The party doubles as one of two showcases for their SPANDAU20 label (the other immediately following at BASEMENT), which has become a hub for the kind of raucous, party-starting warehouse beaters that are their bread and butter. The label was founded in 2019, named for the grimy, edge-of-the-city Berlin neighborhood where they had their studio, and its graffiti sprayed aesthetic and unabashed, generous energy drew a line in the sand between FJAAK and their more stoic peers.
Detractors of their earlier work critiqued the group’s EPs as “nothing more than the thick, Berghain-y kick drums and cliche techno sounds, albeit laden with lots of reverb and the gloomy, dark feeling.” It would be impossible to say the same about SPND20001. The label’s debut offering, a split 12” between FJAAK and Berlin producer Nikk, surges with enthusiasm. The tracks are titled “Force of Pleasure” and “Turn It Up,” for Christ’s sake, and the cheeky samples — an insistent house diva on “Force of Pleasure” and Public Enemy’s iconic “turn it up!” from “Bring the Noise” for “Turn It Up” — splatter the walls with color. Yes, that big, Berghain-ready kick is there, but it’s bolstering something much more open and free.
The label has run with it on each subsequent release, and even when the tracks veer into heavier territory it’s always with a wink and a smile, never a grimace. In 2021, they released “To The Peak,” an electro bomb that melts the roller rink booty bass with spine tingling rave claustrophobia. The track was made in collaboration with Elli Acula, a peer who had been pushing a vision of serious fun that had long aligned with FJAAK’s. It was her first appearance on the label, which would soon be followed up by “BFF,” a true rave monster on a label that’s full of them.
Acula’s DJ skills certainly match the precedent set by her tracks. Where some DJ’s struggle to translate the immaculate impact of their studio works to their booth, Acula’s sets never flinch. As with the label’s catalog, there’s an effortless melding of granite heavy techno with the fluidity of more breaks-based electro and some of the abandon of big beat. It’s hard to imagine a better home for her music than SPANDAU20.
The sense of camaraderie runs deep, and between Acula and FJAAK, the boat will be heaving. Setting off at sunset, they’ll hold court until it docks at midnight. Following that, the trio races over to BASEMENT to join Anna Z. and J.Manuel, two more of their SPAUNDAU20 peers, who will already be getting things underway.
Entry begins at 7pm, boat departs at 8pm. Do not be late.