Gregor Kraemer, the man behind Club der Visionaere and its sister venue, Hoppetosse, has spoken to Scott Monteith (a.k.a Deadbeat) discussing the club’s history and looking to the future. This is his first ever interview, and it comes in support of the Save CDV campaign.

Over the last 20 years, Club der Visionaere has become one of the city’s most beloved music institutions, and a de facto home for the more minimal, cerebral strains of Berlin techno. Each year it holds the legendary May-day party, inviting the likes of Sonja Moonear, Ricardo Villalobos, Sammy Dee, Margaret Dygas, and Zip to play by the Spree. Deadbeat himself is also a regular.

Kraemer, with a background in jazz, founded the venue in 2001 and has championed electronic sounds both locally and globally, having curated regular events and residencies with likeminded artists from Romania, France, Japan, Canada, and the US, to name but a few.

Having already suffered a fire at Club der Visionaere late last year, the pandemic restrictions have left Kraemer fighting to keep the club alive. In this vein, he’s launched a crowd-funding campaign, which has already received huge worldwide support, raising more than €45,000 at the time of publication, and he’s spoken to Monteith about the club’s history and his visions for the future.

You can hear the unedited conversation below, and download it here.

Painting by Uros Djurovic.