If you’re a techno fan, then you have no doubt heard of Berghain, the infamous mecca of techno in Berlin’s thriving music scene. It’s where every up-and-coming techno or house DJ wants to play and every dance music fan wants the privilege to be allowed inside. Who are the top DJs reigning over Berghain, a venue built around exclusivity? Let’s see which DJs have been invited to play on more than one occasion at Berlin’s coveted nightclub.
Berghain features a main floor with booming techno and the upper-level Panorama Bar welcoming DJs playing house music. Visitors from around the world and locals alike flock to this club to hear great music and some even partake in hedonistic behavior. The first incarnation of Berghain was called Ostgut, which operated from 1998 – 2003 before the building which housed it was demolished. Not one to let the party stop, the founders of Berghain, Norbert Thormann and Michael Teufele, established the world-renowned club in its current building in 2004.
An inside look at one of Berlin’s best kept secrets: Berghain
Berghain is famously open 24/7 every weekend, up until March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down all nightlife in Europe. Artiom Dashinsky, a product designer and technology start-up founder based in Berlin, decided to take a trip down memory lane during these tenuous times and collect the top-performing DJs at Berghain, a follow-up to his 2017 piece. As a dance music fan, Dashinsky always looked to the club to discover fresh new artists and new music. He collected 12 years’ worth of booking data from the Berghain website and published it as an interactive data visualization on his website entitled The Numbers of Berghain. The interactive visualizations rank the DJs who have performed the most overall and split by floor. The website also ranks the top-performing DJs between the years 2019 – 2020, top-performing labels, across time slots (opening vs. closing slots), and the DJs who have been gaining the most bookings in recent years.
I’ve always enjoyed Berghain’s artists curation and used their bookings as a way to discover new music. In 2017 this fascination led me to analyze 7 years of Berghain bookings to discover the most booked and the upcoming DJs playing at Berghain. Now, in 2021 my longing for Berghain, parties and music led me to make another extensive analysis and analyse 12 years of weekends at Berghain, Panorama Bar, Garten, Lab.oratory.
– Artiom Dashinsky on why he analyzed booking data from Berghain
Coming in the top spot for the DJ who has performed the most at Berghain across both floors is Boris at a whopping 123 bookings within the past 12 years. If this answer surprises you, it shouldn’t. Boris has been a resident at Panorama Bar since the days of Ostgut. He’s been bringing his experimental sets to the dancefloor of the iconic club for over two decades.
The top-performing spot for the main Berghain dancefloor goes to Norman Nodge at 103 bookings, who has been a resident since 2005. For Panorama Bar, the top spot goes to yet another resident Nick Höppner at 89 bookings. While there are a couple more familiar names in the top 10, it’s largely filled with local Berlin resident DJs. Check them out and maybe you’ll discover someone new.
Other notable names rounding out the top 50 include Gerd Janson, DSV1, Âme, Kobosil, Rødhåd, The Blessed Madonna, Blawan, and Jennifer Cardini.
The movers and shakers of the club in recent years feature both up-and-comers as well are some recent international favorites such as FJAAK.
Be sure to check out the rest of the data set in the Numbers of Berghain interactive website and maybe you’ll discover some new artists to love.
