No Shade - Taking Over

In Berlin, the No Shade collective commands the weekend. Over the course of April, you’d find AUCO on a Friday spinning in the murky recesses of the Acud Macht Neu venue, Ceekayin2u hosting a vintage and designer clothing market at her newly-opened event space, Unit 26, the next day. Over in Soho House, Grinder Teeth was sat on a panel on intersectional feminism. The following week, LINNÉA DJ'd for an underground rapper at a magazine launch, whilst across town, Kikelomo was spinning together strands of grime, hip-hop, and bass at OHM. Founded in 2017 as a DJ training program for female, non-binary and trans people, No Shade is still a fledgling project, but the irrefutable force with which they’ve entered the city’s nightlife is a master class on the strategy of divide and conquer.

It's no question that Berlin’s nightlife is oversaturated. In politics, one of the most effective methods of ascending to power is by breaking down an existing sovereignty into manageable, and therefore conquerable, factions. No Shade may not consciously operate along these calculated, Machiavellian lines, but its takeover is clear. There is rarely a week that goes by when an affiliate isn’t DJing. In the past, they have shipped their workshop skills as far as Singapore, created a megamix of women and trans artists for Mary Anne Hobbs show on BBC Radio 6 and collaborated with like-minded collective Room4Resistance to pack out the former Neukölln grain mill-turned-mega venue Griessmuehle.

No Shade started where most subcultures thrive: the Internet. LINNÉA founded the collective, a prototype inspired by the efforts of Sister, a Facebook group for women in the underground club scene. Two years ago, following in the multi-genre footsteps of platforms like Janus and Creamcake, LINNÉA was booking her own parties and simultaneously teaching curious, but inexperienced, peers how to mix. Ceekayin2u was among them.

“Back when we started, it felt like there was a real gap we were filling,” Ceekayin2u says, of teaching and promoting female and non-binary artists. Ceekay is sprawled out on the floor of Unit 26 as she recounts No Shade’s history. Other members, clad in pieces of rag tag athletic wear, trickle in over the course of the two hours we spend talking.

The official No Shade visual identity was conceived by Ceekayin2u and Shaun Bass; a pair of smoldering eyes rimmed with black saw-toothed eyelashes. No Shade grew when Poly Maze and Hunni’d Jaws joined, and one of their first recruits AUCO moved from Glasgow to train in Berlin shortly thereafter. There have been five generations of No Shade since its 2017 inception.

Now 16 members deep, and with more applicants onboarding this spring (although not part of the core crew), No Shade ostensibly appears a rather large and unwieldy body. However, Grinder Teeth feels “it’s also a strength that there so many of us.” Unlike their peers, where seniority often presides, they are run with a transparent, egalitarian structure. Every talent is effectively allocated depending on which opportunities present themselves.

Combined, they are a creative powerhouse consisting of in-house fashion designers, graphic designers, visual artists, photographers, DJs and VJs. Those with an affinity for social media manage No Shade’s various online channels; others talented in public speaking are deployed to present their mission offline. The collective’s far-reaching arms sink into the local fashion, dance, and freeform radio community, as well as music industry principals like Native Instruments and Beatport.

What also makes the cadre unique to other free DJ training programmes is their club night component, which reserves two slots on each lineup for its graduates, and their ongoing mentorship. “For people who are completely fresh, there are questions like ‘how do I get a booking,’ ‘how much do I charge,’ or even needing a bit of reassurance that, yes, you are good enough to play out,” Grinder Teeth tells me, wrapped in the collective’s ‘Shadey AF’ fluorescent green woven scarf.

“The support I’ve received from No Shade allowed me to stay in Berlin,” AUCO adds, crediting their participation for helping them acclimate to the city, gain bookings, and make the decision to leave art school last year to pursue music full-time. “No Shade makes me strive to see how people can engage with music, how they fit genres together, and how they express themselves politically through this,” they continue. Sat on a worn leather couch, they flick their long blue braids to the side and hand off a tall bag of kettle corn to the rest of the crew. “It’s also a nice family to feel comfortable with, as someone of my [non-binary] identity.” Naysayers, notably misogynistic trolls lurking within Facebook comments, are quick to sneer at the inclusivity of their ethos. While No Shade gives priority to non-binary and trans people, and women of color, Ceekayin2you points out their accepted applicants must foremost possess, “a genuine passion for music and no real experience.” The latter could mean the inability to access CDJs or to enter Berlin’s competitive nightlife ecosystem. It’s not just that No Shade’s members represent a spectrum of gender and sexual identities, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and hail from over ten countries, it’s that this provides the very conduit to their high performance. “It’s the best when there are more teachers because there are infinite styles to play what you want to express,” says Ceekayin2u. “When multiple people add to that mix, it builds on diversity in another way.” On top of protean DJing styles, their diversity of experience translates to broader representation, deeper industry insight, divergent skill sets, and extensive musical knowledge. To this end, No Shade defines itself not merely by its politics, but rather by an immense capacity to innovate the club community as a whole.

Written by Whitney Wei, a cultural journalist and artist based in Berlin. Her writing intersects fashion, music, and nightlife, and her work has appeared in Vogue US, The Guardian, and Pitchfork

Learn more about No Shade here

A part of Contemporary Scenes, a BR series uncovering underground collectives, artists and subcultures from across the world.