Hailing from Halle in central Germany, Monkey Safari is the brotherly duo of Sven Fröhlich and Lars Rühlemann. The city’s electronic music scene has boomed in recent years, and the efforts of Fröhlich and Rühlemann should be applauded for this fact. No longer are all artists heading to Berlin, which saw its own electronic music scene expand around the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall (much is owed to the Love Parade, too, which originated in Berlin in 1989 and by 1997 was attracting more than a million people).
The brothers started doing their bit to draw attention to Halle’s music scene in 2009 when they opened the doors to the Charles Bronson club; a name inspired by their grandpa’s appreciation for the late actor’s work. They had started Monkey Safari the previous year, after playing various styles of music for a few years before that. A gamble indeed, but as they say nothing in this world worth having comes easy.
“It’s a love/hate relationship. It’s not the easiest thing creating club nights every weekend with the intention to make every night a special one. But in general we love the whole club thing – sound, artists, the social aspects, creating a platform for new ideas and creative people.”
To see their baby grow has unsurprisingly instilled great pride. “It was and it is a place where people come together. It’s a permanent dialogue about music and lifestyle. So from the early beginnings we tried to play there as often as we could. It was really important for us, as we gained a lot of experience that we can use today.”
That experience will be on full display when they undertake the more than familiar process of boarding a plane and making their way down to Australia for the Rainbow Serpent Festival. They’ll be running on a tight schedule when they make their way out here, but hope to “have enough time for the best coffee and the best cider in the world. We love sightseeing in bars as opposed to visiting famous buildings.”
When the Rainbow Serpent Festival made its debut in 1998, the flyer read “24 hour trance outdoor dance festival”. The likes of DJ Mark Allen, Quirk, Pied Piper, Baldy and Nirav were in attendance, with around 1000 people enjoying a rain filled night. Today, it stretches four days and celebrates dance, performance, art, nature, community and harmony. As with the evolution of Rainbow Serpent, for Sven and Lars it has been a long and winding road. Lars was once obsessed with hip hop, while Sven had a taste for UK big beat. Combining their powers, the brothers conceived Electric Ballroom, which enabled indie/alternative to play out in one room, with electronic sounds next door.
Monkey Safari now run their own label, Hommage. With a finger in many pies, it would be easy to lose focus. A common goal, however, keeps the brothers in steady hands. “Independence is one of the most important things in our lives. We work hard in order to be able to do what we want and what we like. For example, we’re able to release the music we like on our label and in the club we can have parties you can’t have in many other clubs in the world.”
BY ALEXANDER LIGHTFOOT
