It would probably be weird and most likely boring if it didn't change. How was it better? Maybe in the skill requirements of the DJs. I don't know if I can think of a party where the DJ didn't get the beat match right. Which is where I'm throwing my hat in the ring, because to play a set without a kick is almost a miracle for me. But at my age I rather joke about it and justify it with the fact that in the flood of sync DJs in front of people there is a flesh-and-blood man ) If this happened to me 20 years ago, I'd get laughed at, trashed by Tripmag and not play anything for a year. What has also changed is that back then there were parties in every community centre and as a teenager from a small town I had the choice of going north, south, west or east on a Friday and was guaranteed at least 500 clubbers around me. True, they were wearing fur coats and had a whistle in their mouths, but in hindsight I wonder where the f*ck it got to, now you have a "scene" in Prague, a bit in Brno and then a few enthusiasts who still love their thing even at the cost of zero earnings and sleepless nights (I appreciate you all so much!!). And what is better today? I can think of places like Ankali or Vitamin, which finally put this shitty basin on the map of Europe. Come to think of it, your festival may have brought this together for me. The look of 2022, plus that honest feeling I remember from my first parties.
Sklenick is eternaly lost. I had strength then, it was unreal) I lived in that space from morning to night. Helped to build it, took care of it, invited djs to it, hosted them and wrote about them in our little (printed!) fanzine. I cleaned there in the mornings and thought about what to improve for next time. Beautiful vibe. God knows where Sklenick would be today after so many years. However, life is sometimes terribly unfair and it will send a total badass in your way, who will destroy this with the snap of a finger like a house of cards.
At that time, I really wanted to go to Berlin, I found a job and a place to live there, and after a few weeks I went to pick up things that I had left with an acquaintance in Prague. I spent one weekend there, after which I said to myself that I just can't do it anymore. Not using Czech, cutting myself off from everything I've "succeeded" in here and starting from scratch in a city where even my DJ heroes play five times a year due to overpressure. At the same time, I needed to close the Brno chapter and Prague became a welcoming compromise.
Everyone would tell you both and I am not an exception. Each has its own thing and in the end it's all about open mindedness of the people on the dance floor.
There's so much of it, I get lost in it sometimes. I usually pack the records according to my current feelings and moods and then I bite my nails for ten minutes before playing, wondering what have I done.
Idols come and go. The important thing is that they are still here. As a person who is at events almost every weekend, it all merges into one ("boring" is not the right word) whole. But then every once in a while something and someone pops up that totally blows this all away and shows me that there are still musical superhumans out there. To be specific, many years ago I was nailed to the dancefloor by Phuong Dan in Berlin's Ohm, and a few years ago by Philipp Otterbach and Frank D'Arpino at Wildt in Prague. Magical nights when you had no idea where to pigeon-hole the music. I would very much like to evoke this feeling in people too, to confuse their heads in such a way that they will bring it up in front of you years later (as I did in the case of the three I mentioned).
When I was at my first Nachtdigital festival back in the day, I thought it would be cool to be on stage someday. It came true and I still get goosebumps even now. Also, I always wanted to make a proper hall sound and last year Lunchmeat made that dream come true for me at their rave in the Poldi complex in Kladno. There, in those two hours, my whole life of music industry and even before flashed before my eyes. I was sixteen again, it was eight in the morning and I was squeezing the last strength out of me before hitchhiking home from some similar hall. Not to forget, my dreams come true every time I play in Ankali, I can never thank them enough for that.
Sometimes one shot of good "hruškovice" for courage before playing. But I wouldn't state it as a ritual).
Photo Credit: Vapanda
