Giegling at Sonnenraum Berlin
On the quest to get my life somewhat in order, I decided to skip nightlife and instead opted for a party during the day. What better opportunity than the giegling event at Sonnenraum?
Giegling has been a known name to me for some years. The first time I heard of them was about a decade ago, when waiting in line at MMA Club in Munich (RIP) and a guy next to me was buzzing about seeing ATEQ. After that, the name appeared here and there. Collecting vinyl, I knew how rare and sought-after their releases were, but it never went beyond that. Until ADE last year.
At the Multisex party, one of the tracks Richard played was New York Blues. That Dub House masterpiece stuck in my head for weeks. A giegling release. And fittingly, giegling was also throwing their own party at Studio Wiemann during ADE - the same beautiful venue. Unfortunatly I couldn't make it, but from multiple sources, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.
And just like that, giegling was back on my radar.
I don't think this is a coincidence either. What used to be a small collective from Weimar, largely local to Germany, is now going on tour as a whole group. Worldwide. But the real question remains:
Are the giegling parties any good?
Getting In
Let me start with the arrival. For seemingly no reason, I waited 40 minutes outside. Coincidentally, this was exactly at the cut-off point between early bird and regular tickets. I entered at 12:10 and didn't have to pay extra — but it felt deliberate. Before noon, the line barely moved. The moment it ticked past 12, it suddenly picked up speed. Make of that what you will.
Even worse, at some point I had to leave the venue to take care of things at home. When I returned, I not only had to wait 1.5 hours in the re-entry line, but also pay a 10 Euro re-entry fee. Except for NYE, that's simply unheard of in Berlin (usually 5 Euros max). What made it genuinely infuriating was watching them let newly arriving guests in at a far quicker pace, even accepting box office tickets at the door. It just felt deeply disrespectful to everyone who had already paid and was now stuck outside watching the venue fill up around them.
And with that, I want to introduce the main problem of the day: organization.
The Venue
The party took place at Haus der Visionäre / Sonnenraum - a relatively new event space in Berlin and one of the larger "underground" venues in the city. For giegling, it ran at max capacity (my estimation ~ 2,000 people). Three floors were open: the Main Floor, an Ambient Floor, and a Club Room (Sonnenraum).
The venue itself is stunning. Raw, gritty, proper warehouse vibes with multiple hidden corners and dusty surfaces. The kind of space that looks untouched for decades. When I visited Sonnenraum last summer, one of the employees walked me through how they discovered the place, cleared out all the junk, and started transforming it piece by piece. Since then, bigger events have followed, e.g. the Primal Instinct NYE party, Berlin Fashion Week, and various large-scale brand activations.
However, this was likely one of the first events to operate at full capacity including the outdoor area, and you could feel it. They simply weren't prepared for the numbers.
Sonnenraum
Ambient Floor
The wardrobe was probably the worst bottleneck. Only 4–5 people working, and even the security staff made comments, half sympathetic, half amused, about those poor souls essentially sprinting for hours straight. Even at that pace, guests were still waiting 10–20 minutes to pick up or drop off a jacket. Not acceptable.
Same story at the toilets. Constantly long queues. The bars were slightly better, but still had their peak moments. The toilets, however, were consistently brutal throughout the day.
There was also a lack of proper socializing spaces. A small attempt with some sofas next to the ambient floor existed, but it was too dark there and not particularly welcoming. On the ambient floor itself, talking was possible, but only in whispers. Socializing didn’t seem like a main focus here.
Visually, I'll say this: there were a lot of beautiful and stylish people here. A less uniform but similarly polished crowd as I imagine being at a Keinemusik party. Though I'm genuinely unsure why that comparison comes to mind, because I'd guess the average giegling attendee is musically miles away from the typical Keinemusik enjoyer.
Ambient Floor
I should note, that I deliberately front-loaded the negatives. Because I've seen a lot of polished Instagram reels and glowing praise for this event. The location is visually breathtaking, and even after I posted a story about it, over a dozen people DM'd asking where exactly the party was. I didn't want to start with all positives and risk people bouncing halfway through, their initial bias confirmed.
These reviews exist as an honest guide, for readers deciding where to spend their money, and for organizers figuring out where to improve.
Now, on to the positives. Which honestly far outweigh everything above!
Music, Lighting & Aesthetics
Let’s start with the biggest highlight: the music. Three floors, and all three of them delivered. Sonnenraum mostly ran slower house, minimal, sometimes disco-leaning. Super fun, super groovy, great for some hip movement. The main floor hit harder: driving house, Dub House elements, occasionally pushing toward acid and the borders of techno. Very captivating, and I especially loved the shift in energy once it got dark, when the sound transitioning from warm and soft to something more intense.
No matter which floor I landed on, or at what time, it was consistently great. That kind of floor-to-floor quality is genuinely rare, and I loved it!
The real highlight, though, was the ambient stage. Perfect for sitting down, rolling a joint, and just getting completely lost. Shazam rarely kept up, as the music drifted from Electronica to Soul and Jazz, Session Victim blending into John Lennon. Nobody was talking loudly. Everyone respected the space. The soundsystem was tuned just right. Quiet enough to whisper to the person next to you, yet loud enough to feel it properly in your body.
The lighting in the ambient room was very suiting. Minimal, mostly warm theater lights behind the DJ, some fog and perfect to disappear into the music.
Compared to the current techno scene obsession with huge LED walls and laser shows, the Main Floor lighting felt almost radical in its restraint. A few statement LED giegling sculptures, pulsating and occasionally flashing, mounted on rigs so they moved ever so slightly, like they'd been caught by a small breeze. Something you don’t imediatly notice, but is just that attention to detail, that makes it special. Beyond that: spots, a lot of smoke, and a sense of mood over spectacle.
I spent less time in the Club Room, but when I was there it was still bright out, and the lighting mostly static. One genuinely charming detail: they'd placed flowers and a lot of greenery around the DJ setup. It just looked chic.
Overall, the lighting throughout was aesthetically pleasing without being distracting. Just the right amount to accentuate the music rather than compete with it.
Final Verdict
The music, the sound, the lighting, the atmosphere they created, all of it was exceptional. The ambient room alone was worth the trip, and the genuine love for music, felt both from the artists and the crowd, was noticeable throughout the day.
On the other hand, the organization was a let-down. Charging 10 euros for re-entry while leaving people waiting outside for 1.5 hours is simply disrespectful. The internal wait times ( wardrobe, toilets) were similarly frustrating. The venue wasn't overcrowded per se, but understaffed for sure.
I'd put the blame less on giegling and more on Sonnenraum / Haus der Visionäre, which is still finding its footing as a large-scale event space. But it should be on giegling to hold the venue to a higher standard - especially as their parties grow. If they want to stay true to what makes their parties special, the logistics have to catch up with the music. It may seem like the unsexy part of event planning, but it matters.
The potential here is undeniable and it was one of those rare parties where I just couldn't pull myself off the dancefloor.
For now, I'd recommend going if it suits your schedule and taste. But if they clean up the operational side and keep the pricing fair? Then honestly, it becomes the kind of event worth travelling for.
