Kraemer first touched on his history in Berlin club culture. Originally a drummer and saxophonist, he moved to the city in 1994 with little electronic music. That changed in 1997-98 when he experienced Swiss chill out music during a mushroom trip.

After throwing his first parties at nearby Glass House, Kraemer opened Club der Visionaere in 2001. Monteith, who spent as much of the interview talking as Kraemer did, touched on how the experimental, dub-heavy sound popular at the club inspired the likes of Einmusik and Margaret Dygas.

On the topic of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kraemer said the club’s management were “not concerned, but cautious.” He said that after recent coronavirus losses compounded the damage from last year’s fire, a second lockdown would pose issues for the club. He said they had no choice but to cut 70-80% of staff between both issues.

Listen to Gregor Kraemer’s XLR8R interview below and donate to Club der Visionaere via StartNext.

To that end, the club’s management hope to raise €50,000. Among other things, it will cover “continuing coronavirus setbacks” as well as repairs from a June 15th, 2019 fire that ravaged the space. Both Club der Visionaere and its sister venue, Hoppetosse, have remained closed since March.

“We have managed to make it through the last 20 years, but have exhausted our resources in the last year since the fire, trying to stay afloat,” reads the fundraiser description. “This latest crisis may now be too much and we may not be able to overcome it alone.” At the time of writing the campaign has amassed over €31,000.

Club der Visionaere is not the only Berlin club to meet such a fate. In April, [ipsə] fell victim to suspected arson amid its own turmoil from COVID-19-related losses. Prior to the pandemic, the city’s “Clubsterben” threatened nightlife as a whole with property developments swallowing up creative spaces.

The donation portal and additional information are available on Club der Visionaere’s StartNext page.

Image credit: Club der Visionaere