The Techno scene that’s slowly taking over Krakow (Part #1 of #2)

What do you think of when picturing a wild weekend way? Filled with late nights that somehow turn into late afternoons. That heavy bass thumping, while your heart beats to the same tune as everyone else in the room, being completely disconnected from the outside world. Krakow is probably not one of the first places that comes to mind.

A recent post we saw from Jacek Plewicki, at Electronic Beats, inspired us to write about just how lucky we are in Krakow. There is quietly flourishing techno scene that’s slowly started creeping out from the underground to take the spotlight.

As an expat myself, when I first moved to Krakow, I had a lot of preconceived notions about the city. Like everyone was eating pirogi for every meal of every day (it’s half true). Techno was definitely not one of them. My first encounter with the techno scene was at Prozak 2.0, one of Krakow, maybe even Poland’s most famous clubs. As the name suggests, the venue has the ability to turn your mood around very quickly. As you walk down the stairs to the underground club, you are greeted with a moody darkened room. The walls are covered in abstract art as obscure as Chewbacca graffiti to light installations on the roof that leave you mesmerized.

As the steady stream of regulars that wouldn’t miss a night poured in and the crazedbackpackers looking to get away from the more mainstream clubs came venturing, I knew that I had found my weekly watering hole. It didn’t take long for this place to feel like home.

One of the more recent techno spots to open, launched during the Unsound Festival (more on that later), is the infamous club 89. Hidden on the outskirts of the city, just far enough out to shake off the people that are going for the wrong reasons, but not to far away that you have to worry about planning how the hell you will make it home. Still draped in the original decor from its previous tenancy as a strip club, red carpet and leather everywhere (and we mean everywhere, walls included). More of a late night/early morning club, with the opening night starting at 6:00am Sunday morning, 89 is everything a techno club should be. Not to mention they boost some of the best international underground artists that previously you wouldn’t imagine coming to little old Krakow. Maybe its time to reconsider your next weekend away.

Keep a look out for part #2.