10 CULTURE BOX MOMENTS TO REMEMBER IN 2022
Published December 21, 2022
With the year fast drawing to a close, it’s time to dive deeper into 2022’s happenings, milestones, and important themes which we want to celebrate, recognize and share with you. Here are 10 of our favourite moments from the past year.
1. Ellen Allien at our 17th Birthday.
She came, she saw, she conquered. The famous phrase strongly linked to what was once said by Julius Caesar fits very well on Ellen Allien’s visit for our 17th birthday back in spring. The iconic Berlin based techno DJ and BPitch founder dropped a variety of hard-hitting, rave-inspired techno cuts and high-octane beats in our box packed to the rafters. Local talents Anna Logic, Kardinal Bertram, Annælix, Tadoh, Baime and Katz-K rounded off the celebrations of that special Saturday night in our birthday weekend. The best thing to tell you now? Ellen Allien is back at Culture Box for a monstrous night in early March. Join the Culture Box newsletter here to stay updated on future events.
2. Open Call for DJs
140+ mixes were submitted and 8 DJs were picked to play in Black Box and get their Culture Box debut at our first Open Call for DJs-night on Thursday 12 May. All brought the energy! The tunes! Their friends! The artists created a beautiful, creative and supportive atmosphere alongside the curious and up-for-it crowd. Big up to O’Gio, Divad Yaya, Sashko, Roussakis, Ida Aya, Radio Marrakech, Daniella Bjarnhof, Stefan Soare and all their loyal supporters turning it up. The next edition of Open Call for DJs has already been announced for Friday 6 January. Read more here.
3. MEUTE live concert at Store Vega.
Due to being postponed because of the pandemic, then moved, and then postponed once again, the concert was 2,5 years underway but well worth the wait. The techno marching band of eleven drummers and horn players from Hamburg showcased their unique take on club classics to a capacity crowd in a sold out Store Vega. The hair on our arms still rise when thinking back to the moment they dropped Laurent Garnier’s “The Man With The Red Face” and a 1500-strong crowd went into a frenzy. Goosebumps! The bonus that made the night perfect was Angebot on warm up duty with a perfect opening of slow ethnic-inspired sounds and beats.
4. Good Night Out Campaign Accreditation
In June 2022 we signed up with London and Berlin based Good Night Out Campaign (GNO) who trains music venues and clubs like ours in facilitating a safer nightlife through up-skilling communities in effective responses to any form of harassment. Through extended workshops, check-ins and hotline support they will guide us in our ongoing efforts on harm reduction, challenging myths and stereotypes around sexual harassment, and promoting a healthy and sustainable culture of diversity and inclusion throughout 2023 as well. Getting the accreditation as the first venue in Denmark is a moment to remember and be proud of. The work continues, and we’re up for it more than ever. Read more about GNO here.
5. Aja Gulris at Distortion X
After a 3 years hiatus, expectations were high for the Distortion Festival and the first ever Distortion X in early June. Like previous festivals we partnered up with our friends from NusNus and brought our own sound system to Vesterbro. Well, we didn’t have luck with the weather but Aja Gulris brought the smiles back and delivered a memorable closing set at Ingerslevsgade. Being one of our cherished resident DJs and co-founder of the DJ collective Peccāvī, she keeps building momentum and deserves applause for her ability to smoothly switch between getting-it-going opening sets, prime time performances or finishing nights correctly while always paying full attention to both the crowd and the musical flow of the night and other artists on the lineups.
6. Nick Warren at What Happens
What Happens is Denmark’s longest running monthly club night, and by many regarded one of Europe’s best nights in its genre. The events remained hugely popular upon clubbing’s return in 2021 and this year showed no signs of slowing down. July saw a visit by the living legend and all time crowd favourite, Nick Warren. Nick teamed up with resident and long-time friend Tim Andresen for one of their memorable B2B sets and magic happened. The Argentinian trio of Nick Kaniak, Gerssein and Nicolas Petersen had Red Box buzzing till long after the sun came up with dancing support from lots of fellow compatriots. It was mini Buenos Aires as Nick Warren so accurately described it.
7. Culture Box Chillout
The summer of 2022 was something else. The desire for open-air music events was obvious and possibilities were almost infinite. Thanks to all of you who came out for Culture Box Chillout in July in Hans Tavsens Park and brough blankets to chill in the grass and enjoyed cool laid back vibes and music delivered by Rumpistol, Astrid Engberg, Respira, Palma, DJ Nanda and Ryan Dank. We’re pleased to reveal that the one-day festival in 2023 will be held in Østre Anlæg’s beautiful surroundings behind SMK.
Once upon a time there was hardly any support to the Drum and Bass community in our capital. We decided to try and change that little by little. It goes hand in hand with our listed goals of supporting niche genres and underground music. With the best of guidance and team work with Drum & Bass Klubben, we have woken the dragon and re-established a following through the great nights they host at our venue. It all peaked in September with Offline joining the entire crew in Black Box. Metacat Collective did their thing in Red Box and it all suddenly made perfectly sense. We love when things bend out of shape. That’s why we love drum and bass music.
9. The return of Rødhåd
Rødhåd has always been socialised by Berlin’s techno nights. In a time where the Berlin scene was heavily oversaturated by fluffy, miscellaneous dance music, he & his peers set out to form a platform for real techno. It was the launch of his party-series-turned-label Dystopian in 2009 that truly tipped the ball over for Rødhåd, and during the early part of the 2010s he won fans and received praise by the clubscene of Copenhagen. His return to Culture Box after 6,5 years was highly anticipated and he didn’t let anyone down that special Friday night back in October. CTRLS, Tight Cherry, Carlo & Selma and Popmix rounded off the lineup in front of loads of familiar faces from the past and present on the dance floor.
10. Being a Network and Genre venue.
Being awarded a Network and Genre venue by The Danish Arts Foundation as one of just 10 music venues in Denmark is huge. Not just for us here at the Culture Box HQ but for all of us involved in electronic music. A main goal is talent work hence why we are doing our weekly practice sessions on Tuesdays and quarterly Debut nights. Not to forget the workshops we’re hosting across the country with focus on bookings, promotion, safer space and everything in between. It’s been a pleasure meeting so many like minded, passionate and talented people on our way and building a network through our Culture Box Unboxed activities. Join our Unboxed community here.
2022 was truly special. Appreciation to all our guests and artists for being the driving forces in creating an exciting and sustainable electronic music scene.
READ MORE:
10 Moments to Remember in 2021