Spielraum's colourful playground
After two and half years Spielraum has become a household name in Amsterdam’s nightlife. A name that stands for queer club nights with quality techno and high energy. A truly free, inclusive atmosphere is guaranteed by a strict policy against discrimination of any kind, a ban on taking pictures with your smartphone and a friendly but stern screening at the door.
This Friday night, February 28th, I find myself in a long queue in the cold rain outside club RADION despite showing up at starting time, 23h. This appears to be typical of Spielraum, so I read. At a conventional dance party the club is practically empty the first hours, but here people can’t wait to get in and dance. The people in line are of good cheer so the 45 minutes I spend outside seem to pass faster, just chatting and sharing the hardship. But others weren’t so lucky, I gathered on Spielraum’s social media; some waited in line for three hours in possession of a pre-sale ticket.
Inside at the lockers a metamorphosis takes place. The wintercoats and pants come off and within moments the people I just stood in line with are wearing shorts or just underwear, and no tops. Some keep it very simple but there are also creative outfits to be seen, lots of leather and fishnet stocking, or more sporty attire. After getting drinks I conclude that indeed no time is wasted in this place.
The main room is already a heaving mass of half naked ravers at just half past twelve, dancing to the sound of KI/KI, one of Spielraum’s residents. She has become a popular DJ at festivals all over the country in a short period. But this is the place where she developed her speedy mixes of early trance records, from a time when that word was not yet synonymous with the likes of Armin van Buuren.
At one Claire Morgan takes her place. I saw her first at the Crave festival in the Hague last summer and was impressed. The Berlin-based, Australian-born DJ weaves a techno set with moderate tempos, taking time to pause for some ambient soundscape and then resuming the big thump.
However, that approach doesn’t get in the way of danceability. Nobody in the room is standing still, I can see clearly from the high balcony arching over it. What sets her apart from a lot of techno DJ’s is this courage to leave some space and mix in different genres like drum ‘n bass, not trying to capture the audience with velocity and a uniform sound. Her choice of records is kind of sensual, not machine-like, which resonates wonderfully with the mood of the crowd.
In the upstairs room, seemingly a former lecture hall, Detroit electro legend Stingray is doing a B2B with Spielraum resident Afra. Typical of the man in balaclava, the records are changed at an incredibly high tempo. Very skilful, but not always good if you want to lose yourself in an ongoing set. After getting some food downstairs, where I pass the third DJ booth featuring Byron Yeates, I spend the rest of the night in the main room where D. Dan does a stylish techno set. It seems like it’s a constant ‘train sound’ rolling from the speakers, well known to lovers of the genre. At this time of night that seems the appropriate vibe, urging you to just keep on dancing in a sweaty mass of bodies.
Spielraum’s concept combines a hedonistic party atmosphere aimed at flirting, with an outstanding DJ lineup. Some people come for one of these two aspects, but I’m sure a lot of visitors like them equally. Let’s hope one will never become more important than the other, or it would be just another party. As a music nerd, I’m happy to have heard some great DJ’s and to have had the honour to join a quite intense party with people much less boring than myself, fully engaged in the moment. Spielraum is a club night to be cherished. It doesn’t need Berghain-like queues to emphasize its quality.
Text André Kamphuis