If we are talking about free events, the question is: are all free events the enemy?
Criticism of free tekno gatherings often stems not from the music itself (although music itself forming behavior itself; including drugs), but from their political charge—from the way free tekno community challenge human civilization, cultural life itself, pull people in, and blur the lines between protest and party—intoxications, chaos. And politics, in this case, almost seems like the use of hard drugs itself.
While the idea of free events might sound ideological, for the artists and organizers, it’s not about a paycheck. These aren’t careers. There’s no business model. The truth, uncomfortable as it may be, is that some in the scene do profit—usually through drug sales (French sound systems often realized this business in Czechia). But that doesn’t define the whole story. Free events can be seen as a secondary acts—gestures of solidarity, spontaneous gifts from artists to communities. A free events resist to be professionalized.
The truth is, free tekno events often embrace total anarchy ideology or an anarchist ideology—a vision of a world without money or social hierarchy. This looks as a utopian idea, and in some ways, it denies individualism and human rights and freedom; even though individualism is not inherently bad and is essential for art. After all, the world already has laws that uphold equality—basic human rights, and freedoms.
There’s also the human side—the people themselves. Not everyone treats free spaces with care. Not every gathering becomes a community.
For example, Sidney SN visited a free DnB event at Rechenzentrum Potsdam in Germany in summer 2023. The rules (yes, even free events need rules) seemed fair, and the Potsdam, Berlin community did too. But in 2024, there were talks about needing tickets, because even free events come with costs.
The point isn’t that free events are bad. It’s that they demand a good community. A free event is a gift. It works best when it’s a secondary act of life—something offered alongside jobs, responsibilities, and the rhythm of the everyday. Not instead of them, but in balance with them.
Another question is the nature of free events. A common aspect of the policy behind free tekno gatherings is the embrace of strange sounds—noise and distortion that stretch through the night. Free events require a space where sound itself can fully unfold, but realistically, midnight is often the latest time free events can still exist without conflict.