WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:08.820 There are two ways by which human beings can observe themselves. 00:00:09.040 --> 00:00:12.080 If one wants to observe one's self, one needs difference. 00:00:12.280 --> 00:00:16.600 The question “what I am like?”, can only be formulated in the following way 00:00:16.600 --> 00:00:19.060 What makes me different from anything else I know? 00:00:19.340 --> 00:00:21.900 How am I different from an animal? 00:00:21.900 --> 00:00:25.760 How am I different from other human beings living in other societies? 00:00:26.240 --> 00:00:30.740 As human beings, how are we now, compared to how we were, in the past? 00:00:30.740 --> 00:00:34.540 We asks ourselves these questions because we want to understand ourselves. 00:00:34.920 --> 00:00:38.660 It's a search for something that we're missing in our lives today. 00:01:27.760 --> 00:01:29.760 Bring it lower. Ready. Now. 00:01:32.800 --> 00:01:34.960 I really don't understand. 00:01:34.960 --> 00:01:38.000 Is that granite? 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:40.220 Can someone please explain this to me? 00:01:40.220 --> 00:01:43.440 This stuff here, we came across while boring too. 00:01:46.520 --> 00:01:48.500 It's not Russian cement. 00:02:21.040 --> 00:02:23.680 Were you aware at that time of the dimensions it would take? 00:02:23.680 --> 00:02:25.400 Where would it lead to, dude? 00:02:25.400 --> 00:02:27.480 Hey dude, I would say yes. 00:02:27.480 --> 00:02:29.240 I guessed pretty early on. 00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:35.100 Because one just has to walk through this space, 00:02:35.100 --> 00:02:40.560 to recognize the unique spectacle or the possibilities it offers. 00:02:40.560 --> 00:02:45.260 One's immediately aware as though hit on the head by an obvious fact. 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:49.520 How we landed up here is a long story 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:51.660 but the first time I came here, 00:02:51.660 --> 00:02:54.380 it was with friends, girls and boys, 00:02:54.380 --> 00:02:56.060 let's say it was 10 years ago, 00:02:56.700 --> 00:03:00.700 we were searching for a good party location. 00:03:01.200 --> 00:03:03.040 We were looking for a sand pit, 00:03:03.040 --> 00:03:07.720 which we found, 2 km from here and driving down the highway, 00:03:08.960 --> 00:03:12.080 quite by accident, we saw the hangers. 00:03:12.080 --> 00:03:14.280 Our first reaction was 00:03:14.280 --> 00:03:17.480 “Oh God! That looks insane. Its totally boring. 00:03:17.520 --> 00:03:19.460 Let's please drive off!” 00:03:21.440 --> 00:03:23.760 It had a military character… 00:03:23.760 --> 00:03:26.240 which it naturally loses with time. 00:03:26.380 --> 00:03:29.100 No, I wasn’t crazy about it from the start. 00:03:30.160 --> 00:03:31.920 I was like 00:03:31.920 --> 00:03:34.480 ...it required some getting use to, certainly. 00:03:35.440 --> 00:03:39.140 The original crew was a mixed bag of 10 people. 00:03:40.340 --> 00:03:45.400 From amongst them, maybe 5 had been organising parties regularly. 00:03:47.680 --> 00:03:51.760 But it wasn't really a crew or circle of people that belonged together, 00:03:51.760 --> 00:03:54.480 rather individuals who got together. 00:03:55.800 --> 00:03:59.240 After that actually, some more time elapsed. 00:03:59.400 --> 00:04:02.200 We drove out here again, recalling this place from memory, 00:04:02.200 --> 00:04:06.000 because there was something about this place which we couldn't fathom. 00:04:07.200 --> 00:04:08.960 In the end, we are quite amazed 00:04:08.960 --> 00:04:11.980 by these surroundings here. 00:04:38.700 --> 00:04:42.560 The airfield was divided into two, so that the layout we had there, 00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:46.860 with its 12 hangars and commandant's area was replicated quite exactly here again. 00:04:46.920 --> 00:04:49.740 It was a mirror image, with exactly the same annexes, 00:04:49.740 --> 00:04:54.740 constructed in the same dimensions here again. 00:04:59.729 --> 00:05:05.969 I'm curious how it’s going to be with the motor and all this ice slabs. 00:05:06.640 --> 00:05:08.320 I think we should walk from here, 00:05:08.320 --> 00:05:09.940 it's right there in front, 00:05:10.460 --> 00:05:12.460 instead of getting stuck. 00:05:27.920 --> 00:05:30.940 Yes, it looked roughly like this 00:05:30.940 --> 00:05:33.840 when we first arrived at the airfield in 1995/96. 00:05:37.840 --> 00:05:39.360 Everything trashed. 00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:42.560 Everything that could be taken away was gone. 00:05:45.840 --> 00:05:49.680 The construction is the same. Like our house over there. 00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:56.400 Crazy. 00:05:57.120 --> 00:05:59.600 Sometimes I've asked myself - would one do it again? 00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:02.340 That one would plant oneself in a ruin, 00:06:02.340 --> 00:06:03.920 totally ingenuously, and say, 00:06:03.920 --> 00:06:07.200 “well, money is no star, somehow everything'll be alright, 00:06:07.200 --> 00:06:09.120 we’ll make it happen, we'll just start, 00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:13.360 there’s no electricity but we’ll just connect a few batteries together. 00:06:14.320 --> 00:06:16.560 And one thing leads to another and then, 00:06:16.560 --> 00:06:18.360 at some point comes the water, 00:06:18.460 --> 00:06:19.920 then the windows and then the doors, 00:06:19.920 --> 00:06:21.840 and then come new ideas 00:06:21.840 --> 00:06:24.400 and then a wall is torn down! 00:06:26.500 --> 00:06:29.080 Everything self made, 00:06:29.080 --> 00:06:31.780 with the most minimal resources. 00:06:39.440 --> 00:06:42.700 It feels like a time jump to 17 years ago. 00:06:45.660 --> 00:06:49.780 I still recall that when I stepped into that house over there on the other side 00:06:49.780 --> 00:06:51.700 you sensed it strongly 00:06:51.700 --> 00:06:54.000 that it was creepy place. 00:06:58.620 --> 00:07:01.480 That it had been put to military use. 00:07:02.909 --> 00:07:05.489 And amidst this legacy, 00:07:05.580 --> 00:07:08.520 now lying defunct and absolutely wasted, 00:07:08.920 --> 00:07:10.969 we came across the airfield. 00:07:11.800 --> 00:07:13.840 And in our imagination 00:07:13.840 --> 00:07:16.520 it was the perfect example of a place 00:07:16.520 --> 00:07:18.820 that had taken on a completely new definition. 00:07:18.920 --> 00:07:21.060 It was ready made. 00:09:52.580 --> 00:09:56.420 It's not as if we went looking for the worst premises and said - 00:09:56.420 --> 00:10:02.620 “yes! It's exactly this ugly thing here that we'd like to transform into something beautiful!” 00:10:03.300 --> 00:10:06.540 These grounds offered us different sorts of opportunities. 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:11.260 When we got here, we weren’t looking for real estate to invest in 00:10:11.420 --> 00:10:15.240 but a place where we could organize an event, 00:10:17.000 --> 00:10:20.400 conceived in accordance with what we'd imagined. 00:10:21.980 --> 00:10:23.860 Eule and I… 00:10:23.860 --> 00:10:25.340 for a long time, 00:10:25.340 --> 00:10:28.220 we were in agreement. 00:10:30.660 --> 00:10:34.380 Fuck, what's missing here is a mind blowing performance. 00:10:34.380 --> 00:10:36.920 It has to be brought to the audience - 00:10:36.920 --> 00:10:38.120 Boof! 00:10:38.640 --> 00:10:41.500 Not your regular wishy washy fare 00:10:41.500 --> 00:10:44.360 but a thrust in the right direction. 00:10:47.120 --> 00:10:49.960 Something totally trippy. 00:10:51.580 --> 00:10:53.580 To gather people in a place, 00:10:53.580 --> 00:10:56.740 which they realize has a strange history. 00:10:57.380 --> 00:11:01.340 But temporarily, they take part in a different kind of story. 00:11:01.820 --> 00:11:06.280 In that moment, you're bringing two opposing forces into play: 00:11:06.440 --> 00:11:09.520 on one hand, a freedom, to feel and to be who you want to be. 00:11:09.520 --> 00:11:12.700 Totally contrary to what had existed here before 00:11:12.700 --> 00:11:15.000 and you reflect it onto the old spaces now. 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:17.480 And on the other hand is a thing, 00:11:17.560 --> 00:11:19.320 which doesn't exist in the present 00:11:19.320 --> 00:11:20.940 but is a part of history - 00:11:20.940 --> 00:11:23.280 it's only a thought perhaps, 00:11:23.280 --> 00:11:25.560 but one that's occupied 00:11:25.560 --> 00:11:29.600 and imbued with what's in existence now. 00:11:32.620 --> 00:11:35.720 This airfield was well suited for parties. 00:11:39.480 --> 00:11:43.540 Nature had reclaimed it for its own, 00:11:43.540 --> 00:11:45.600 everything was overgrown, 00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:49.100 it has it's own strange atmosphere, 00:11:49.100 --> 00:11:51.100 of isolation. 00:11:55.560 --> 00:11:57.560 But occasionally we found a path 00:11:57.560 --> 00:11:59.560 or a parking lot still in good condition. 00:12:02.400 --> 00:12:05.200 I think it was the very first 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:06.400 open air party. 00:12:08.240 --> 00:12:10.080 Eule had a little equipment 00:12:10.080 --> 00:12:11.280 and a sound system 00:12:12.720 --> 00:12:14.400 and a few tents ready to go. 00:12:15.200 --> 00:12:18.080 It was extremely chaotic. 00:12:20.880 --> 00:12:22.400 And inevitably, 00:12:24.160 --> 00:12:25.760 a catastrophe. 00:12:26.640 --> 00:12:30.720 Because we didn’t know what one has to do, 00:12:30.720 --> 00:12:34.000 what one needs and how to set it up, 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:36.160 so that everything works. 00:12:36.720 --> 00:12:37.760 I still remember, 00:12:37.760 --> 00:12:38.960 the first DJ, 00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:42.080 I gifted him my pair of warm gloves 00:12:42.080 --> 00:12:43.540 with the fingers cut off, 00:12:43.540 --> 00:12:46.800 so he could work turn the disks on the table. 00:12:47.280 --> 00:12:49.280 It was freezing cold and 00:12:49.280 --> 00:12:52.000 no one had thought of the heating. 00:12:54.440 --> 00:12:56.960 Such open air parties already existed, open airs 00:12:58.500 --> 00:13:00.700 they were usually goa parties 00:13:00.700 --> 00:13:02.040 or huge raves. 00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:05.480 We wanted to do something similar 00:13:06.600 --> 00:13:08.500 but with music that we liked 00:13:09.340 --> 00:13:11.020 and with nice people. 00:13:12.120 --> 00:13:13.640 Celebrate. 00:13:13.960 --> 00:13:15.120 Somewhere 00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:17.120 it's fucking cool. 00:13:22.300 --> 00:13:24.800 There were sand pits 00:13:25.740 --> 00:13:27.080 or factory halls, 00:13:27.080 --> 00:13:30.160 in which we wouldn't have been allowed to do anything 00:13:30.160 --> 00:13:32.000 because they could collapse any time. 00:13:35.980 --> 00:13:38.700 The techno business has been infiltrated by opportunists 00:13:38.700 --> 00:13:41.020 eager to make a killing. 00:13:41.440 --> 00:13:44.960 Most parties have deteriorated into copy paste rituals, 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:46.960 with long forgotten highlights 00:13:46.960 --> 00:13:50.400 where admission ticket prices are rising in direct proportion to the fall in quality. 00:13:50.400 --> 00:13:53.840 We’ve had enough of mediocre parties, 00:13:54.480 --> 00:13:57.280 in which the turn-on factor has in fact 00:13:57.280 --> 00:14:00.420 become the turn-off factor due to a series of contradictions. 00:14:00.900 --> 00:14:03.220 That's why we've started organising parties ourselves, 00:14:03.220 --> 00:14:06.240 parties which do not merely exist to maximise profits. 00:14:06.320 --> 00:14:08.960 The project is called U.Site Sound System. 00:14:10.640 --> 00:14:11.840 The head is round 00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:14.720 so that our thinking can change its direction. 00:14:38.240 --> 00:14:40.220 After 20 years of political work 00:14:40.220 --> 00:14:43.020 in the undogmatic, autonomous left-wing scene, 00:14:44.120 --> 00:14:45.660 suddenly one realizes 00:14:45.680 --> 00:14:48.300 “hmm, isn't there something else besides, 00:14:48.300 --> 00:14:51.960 which doesn't necessarily cast doubt over the work one's been doing, 00:14:51.960 --> 00:14:54.400 but can still broaden one’s horizons? 00:14:54.740 --> 00:14:56.260 Then came Techno 00:14:56.260 --> 00:14:59.380 and it opened up a completely new universe for me. 00:15:00.640 --> 00:15:02.720 Bring on the beautiful life. 00:15:03.580 --> 00:15:07.180 And from the start, hedonism wasn't a contradiction for me. 00:15:07.180 --> 00:15:10.160 Yes, our decision was very controversial at the time. 00:15:10.200 --> 00:15:12.620 There were many in the political arena, 00:15:12.620 --> 00:15:17.480 who feared that the comrades would fall like ninepins to the wave of hedonism 00:15:17.480 --> 00:15:21.240 and bid adieu to the political struggle. 00:15:22.640 --> 00:15:25.240 I think that’s why I took to dancing, 00:15:26.040 --> 00:15:29.040 because it helped me understand what I want. 00:15:33.240 --> 00:15:34.940 It helped me pin point the areas 00:15:34.940 --> 00:15:36.920 I wanted to be active in 00:15:36.920 --> 00:15:39.860 and ascertain which direction my life should take. 00:15:41.500 --> 00:15:46.100 We live in a society in which a lot of things are not accepted. 00:15:46.100 --> 00:15:48.500 What do people in our surroundings expect from us? 00:15:48.500 --> 00:15:51.380 What does the media want? What does society at large expect? 00:15:52.080 --> 00:15:55.760 It's all about looking good and being in control. 00:15:55.760 --> 00:15:58.160 It's about creating a good impression, 00:15:58.160 --> 00:16:00.880 where one dare not break down or cry, nor sweat. 00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:03.440 It leads to people being out of touch with their bodies 00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:06.240 and functioning very much with their heads. 00:16:07.880 --> 00:16:10.120 And parties are an expression 00:16:10.120 --> 00:16:13.800 of how little one is allowed just to be, 00:16:15.520 --> 00:16:18.160 without having to be a certain way. 00:16:20.480 --> 00:16:23.680 It was in the early 90's that I started going to techno parties. 00:16:23.680 --> 00:16:26.080 And I experienced a great sense of freedom 00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:30.460 because of the way people behaved with each other. 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:34.280 It was very different to what I'd experienced 00:16:34.280 --> 00:16:36.280 in other left-wing scenes in Hamburg. 00:16:37.860 --> 00:16:41.100 It left a strong impression on me, I had been in search of it dearly. 00:16:42.020 --> 00:16:46.000 It was clear pretty quickly that U.SITE was the field which interested me the most. 00:16:46.000 --> 00:16:47.360 They organised the interesting parties, 00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:49.360 were working in interesting directions. 00:16:49.840 --> 00:16:52.320 Where I fit in, better than in any other field actually. 00:16:52.760 --> 00:16:57.960 One can be politically active without letting it become one's only interest. 00:16:58.940 --> 00:17:06.380 There are people in our network who’ve made a similar choice, who've said 00:17:06.380 --> 00:17:11.500 “well, naturally I do as I please, I want change in our society, 00:17:11.500 --> 00:17:17.260 I oppose and struggle against the harsh realities of our society 00:17:17.260 --> 00:17:19.260 but that's not my only identity 00:17:19.260 --> 00:17:21.640 and that is not my only reality either. 00:18:18.620 --> 00:18:21.980 The concept was that no one person was singly responsible. 00:18:22.320 --> 00:18:24.480 “Oh! artists from Hamburg?" 00:18:25.120 --> 00:18:26.700 "Okay!" 00:18:26.700 --> 00:18:28.700 "We didn’t know about them." 00:18:28.700 --> 00:18:30.700 "Why didn't someone inform us?" 00:18:30.700 --> 00:18:33.120 And we were like “Really, didn’t someone tell you?" 00:18:33.120 --> 00:18:36.240 "It was announced all over.” 00:18:37.840 --> 00:18:39.920 Who is the organiser of this huge fete? 00:18:40.080 --> 00:18:43.200 The police shrugs, implying 'we don't know as yet.' 00:18:43.680 --> 00:18:48.240 The participants are informed through an info-line of the Hamburg Techno-scene. 00:18:49.340 --> 00:18:52.400 Yet, officer Frank, the head of police security, says 00:18:52.400 --> 00:18:55.300 “law and order authorities have refrained from interfering 00:18:55.300 --> 00:18:57.300 due to a lack of personnel 00:18:57.300 --> 00:18:59.940 and with a view to avoid an escalation.” 00:19:02.400 --> 00:19:04.400 The impression given by the authorities was that 00:19:04.400 --> 00:19:06.400 “these are a bunch of wild people. 00:19:06.400 --> 00:19:08.160 To spoil their fun, 00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:14.280 specially in a situation when there isn't enough personnel, isn't worth it.” 00:19:15.840 --> 00:19:22.160 We were far more radical than others in our treatment of the administration. 00:19:22.160 --> 00:19:24.480 And that's what lent us our flair. 00:19:25.100 --> 00:19:26.580 That's what made it so exciting, 00:19:26.580 --> 00:19:27.500 fascinating, 00:19:28.440 --> 00:19:31.220 specially for people who'd heard about us 00:19:31.220 --> 00:19:33.220 but had no access to the parties. 00:19:33.500 --> 00:19:35.760 I remember the feeling myself, 00:19:35.760 --> 00:19:37.760 from the days when I first started going to techno parties 00:19:37.760 --> 00:19:39.900 “there's something going on, I don't know what, 00:19:40.020 --> 00:19:42.480 I can’t simply join in because someone needs to take me there”. 00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:45.520 And that’s what really tickled my imagination. 00:19:46.160 --> 00:19:51.840 One needed to publicize it. That there's a party. 00:19:53.400 --> 00:19:59.480 I did it gladly. There were people who worked diligently at the task. 00:20:01.660 --> 00:20:07.520 But one had no choice. One wanted people to come. 00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:11.660 We'd visit places where we were most likely to meet people 00:20:11.660 --> 00:20:14.280 who we felt were our soulmates. 00:20:15.180 --> 00:20:18.300 And there we'd approach them with flyers. 00:20:18.300 --> 00:20:23.660 And they were always delighted to receive a flyer. 00:20:25.080 --> 00:20:28.880 The flyers were hand distributed. It was exhausting, 00:20:28.880 --> 00:20:31.740 each flyer was handed out individually. 00:20:34.440 --> 00:20:36.920 More or less to nice people. 00:20:39.020 --> 00:20:43.340 Due to this tactic, there built up an elite group- 00:20:43.340 --> 00:20:45.340 the 'those who know'. 00:20:46.340 --> 00:20:50.720 They'd managed to get special access to an event. 00:20:53.040 --> 00:20:55.280 An event which was incredible, 00:20:55.280 --> 00:20:58.560 which you wouldn't find replicated elsewhere. 00:21:02.760 --> 00:21:06.940 Competition, exclusion, commercialization, isolation 00:21:06.940 --> 00:21:09.600 these are phenomena which increasingly define our society. 00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:12.720 Caste aside in the process are the following: 00:21:12.720 --> 00:21:15.040 solidarity and socially responsible action, 00:21:15.040 --> 00:21:17.440 work without the motive of financial gain, 00:21:17.440 --> 00:21:20.560 as also those realms of art and culture 00:21:20.560 --> 00:21:22.560 which cannot be marketed easily. 00:21:22.960 --> 00:21:26.320 This description does not preclude subcultures 00:21:26.320 --> 00:21:28.920 and electronic music with its various offshoots. 00:21:29.460 --> 00:21:31.460 That needs to change. 00:21:43.900 --> 00:21:46.800 The first party here at the airfield? 00:21:46.800 --> 00:21:48.800 How it was? 00:21:50.080 --> 00:21:51.800 I'd say, it was concentrated around a small area. 00:21:51.800 --> 00:21:53.800 Our backstage was behind the Tubebox. 00:21:54.920 --> 00:21:59.620 We sat out in the open, we'd assembled a few stools and tables. 00:22:00.120 --> 00:22:02.840 Yes, to drive out here, build up the backstage. 00:22:03.040 --> 00:22:07.100 At that time, it was Eule's bus. A tarpaulin and a table. 00:22:07.840 --> 00:22:12.060 And believe it or not, there was only one stage 00:22:12.060 --> 00:22:14.860 in front of the Mainstage. 00:22:15.900 --> 00:22:20.220 An electro ambience chill was playing somewhere but I don't remember exactly where. 00:22:21.260 --> 00:22:24.300 I'm guessing there were about 600 to 700 people. 00:22:26.280 --> 00:22:30.520 Since the weather was good, they seemed to have a splendid time. 00:22:31.160 --> 00:22:33.460 It a very small and cozy party. 00:22:33.460 --> 00:22:37.080 And it included assembling the aerotrim in the hangar. 00:22:37.080 --> 00:22:39.080 The first time. 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:43.840 And afterwards we removed everything, dismantled it all. 00:22:43.840 --> 00:22:45.840 An open air party. 00:23:01.600 --> 00:23:03.760 We were at the inception of... 00:23:03.760 --> 00:23:06.220 for convenience's sake I'll call it our “party movement”. 00:23:06.240 --> 00:23:09.820 Due to the location and the feeling which prevailed here, 00:23:09.820 --> 00:23:13.360 it felt as though a new world had opened up before us 00:23:13.780 --> 00:23:16.920 And it was obvious that if we established ourselves here, 00:23:16.920 --> 00:23:20.760 we could turn the conventional party framework on its head. 00:23:24.760 --> 00:23:27.640 The idea of the fusion festival hadn't occurred to us as yet. 00:23:27.840 --> 00:23:29.840 It was conceived the winter after. 00:23:29.920 --> 00:23:31.360 Eule mentioned it, 00:23:31.360 --> 00:23:33.760 and I thought to myself “what's this guy about?” 00:23:34.260 --> 00:23:36.940 We have a space which fits the bill 00:23:36.940 --> 00:23:40.400 and where we can combine our different interests. 00:23:41.060 --> 00:23:44.580 To move away from an exclusively trans/techno concept 00:23:44.580 --> 00:23:47.600 to one which is more open. 00:23:47.700 --> 00:23:52.180 Which also appeals to a wider variety of people. 00:23:54.980 --> 00:23:57.980 Sometime or the other, we hit upon the name - 00:23:58.080 --> 00:23:59.580 Fusion 00:23:59.580 --> 00:24:01.580 I don't remember how. 00:24:01.580 --> 00:24:05.420 I think it was old Bernd's gimmick. 00:24:06.860 --> 00:24:08.860 Or Don's. 00:24:08.940 --> 00:24:11.500 In any case, they came to me and said - 00:24:12.240 --> 00:24:17.720 "Man, it's in fusion here, something is fusing together.” 00:24:17.720 --> 00:24:20.920 In the beginning it sounded too flamboyant - 00:24:21.600 --> 00:24:25.600 FU-SI-ON. 00:24:27.200 --> 00:24:29.280 We weren't sure if it would work. 00:24:29.280 --> 00:24:32.640 We were all quite skeptical and asked ourselves 00:24:32.640 --> 00:24:34.880 “will people find it cool? do they want it? will we ever manage? 00:24:34.880 --> 00:24:37.920 Because someone is against a particular thing, another against the next.” 00:24:37.920 --> 00:24:39.840 More than anything else it was an experiment. 00:24:39.840 --> 00:24:41.600 Saying to ourselves “Okay, we'll try it.” 00:25:09.120 --> 00:25:10.240 Dear Listeners. 00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:15.200 Shortly, you will be receiving a special broadcast about the Fusion festival, 00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:18.720 which took place in Mecklenberg Vorpommern in March. 00:25:18.720 --> 00:25:21.440 In this program we shall be documenting 00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:24.320 the practical and theoretical aspects of an occurrence 00:25:24.320 --> 00:25:26.400 which has never before taken place in this form . 00:25:34.300 --> 00:25:38.560 During the first Fusion, the backstage was behind the Tubebox, 00:25:38.560 --> 00:25:40.400 very small and compact. 00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:42.600 And we'd gathered under a tent. 00:25:42.600 --> 00:25:47.400 And thought, “Oh great! We can expand in the times to come. We can develop this in the times to come, 00:25:47.400 --> 00:25:48.880 let's restructure. 00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:50.880 So we shifted into this house. 00:25:50.880 --> 00:25:52.880 It had no windows and no roof either, 00:25:53.840 --> 00:25:55.640 it didn't have running water, nothing. 00:25:56.280 --> 00:26:00.360 During the second fusion, we began to do up the house- 00:26:00.360 --> 00:26:05.480 built windows, made it a little liveable. 00:26:05.480 --> 00:26:10.560 Recall that the Russians had been gone 5 years. 00:26:10.840 --> 00:26:13.800 The place was mouldy, their clothes still hung in the cupboards, 00:26:13.800 --> 00:26:15.880 all of it had to be cleaned out. 00:26:15.880 --> 00:26:18.920 The sanitary works were installed during the next Fusion. 00:26:22.760 --> 00:26:25.160 Hey, go slower! 00:26:26.920 --> 00:26:28.120 What? 00:26:33.880 --> 00:26:36.160 It should be pointing in the right direction. 00:26:36.160 --> 00:26:38.160 Why? 00:26:44.320 --> 00:26:46.560 Then we paved the paths 00:26:46.580 --> 00:26:50.060 because we had to move with heavy equipment from one place to another. 00:26:51.880 --> 00:26:55.520 And then we undertook the finishing touches. 00:26:56.900 --> 00:26:59.020 Between then and now, from the time we put in the first windows 00:26:59.020 --> 00:27:01.680 to prevent a the cold draft from entering 00:27:01.680 --> 00:27:03.680 and nailed the first planks into the doors, 00:27:04.520 --> 00:27:10.520 an unbelievable amount of work has gone into the enterprise. 00:27:16.260 --> 00:27:18.680 I seldom come here often but when I do, 00:27:18.680 --> 00:27:21.280 it always strikes me that 00:27:23.100 --> 00:27:26.180 it's a huge amount of work that's gone in here. 00:27:26.840 --> 00:27:28.840 The hard work of many people. 00:27:28.840 --> 00:27:30.840 of many people. 00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:13.380 It was not our intention and neither did it impose itself upon us . 00:28:13.380 --> 00:28:15.120 It was more like 00:28:15.120 --> 00:28:16.860 okay, there's this festival. 00:28:16.860 --> 00:28:19.880 And then there's an attempt to make it grow, 00:28:19.880 --> 00:28:22.280 to make it more than just a festival. 00:28:22.280 --> 00:28:29.440 And it became pretty obvious that we're investing all this work and money into this space 00:28:29.440 --> 00:28:37.080 and if we don't buy it, we're stupid and that somebody else will sooner or later. 00:28:37.080 --> 00:28:39.080 And then we'll have to move out. 00:28:39.080 --> 00:28:43.520 And our efforts, the work and the lifeblood we'd invested, would come to nought. 00:28:43.520 --> 00:28:48.520 That's how we decided that one of our most important goals was to secure the land. 00:28:50.280 --> 00:28:54.960 An inspection visit by the cultural committee of Mecklenburg Vorpommern. 00:29:04.180 --> 00:29:09.740 One cannot say we're commercial, in the sense that we are a Non Profit Organisation. 00:29:10.920 --> 00:29:16.880 We're professional in the sense that in the long term we want to facilitate activity 00:29:16.880 --> 00:29:20.680 in other smaller segments like cinema and theatre, 00:29:20.680 --> 00:29:26.280 independently and apart from the main festival. 00:29:26.280 --> 00:29:30.520 But we're not commercial in the sense that we, as the organisers, want to work commercially. 00:29:31.160 --> 00:29:34.560 But since you want to buy it, you'll need finances. 00:29:36.240 --> 00:29:38.360 Buying is only one aspect. 00:29:38.940 --> 00:29:43.960 The other aspect is translating our plans into action and the costs that will be incurred thereby. 00:29:43.960 --> 00:29:50.100 That'll be enormous. You'll have no choice but to work commercially if you want to cover your costs. 00:29:50.400 --> 00:29:53.060 Covering one's cost doesn't imply that one is working commercially. 00:29:53.240 --> 00:29:56.560 The aim is that if we're earning something here, 00:29:56.560 --> 00:29:58.620 it should also be reinvested. 00:30:00.980 --> 00:30:04.080 For starters, the festival will help us make ends meet, 00:30:04.080 --> 00:30:08.520 without which we wouldn't be able to do anything here at all. 00:30:09.040 --> 00:30:14.660 I think one can't rely only on cultural funding to develop this space commercially. 00:30:15.300 --> 00:30:18.740 Can't we go somewhere we can get something to eat? 00:30:25.880 --> 00:30:27.160 That in the end 00:30:27.160 --> 00:30:29.440 it turned into a purchase and a project of this scale! 00:30:29.760 --> 00:30:35.040 And maybe these developments could only have taken place in those times. 00:30:36.200 --> 00:30:38.960 5 or 10 years later, neither would we have been allowed 00:30:38.960 --> 00:30:41.700 to acquire land for this purpose, 00:30:41.700 --> 00:30:46.580 nor would the people or bureaucracy display the openness, 00:30:46.580 --> 00:30:50.480 which was a key factor that they did at the time. 00:30:51.600 --> 00:30:54.920 It was a singular point of crystallization of events. 00:30:54.920 --> 00:30:57.680 And that's how we were able to walk away 00:30:57.680 --> 00:31:01.760 with a piece of the pie that so many others had been eyeing for 8 years . 00:31:01.760 --> 00:31:05.280 All those who'd thought that they could enrich themselves, 00:31:05.280 --> 00:31:09.800 cut a quick deal, cheat or steal from under people's noses - 00:31:09.800 --> 00:31:11.800 they got pushed out. 00:31:12.100 --> 00:31:16.140 And totally unexpectedly and unintentionally, 00:31:16.140 --> 00:31:20.380 we could secure the land for ourselves. 00:31:58.400 --> 00:32:02.120 The carnival of cultures already existed. 00:32:02.480 --> 00:32:04.480 Here, we'd made a wagon. 00:32:04.760 --> 00:32:06.760 To advertise Fusion. 00:32:08.960 --> 00:32:13.760 By this time the Fusion was already quite big. 00:32:21.880 --> 00:32:24.440 It wasn't any longer a small 00:32:25.720 --> 00:32:27.720 underground circus. 00:32:28.600 --> 00:32:33.680 Projects like Fusion, although they are a collective creation, 00:32:33.680 --> 00:32:37.760 nevertheless incorporate differing individual positions, 00:32:37.760 --> 00:32:41.080 specially in regards to the evolution of the project, 00:32:41.080 --> 00:32:43.640 from U.SITE to the present discontent, 00:32:43.640 --> 00:32:47.360 differing motivation and thus the adoption of diverse work practices. 00:32:50.800 --> 00:32:53.400 This was 1997/98. 00:32:56.760 --> 00:33:03.200 The Fusion was already so big that it couldn't be nurtured by airy fairy sentiments alone - 00:33:06.960 --> 00:33:10.960 “oh, its so much fun and we love each other!” 00:33:16.060 --> 00:33:18.620 Eule did really need 00:33:18.620 --> 00:33:20.180 a strong team 00:33:20.180 --> 00:33:23.780 which he could trust and that could work together. 00:33:26.960 --> 00:33:28.960 Whatever that means. 00:33:30.840 --> 00:33:32.640 And one is more ... 00:33:36.600 --> 00:33:40.780 ... motivated, hardworking, ambitious ... 00:33:41.800 --> 00:33:43.340 ... or even ... 00:33:44.100 --> 00:33:46.100 ... fearful. 00:33:47.480 --> 00:33:50.660 And the other not. 00:34:15.240 --> 00:34:19.260 The Nazi's built this, to protect their jet planes 00:34:19.260 --> 00:34:21.860 against bombs and espionage. 00:34:26.080 --> 00:34:28.080 Even the dates are still visible. 00:34:32.800 --> 00:34:37.720 Graffiti was popular with the Russians even in the 70's. 00:34:39.240 --> 00:34:43.560 It's 20 years since the Russians left this place and 00:34:43.560 --> 00:34:47.980 75 years since the Nazi's built this airport. 00:34:53.400 --> 00:34:55.100 From the Russians to us, 00:34:55.100 --> 00:34:57.480 there is a kind of continuity and development. 00:34:57.480 --> 00:35:02.240 And, it would've been strange if this place hadn't changed in these 20 years. 00:35:02.240 --> 00:35:04.940 Because in the normal course of things, 00:35:04.940 --> 00:35:07.200 so much new stuff comes into being. 00:35:07.360 --> 00:35:09.920 But looking at this part of the airfield, 00:35:09.920 --> 00:35:12.480 you're reminded of the change even more starkly, 00:35:12.480 --> 00:35:14.280 because this part has remained unchanged. 00:35:15.400 --> 00:35:17.980 In the Wall came down, the history of this place 00:35:17.980 --> 00:35:20.360 was deliberately bashed away 00:35:20.360 --> 00:35:22.840 by the narrative of the capitalistic system 00:35:22.840 --> 00:35:26.880 Nobody spoke about communism , everything about it was bad. 00:35:27.680 --> 00:35:30.000 And to interject precisely there, and to say 00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:33.740 “we're going to take it up once more and even transform it into pop”, 00:35:33.740 --> 00:35:36.320 that's what always tickled us. 00:35:37.100 --> 00:35:42.000 And the more dogmatic or conservative or adverse people were, 00:35:42.000 --> 00:35:45.880 the more it excited us to refer to it. 00:35:55.200 --> 00:35:57.440 We're controversial too. 00:35:57.440 --> 00:36:00.080 Even before the ticket with Lenin wearing headphones 00:36:00.080 --> 00:36:02.960 and a plank hung before his eyes came out 00:36:02.960 --> 00:36:05.700 we'd created controversy.