Archiving Berlin Techno Culture: Digital Preservation and Reconstruction Techniques for Musico-Cultural Heritage 1

Berlin has long been the epicenter of the global techno music scene. Emerging from the city's vibrant underground culture in the late 1980s, the Berlin Techno movement gained international recognition for its raw, hypnotic sound and innovative approach to electronic music and dance cultures. In 2024, UNESCO officially inscribed Berlin Techno on its list of intangible cultural heritage. Unfortunately, much of the historical material related to this culture exists only in analog form, scattered across archives and private collections. Additionally, many historically significant clubs have already closed or are set to close, and important figures are passing away. This situation has motivated the seminar organizers to initiate the digital Berlin Techno Archive, an online platform aimed at providing a comprehensive digital resource on Berlin Techno history for researchers and the interested public. Since this culture is inherently tied to venues with distinct looks and sounds, the archive will also include VR reconstructions of the most important venues.

While the organizers are securing funding and industry partners for this large endeavor, the seminar aims to push forward the project and integrate motivated students. In the kick-off seminar, we will focus on two important clubs: the now-closed E-Werk and Wilde Renate, which is set to close by the end of 2025. Participants from TU and UdK, with diverse academic backgrounds, will work in collaborative teams to preserve the unique histories, aesthetics, and sounds of these two venues through hands-on historiography techniques. The seminar's expected outcomes include audiovisual hypertext narratives and VR reconstructions, which are planned to be showcased in a public exhibition alongside selected material artifacts. At the same time, the digitized artifacts, narrative histories, and VR-reconstructed venues produced will form the foundation of the future Berlin Techno Archive.

The seminar offers participants the opportunity to enhance their practical skills in digital archaeology, history, and archival work, as well as current audiovisual VR reconstruction techniques for historic venues, while gaining a deeper understanding of the historical and cultural roots of Berlin's club and techno culture. The seminar will be held in English.