Blitz Club

The sound architecture is the main feature of the club, and has been discussed repeatedly by music magazines[7][8][9] and architecture journals.[10][11] Unlike former Munich techno clubs like Ultraschall, KW – Das Heizkraftwerk or MMA Club, the Blitz Club is not located in a former industrial setting, but was built into the congress hall according to a room-in-room concept in order to offer the best possible sound experience in accordance with the guiding principle form follows function.[1][10][3] The rooms were optimized for the acoustic experience together with sound engineers, architects and acousticians.[7][8] In order to achieve optimal room acoustics, there are hardly any right angles in the club, but specially shaped panels made of beech wood and perforated sheet that were developed according to the specifications of an acoustician.[12][11] In order to gently scatter the sound waves, a seemingly chaotic honeycomb structure, which was modelled after the swarm behaviour of fish, birds and insects and calculated by a specially developed computer algorithm in a week, is milled into the surfaces of these wall panels.[7][10][11][13] The club uses a custom-made PA system by VOID, which is arranged as a four-point system so that there is a PA tower in each corner around the dance floor,[2][14] as well as 360-degree tweeters hanging from the ceiling named "Blitz horn" that were specially designed for the club and allow the DJ to create three-dimensional sound effects.[7][8][15]

Instead of concentrating the attention on the DJ and placing him on a raised stage, the main floor and the sound system were designed to set the focus on the dance floor and the dancers.[3][9] All in all, the puristic club design is optimized for the sound and dance experience, while oversized branding is avoided.[7] The visual appearance of the club was designed by British musician Trevor Jackson.[16][12][17]

Waiting line in front of the Blitz Club (2018)

The operators of the club consist of former crew members of the clubs Bob Beaman, Charlie, Registratur, King and Kong Club.[18][19] Head of the musical program is DJ David Muallem,[12][3][20] further resident DJs are the Zenker Brothers[21][22][15] Skee Mask,[2][23][15] Stenny,[23][15] Sascha Sibler,[7][12][15] Julietta,[24][15] Glaskin and La Staab.[25] Blitz Club has featured appearances by DJs and live acts such as Jeff Mills, Richie Hawtin, Carl Craig, Ben Sims, Seth Troxler, I-F, Miss Kittin, Surgeon, Luke Slater, Laurent Garnier, Nina Kraviz, DJ Hell, Sven Väth, Chris Liebing, Monika Kruse, Ellen Allien, Boys Noize, Marcel Dettmann, Ben Klock, Len Faki, Steve Bug, Modeselektor, Michael Mayer, Roman Flügel and Âme.[26] The Blitz Club was also a venue for the Germany-wide Telekom Electronic Beats Clubnight series.[27][28] The club also offers a series of events for the gay fetish scene called Cruise.[29][2]

The club has a strict ban on photography and filming to ensure that guests can concentrate fully on dancing.[30][31] According to the operators, however, the club also wants to be a place of inclusion without a strict door policy.[16][2][32] In July 2017, the curfew for the Blitz Club was lifted, so that the club is allowed to be open until the morning since then.[33][34]

The club's opening event on 22 April 2017 made headlines throughout Germany.[35][36][37] In the weeks before the opening, extensive coverage by the media[38] had created a hype, which led to a huge rush of people on the Museumsinsel island on the opening day.[39] Instead of the permitted maximum of 800 guests, the club was quickly overcrowded with 1500 people.[35] When the further influx of visitors did not stop and the waiting crowd began to block access roads, emergency exits and escape routes and to press against the tram tracks, the fire brigade arrived and called the police for assistance. In order to defuse the situation, about 30 police officers blocked the Rosenheimer Strasse arterial road, cleared the forecourt and sent hundreds of waiting people home.[40] Numerous guests who were not able to enter the club later criticized the organization of the opening event.[41][42]