The Rituals of Liber Null

An interview! Liber Null is one of the most interesting event series around right now. Based in Berlin it has created a new aesthetic within the capitals clubbing culture. Dark and wavy, with references to the occult and obscure. More than just a party Liber Null creates an unique atmosphere that is also recognizable in it’s artworks and the theoretical concept of each happening. We talked to the three minds behind it; Manos, Thalia and Michał.

KALTBLUT: How would you describe Liber Null in one sentence?

Liber Null: We do not describe Liber Null only in one sentence.

KALTBLUT: How was your first party and how did it all start? How did the idea evolve?

Liber Null: The first Liber Null was at Shift Club Berlin in June 2013 and the character of the party was already there. It started with one floor and a very small line up. It started mainly as a music party to bring this kind of music into a club activity. To mix the Industrial, EBM and Minimal Wave Sounds with Techno and create a kind of darker, electronic, danceable music for the crowd. Instead of just following parties that are happening around the city we decided to do our own party – our own vision.

KALTBLUT: Is your name based on Peter J. Carrolls book‚ Liber Null‘?

Liber Null: Yes. The name should represent an attitude that leads you. Liber Null is a heresy, it’s the black arts of magic. The dark aesthetic fits with the music but if you take it a bit further from Peter Carroll, you’ll see that Aleister Crowley was also talking about this religion and what really relates with the parties is the liberation that human can have – to create things out of himself. It’s not only about the heresy but also about the spiritual experience that this music can give if the participant or the listener is willing to join this ritual. We describe it as a ritual more than a party because of the mystical, ritualistic result. And also the way that it attracts people – in the end they are always a part of it.

Liber Null 37x

KALTBLUT: How important is your personal aesthetic for the party and do you three always share the same aesthetic?

Liber Null: We all have pretty much the same aesthetic. We like the same things and even if we face new things then we still find the same way to express it. Even if our influences are not exactly the same they are very specific from one direction and every time we create something new, the background is one. That was important to us from the beginning: to maintain this one atmosphere and one aesthetic that will be recognizable. The music is strict and so are the graphics; the flyers that we produce, the identification we have. People know it’s Liber Null regardless of the fact that Liber Null has been changing it’s locations a lot. We’ve been changing clubs almost half of the times so far.

KALTBLUT: On purpose ?

Liber Null: Yes, it happened on purpose. From personal experience and also to get to know Berlin first of all. We needed to know how locations work here. Also the party has an identity. That was the concept: that Liber Null happens for example at ‚Fiese Remise‘ but it doesn’t matter. It’s Liber Null. It’s another planet.

KALTBLUT: If you had the chance would you open your own space?

Manos: That was a thought for many times but it’s not easy. And I don’t know if Liber Null has the possibility to be so often. Because it always takes a lot of effort and preparation to happen and it’s already kind of a full time job for us. So if it opens as a place we would have to change the whole concept from the beginning and I don’t know if that is possible. It’s another story. Maybe it could work. Maybe one place could open and cover all these underground organizations that are around this music – of course Liber Null is not the only party that happens in the city – and unite this scene.

Thalia: I think it would be dreamy if this would be the future of Liber Null. To have it’s own location, a space for all sides of Liber Null being presented there. Not just in this one night every two months. The sound, the aesthetics and the identity of Liber Null to be accessible in another basis…

Liber Null 21x

Michał:
We also notice that we have other friends who support us with their work and also in a more physical way by working at the parties. It all connects people from different backgrounds that are all attracted by this aesthetic of Liber Null. There’s the possibility that if you have your own space all those sides could come together and have one big working space – where the party is just one element of the action. Because basically all of us also work separately on our own stuff, which is all connected again. But having one place to do that would be a dream. And maybe it happens soon.

Manos: Soon?

Michał: Yeah, but I’ll tell you later.

Gaja @ Liber Null XI – Instincts by Libernull on Mixcloud

KALTBLUT: Do you think Aleister Crowley would like your parties?

Liber Null: Yeah, he would rave with us. He’d be the first guest.

KALTBLUT: You talked about the people you want to attract and the crowd you want to be with. How would you define that “crowd”, what are you looking for in it?

Liber Null: Behind every edition of Liber Null there is a concept and we like to share it with people who don’t follow Liber Null by accident but by choice.

KALTBLUT: Do you think things have changed over time?

Liber Null: Liber Null is becoming more solid, more concrete.

KALTBLUT: What differs Liber Null from other parties?

Liber Null: It’s conceptual and faithful. It’s Liber Null Berlin.

Liber Null 2x

Author: Moritz Dobler
Photos: Michal Andrysiak

Next Event
Liber Null XII – Control
ARENA BERLIN
December 11th, 2015
23:55 – 12:00

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