by Alex Taggart
Birthdays are pretty self-indulgent occasions. Oh, congratulations for being born, living in 365-day cycles, and not dying during this one. Well done to you for evading all those man-eating tigers. Plus, it always seems to be the people who had the least trouble surviving who throw the biggest birthday parties.
But in Beijing nightlife, anniversaries are worth celebrating. In the four-and-a-bit years that I’ve been here, I’ve seen the rise and fall of probably more than a hundred different nights. Yes, the market is growing steadily and parties are becoming more professional, but the average lifespan of a new party brand is still only about six months. Promoters need personality, originality, dedication and a whole lot of luck to survive. Those that make it past their first year are then forced to evolve or die. This month sees milestone birthdays for three of the biggest, most innovative names in Beijing nightlife, and all are worth checking out.
Lantern is many things to many people. To scene kids, it’s the epicenter of the Beijing techno sound; to Euro-bros, it’s a 3am stumble from Sanlitun after that girl went home with someone else; to the old heads, it’s a weekly meet-up. Having survived two location changes, Lantern is now officially a Beijing institution, and its 5th Anniversary Party on September 5 will demonstrate exactly why: Beijing simply can’t get enough techno.
Next, think for a second about what the world was like a decade ago. Buzzfeed didn’t exist yet and I was busy doing doughnuts in a McDonalds car park in my mum’s 1995 Volkswagen Golf. Meanwhile, two crews were busy creating their respective Beijing nightlife legends.
Yen have spent the past ten years building the kind of vibe that big money-spinners like the Great Wall Festival are desperate to copy: a large-scale, international-standard event where everyone’s there for the music. However, no amount of corporate sponsorship can buy the level of trust that Beijing has in O2 Culture’s classic warehouse raves. Their 10th birthday on September 19 at CFDC – an old Panasonic factory in 798 – is going off with a three-room throwdown featuring a massive local line-up covering techno, bass and disco. David Guetta and Afrojack are not invited.
And of course, shout out to my own crew. The Syndicate’s 10th Birthday, with drum ‘n’ bass heavy-hitter DJ Friction at Yugong Yishan on September 12. Jesus... even Syndicate crew members’ birthdays go off with a bang. Just imagine what we can do with ten years, a Sennheiser soundsystem, and one of the biggest names in bass music playing on four decks for three hours. That’s all I’m sayin’.
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