This past weekend Time Warp came to Brooklyn for it's first ever appearance on North American soil. Elizabeth Ninivaggi and I had the opportunity to cover this event and to say that we were blown away is an understatement. I myself am almost speechless. Almost. After taking a few days to gather our thoughts and experiences from the two nights, I think we're ready to write about the mystery that is Time Warp.
Picture if you can the stereotypical warehouse. It's probably got a few battered windows, graffiti, and a lone street light that flickers on and off every so often. There's not really anything else around except for other warehouses cut from the same mold and if you're lucky, a run down diner. As terrible as this place sounds, it's exactly where you want to hold a techno festival, and this is where Time Warp was held. After taking a cab down to the very end of 39th street in Brooklyn, we hopped out and immediately heard the bass booming out across the parking lot and bouncing off the nearby warehouses. This was around 10:30, and with the line moving quickly through the I.D. and security stations we were into the warehouse by 11. Perfect. Upon entering you were greeted with the main stage or floor 1 on your left, the coat check and v.i.p. entrance directly in front and the second stage or floor 2 on your right. Draped along the walls, and separating the different sections were heavy curtains that tried to dampen the sound from each stage.
Stepping into another world is best to describe the main floor. The setup was breathtaking to say the least, with adornments lining the ceiling that held all of the fantastic energy that was housed between the fans and techno gods themselves. A standout performance by Luciano was a highlight; the groovy beats flowed effortlessly throughout the venue in a unique energetic fashion, with the crowd reacting positively to the ebbs and flows of his signature Latinized techno beats. Coming up strongly as well were great sets from Joseph Capriati, The Martinez Brothers, and a slamming live set from Dubfire.
Night two encompassed an epic line up of Pan Pot, Sven Väth, Richie Hawtin, DJ Tennis, Dixon and more that kept the great vibes flowing from the first night. Sven Väth definitely exceeded all expectations with his signature vinyl set and amazing song selection. I will have to say however that the most surreal moment of the night happened at 5am. After an hour of dancing to Hawtin's live remixing, he dropped two banging tracks that lit the room up. It's as if the party just started and the entire place went nuts! As he tends to be, Richie Hawtin has been the hot conversation of the event, however it should have been his dark techno and yes a little trap infused set that really revved up the crowd.
Overall we had an amazing time at the festival, and would gladly go again in a heartbeat. Everything was organized extremely well and any problems that were apparent the first night, were fixed the second. The music was amazing, the sound wasn't too loud or grating (however the bass was shaking the roof… how awesome is that) and the crowd was a delight. 10/10 and a huge thumbs up to the folks over at Time Warp.
Photography by Jeff Thibodeau & Silver Squares
