White Brothers With No Soul – Un Tuning the Historiography of Berlin Techno

The politics of Berlin's electronic music scene are often neglected in favor of its clubs, music, and parties.
The CTM 2015 festival theme “Un Tune” explores the dissonances and consonances within these stories, highlighting inclusion and exclusion in sonic affect systems like the dancefloor.
Annie Goh interviewed Professor Alexander G. Weheliye on the racial politics of Berlin techno and its narrated story.

Books like Klang der Familie tell the story of Berlin Techno's birth after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
This narrative focuses on the jubilance of reunification, empty spaces, social change, and the emergence of parties and clubs.
It's presented as an oral history with interviews from DJs, promoters, club owners, and partygoers.
The narrative describes a radical openness and upheaval of previous hierarchies on the dancefloor.

The mainstream history imagines reunification as a seamless blend of East and West, omitting the racism and violence against non-white individuals.
This racism, often termed xenophobia, targeted anyone not considered white, regardless of their German citizenship.
It's limiting to view Berlin Techno's history solely as the story of "white brothers with no soul", especially considering the omission of pogroms from the collective memory of the reunification period.
Black music cultures in GI discos and other clubs in West Berlin before the wall's fall are often left out of these historical accounts.
There's a tendency to disassociate Berlin Techno from Black musical influences.

Racist attacks against asylum homes (e.g., Rostock and Hoyerswerda) are often treated as isolated incidents rather than being linked to the broader narrative of reunification
Mainstream political parties did not sufficiently distance themselves from these pogroms, and posters with slogans like “the boat is full” implied Germany could not accommodate more asylum seekers
These attacks created a dangerous climate for German people of color, who were discursively and physically excised from the body politic
The anger of the perpetrators was presented as a “reasonable” fear of the ‘foreign’ other, even though the extreme violence was deemed “wrong.”

Tanith's quote, “we were white brothers with no soul,” idealizes dispossession and implies the possibility of complete detachment, ignoring historical and political realities.
The concept of being without a soul suggests a lack of connection to humanity and history.
By taking on a position of being without a soul, the narrative overlooks the problematic aspects of cultural appropriation and erasure.

The impact of Black musical forms on Berlin Techno is frequently disregarded.
The musical exchange between Detroit and Berlin is well-documented, but the German appropriation of Black music is often overlooked.
According to Weheliye, to ignore this appropriation is to depoliticize Berlin Techno and reproduce the erasure of Black contributions.

There is a push to de-historicize and sanitize the history of Berlin Techno.
The aim is to create a narrative that is easy to sell and consume, which often involves glossing over uncomfortable truths and complexities.

It is important to remember that the narrative of Berlin Techno is always under construction.
Weheliye suggests that narratives of Berlin Techno, such as that of the “white brothers with no soul,” should be viewed critically to reveal their erasures and exclusions.
By creating a more inclusive and nuanced history, it becomes possible to acknowledge the contributions of all individuals involved and challenge the dominant narrative.