Revisiting Zurichs 90s Techno Scene In Pictures

Zurich quickly embraced techno, and when the music reached its peak in the 1990s, the city became Europe's most popular tourist destination. Techno parties began as one-off events in basements and warehouses and then grew into established clubs with a regular schedule of events.

The Swiss city's techno scene was shaped by the Street Parade, which was legalized in 1992 "as a demonstration of the love of freedom, generosity and tolerance." Starting with fewer than 1,000 members, they consistently attract over a million visitors a year, three times the city's population.

In the mid-1990s, photographer Jules Spinach photographed individuals and small groups at parades, often at the edge of fast-moving crowds.

Portraits of people on the street of Zurich in the mid-90s.

With the end of the Cold War, dull Zurich became a party city.

Spinach says: “In the picture, people regain their individuality, lost in the crowd. Because many people of color also turn gray when you look at them from a distance. This isolation stops time, participates in the flow of movement and creates air and distance from the action."

The installation of the photographer's current work in the form of a multi-channel slideshow is intended to appear as a parade of images and people.

Portraits of people on the street of Zurich in the mid-90s.

“This painting was made at a time when everything was changing, and not only in Zurich. The Cold War is over and boring Zurich has become a party city: more colourful, more lively, more international and more crowded. The parade is an expression of this and has given it a political dimension. .

Portraits of people on the street of Zurich in the mid-90s.

“This [parade] calls for peace and tolerance and spreads it in a fun, hedonistic and relaxed way and is not ideological, unlike what happens today. But no matter how large the protests and parties: how much does activism or escapism cost?

I often take photographs to capture unexpected and unpredictable scenes.

Portraits of people on the street of Zurich in the mid-90s.

“It feels great to be part of something new. But at the same time, I was no longer interested in photographing demonstrations, such as costumes for public dances, or depicting the power of political movements. Passersby embody these ideas with their presence and style.

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Almost 30 years later, society appears wary of the past and looking to the future.

Portraits of people on the street of Zurich in the mid-90s.

“Often I take a photograph while the person is looking at the camera but their facial expression has not yet responded to me, in order to capture an unexpected and surprising look, a look that will surprise both me and the person I am photographing.”

Portraits of people on the street of Zurich in the mid-90s.

“Now, almost 30 years later, it seems that society is looking warily from the past to the future, to the exhibition visitors we know and to those we don’t. At the same time, we look at the present, at their faces, as if they want to communicate in order to answer their questions. Want. It allows us to get in touch with our past. Reconnect with your past.

Portraits of people on the street of Zurich in the mid-90s.

“The first year I took photographs, it seemed to me that everyone present was dancing on or next to the love machine. From 1996 to 1997, when attendance increased from 150,000 to 475,000, I saw significant changes. The street parade becomes a spectacle where spectators watch the love carriages pass by and divide the participants into spectators and workers.

“The transition from politics to entertainment could be the precondition for street parades and the inclusion of Zurich technoculture in the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. And in 2017, the Federal Office of Culture included it on the list of Swiss living heritage.”

“One may ask oneself, what is meant by the Swiss tradition, the tradition of a neutral society or the tradition of dedicated workers?”

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