Tales Between The Grooves: Club der Visionaere [Berlin] : Half Is Enough

Roaming dancefloors around Europe for the past 30 years has brought me in contact with different people and different cultures, yet sharing the same values. No matter the place, it was the particular kind of music that defined the groove and gathered a particular crowd. The crowd dictates the music and the music forms the crowd. An unbreakable circle that builds the genuine underground culture, no matter how the dancefloor looks like. A former interbellic movie theatre like Studio Martin. A villa in an old neighbourhood like Club Guesthouse. A yacht builder house like Hacienda Manchester. Again, a basement of a former cinema like Rex Club Paris. And the list can continue…

Looking at the electronic underground scene for the past 40 years, there’s nothing more influential out there as Berlin. The city can satisfy any clubhead desires, wherever their musical taste is placed on the wide house & techno spectrum. Yet again, there are a few places that silently pump fresh blood into the lifelines of underground. Spawning new subgenres of electronic music. Melting down borders between them. Dusting off forgotten sounds and inspiring new generations of record selectors and producers. Small dancefloors where DJs who are usually headlining festivals are playing longlasting back 2 back sessions with the club’s residents.

Situated on Berlin’s canals, Club der Visionaere is maybe the best example to our above statement. CdV was founded in 2001 by Gregor Kraemer, who is also the owner of Hoppetosse. What started as a series of private parties has become one of Berlin’s most beloved music institutions when it comes to electronic music. Fostering an intimate atmosphere on its famous wooden deck, CdV hosted a few spontaneous high profile jams from the likes of Ricardo Villalobos, Luciano or Rhadoo and at the same time has become a place for understated artists from all over the world. Surviving a crash, a fire and a pandemic, CdV proved to be as resilient as an underground outpost could be in a modern world.

Apart from its history and memorable dancefloor moments, there’s something more at Club der Visionaere that makes it really special. We tried to disover this “something” with Clovis. Born in Los Angeles and now living in Berlin, Clovis is a good friend of ours. Apart from his vast musical universe that touches jazz all the way to West Coast House music and beyond, as revealed in his eclectic sets, Clovis is also a fine observer, be it on the dancefloor of behind his analog camera’s viewfinder. As part of Club der Visionaere’s team, he agreed to answer a few questions and, more difficult than it sounds, to build a super short playlist that could capture the CdV’s groove and atmosphere.

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Everything has a history behind. What’s CdV’s history? (in short: the year of inception, transformations and changes during the years, important moments).

As someone who was a pimple faced young teenager just starting high school in Los Angeles when CDV began operating its first parties at the very beginning of the 2000s, I honestly don’t know much of the early history outside of a few rumors and anecdotes that are too hazy to repeat here. If someone is curious and feels like searching, there are some amazing old video clips of some parties around 2003 on youtube with some of the biggest legends in the scene, memories from a completely different era. It was a place of lore and legend that I always heard stories about from DJs like Shaun Reeves and Seth Troxler when I was first coming up as a local DJ in Los Angeles in 2009-10. CDV has operated continuously every summer since those early years. Its crowd and regulars have changed many years over, and having been playing there for going on 12 years now, I have seen some turnover of faces and key players myself. It survived the 2008 crash, a fire in 2019, and a pandemic in 2020. Through thick and thin, we continue…

Who’s behind CdV?

It was founded and continues to be headed by the Visionaere himself, one Gregor Kraemer.

Definitely a place that perfectly fits Berlin’s underground electronic scene. What are CdV’s key ingredients that make clubheads return on a regular basis here?

It is one of the highest level people mixers and meeting points for like minded individuals in the more minimalist dance music scene that I have ever encountered anywhere. You can spend an entire evening in amazing conversation and not have any idea who is playing or what is happening on the dance floor, or you can get sucked into one of the smallest dance floors in the world and have your brain rewired on an unimaginable level by the right dj on a good night. It’s a whole spectrum of fun and people and musical experiences.

Is there a set of rules followed when booking artists at CdV?

The boss is in charge of the bookings, but we do invite crews and labels to host their own regular nights and they have the freedom and trust to book both well known and up and coming artists that fit the sound of the club (or don’t).

As eclectic as it gets, the record selectors playing at CdV have something in common. Can you pinpoint that “something”?

Most all of them are still true to their roots in music and DJing with an ability to play to that tiny intimate dance floor with people right in your face, far away from any sanitised mega club or festival experience on the circuit.

I know you spent quite a few years in Berlin as a permanent resident :) Do you feel that Berlin’s club scene has changed over the years? Does it still stand strong and influential, as it was let’s say 20 years ago?

As with everywhere, the same issues. Rising rents, more and more DJs, more competition, less places to play with clubs closing, and everyone just feeling the squeeze of late stage capitalism. People do not party as hard as they used to and the younger generations post pandemic like totally different music. Berlin still has an absolutely one of a kind scene, atmosphere, and core of creative people doing what they love by whatever means necessary. Hopefully that continues, no matter how hard things get…

A small dancefloor expanded with a bit more generous wooden deck outside. Small entrance fees. Killer lineups. How does CdV support itself as a business, in a world where inflation and taxes are ever growing?

Like almost every club anywhere, by alcohol sales, in a climate of people going out less and drinking less. So if you come by, please have a couple drinks and tip the bartenders generously, they work a lot harder than us DJs most nights…

One CdV party from the past couple of years that you could easily name is memorable. That perfectly captured CdV’s vibe…

I have to say my party with Bucharest’ Misbits record store crew this year was probably one of my favorite CDV parties ever. That was a classic, perfect CDV vibe from start to finish. Great summer weather, awesome music from beginning to end, 10/10, no notes. So happy to make this experience happen for all the artists involved!

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What’s cooking for the 2025 fall-winter season?

CDV is closed as soon as it is too cold at night and few people want to party outside, which is right about now, mid September, early October. Luckily we have our trusty boat Hoppetosse with Boris Sound System open every weekend fall thru winter and into spring. Our new warehouse location Sonnenraum will also host some special club nights and other events here and there thru the winter.

On a scale from 1 to 10, how good is the CdV pizza?

The chefs this season have their formula down quite well, I would say 8.5/10 for sure. The best pizza you will ever eat at a club and a lifesaver on those long Berlin club hopping weekends…

I am a techno tourist in Berlin, willing to enjoy a proper dancefloor weekend. Besides going to CdV for the night, recommend a few spots in Berlin for: a quick & delicious dinner before going to a party, an afterparty location, a post-party breakfast…

For dinner, my favorite ramen place in the city, and one of the best I have had anywhere: Fukagawa Ramen. An afterparty location? Definitely not my house, but CDV is open every day so we don’t really need afterparties here…just sit outside till it opens again in a few hours, people do it all the time! Favorite breakfast in Berlin is always at one of those classic Turkish restaurants you can easily find around town. Nothing beats a proper Turkish breakfast full of myriad small plates with some of their amazing strong coffee.

Tracks that define CdV’s groove

This was an extremely difficult exercise for me, as defining the sound of CDV with just a handful of records is an agonising task. There are so many seminal classics from artists like Thomas Melchior, Ion Ludwig, Ricardo Villalobos, or labels like Perlon, and more that would need to be included for any definitive list, and such a wide range of music can also be played in the club on any given night. In the end I decided to make a personal and somewhat random selection of a few records that I’ve played a lot in CDV over the years that can trace the arc of an ideal night for me. Some, like the Willow record on Workshop, represent a new generation of producers nailing the CDV vibe all these years in, some like the DJ Qu stomper represent how heavy things can get late at night. Others, like the LoSoul, Stablo, and Soulphiction records, are encapsulations of the perfect funky trippy housey day time afterhours vibe you can ride for hours, whether you’re starting the party or continuing day two. There are just too many to choose from, but I hope these give an idea of the places you can go from afternoon to night and back into morning at the club. These are presented in order from early records to last record. And yes I have closed with Akufen – Skidoos a few times over the last decade because who doesn’t want to step out into the harsh reality of morning in the city with that as their last musical send off from a great night…

1. Losoul – Matchbox