Located in the eastern section of Germany’s capital, Suicide Circus is immersed in the intense techno culture that characterises much of the city’s nightlife. Like this creative cauldron of a city, which has been made and remade multiple times over the past century, the popular techno club is in a constant mode of reinvention. Most recently, this process took the form of an upgraded lighting rig anchored by a formidable array of Intimidator moving fixtures from Chauvet DJ.
Serving the Berlin techno community for the best part of two decades, Suicide Circus is located in the city’s so called “Partymeile.” Having developed from its semi legal and spontaneous beginnings in the aftermath of the Cold War, the club has grown into an internationally recognised bastion of the Berlin techno scene.
Striving to keep its intensity level up at full blast, Suicide Circus turned to JustMusic to revamp its lighting system. The company did exactly that in spectacular fashion by supplying the club with 10 Intimidator Spot LED 350 75-watt moving fixtures and four Geyser RGB smoke machines to modernise its visual aesthetic.
“Techno club standards in Berlin have risen dramatically in the last few years,” said André K, Suicide Circus’ Lighting Technician. “In light of this, we thought it was time to bring the Suicide Circus experience to a whole new level.” In addition to changing the layout of the club and installing a more powerful sound system, the club owners decided to install an equally powerful set of lighting fixtures which would award extra visual emphasis to special DJ events and club nights.
The 10 Intimidator Spot LED 350s were fitted to two overhead rows of truss suspended above the dance floor. “The Intimidators are truly versatile fixtures,” commented André. “The lights themselves are extremely bright and give us the option of shining focused beams of light onto the dance floor with a wide selection of intense colours and several gobo patterns. We’re able to transform the space with these effects so much more than we were able to with the older PAR cans.”
Although the club regularly hosts special club nights with top name DJs topping the bill, Suicide Circus is open several nights a week to the techno hungry public. To ensure a consistently immersive club experience for clubbers on all days, André K relies heavily on the automatic function of the Intimidators.
“The automatic function is particularly useful,” continued André. “We can leave the fixtures to randomise or replay preprogrammed scenes we have created ourselves. As a result we’re getting quality looks the entire time.”
It was imperative for the club owners that the chosen fixtures were to be durable and hard wearing, especially given that parties at Suicide Circus regularly go on until 9am. The reliable 75W LED light source of the Intimidators ensures that reliability is one less thing to worry about. “It’s fair to say that these fixtures will have a tough life,” laughed André. “Since installing the lights six months ago, they’ve been fully operational for 12 hours a day, four days a week – and they haven’t missed a beat.”
Another key facet of the latest installation was the addition of four Geyser RGB smoke machines, placed in each corner of the main room to give all encompassing smoke effects, which ultimately add to the overall club experience.
“The Geysers immerse the entire room in thick smoke,” continued André. “The overall combination of the Geysers and Intimidator spot lights creates a whole other worldly experience. The effects allow the clubbers to get completely lost in the industrial techno beats driving through the room. That’s the ultimate aim!”
