Over the last 24 years, Time Warp has cemented a reputation as a paradigm the German techno scene, notable for its full-power production and state-of-the art sound. A 19-hour marathon that continues to welcome one of the continents more refined and party- friendly crowds.
It’s a six-stage site, linked by a centralized lane adjacent to an aircraft hangar. Its structure actively contributes to its particular shade of chill. One of our favorite touches: A colossal food hall that housed volumes of ravers swapping their usual dose of party fun for pizza and holier-than-thou bowls of fruit. It was the perfect techno zen-den and one that provided a neat escape lounge for exhausted minds and feet.
Gone are the days of Glastonbury-sordid mud and squalid toilets. There’s even toilet paper and a relaxed cubicle-sharing policy to boot.
The program consisted of an all-star line-up with over 40 of the worlds most distinguished artists taking stage. Each room is equipped with diverse, sometimes complex themes with kick-ass decor hanging from ceilings and the surrounding areas of the DJ booth, marrying both creative and technical elements to create a first-class experience for attendees.
The party starts Saturday afternoon, although you’d have to be a glutton for punishment or straight crazy to be there at kick-off. In an otherwise well-organized event, queues for drink tokens and lockers are long during the opening so it’s advisable to wait until early evening if you can justify missing the first acts. Adriatique, Shdw & Obscure Shape, Seebase, Amir Javasoul and Sasch BBC & Steffen Baumann were assigned to opening the stages: A decidedly banging intro to the festival.
Throughout the course of the night, the music pounds consistently from every stage. EG went having a rough guide of whom we wanted to see at what time, but we quickly realized that you just have to go with the flow as you get rather lethargic trying to keep up once the groove kicks in.
A felt wall separating stages one and two cleverly managed to mediate the music despite them being so close together. These rooms include dramatic lasers and state of the art visual production. The mercurial temperament of the music that’s shared at these stages rhythmically pulverizes the crowd, which is why there was no urgency to move to any other stages. Panpot, Adam Beyer, Sven Vath, and Dubfire performed exceptional sets and were as spellbinding as expected.
Stages 3-5 were just as impressive, highlighting Dixon & Solomun, Jamie Jones & Martinez Brothers and Karotte & Seth Troxler. Admittedly, stage 6 had colonized our hearts by Sunday morning, featuring Sonja Moonear and Ricardo Villalobos B2B Raresh bringing their usual dose of magic to the fore. The solidarity of the groove and ditzy tones created a frivolous atmosphere, which was very refreshing that time in the day. We’ll be keeping a close eye out for their sets to be released.
One logistical element brought it down a notch. The whole venue was stocked with caffeinated water, with some bars not even supplying regular H²O whilst other bars had run out of regular water altogether by the morning. For obvious health reasons, this may be a priority to address next time. However, there were plenty of medical staff at the venue to compensate for what was a probably an unforeseen complaint.
Overall, Time Warp remains one of the better run European festivals and its longevity, together with infallible musical content testifies to how it has captured the market with sustained and unrelenting force.
