Fidelity Kastrow

“I´ve always loved loud and bombastic music…and techno has touched me deeply since the first time I discovered it. I experience techno as very liberating for me and I love to scream along to it at the top of my lungs when it comes to a peak. Techno really helps me deal with feelings of anger and aggression while it´s also strangely spiritual to me.”

 

Sisyphos resident DJ Fidelity Kastrow heads up the Berlin Berlin Birthday this weekend in London town…

Words by Nicky Trax

 

Starting with the upcoming birthday party – this will be your 5th time playing ’Berlin Berlin’ – what’s your impression of the parties?

“I very much enjoy being part of these parties and loving how I’m recognising more and more regulars in the crowd each time which is what I love about being a resident DJ – you get to know your audience more and more and get to take them deeper and deeper into your musical journey every time. Essentially, the trust builds between DJ and crowd, or so I hope.“

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How are the parties developing over time?

My ’Berlin Berlin‘ debut was last July (2015) and I ended up playing on the Ground Floor till almost 10AM – which I know is rather unusual in London. Jonty Skrufff, Juli N. More and I covered the Sisyphos line-up on the Ground Floor and had a great vibe going. The crowd was a charming mix of LGBT, straight, flamboyant and alternative types and everyone was enthusiastic and letting their hair down. We’ve tried to bring the permissive, friendly and inclusive atmosphere that Sisyphos is known for, to London for a party focused on dancing rather than posing. We rocked the Ground Floor again the following October last year in the same menage-a-trois line-up fashion and then tried out the newly decorated Garden Floor in January early this year and then the Terrace floor in April at the last ’Berlin Berlin’. Overall it feels like the parties are getting more and more Berlin-ified each time, not only from the ever changing light installations and decorations but also with the no-camera-rule that was enforced for the first time in April. The crowd seemed more relaxed, in the moment, and up for it with a bunch of girls snogging in front of the booth and nobody hassling them or filming them thanks to the camera ban. For me as the DJ, I notice a massive change in how much more reactive the crowd gets when photos or filming is not allowed. No one is worried about how their hair looks or if their outfit is in place – everyone is basically dancing like no one is watching…which makes for an excellent vibe.“

You always dress very flamboyantly, last time wearing a crown of ivy leaves: where did you get the crown from?

I wore the ivy crown kind of as a reminder for myself to embrace my inner wild girl and generally to embrace a wilder life as opposed to a settled lifestyle. It’s easy to get drawn into the swamp of comfort. And I also love the ivy plant in particular because it is an evergreen and a sight for sore eyes in the long dark winter months when not much green surrounds us. It’s a very interesting plant: It is virtually indestructable yet needs a little support to grow towards the light but is not a parasite and does not harm or use, say the tree it grows upwards on, for example. I find that very sweet and sympathetic somehow. For the ivy crown I wore at the last ’Berlin Berlin’ I plucked the ivy leaves from a couple of trees outside Berlin’s historic Funkhaus Grünau while I was attending the SUPERBOOTH synth fair the night before the Egg party. I brought them over to London in a box and then basically braided the crown back in the hotel before the gig.“

What inspires your costumes?

I’m quite a shy and introverted person and like to wear a bit of what I call “armour“ when I perform. It somewhat protects me and helps me get into the right frame of mind…a somewhat trance-like state where I am able to shut out my immediate surroundings and shapeshift into my musical persona. I am a ‘wolf’ according to Native American astrology and I very much identify with this sign and like to embrace a ceremonial element when I perform. I often daydream during my sets and find myself in a parallel world, so to speak. The music and my outfits help me get into this dream like state.“

You’re representing Berlin club Sisyphos which, with its massive queues and super-tough door policy is increasingly being compared to Berghain – how hard is it get into?

Honestly, I wouldn’t know. Luckily, I bypass both of these hour long queues and have never had any trouble getting into either club (tempting fate). Sure, both queues might look similar long, though Sven Marquardt is maybe still a bit more intimidating to get past, if you’re not from the scene. And that’s what the door policies in Berlin are mostly about, making sure that the regulars from the scene get in and that there is a good mix of people in the club, both in relation to gender, age, sexual preference and style. Both Berghain and Sisyphos want clubbers in the club, who love the music that is played there, know the line-up and understand that the party is up to them i.e. they don’t want any need-to-tick-this-off-my-bucket-list type tourists or what my friend Kalina (one of the door queens at KaterBlau) calls “consumers“ – people who expect to be entertained instead of making the party happen with their energy, enthusiasm, open mindedness, tolerance and collective spirit. I love both Berghain and Sisyphos for their uniqueness and I’m totally down with the door policies. They have to be tough. We all want our little utopia protected, our “Freiraum“ where you can be yourself and your background, income, sexual preference, level of success or quirks don’t matter. That magical wonderland we call clubland, where you can meet strangers and become friends for life in one single night and you can talk to people, you’d never ever get to meet in “normal“ life (think dominatrix or police men on drugs) and have conversations that inspire you to change your life. Nobody wants voyeurs or posers killing the vibe in our sacred space. In many ways, clubs like Berghain and Sisyphos are filling a void that in the past would have been filled by the local church community. In both clubs many of the regulars call the club their church as in a place of peace and tolerance, where every weekend you can come and let go of what’s been troubling you, meet your community and friends and renew your spirit for the week to come. Both Berghain and Sisyphos are incomparable. I think what they have in common though is that they are both an important part of what makes Berlin, Berlin. They have their door policies to protect their respective community and sacred, unique vibe. And anyone who’s on their wave length will have no problem getting in (unless the club is already ram packed), given they know their limits and the rules of common courtesy.

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How well do you know London and it’s scene?

“I’m no stranger to London nightlife and have been out and about a fair bit both as a DJ and as a punter. In fact, Egg London gave me my first international gig as a DJ in 2007. So I’m very happy to be back at Egg London for the fifth ’Berlin Berlin’ party and delighted they’re doing so well. I’ve performed as a singer and dancer at Turnmills a few years before that and have been popping over to London on and off to go out raving. As a DJ, I’ve performed everywhere from SeOne, Mass, Canvas and The Cross in London when I was a resident at London´s infamous fetish institution Torture Garden for four years. I’ve also played some of my favourite LGBT scene fashionista haunts such as Trailer Trash, Wet Yourself and Bar Music Hall and loved all my London gigs and learned to understand the differences of a London crowd compared to a Berlin crowd. I’ve experienced first hand what works in London and learned to adapt my sound for different crowds and venues – I’ve been tried and tested everywhere from mainfloor peak time sets at “London’s biggest nightclub” SeOne (now closed) to the sweat-dropping-from-the-ceiling after-hour madness at Wet Yourself at Aquarium or the legendary Trailer Trash at On The Rocks parties. Along the way, I’ve met many colourful characters and maintained many friendships despite living in Berlin and not being out and about in London as much as I used to during my student years, where I’ve spent most of my seminar free months in London. I am very happy to see some of my London friends nowadays at the ’Berlin Berlin’ parties at Egg.“

What else you got coming up?

Working currently on new music with releases to follow shortly and a bunch of gigs coming up both at Sisyphos, Amsterdam and Morocco. Meanwhile, catch me on my weekly radio show ’Berlin Soul’ every Sunday 21-22:00 CET (20-21:00 London time) and Monday’s from 18-19:00 CET (17-18:00 London time) at Pioneer DJ Radio hailing from Ibiza http://pioneerdjradio.com/show/berlin-soul, where my partner-in-crime Jonty Skrufff and I showcase upfront underground house and techno tunes in particular those tried and tested in Berlin, most usually at Sisyphos, where I will be DJing next on Sunday 17. July so come by and say ’hi’ – I’m on from around midnight till Monday morning around 5:00AM-ish or so…“

Fidelity Kastrow plays Berlin Berlin: The Birthday with her Sisyphos partners Jonty Skrufff and Foolik, plus Tobi Neumann, Cinthie and Bennoe Blome on Saturday July 2nd at Egg LDN. All info at www.egglondon.co.uk and http://facebook.com/komradefk