Part 1 – The movement
The sound system is, literally, a wall of speakers. Behind the wall, the sound system crew places all pieces of equipment needed to run the sound (decks, cd players, mixers, equalizers and – what is most important – a power generator). In front of the sound system there are people dancing to all kinds of electronic music, usually bass heavy ones with repetitive beats. The walls are often decorated in a way which is characteristic for a given freetekno crew. Most of the freetekno decorations are black and white and include different kinds of spirals and abstract patterns.
KIEREWIET sound system (Netherlands) at the Centertek Teknival in Poland in 2009
Typically, a free party involves one sound system or more, if more – then it becomes a teknival. Such parties are often held in isolated outdoor venues (open air parties) or in abandoned buildings (these are called squat parties). Usually, there is no information on the location of the party in the Internet or elsewhere. The aim of such 'conspiracy' is to eliminate inadequate participants. This culture is not only about attending parties; it is more of a life style where trust and respect are the key elements. The atmosphere is friendly and the party goers police themselves. Racism, sexism and aggression are not tolerated. Different people can be met at free parties – from punks, through ravers, to college students and adult people with their families. Anarchist and liberal philosophies, as well as fighting for animal rights and vegetarianism are said to be the most popular among freetekno people. What is more, freetekno is a culture of the travellers. Party people and sound systems drive long distances in the Summer to attend parties in different countries across the whole continent.
013 SOUND SYSTEM (Belgium) at the Centertek Teknival in Poland in 2008
Problems to discuss:
1. Would you call freetekno a culture or just a short-lived movement?
2. What is your opinion on the music and visual elements? Do you consider them artistic?
1. I think that people sometimes will look after for such events more and more in the future. Sometimes is good to go wild. Especially if it does not have influence on other people.
ReplyDelete2. I really don't like this kind of music, but still they are artist. They earn a lot, and basically they create something.
1. I would call freetekno rather some kind of culture. When people come together on some concert and have good fun we can say that it is some kind of culture. People build their own world when nobody disturb them. If they enjoy it and they like to meet together i think we can say that they have their own some kind of culture.
ReplyDelete2. I don't like such parties. I don't like this kind of music. But it is also some kind of artistic. If people like it and listening it, it's mean that it must be interesting for them and they can call it some kind of artistic. It depends on what anyone likes.
1.I thing it's both :) That is short-lived cultural movement. I don't believe that “green people”, liberals and people with so different beliefs can party without fights.
ReplyDelete2.From some period of time people call everything art. I don't consider this as a art, because for me it seems like bunch of people who just like exclusive, isolated from the world party. In my opinion art is so much more then creating something. Follow this logic you can say that my post is art, but it's so not true.
I'm sorry but first thing in my mind on this topic is that these people use hard drugs and it's all about it. I can't stand this kind of music, I suppose you have to be high to understand it :}
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to say so but it is very narrow-minded to write that the only reason for such parties is the drug intake of their participants. I attend those parties personally, have nothing to do with drugs and nor do my friends that come with me.
ReplyDeleteI don't have an opinion to the first question because it's first time I can hear about it (it means that conspiracy works very well:)) so for me it's too few information to answer it.
ReplyDeleteAs for the second question I think that term "art" is misused nowadays and I agree with Jakub K
I don't like that kind of music, electronic sounds don't speek to my. But I think we can somehow compare that kind of movemnt to rock-like woodstock or "Jarocin" events. So in it's nature I'm sure it is a part of spirit of longer movement, but evolving trough different kinds of music. Yesterday it was rock-movements, today it's freek techno.
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ReplyDeleteI never heard about Freetekno. It's very hard music. I like more lighter kind of music and always try feel the beat, but in hard techno - I can't. But if some people like and feel it - I think this is good idea for them. Good idea is also no information on location because they can feel free without inadequate participants. For me it's nothing special. I done a few years ago something like this but only for my friends (was about 100 people). We have a lot of aliens who arrived because they heard the music. We had really good lights and sound system from my friends who had a club in my city. I was a DJ and everybody slept in tents :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with s555 and associate such events always with drugs. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's how it looks for me.
ReplyDelete1) Free-Tekno-Partys started in the early 90s and now, in 2012, we still make such partys......22 Years have gone, some things are easier today, some more difficult, but the spirit is still alive.
ReplyDeleteFree Partys for free people, where the only financial interest is in "be able to make the next party"..... i think it could be called a kind of culture
2)for me, as a part of a Tekno-Soundsystem its easy to say:
Its a kind of art and i like it
DJs are officially called musicians, means artists. The decorations at such partys are made by people of the system, mostly hand-made/-drawn and mostly very creative....this is art to...
Is it still artistic, when its against the law?
You have to think about the reasons why the partys are illegal....
The illegal part of such a party is mostly the location, nothing else. How can you make a party for free, when you have to rent a location for (example) 300€ or more per night ?
It needs money to keep such a Soundsystem running and working good....the money comes mostly out of our private-pocket...means the most of us go to work 5days a week, to spend the money in our hobby....in my case, over the last 4 Years, about 200-300€/month (average)for equipment,speakers,replacements and repair....if all is perfect, this costs, can be paid by tips and selling beer at the party....if not, it comes from the private pocket.....if we have to pay the locations (and the tax or whatever you need to make official-legal-partys) to, its getting almost impossible to do our hobby.....
What should we do? break up with everything and sit back on our ass, watching TV and eating pizza??
As written above, i`m part of a system and i know many other people from differnt soundsystems...everyone wants to make the party as legal as possible.
+Everyone tries to make the party, without bothering anyone, to make it stressless to all involved persons.
+We try to do our partys on locations, where nobody who isnt at the party can hear us.
+We collect the trash we and the partypeople made and do everything to leave the location how we found it.
thats what we do.... what do we get?
We get complained to the police because we are on foreign ground or something else....the places where we are, are mostly not used by their owner....sometimes they even don`t know that they are owner of this place...but the first reaction of "normal" people, which recognize a Tekno-Party is to call police and bring trouble to us.....even there is no reason for them....
@Drug-Partys: Yes, there are drugs and drugusers on such partys, but there are drugusers in the train, at the busstop, at every disco and if youre honest, there are drugusers almost everywhere.....you cant blame freepartys about that....
....its just an easygoing argument for the police to act against us.....
Its easy to say "This is illegal, so it is bad" and talking about the bad bad drugaddicts ,but its not so easy to stop talking, get your ass up and make "something big"
STG-23