u/mamaostias

Hey I just moved to Curazao and I have had realised that the party scene is a bit ‘normie’, which is okay sometimes, but maybe not every weekend.

I’m looking for something a bit more underground, maybe not in a club, but someone is organising good stuff? For reference, I used to go to Berlin and dance a lot (no, i’m not expecting the same ofc) I like house, techno, minimal, trance even… artists like marcellus pittman, villalobos, satoshi tomiiee…

I know it’s a long shot, but maybe you know someone who knows someone. And If you don’t know but you are interested, let’s do something fun! I’m happy to build something every now and then.

Hi guys,

Yesterday it was my first time time at Open Ground… I can tell you, my expectations were high, but god damn it! Not only Open Ground met the expectations, but surpassed them!

Big congratulations to the space and light designers, what a comfortable club to walk around! What a lovely crowd too! Every single time I went out for a ciggie I met welcoming and well informed people! Real culture representing! Even had the chance to talk to Liudmila on the dance floor and she explained some particularities of playing there!

And of course, the sound system, made me feel at times that the music came from within and not otherwise… Got into a sexy loop, couldn’t leave the dance floor at all! Even the small stage had an amaaaaazing sound!

The only set I didn’t really enjoy was the Parallel 9 B2B Richard A., great track selection but definitely missed some ‘groove’. Also, some tracks didn’t really fit well and those speakers are not forgiving - if it doesn’t fit you simply can’t hide it.

Altinbas on the other hand… wow! First time I see, what a beautiful set! It was full of beautiful sounds and a playful rhythm.

Much love fellow ravers,

See you in Wuppertal’s dungeons!

After a couple of years volunteering, I’ve been asked again to do a 14-hour shift as a volunteer—for one day’s festival ticket, a volunteer T-shirt (which I’m expecting to be the same low quality as last year), and €50 in tokens.

Honestly, I find this really hard to justify.
Compared to other festivals, such as Dekmantel or Sonar, 14 hours is an extremely long volunteer shift. If you look at even the lowest rates for freelance/event staff (around €20/hour), that’s €280 worth of labour—while the compensation offered here is nowhere near that.

I understand that volunteering is, by definition, not about making money. I’ve volunteered for years because I love the music, the atmosphere, and being part of the festival. But there has to be a line between volunteering because you genuinely want to contribute and having your enthusiasm for the festival used as a source of cheap labour.

So I’m genuinely wondering: is this still the spirit of volunteering, or are festivals simply taking advantage of people who love the music?

If anyone from the organisation is reading this: we love the festival, but we also expect better conditions for the people who help make it happen. 14-hour shifts deserve a serious rethink.

What do other festival volunteers think? Is this normal nowadays, or are we being asked for too much?