Friends throw the best birthday parties

I don't usually listen to music like this, but it sounds pretty good here

Our glamorous birthday girl.

This Friday was precious. It's always fun to go to friend's birthdays and this time there were many at once. Tõnis and Tiia were having their 54 years combined party at Protest. At the same time Diana was having her jubilee at undisclosed location. I played a set at both of the celebrations.

Glamorous birthday boy

I started at Protest, greeted the birthday boy and girl, tasted the mint punch and met more friends. The theme was Gatsby glam, guys were asked to suit up. I just wore a tie, as the second night also had a dress code which didn't match the suit style. I couldn't stay for long because I was supposed to play at the undisclosed location first.

The location is in the very center of town. You have to know the right people to get through the door. There are no signs and most of the time you wouldn't ever know that there was something going on in there. I got let in by a glamorous girl. I later learned that she was the burlesque dancer.

Olya at the red carpet event with "champagne".

I played my set 90 minute electro set as one of the first DJs because I was the "crowd friendliest" that's probably a first time when this has happened to me. At times I was accompanied by Edvin who was playing the flute on top of the electro tracks. A big thanks to the barman who kept bringing me the "welcome" shots while I was playing.

The fire show

There was a fire show happening soon after my set. We stood and watched the flying fire while tiny speakers were playing Lana Del Rey. Passing people stopped and admired the show with the guests.

One of the best looks, wearing Triinu Pungits.

The second act of the night appeared. I've never been to a birthday with a burlesque show. It was sexier than the stripper we once had back in Tartu. For obvious reasons she was hotter than Marco at this party. The performer was Chrissy Kiss.

Contrasting beauty against the shabby wall.

It was nice to meet up with Olya, whom I hadn't seen for years since she moved to Berlin and then London. You might see us playing together soon enough in Tallinn.
I headed back towards Protest around 4 am. The place was packed full and the concentration of friends was high. We proceeded with a bottle of half-frozen champagne to remember the old days.

Girl looking for change in Protest.

After pondering whether I should play or let the house and techno wave prevail, I decided to give electro a fighting chance. I played for half an hour after Tõnis, and stirred up the place.

People feeling Tõnis play.

The night ended at 8 am. It's been a while since I have taken the bus home from a party. If you liked this then you can read how we celebrated Diana's birthday some years ago. Last year's bash with Tõnis. And how I played Tiia's party at Protest some years ago.

See you soon,
Barthol

Tiger&Woods & tower & fruits

I read Fluon at work instead of composing offers. I laughed so hard.

This week end was packed full of great events and nights. It all started on Friday with a birthday. Three guys were celebrating their birthdays in a tower in the center of Tallinn. I had never visited it before as it's  usually used for conferences.

Flipping off

The DJs were from mostly from the Jack night and the music of the night was techno. There was also an appearance by a rising rapper Tommi €a$h (Cash) . His style was something between Cypress Hill and Die Antwoord.

Tommi €a$h with lazers

"Hip hip hop hop don't don't stop stop, say it so much, my eyes gonna pop pop." There were a lot of people from the Robotaanika park scene reminding of the epic festival.

Riding home

At 4:30 me and Tõnis left for the afterparty. I still don't know what was being celebrated. It had something to do with (break)dancing. There was tons of catering food and prosecco left when we got there. We had to convince the old lady on the door to let us in. She finally let us in when we told her we're here to take the organizer with us and we'll only be there for 10 minutes.

Afterparty with the last men standing.

We stayed for an hour and a half as Tõnis followed his instincts and started mixing music. It was light outside when we biked towards home at 6 am.

View of Tallinn on Saturday.

Half of Saturday was lost because of Friday. But there was a Red Bull Music Academy night with Tiger&Woods playing. I had listened to a mix of theirs before and I feared the night would be too calm to keep me up. However when Tiger&Woods got on the stage their set was very much robot rock with groovy tech-rhythms.

Tiger&Woods - most electronic lives look like Apple demos.

The place wasn't packed as tight as last time with Dj Zinc. However bros and babes still had to rub themselves against bodies around them and back themselves into me and act surprised that I'm there. I was too sober for that much bodily contact. Tiger&Woods' set was super-consistent. During the one and a half hour they didn't include a break and just kept going from track to track keeping the tempo and feel the same. Half of the audience had tired themselves out before the end. RBMA parties are always well organized and the lightning was the best I've seen in Sinilind and I'm waiting for their next club night.

Girls love fruits and vegetables.

Because of popular demand I'm also including last weekend's Tatari Castle's photos. The theme of the party was vegetables and everyone was encouraged to bring a vegetable or fruit to the party and to get intimate with those. There were also DJs and loads of balloons.

Do the D.A.N.C.E. - 12345!

Ricard what else.

A perfect couple - rhubarb and pineapple.

See you soon,
Barthol

Birthing days

I feel being transported back to the 90s

For the last months I've been working on making my first CD. It's a 90s influenced Ep called CitYearning and it should be done soon. As inspiration I took UK and Estonian bootleg CDs of the 90s. The tracks are inspired by (living in) the city and the different lives and experiences. Not to leave you hanging without insight into the nightlife. Here are photos from a wild birthday party somewhere in Tallinn.

A sandwich doesn't come easy.

Hold on!

How to dance to dubstep.

The drinks and food.

Praying to the altar of One Direction.

Taking a photo of taking a photo.

She was worse as a foot model.

Cooking with Mona.

The tattoo.

Best face.

Every party needs fuel, why not super garlic.

Let me know what you think about the new banner in the comments. Should there be a photo of me or something? Should it have more colors?
See you soon!
Barthol

In and out of 2 Saturdays.

was a blast

This Saturday it was time for my birthday bash. Celebrating quarter a century of adventures. I invited over 70 people to take part. We prepared my studio for the occasion with extra lightning. The guests later said that it felt like being in a womb.

Mixing the punch, different techniques. Photo: K.Maasik

There was also a food installation made out of action-painted sandwiches and killer punch to go with it. The key to every punch is that it shouldn't taste like it's strong but it should be just that.

The beginning. Photo: K. Maasik

The first patch of punch tasted like watered down juice, but a cup later I was tipsy. Some of my blurriest birthday memories are from times when I've been sitting next to the punch bowl or bucket for too long.

Never heard people discuss sandwiches for so long before.

One time it was even in a wheelbarrow and I had to bike to work after that. Luckily I worked as a bartender at a nightclub so it was no biggie. It did take me 2 hours before I was sober again though.

Some where dancing, others were lounging.

This time I wasn't the one to black out although I still can't believe how fast 7 hours of partying can disappear. For the first time I played tracks off of my coming EP CitYearning, mixing them with old tracks from around 5 years ago.

And later most of the people were dancing.

People started dancing in the middle of the room and on the mattress. It don't think I've ever played a live that drunk, because I went to get another cup of punch and then completely forgot I was in the middle of my set. Dj Fabrique took over and the dancing continued.

Rock your socks!

As an apparent tradition there were also wieners to cook when the night was peaking. I heard that a big part of the wieners had been flung out of the open window.

The main room got packed full.

Another thing I didn't witness myself was when a new patch of punch was made. As we had around 10 bottles of sparkling wine and some vodka, no juice, no beer or long drink so I guess that it was quite potent.

The night close to 3am.

A big thanks to everyone who came and made this the best birthday party I've had in last 10 years or so. I have to also thank the neighbors and flatmates. The first didn't mind that the music was blasting with max volume from midnight to 3am and the latter just left to let us have the party.

The last present I got, was in the morning. Photo: K.Maasik

The Saturday before my birthday we went to check out Hotel Salvador. I have known Tõnis who runs the Salvador series for six-seven years already. The way he experiments with social media is inspiring. For example he used to give out awards to Estonian blogs.

You got to know how to survive in the windy city.

 This time the Hotel Salvador event was a closed invite-only event with close friends and scenesters invited. This is probably why the event had such a laid-back fun feel to it. Half of the people there I already knew and had partied with before.

It wasn't the easiest hotel to find.

As the doors opened for everyone at 1 am there were also people I didn't know arriving. At that time as I was starving we went by Baltijaam to get a classical tšeburek and some mushroom pancakes.

Sander Mölder playing his set at Hotel Salvador

The weather had been stormy all night long and I'm not sure how many people didn't make it because they got lost on the way. Having some brandy with us helped against the raging wind.

Bartender why you no give Me a drink!?

Hotel Salvador was a great first event and I'm excited to see what will happen next time there. The pool party is this weekend in Tartu so I might go by there.

See you soon!
Barthol

Confessing Fluon - post #150!

I always know I get a dose of color and life. When it's gray outside then Fluon is like a vitamin pill

Here's a piece of my Daft Punk remix to listen to as you check this monster post about the essence of Fluon.
Daft punk - High Life (Barthol Lo Mejor remix) extract

One of the most colorful acts ever seen was in the "world's smallest cabaret" in Paris, 2009

As this is post #150 I have decided to write about doing Fluon. It all started in Paris back in 2009. At the time I was already doing 2 blogs. First my travel blog "RaveInParis" which was about my adventures in Paris and everything along the way.

I was visiting a friend in Paris when orchestra students arrived with marker-drawn faces
and started taking of their clothes, 2009

The second was "You Are Cute if You Listen" which is  a blog about what people are listening to on their iPods on the streets, in the metro and parks.

A good friend in Paris shouted "lets do something crazy" and then climbed the traffic light, 2009

Fluon was at first supposed to be something like Tumblr to gather all the images that inspire me. The title was incorporates "fluorescent" (which is a very French word) and "neon".  That's the visual and attitude I have been going for all the time.

My favorite polish girl in Paris at my birthday with her polish girlfriend, she also had a French boyfriend, 2009

At first there weren't that many photos or text, but as time went on I got into it more and more and wanted to give it a magazine-like feel. Of course one of the biggest influences has been Vice magazine, but also writers like Kerouac and Hunter S. Thompson with their simple but effective style.

Shopping in Paris with an almost local girl, 2009

The goal has been to talk about what goes on around the music I produce and to share visual images that inspire me so that people get a better sense of my creation and vision.

Fantomas from Art Security used to go around wearing deep blue welding glasses, 2009

Also it's about documenting the loose scene I have been a part of for over ten years. There's no real way of labeling or limiting it but it incorporates to some extent scenes like Tartu Electro, Robodada and indie electro.

My flatmate after Paris and her friend enjoying champagne from the bottle, 2009

Fluon is also my main outlet for the photos I take. From 2012 I have around 7500 photos and consider that I erase duplicates and most of blurry ones, not to mention that for months I didn't have a camera.

Trying to open a wine bottle at old Salvador, 2009

I usually have my small camera with me at all times and I take pictures of everything that I find interesting. For you I select photos that tell a story. I do the same with words, but I have often heard that people only come for the photos or they just skim the blog.

She loves bass and she got it for her birthday, 2009

I like it when people take the time to relive what happened that night and they get to experience a small adventure. Usually it's a party, sometimes an exhibition and other times it's something else, but it's always fun.

Smooching, 2010

I confess I like taking sexy photos of girls where ever they are, but that's not the main point of Fluon. It's about our youth - the parties of yesterday and today and hopefully tomorrow and everything that goes along with it.

The most colorful Estonian act - Queennaive in Plink Plonk, 2009

The coolest bands and DJs and festivals that deserve to be remembered and reminisced about have a place on Fluon. Where else can you find out what the hottest party was a year ago? Who else is going to tell you ten ways to get into a party for free?

This is something in the lines of Vice Magazine, 2009

So this is why I do it every week (at least I try to). If you come by and you enjoy it then leave a comment, a like, or a listen on the Soundcloud player for me.

Under my window, she liked to stay on the ground for hours, 2009

Leaving the girls alone with your camera might be a good idea. Old Salvador toilet, 2009

Timo Toots' Linnujaam next to the Tallinn airport, 2009

Kiwa and Madis Ligema playing at Genklubi with the coolest visuals, 2009

A pair of night swinging girls, 2009

At Nicolas' rooftop party with friends, 2012

See you soon and thanks for coming back!
Barthol