GAYLETTER

Nicolas aka Ädgår is 25 and originally from Vienna. He has been living in Berlin since 2013. He studies Art History, Jewish History and Italian, and works as a bartender at the famous techno club Berghain and is also a DJ. In 2009, he started organizing the Sodom & Gomorrha Parties in Vienna, and now he finally wants to get back to the event management business and so, together with a friend, he’s planning the first Herrensauna, a very special, queer techno party. We had the chance to chat with Nicolas about the party, among many other things.

What makes your Herrensauna project special? Well, the Herrensauna will be a unique experience since it’s connected with the sauna concept. That means that this will be a place for sexual freedom, for any gender, every intention – where everyone should be able to feel comfortable with his body and sexuality.

But is there really a need for another techno party in Berlin? It should be more intimate. Not like all the big events here which are very crowded at the moment. We rather like a party that’s smaller and to keep the underground feeling with it.
Where does the title come from? As I told you above, it’s about sexual freedom. We welcome a lot of naked skin, surely of both, women and men. So don’t get discouraged of the title, please!
On your Facebook page of Sodom & Gomorrha, a strong connection to art is noticeable. A lot of Hieronymus Bosch and also other classical artworks with an homoerotic focus. Yes, an artistic and aesthetic focus is important for us, just as it was for the parties back in Vienna. The Herrensauna party will still veer towards this direction but with a far more modern touch and it won’t be represented in the internet that much. The experience is intended to take place on site!

Can you make a living doing your art? I could when I lived in Vienna. Meanwhile, I’m focusing more on my studies, for which I got a scholarship . And I have this job at Berghain. The hosting of parties and DJing is just a little special thing I do now and then on top of all that.
So one is maybe wrong with the cliché about a young gay man in Berlin for whom just sex, drugs and techno are the most important things and not his studies…? Completely! Studying is very important for me. I thought about that for a long, long time and just started studying at the age of 24. And especially because of my scholarship it’s important to focus on it and to get the best results on my exams.
The fact that classical music is playing here in your room is also a bit unexpected! I’m even more interested in classical music than techno. Electronic music is, besides clubbing, just present for me when I have a gig and must prepare a new set. In my free time I almost only listen to classical music. For me an opera is as loaded and energetic as a good techno set.
That’s a nice contrast to your life, art, classic music, techno, underground — so what are the most important things for you in the Berlin night life? At the moment I focus on the people there. It’s most important that there is the right mix of cool and interesting people. When you go to Berghain at the wrong day/time, just because of a good DJ, it doesn’t appeal to me anymore. There must be good and special people…and a bunch of cute boys to get off with. If I have fun, it’s ok when the music is not that good. But if you already have fun and the music is good, then it’s gonna be a perfect night. That’s what we want to achieve with the Herrensauna.
I just asked because in Berghain for example, where one can easily spend a whole day, it’s noticeable that the people’s motivations going there can differ a lot. Yes, for sure. And sometimes it’s a bit exhausting when you are with friends who party totally different form you. In Vienna, it often happened that you had to take care of someone. Well for me, I don’t need this, to make punctual appointments when and where to meet again in the club. Don’t get me wrong, I love going out with friends, but in between I always need some time for myself and to get to know other people. This is what it’s all about — great people, fun, variety, you meet your friends and have a drink and you just get lost again.
Have feel that the opportunity to be sexual liberal, especially under the influence of drugs, changed people’s sex lives in that special scene? To what extent people adapt to the environment they regularly expose themselves to and therefore allow their habits to be changed, of course depends on their character. For human beings adaption is quite natural. My sexual life changed drastically but just for the better. I was way more shy before and now I’m content, more open-minded, more uninhibited.

Do you remember the first time you went out to a gay club? Hmm, I was at “Why Not” in Vienna. I must have been about 16… It’s such a typical club you can find in every city, with guys who have their eyebrows done and that kind of stuff, not what i was looking for at all.
So you noticed early what you were really looking for? In some parts of my life I noticed quite early what I wanted and because of that experience I realized quickly that this was nothing for me. But friends took me there and there weren’t many clubs of that kind in the city. When I was 16 I was in Berlin for the first time and shortly afterwards in London, and the clubs, people and music there were much more appealing to me.
When did you realize your actual needs then? There has always been something inside me. I had been feeling it even before I moved to Berlin. But even at the age of 23 I didn’t know exactly what it was. Just recently I slowly started to understand what kind of need it is and who I am. I think this has to do with the fact I moved to Berlin two years ago. In Vienna, I would still ask myself the same stupid questions that I don’t have to ask myself anymore because the people surrounding me accept me the way I am. And I still learn from them how people should treat each other and as a consequence I also learn how to treat myself. This understanding has been taking me years to develop and it’s surely not at its end yet.
Can tell what me what you were lacking in Vienna? Honestly, I was missing handsome men with whom I could get along with as well. The scene there is way more standard and not as diverse as it is here. Everything is focused on a somewhat commercial ideal of the gay man — just like it’s preached from the media. The scene here is more alternative. The men are more special and particular in their way. This is why it’s more fun here. Here are people of so many different countries. They all moved here like I did and that’s a great factor that constitutes the scene here.
Ok, so, actually your sexual needs are what brought you to Berlin? Well, off the record…If I wasn’t gay, I don’t know if I really would have moved to Berlin. Here you can live a life of greater freedom. You have a greater choice. You can do what you want and when you want. In Vienna, life is very restricted, especially with regard to getting to know other people. Now, I’m pretty happy in Berlin. I like my studies, my job, I meet a lot of cute guys and that’s how I pass my time. I really cannot complain.

That means all your needs are satisfied here? A lot of them! Surely not all but I’m pretty happy here and that’s what matters. In Vienna, I was never really happy. Of course, I don’t live the perfect life here either, but I really feel contented. I always felt a bit alone in Vienna but here I feel in good hands. And to come back to the Herrensauna, it’s our biggest wish to create a place for all the people who feel a bit alone, who are different, a place for the gifted and the challenged, where they can feel in good hands, too.

Check out Ädgår on Soundcloud and RSVP to his party if you are in Berlin!