Berlin as origin and playground: Gray Contrast aka Dorian Goetsch, an improvisation-driven live performer with a classical piano background, developed a set-up that does not require a computer, consisting of synthesizers, loopers, voice and the courage to stay in the moment. Berlin became his musical laboratory: from spontaneous sessions in Hasenheide to day raves at Mauerpark to small street islands on Warschauer Strasse, where different subcultures come together – and BPM becomes biography.

This year, he co-hosted a float for Rave The Planet and recently played at the helper party at Club Weißer Hase – as a sign of solidarity with the community that shaped him. For Gray Contrast, techno is not a product, but a social glue; not a genre, but a movement.

We met him for a conversation about improvisation as an attitude, spaces without boundaries – and techno as the language of a generation that cannot be divided or stopped.

Berlin und its free spaces

RTP: Hi Dorian, thank you for taking the time for our artist interview today! You’re a true Berliner, right?

Dorian: That’s right, I was born here in 2001.

RTP: You perform electronic music live as a street musician, but also in regular clubs and at events, such as our parade or our recent volunteer party. How did that come about?

Dorian: I grew up surrounded by music and after graduating from high school, I decided to follow the example of other Berlin street musicians and give it a try myself. As a Schöneberg resident, this allowed me to really get to know the other districts.

RTP: What fascinates you about Berlin’s street musician scene?

Dorian: I love the multicultural currents and influences in Berlin and the openness and diversity of subcultures, which is particularly reflected in my circle of street musician friends. At its core, I especially appreciate the community that my music has been able to create – whether at open-air concerts in Mauerpark or late-night raves at Warschauer Straße. Huge kudos also go out to all my colleagues who inspire me and whom I inspire in return.

RTP: We’re happy to pass that on! Now, significant parts of your performances are improvised. What is the appeal of the unpredictable for you?

Dorian: I’ve always been fascinated by improvisation. So it’s my passion to push the live electronic field and expand its boundaries.

RTP: Was there a key moment or a special experience outside of your performances in the RtP bubble, which I’ll come back to later, during your creative phase?

Dorian: Yes, indeed. For me, it was my first concerts lasting several hours in Hasenheide during lockdown. All the subcultures danced together there. Left-wing leather jackets together with migrant groups, hippies and Berghain clientele had their escape on a fresh summer night, and I had my first ‘let-go’ moments while gaming. At that time, I only had a synthesiser and a 1-track looper. At some point, I was forced to improvise because I had played all my rehearsed pieces several times. That went on until the early hours of the morning.

RTP: This year, you brought a float to the parade, namely the Mauerpark Live Kommando float. How did that come about and what was your experience of it?

Dorian: As someone born in 2001, I grew up hearing stories about the Love Parade…

RTP: (laughs) I’ve heard of it…

Dorian: Well, it certainly seemed to be a core part of Berlin’s musical identity. Over time, I started dancing at Rave The Planet and later organised smaller guerrilla concert raves near the parade. It’s an insane full-circle moment to have been part of Rave The Planet 2025. Extremely, extremely crazy. Rave The Planet – and music as a glue and boundary breaker – is a huge personal motivation for me. The RtP team plays a fundamental role in the global peace and freedom movement called ‘techno’.

RTP: Good point: What values are important to you as an activist or simply as a person, in principle?

Dorian: It’s important to me to stand up for marginalised groups and peoples who suffer from Western colonisation.

RTP: You recently did another gig at the volunteer party at Club Weißer Hase on the RAW grounds. How was that for you?

Dorian: I had the chance to give something back there. It was something very special after our performance as the Mauerpark crew at Rave The Planet. It was a very sweet, family-like vibe – just great people!

Preparations for the upcoming season

RTP: Yes, we thought so too! What are you doing now that it’s cold and rainy outside? Are you using the time to prepare or work on new projects?

Dorian: Winter is studio time for me, which also means tweaking my live setup so that I can kick off next year with even more awesome live energy and get ideas from my head into the ears of my audience in real time.

RTP: Do you actually use AI tools in the studio or in your performances?

Dorian: I’m thinking about loading AI vocal stems from my favourite tracks into my Loopy Pro template. That way, I could make awesome bootlegs without having to sing everything myself, which is fun, but also has its limits. AI helps me code my live software, Loopy Pro. This enables the developer to create competitive software as a one-man team.

RTP: Sounds like a cool concept. How do you deal with the fact that technology can help creatively, but can also dilute identities?

Dorian: AI can be helpful in the brainstorming process, and maybe thanks to AI, we’ll soon be making all live sets based on live brain scans – essentially a direct channelling of a constantly evolving idea. On the other hand, for me, years of practising the piano were also an important anchor and teacher of patience. AI seems to play on the impatience in us and distract us from fully devoting ourselves to a passion.

“I love to see it”

RTP: I have to print that last sentence on my T-shirt! To what extent are the city’s diverse spaces and areas reflected in your sound, and what impressions do you incorporate into your creativity?

Dorian: I learned everything I know about live performance on the streets of Berlin. I also credit Berlin with the steady increase in my BPM from 110 BPM to now up to 200 at peak time.

RTP: Wow, that’s pretty fast…

Dorian: But it’s also a result of interaction with the community. The people and the street raves have undoubtedly helped shape my sound and given me the best moments of my life. Especially the Mauerpark hotspot, which has become a hub for many musicians and, above all, live electronic buskers. I love to see it!

RTP: What strategies do you use to stay creative and avoid struggling with inner blocks in the worst case?

Dorian: Write, write, write – everything that comes into your head! Just calmly empty your head onto a few pages. That’s a strategy from Julia Cameron’s book ‘The Artist’s Way’, which brought me back into contact with my inner artist seven years ago. Meditation and nature are also great helpers.

Art, inclusivity and collabs

RTP: The presentation of sound and soundscapes is increasingly being conceived as a multisensory experience. Does techno have to be thought of as multidimensional today, or do you see it as show-off versus vibe?

Dorian: It depends. I’m very inspired by Dark Matter when they merge light art with sound.

RTP: That’s Christopher Bauder’s permanent audiovisual art installation in Berlin-Lichtenberg.

Dorian: Exactly, yes. What’s more important to me, though, is being surrounded by dancers, for example, rather than looking down on them. And raves have to be safe spaces for everyone – although that’s sometimes really difficult in Berlin, given the lack of legal status for street music and some of the characters who frequent the nightlife scene. But as a community, we do our best to create little islands of refuge amid the hustle and bustle of the streets.

RTP: And what about collaborations? Do you have any favourites, both realistic and unrealistic?

Dorian: I hope to collaborate with my favourite artist, Overwerk, soon. Utopian would be Muse – my favourite band. Beardyman is a dream, because he pushes the live game like no other. He’s an absolute nerd who creates every imaginable sound in real time with his ‘Beardytron’ – using only his mouth as the input source. Otherwise, Rave The Planet, once again! Hungry Music from France would be a great collective for collaborations here!

Where does underground end and algorithm begin?

RTP: Sounds exciting, and we wish you every success in the future! We’ve mentioned subculture a few times in our conversation, which by definition is at least the opposite of commercialism. But when techno becomes trendy, there’s often tension between market logic and subculture. How do you stay true to your compass?

Dorian: I think we shouldn’t deny young people access to techno. I think it’s great that mainstream no longer just means pop. That’s an achievement in itself. I think that even though it could jeopardise privacy, social media could also be a very community-based weapon against gentrification.

RTP: But not at any price, right?

Dorian: No, a red line for me would be something like cameras in Berghain. The spaces must be protected!

RTP: Totally agree! Thank you very much for the interview!