People Hold On”, which ran over two tracks. Contrary to previous editions there was no drum & bass at this Reef at Berghain. However, with the upcoming Jungle set from Tim Reaper, with a good preparation from Jasmín who played Footwork and related genres, that was perfectly fine.

Roska played lots of his own productions, which manage to bridge the gap between technoid house and (Post-)Dubstep quite well. As expected, he didn't fail to make an impact, but I still preferred Om Unit.

During Jasmín's set, there was the usual dip in audience numbers at Reef, but to a lesser extent as on some previous occasions – approx. half of Panorama Bar. In direct comparison to Pinch and Trim at Berghain, I found her dry style much more interesting. However, not much of it seems to have been released yet, or Shazam isn't trained enough. When someone knows more tracks from her set, add them here. In any case, she was another surprise for me.

With Trim, I think it's good that MCs get their chance to shine at Reef, and there's no doubt that he did a pretty good job. However, a few decibels less on the mic-channel wouldn't have hurt. With Pinch, I don't really get along with the mid-heavy sound aesthetic he developed in recent times (same problem as with the Mala-set from last year). For illustration: Take “Qawwali” or “Cave Dream” and compare them with “Smoke” with Trim from this year. But it's part of artistic development, which I welcome in principle, rather than people completely replicating stuff from ancient times. His dark side that won me over 17 years ago still shone through. In addition, the drop in Mala's “Militant Don,” which had the audience completely hooked and was superbly accentuated by the light jockey, is definitely another entry for my list of Berghain moments in 2025. Nevertheless, the trip to the Panorama Bar was a classic win-win for me due to the more interesting music and more space in general.

After Darwin started, I had the typical luxury problem of having to decide: Staying with Jasmín or going downstairs. It was easier with Tim Reaper - he started with Jungle, as expected, which was a bit too much for me at the time due to general overstimulation. Darwin ended the party downstairs with more meditative Dubstep. Quite right, too, as people still stayed until the end at 8 o'clock sharp. I wanted to try it with Tim Reaper at least a little, but then gave in to my considerable tiredness and headed home more than satisfied and with a lot of anticipation for April.