Kristallen - a presentation in English

Photo: Håkan Eriksson

Article written by Therese Svensson at www.oresundsregionen.se, Oct 25th 2010.
Translation: Kristallen
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"Klubb Kristallen" (Chrystal Club) is one of Sweden's most unusual and thoroughly worked out clubs. Everything, from decotations and music, to lectures and themes are equally important to create the surrealistic atmosphere of geniality vs. lunacy, disguised in music and historical references. At a night at Kristallen you can listen to old 78s as well as watching stringmusic being played live, or listen to fringe-scientific lectures. Whatever Kristallen offer, you can count on that it is something extra ordinary. Kristallen themselves put it this way: "We arrange, decorate and contribute with visual, eteric and ultrasensoral stimula of astral and crossover-scientific nature."

Producers are: Mattias Nihlén, Cecilia Flink, Thea Davidsson, Kristian Nihlén, Ida Mårdhed, Karl Alm and Unni Zimmerdahl, all from Malmö, Sweden. We asked one of the members, Cecilia Flink, a little bit more about Kristallen!

How would you describe Kristallen to someone who never visited the club?
- You enter a room where you instantly become bombarded by visual impressions. The images are projected, moving around, over the room and the people. You are in an ocean of slowly rotating fields of colors. It's dark and light at the same time. The sound level is low, and you don't always know where the sound comes from. People are caught up in conversations with eachother. In a corner, two men are playing cittern and cembalo. Three dancers are performing an expressionistic dance among people sitting on pillows on the floor. Behind them is a shadowplay running, also with live dancers. The room is covered in thin, sweeping pieces of fabric and big, round screens of gold. The room seems to have several dimensions. Signs with messages written in florescent color are displayed, and you wonder if they are subversive. At the end of the night you feel calm and euphoric at the same time, and you are not quite sure what you have experienced. Klubb Kristallen: A Canary Islands of the Soul.

What are you inspired by when you create Kristallen?
- Film and tv-theater from 1900 to 1977. A lot of visual stuff from old pioneers in lighting, for instance the projection artists that accompanied Pink Floyd in their tours during the 1960s. Oil projections, created live on site, and such, which they were great at at that time. Putting light on objects that have been produced by hand during workshops for weeks before the club night. We are also inspired by a lot of existing things that we take and do the other way around. We want to break learned behaviour.

What do you generally think about the club- and entertainment range in Malmö, and in Sweden?
- I notice that quizzes and such are becoming more popular. Maybe it's a symptom of that people want to be more participating in the process - which is good, maybe we have a part in that progress. But in our case, we would more likely light up the room for a few minutes, push out a couple of coffins with odd clothing, and let people dress themselves in costume. Then, light down again, and go on as before, but now with strange clothes on everyone. I guess usual clubs in Malmö have a dancefloor and sometimes a band playing live? I don't know, I really don't go out much. But I would like to see a concept bar in Malmö, or in Sweden. It's strange that there are none in Sweden. Maybe it's up to us to create one.

What kind of guest would be your favorite?
- Old people! Like 55 to 95 years old. Where are they? We want them to come and tell us stories from back in the days. And mingle in style!

Name ten songs you are likely to hear at Kristallen!
- I will have to name bands instead of songs, since we don't play recorded music at Kristallen. Martin Nordbeck, Unni Z, Band of Joy, Madman´s Moustache, Hooffoot, Ved, Skeppet, Octopus Ride, James Brewster, Rustybeat, Technicolor Poets. All musicians from Malmö, Sweden.

Next club event: October 29th at Kong, Malmö, Sweden