AMANDA SANDSTRÖM BEIJER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
In this issue we dig deeper into new worlds.
Whether created artificially, just like our cover is, by Sam Madhu, or physical ones, like the many museums, clubs, performance experiences, maybe even festivals.
To me, creating worlds is something that people in Berlin do very well. Besides bringing their visions into reality in form of spaces that bring sex fantasies to life, dining experiences with world class performers, or creating the perfect architecture that can carry sound in such a profound way that everyone who enters forgets about time and space. My experience is that people in Berlin are longing for these worlds, maybe to another extent. They say that Berlin is the city of misfits, a city where people escape to. Maybe therefore the citizens absorb these worlds in a different way compared to many other big cities.
Knowing that you’re about to enter a new dimension when going to one of these specific places, and seeing everyone around you becoming one with it, is transformative. This is a reason why there are certain rules to follow inside as well. No phones, and no one will ask you what you do for a living, as that would ruin the experience. You’re there to be taken away, there to open your senses, there to forget about your everyday problems and there to just be you. Whoever that is.
Sam Madhu is driven by creating new worlds digitally, inspired by ancient culture and futurism, as well as places like Kraftwerk, Berghain and Dark Matter. For her, music is essential when creating. She says that it makes her see movement, that “if I’m creating a building, I can see it rise through music.”
We also meet Milad, who talk to us about what sex clubs and dark rooms have meant for him. That those places gave him life to a new extent; a place where he forgot about all shame. He says that inside a darkroom, he realized that he wasn’t just “the guy” anymore. “I was neither ‘the student’ or ‘the Ausländer’. Instead, I had a deep feeling within that I was just me, I was just being, and following my natural instincts. In that moment I forgot about all shame, and all years of being unsure or feeling unsafe, misunderstood, or like I’m obliged to always explain myself.”
A couple of weeks ago, I was in one of these worlds where I met Selena. She let me in on her whole life time experiences that night, which led to us deciding to feature her story. She started out from the idea of potentially being asexual and eventually found her pleasures as a submissive. Today Selena is a consent coach and part of the underground kink scene in the city. Experiencing the professionalism that is to be found there, has in some ways saved her life. I’m thankful to get to know Berlin through all the people in Playful, and getting smarter with each story told.