Yes, we just came out of the coma induced by Time Warp’s techno arrival in the states. All-familiar muffled booms and a dark, fence lined walk greeted techno fans trekking to the warehouse hidden along the 39th St Pier in Brooklyn. In a presentation reminiscent of das Berghain, Timewarp welcomed guests with minimal excellence. Housed along the backdrop of the Upper Bay with city lights shimmering off the Hudson, expectations were high following a decline in East Coast festival quality.

The party kicked off on the Friday evening after the American holiday of Thanksgiving (sorry native-americans we love you, but techno is our mistress). Although this weekend happens to be one of the worst traffic holidays of the year, paired with an incoming winter storm, nearly 10,000 fans stormed the coat check line, as well as the alluring stages.

After passing through the surprisingly easy going security checkpoint attendees were met with imported and vastly impressive cave setup. The cozy cavern started off sets from Joseph Capriati, No Regular Play, and tiNi. Capriati warmed up the crowd with a smooth tech-house set, followed by local heros The Martinez Brothers. This, as with all festivals, formed a tough decision as Dubfire simultaneously introduced his :liveHybrid project. Spinning behind a mirage of gossamer panels, Deep Dish OG blasted a hypnotizing animation storyboard filled with science + technology trip featuring robots and scrolling code like a techno Matrix.

As the night transitioned, and Affliction tee, Jersey muscle crowd headed out, the all-nighters surrounded the stages of Cadenza boss Luciano. Deep and dark sounds splashed through the stages with a matching light set, until the crowds crept out into the cold chasing early morning after parties.

Crowds returned Saturday night to hear Richie Hawtin, Dixon, and Sven Vath. Coat check lines and $8 dollar (amazing) beers dampened the mood but it quickly picked up again with Pan-Pot and Taimur & Fahad’s three hour set. Sven showed off his extensive vinyl collection leading up to Hawtin’s display of shot taking capabilities and cell phone frustrations. Although it ended with a fan girl/ speaker catastrophe his set was remarkably heavy bass techno party mucho 5000. For those uninterested in charismatic spectacle, easy going Dixon took the eurphoric approach dropping a Larse remix of “Feels Real” as sunrays peaked over Manhattan.

After 20 years of legendary Timewarp tradition, the Brooklyn edition was a true success. Although techno is still finding its place in U.S pop culture after years on the backburner of forgotten golden years, this festival showed that careless business culture cannot control the U.S festival market. Old (heads) and newcomers alike rejoiced in this change of pace, and are looking forward to a more mature event scene after the influx of quick-money EDM productions.

Other techno triumphs you missed: The party (as expected) lasted longer in true warehouse style (past six)….we squinted, brunched, and started over // Richie Hawtin pretty wasted taking shots and launching speakers, in other news Funktion One is  now sponsoring the Olympic shotput // Dixon played in other room as Richie hogged the decks, the RA#1 Dj proved why he is a best from Berlin // Sven killer vinyl set, super deep, still going strong while claiming senior discounts // coat check failures: huge line+ people bitching about it and carrying jackets = winter fail // Warstiner beer was great… next time provide das boot pls // DJ Tennis dropped Blue Monday (New Order) at the end of his set before Dixon, dance god badge achieved.

See you next year Time Warp! (or hopefully sooner)