Well that was something special! We have been to many raves in our time, but nothing and we really do mean nothing compares to what TimeWarp Mannheim had to offer!

At roughly 22:30 we were finally in Techno paradise. To start off our journey we saw the genius behind Ellum, Maceo Plex. Right from the off you could really sense the pleasure he was having in playing his classics and new releases. He seemed to be dancing just as much as we were!

Halfway on our way to the bar I started to hear the synth of Maceo’s original ‘Conjure Dreams’ being mixed into and just had to turn around and get right amongst it again. The whole place just exploded in joy, passion and happiness. Not one body was left standing still. The lasers were shining bright red while the ceiling was lighting up from smaller green ones.

After Maceo we decided to see the one and only Apollonia. The trio made up of Dyed Soundorom, Shonky and Dan Ghenacia played a very upbeat and uplifting minimal and tech house set. The vibe on floor 3 was brilliant! The visuals in particular really stood out for me as they had a ceiling of balls which moved three dimensionally and lit up with all the colours of the rainbow. Hats off to the production team!

Floor 3 was also the venue for Ricardo Villalobos, an artist best described as ‘Marmite’ amongst the Techno community. Some love him, some find him a bit too much to handle. He really is like no other, which he proved once again with a fantastic set mixed with Minimal, Techno and a fair share of old school classics. The way he presents himself behind his decks is just fantastic. Behind his decks partying with him were Nina Kraviz and many other DJ’s and friends. You could really sense that TimeWarp was like a family to all involved.

Our next artist to see was the one and only Carl Cox. Oh yes, oh yes. The legend himself graced the decks and it sure felt as if all of Germany had gathered on floor one to see Britain’s most famous Techno DJ. Cox set off and the floor lit up as the lasers and smoke machine engulfed the room.

Moving onto Floor two were the godfather of Techno was playing, none other than Sven Vath. The vinyl only pioneer took us on a three-hour journey into his musical world. His track selection was absolutely spotless as always, thumping out banger after banger – our highlight being the soon to be released KiNK remix of his classic track ‘Accident in Paradise’.

The visuals were the mind-blowing, as they had produced a silhouette of Sven mixing which was playing behind him, while the dancefloor was dark and only occasionally lit with bright lasers. Fantastic experience and our highlight of the rave!

At 06:00 we made our way over to Loco Dice on floor three. The Desolat man straight away made his mark and started as he meant to go on with some thumping Techno. ‘Sebo K – Horizons’ being our favourite of the two hours. Absolutely brilliant. The 3 dimensional moving balls and the packed out floor really made the place feel rather special. His upbeat tracks were just what we needed to regain some energy for the next hours and sets to come.

At 08:00 it was time for Seth Troxler to go B2B Martinez Brothers and deliver us the funkiest minimal tracks he could find – they did not disappoint. The floor 4 was a little smaller than the others, yet that does not mean the atmosphere was anything short of beautiful. Each track was more uplifting than the previous one. What an absolutely ideal way to regain some energy levels at 9am. What a killer combination those two are!

There was only one place to be after seeing Seth and the brothers and that was floor 2. Detroit’s most famous Techno export, Richie Hawtin, was about to deliver an absolute killer 6-hour set.

He perfectly mixed his older classics in with some wicked new tracks, giving off a vibe that we had previously only experienced in his Plastikman shows. ‘Alex Pinto – Multiband’ certainly emphasized this feeling of pure passion for his craft that Hawtin showed us once more. A DJ with that much passion really gives off a huge positive feel and encapsulates what TimeWarp is all about!

My god that was one hell of a party and we really are not over exaggerating when stating that it was the best rave we have ever been to. TimeWarp you are a truly fantastic place – a Mecca of Techno so to speak. A huge thank you to everybody who made it so special. One thing is for sure, we will definitely be seeing you next year!

This excellent event review was written by Daniel Brn.