Together with Berghain and STAUB, OHM has always been one of my favourite places — a tiny venue close to my heart. I’ve spent countless unforgettable musical nights there, to the point where I started calling it the laboratory of experimental music. I mean you are not a Berliner if you haven’t checked this box in your experience places agenda.
Life didn’t really allow me to return there much after the Corona years, so I was genuinely excited when I got a free pass for Técnica’s third night at OHM [Técnica lucky 13 event in total]. Even more exciting was the chance to witness a new generation of artists emerging freely, confidently, and entirely through their own force.
Last Thursday, I arrived full of nostalgia and old emotions at OHM — and what a return it turned out to be.
I made it just in time to catch the final part of ISA’s opening set, which immediately confirmed all my expectations of OHM and left me wanting to hear more. And more came with Surrealich’s deeply personal musical journey following two years spent in Africa. Her set was not only beautiful but emotionally heavy in the best possible way. It brought back fragments of my own memories — times when life felt easier and entirely different.
The journey began with atmospheric textures before moving into dub techno variations and broken beats. At moments, there were traces of folklore and even echoes reminiscent of Asian Dub Foundation. Through its constant rises and falls, the set somehow felt like travelling alongside her through the Cradle of Humankind itself. Curious about the origins of several tracks completely unknown to me, I asked Surrealich about them afterwards. Her answer was simple: “Some I made myself, some just came into my path.”
After her story came to an end, I expected the energy to slow down — but the opposite happened. Big Leg followed with cool mixing skills + a selection of truly one-of-a-kind tracks. Using scratches, a DD7 pedal, several CDJs, and what sometimes sounded like every channel on the mixer simultaneously. He seemed less like a DJ and more like someone actively reconstructing sounds in front of us. Dark wave collided with high-quality drum & bass and broken beats in a way that felt both chaotic and precise.
I’ve always believed a good musical journey should end somewhere warm and hopeful, and Big Leg managed that — closing moments that reminded me of a sunny beach far away from Berlin’s concrete reality.
We talked a bit after, and he told me the secret behind his amazing performance: perseverance (and I added talent) – he’s been creating musical stories for a decade now.
By the time my physical and psychological energy had almost completely drained away, Charlie Caves stepped into the booth. His set also began in an interesting way, unfortunately my batteries went empty, and I couldn’t dance till the end.
Técnica became the first post-pandemic music at OHM that truly connected with my senses again. There was another one before, but back then I was surrounded by entirely different people. Now I walk alone, more like a wolf.
And maybe that’s exactly what this night felt like in the end: a pack of warm, fuzzy wolverines and wolves howling their experiences into the open blue Berlin sky.
• ISA
• Big Leg
Light design by Natch
Artwork by Jonah P
Directed by Nikita T & tecnicakollektiv
unklar 