Looming

At that time, when the festivities in Great Britain were on a mass scale already and had found their way to the press because of the problems in connection with them, almost nothing of this was known in Estonia. Before the nineties there were no social gatherings of this kind, only some individual fans listening to this kind of music. The fans mostly came from the circles of former punks and the makers and listeners of indie music. The people involved most often mention the importance of Raul Saaremets and his band “Röövel Ööbik”.

Raul Saaaremets started his musical activities in the early eighties with punk music. The band “Must Mamba” was the predecessor of “Röövel Ööbik”, which later became very popular. The first band included Kuldar Poska, Allan Hmelnitski and Uno Laur. Tõnu Pedaru joined them later. “Röövel Ööbik” gave their first concert in the summer of 1987, in the vicinity of Tallinn. Poska and Laur left later and in 1989 Tarvo-Hanno Varres joined the band. Raul Saaremets: “Hmelnitski called me one day and said that he had found a cool guy among the punks. A guy listening to the right kind of music. It was very rare, someone listening to the same kind of music that we liked.” At the beginning of the nineties “Röövel Ööbik” became very popular. Raul Saaremets suspects that many people associated the indie band with independence, and maybe that was the reason why in the first years of Estonian independence they were asked to play on all kinds of occasions. In 1991, Raul Saaremets and Tõnu Pedaru had once a week programme on rock-radio on one of the Estonian Radio stations. This increased their popularity even more. According to Raul Saaremets he played the kind of dance music on the radio that people could not hear anywhere else, and so his first circle of fans was formed.

In the late eighties and early nineties it was very difficult to get hold of any alternative electronic dance music: it was mostly recorded from the radio. The first club music fans listened to John Peel on BBC Radio One. Interestingly enough, thanks to John Peel, Saaremets got in touch with another important figure in club culture, Aivar Tõnso. Raul managed to send a tape with the music of “Röövel Ööbik” to John Peel, and listening to it over the radio, Aivar Tõnso, who also loved electronic music and listened to this programme, learnt that there were other fans of this music in Estonia, and managed to find them.

According to Raul Saaremets the first real alternative electronic dance music event took place in August, 1991 in Kodulinna Maja where the going away party for DJ Julius, Raul Talvik, was held. Although some bands also played there, the main emphasis was on house music. Later, more parties of this kind were organized. The parties were not closed events but since they were also not widely advertised, mostly friends came; many of them were the friends and fans of the increasingly popular “Röövel Ööbik”.

A DJ and member of the band “ÖÄK”, Vadja Lahari, has said that in these small events the right atmosphere and mood were created, and it seemed that it was possible to introduce it to a wider audience. There were not many opportunities for the bands to practice at the time, and “ÖÄK”, “Röövel Ööbik” and “Hüpnosaurus” all used a room in the Tallinn Art University. As a result, the members of the bands met more frequently and they decided to organize a larger event together.

The first more widely advertised event was organized in January, 1992 in Kodulinna Maja by Erkki Tero, who was playing in “ÖÄK”. There were posters and flyers. Vadja Lahari says that they were aware of events being advertised this way in the West and they tried to create a similar atmosphere here. “Röövel Ööbik”, “ÖÄK” and “Hüpnosaurus” performed in the event, and Raul Saaremets, Aivar Tõnso and others played records.

Since 1992 Raul Saaremets has been producing a radio programme called “Vibration” and electronic music events have also been advertised there. In 1992-1993, so-called self-organized parties took place in different locations. A variety of rooms in the old town of Tallinn were rented. On average the events took place once a month. About a hundred people attended and it has been said that nobody made any money from them. Aivar Tõnso: “we were quite happy when we didn’t lose any money, since the aim of the event was to listen to good music in the company of friends, rather than making money. I don’t think there were any real DJs. People who happened to have more music at home just took it with them, just came to the party with their tapes.” A small group of enthusiasts made the flyers, found the rooms, played the music and tidied up afterwards. Vadja Lahari: “we did everything by ourselves, and I didn’t even wonder why. It was just cool. Afterwards I was told that what I was doing was dance culture.”

The parties with dance music differed very much from ordinary kinds of parties where people drank a lot and where there were frequent fights. DJ Alari Orav who joined the circle later: “they emphasized that there was no need to drink, because the music itself was so different. And I remember that I had drunk just one beer and I went on dancing and dancing.” The events brought together young people who later started making music together. The parties in the “Restko” bar in Lai Street are said to have been the most memorable – they began in 1992 and went on for several years.

At the same time similar events were organized outside Tallinn, for instance, in Tartu Aivar Tõnso: “the local electronic music fans and DJs Deka and Free organized parties in the early nineties in the students’ clubs in Tartu. In 1993 the club “Illusioon” became well known in Tartu. At about the same time the DJ group “Neuronphase” was founded, and it is still quite active”. Beginning in the summer of 1993, the events became regular.

In the summer and autumn of 1993, an event in the Chess House took place every other week. Although it was not a real club, Roosberg sees it as the sign of the club culture taking root in Estonia. That was the place where the first visiting foreign DJs played their music. “The Dutch DJs Rocket Martin, DNA and Eng Bo played as part of their tour in the Olympia Hotel club “XL”, and afterwards they went on to the Chess House. Watching them perform, the local enthusiasts understood that it was high time to give up tapes and CDs and start using professional equipment like Technics SL-1200.” (Roosberg 1997:25) According to Raul Saaremets, it was the first time Estonian DJs could play music on a professional DJ record player. In the same year, during the Pärnu jazz festival “Fiesta”, the first large event, an open-air rave, took place.

Beginning in January, 1994 electronic music parties became weekly events and moved to the more commercial club “Piraat” in Pirita. At the suggestion of the young DJ Meelis Meri, the well-known music manager and owner of the club, Jüri Makarov, invited Aivar Tõnso and Raul Saaremets to his club. In “Piraat” the DJs had professional equipment. The parties took place regularly, every Wednesday. In this club, a new audience was discovering club culture for themselves. Some young people coming there did not know or care much about the music played. This annoyed many of those who really enjoyed the music. Alari Orav: “there were masses of people there who were very different from those who had come to the cellar. I had a feeling that the cellars were where I belonged, that I had been accepted there, and I didn’t want to go to commercial parties.” In the meantime, smaller events were organized mostly in “Restko” bar and the Kuku Club, and later also those organized by Erkki Tero, which mostly attracted older fans.

In 1994 there were also several bigger events. In February “Reivland”, lasting for several days, was organized in the Tallinn Olympic Centre in Pirita. The biggest occasion of the year was the arrival of the Danish boat “Kronborg” in Tallinn harbour. The boat, visiting various harbours, was involved in a programme meant to bring different countries closer. In addition to the people on the boat, at every harbour local DJs were asked to participate. Tõnso, Saaaremets, Lahari and Urmas Lange played the records, and Meelis Meri’s band “Hypertrance” performed. The Danish organized a fashion show – the first time in Estonia for this kind of event. Vadja Lahari says that it was very important to them that on a formal occasion, organized by official structures, dance music and its prominent figures be preferred. Raul Saaremets wanted to invite people who understood this kind of music and reached an agreement with the foreign organizers that the tickets would be distributed through the “Vibration” programme. Later this agreement was cancelled. The event was so popular that not all the people who wanted tickets could get them. From that point on rave as such became more widely known in Estonia.

In 1995 there were big events in RET, the abandoned building of the radio electronics factory in Narva Road. Unlike in Britain, where our rave culture has come from, there have never been entirely illegal events in Estonia. There have been no break-ins; rooms have been rented. The first event “Warehouse Groove” took place in RET on May 16, 1995. It was organized by Kristjan Vosman, Arne Saluraid and Paavo Pilv. Smaller events have traditionally been initiated by DJs; people who dealt with the administrative side of them organized the larger ones. There were more than 800 people present at the first event. During the summer there were two more parties with more than 2000 people. There were also several different rooms at these parties. In the smaller chill-out room, house was played and mostly an older audience gathered there; in the larger room somewhat more primitive music was played, and the audience was younger and without clearly defined preferences. For some DJs like Vadja Lahari and Alari Orav, the parties in RET were also memorable because it was at them that new music – drum’n’bass -- was introduced in Estonia. Up to this time very little drum’n’bass had been played, but after the events in RET, it was played in all the larger parties, and it became the favourite style of the so-called second generation. In 1995 the general public still did not know much about raves and did not understand what they were, but since they were widely advertised and there were not many places to go to in Tallinn, masses of young people came there. Most of them probably did not know anything about the music played there. According to Roosberg, in this period Estonian raves acquired the dimensions of western raves-- they were widely discussed in the press and they underwent rapid commercialisation. The events where mainly hardcore, techno and gabber was played lost their attraction for the club people and the term rave acquired a negative meaning. (Roosberg 1997:27) After that time it was possible to talk about the rave scene; however, the old club scene existed separately. Rave and club events were organized by different people, although the DJs and the audience were partly the same.

In 1995 the first serious conflict with the police came about. Three parties, remembered as the House parties were organized in an empty house in Puhke Street, which had been returned to the former owners living abroad. The police raided the last of these parties, assuming that the parties where this kind of music was played, were gatherings of shady characters using drugs and doing all kinds of other forbidden things. Some of the people were manhandled and some spent the night in a cell. This act of repression only served to strengthen the sense of belonging among club people. Later many people called the summer of 1995 the Estonian summer of love, the peak of club culture. Club culture as a phenomenon had gained momentum, the number of parties was considerable, and commercialisation had not started yet. Alari Orav says that the incident in Puhke Street put an end to an innocent and naive period.

Raul Saaremets’s night programme “Vibration” which had also advertised musical events, was switched to an earlier time period in 1996. As a result, more people listened to it and the information concerning parties reached a wider audience. By that time the number of parties had increased considerably. Smaller events, which had also become quite popular, were organized in the “Bit” tower in Pikk Street, Erkki Tero organized more subdued parties with jazz and Estonian music in the Kuku club, and the youngest audience gathered in the “Koopakass” café in Harju Street. Bigger events took place in the Tallinn Art University. In January 1996 there was a big event in the “Helios” cinema and later a series of events, “Aroma of Ridims”, was organized in the Tallinn Cinema House. The organizers were the same people who had started the RET events, and livelier music, mostly drum’n’bass, was preferred.

At the same time the British DJ, Rhythm Doctor, started visiting Estonia, and in 1996 he helped to initiate “House of Rhythm” and “Heaven and Hell” events in Club Hollywood. That was the beginning of the commercial club scene. According to Raul Saaremets, “Hollywood” continued what had been started in “Piraat”, and he considers the events in “Hollywood” as the beginning of the club culture in the contemporary sense of the word. Up to this point it had been an alternative entertainment for a small group of fans; at that point, it started to encompass a wider range of people.

At present the club culture in Estonia is in a rather vague position. Compared to the mainstream commercial clubs, it is still slightly alternative, but the very atmosphere of the alternative has become a sales item. Widely advertised and popular events can hardly be called underground. Vadja Lahari: “for most people, club culture is still news. They come here as to a museum. Vibe has carried this idea to its conclusion. You go to the museum and look at what is displayed there. […] Since there are no formal structures, the subculture has not really been established yet. There’s no set club, only a series of events taking place in different locations.”

Since 1997 Raul Saaremets and Rhythm Doctor have organized in a series of events in the Von Krahl Theater called “Mutant disco” which preserve the style created in the “Hollywood” parties. They mostly play house and a certain circle of people go there. Their parties have a rather positive image among club people. Alari Orav: “Mutant disco has the same house music we had in the first cellar parties, only now it’s big, beautiful and decorated.” In many aspects it is still a meeting place of the old circle. Vadja Lahari: “although some very good music was played, I was still in the corridor most of the time […] the main point of such events is socializing, I met all the people I know there.” All agree that the music is very good, but for old fans it is more in the background.

Beginning in 1998 Aivar Tõnso organized “Müsteeriumid” (Mysteries) events, which were slightly alternative even in the context of the alternative culture. The events were not publicly advertised. Aivar Tõnso created a mailing list informing the fans of what was going on. In addition to the information on the “Müsteerium” events, the fans could learn about some other less advertised parties and join in the discussions on hot topics. “Müsteeriumid” usually took place outside of Tallinn in rented houses or in a more extreme location like the Padise Convent, and more abstract music was played there. Aivar Tõnso used his own experience in helping to instruct younger Musicians. Very often, almost unknown bands and young DJs were involved in his projects. The last “Müsteerium” took place in December 1999.

Since the autumn of 1998 the events called “Vibe”, organized by Teet Saarepere, Kuno Tehva and Kristjan Vosman, have gained wider popularity. The events have taken place in the Liiva Centre (an abandoned ice house), in the Viimsi Conservatory, and in the Salme Cultural Centre. The parties are usually very crowded and aimed at a wider audience. The aim of the organizers has been to entice new people out of their houses and to the parties. Raul Saaremets: “Vibe creates a completely new generation, the people who go there never come to our parties. Let’s put it this way – if a secretary of a respectable real estate company is seen in “Von Krahl”, it is not good for him or her, because it is considered to be a place where only bohemians go.” The music played at Vibes is meant for “everybody” and is primitive enough to be acceptable. Erkki Tero: “the music is not very important. People understand that it differs a little from what they hear over the radio. It’s just fashion and that’s why it’s well received.” The way people look is very important. Every event has its advertised theme and people have to create their image accordingly. Alari Orav: “Vibe should be an event where people dress up and demonstrate themselves to others. In a way it’s a modern fancy dress ball [….] For me music is more important than looks, and that’s why I don’t go there.” The older musicians, who were active in introducing club culture in Estonia, are slightly offended by the public claims of the organizers of the Vibes that they are the ones who have imported club culture, flyers and everything else in this sphere. All this was done earlier, but it was not marketed in the same way. At present “Vibe” is the best organized and most widely marketed series of events in Estonia.

The drum’n’bass scene, very popular among young people for a while, has almost disappeared or gone underground. In the café of the Art Academy “Enter”, events called “Breed” take place. For Raul Saaremets, one of the organizers, and some other DJs, it is a place where they can play drum’n’bass. The parties are not very popular or crowded, and they have their audience in an established circle of young men. There are some other events like “Tune in” and a number of closed parties, but they are meant for certain groups only.

This list and the description of the events are by no means complete. We should also mention “Vision” in the Art Academy, organized by Andres Lõo and initiated in the autumn of 1999, which in a sense carries on the ideas of “Mystery”, as well as the LAB series in old factory buildings and the “Barclay” events, “Art Is Everywhere”, which are combined with fashion shows. There are other events, but all the more popular ones have been mentioned. Most people go to vibes. It is quite probable that vibes or another event with similar administration and choice of music will soon attract the larger part of the audience. Raul Saaremets: “I believe that the music we are making will be generally ignored; it will attract a certain kind of people, and the music played in “Vibe” will spread and flourish. Mediocrity will dominate as it does everywhere else in the world.” Aivar Tõnso has said that at the moment there are many people who have nowhere to go because of the commercialisation of club culture. These people need something completely new.

In the case of club people we can talk about the “aesthetisizing” of the whole (club) life. Everyday life becoming more aesthetic means that the borderline between everyday life and art disappears or becomes vague. There are two sides to this: the first is when artists turn all everyday objects into objects of art, and the second is when people turn their everyday life into aesthetic projects, creating a unified style in their clothing, appearance and home design.

The club space is turned into a work of art outside its proper environment, and everything that goes on there becomes art. The first sample of that goes back to 1991 when Tarvo Hanno Varres suggested that a club event could be his contribution to the project of “RÜHM-T”. There were four parties a day in the Tallinn Art Building where Raul Saaremets played house music. “The audience itself was a show,” Tarvo Hanno Varres remarks. Almost ten years later the same artist approached the subject from the other side, shooting what was going on in the girls’ toilet and presenting it as a work of art.

Younger artists later developed the same theme. While in the early nineties electronic music events were something special even for all the people participating in them, now for the younger generation the club space is just a part of everyday life, having direct connections with art. “Moving from exhibition halls to club and the other way round, the re- creation of a club environment as public space has for me always been an ideological gesture, but has also been a possibility to interpret the environment in which I feel most at home,” said the pop artist Kiwa at the opening of his video/space installation “Club Oasis” in Pärnu, at the “Waldhof Music Factory”. For the artist, “Club Oasis” became a symbol of solitude and a private relationship with the music in the club space – a human being as an oasis in a club.

Jüri Zhestakov was one of the first to start making video backgrounds to music. The first video graphic made by him for a specific occasion was used in 1994 at “Reivland”. Similar video backgrounds have recently been used at different events, for example in mutant disco, vibe and others. It cannot really be called a VJ event, for the visual side has been created separately from the musical one. In a VJ event, the images and sounds should correspond.

TV-Production (Marju Tammik and Jaanus Vahtra) presented in a club its fashion shows “Domestic Crime” and “Pornology” which illustrate art as a unified collective project. The audience were simply presented with ideas inspired by the same environment. The impact was intensified by the fact that the models were well-known club fans. Speaking about fashion, the importance of vibes and their fashion shows should be emphasized, for they express in the most stylish way the theme chosen for a particular party. Let us take for instance the show “Beast Feast” in June 1999, which was organized by Ene-Liis Semper and Raoul Kurvitz at a vibe with the main theme being “Flesh and Bones”. Ene-Liis Semper says that she was asked to concentrate on accessories in her show. (May 2000, Tallinn, the Noku Club). Since the traditional use of accessories would have been boring, they used thematic details as accessories – skeletons reaching out of bodies, animal skulls used as trophies, and unborn babies. The aim of the artists was to present radical horrors. It was a show representing the vision of the artists. In one of the earlier vibes the same artists turned themselves into a performance and, being dressed as a “Golden Couple”, won the prize for the best costume.

Posters and flyers are one field of art directly connected to club culture. Flyers are leaflets with information on the event, and they usually give a certain discount on the ticket. The designer Margus Tamm: “the flyers are in harmony with the parties they advertise. The mutant disco flyers meant for people with more developed tastes in art, are more refined and more ascetic than those of other events; in underground events, where people want to riot, the flyers are more aggressive; in vibes that are meant for larger audiences, the flyers are overdone and deliberately bizarre.” Ideally the flyers should not only give information on the events, but also convey their atmosphere. For instance, in Rasta events they should be inspired by the same philosophy. Margus Tamm: “there is no sense in informing people just that there’s this party and you can dance; this field has been so thoroughly covered that there’s no room left. A flyer should have a theme of some sort. It should be a small work of art, like a joke.”

The influences of this environment and mentality can also be seen in work that is not directly related to club culture. For instance, Mark Raidpere’s exhibition “Portraits 1998” presented mixed photos of the artist’s friends. The same technique was earlier used outside Estonia. In the present exhibition the photos worked differently for the club circles and their friends, than for the rest of the visitors. The closeness to the persons depicted in the photos changed the type of reception.

Mixing, most explicitly expressed in music, is characteristic of today’s society, which is full of all kinds of technical devices. For the younger generation this mostly means club events. The curator of the event “Elektrokardiogramm” (March 1998), Hanno Soans, called it a rave in an indirect sense of the word. The exhibition combined figurative art, performances, writing on the spot and music by DJs, and for him it created parallels with mixed and merged music, forming a new entity in a new form.

The club culture has in a sense revived and revalued kitsch. At a time when the borderline separating high art from pop art, the original from the copy, and the author from the plagiarist, has disappeared, the criteria for evaluating art for its audience have also changed. When the artists of the older generation accuse younger ones of commercial attitudes and of presenting the ideas of other people, the younger ones take it quite calmly. In a sense everybody is using the ideas of others, mixing them in a new way. The present article has been written in the same way. I have put together the ideas of prominent authors and local young people and merged them with the ideas taking shape in my own head.