How precious! The quest to Mordor has extended to the German capital
There are whispers circulating that medievalcore may be one of the biggest fashion trends of 2025, but in Berlin’s club scene, ravers have been channeling medieval fantasy since 2019. Mordorkore is the German capital’s first and only medieval role-play rave, where yass-ified elves thrash to high-BPM dance music.
During a time when Europe’s permanent club spaces are suffering – take London or even Iceland, for example – Berlin faces similar challenges. Legendary nightclub Watergate is set to close on New Year’s Eve and Renate is shutting its doors for good in 2025. While permanent spaces struggle to stay afloat, across the continent, young people are getting creative in the face of obstacles. Independent club nights are thriving, and Mordorkore is proof that there really is something for everyone (even if your penchant is a little orc-ward).
The self-described gaggle of ‘dorks’ get together every few months to let loose in their best folkloric fantasy garb, which, going off the most recent event, can include everything from cartoonish weaponry, bloodied teeth, Elizabethan ruffs, eye contacts, prosthetic ears (à la Legolas), masks and some surprising bunny moments too. A marriage of two of Berlin’s popular nights, BLADEBEXXX and Butters, the event started as a one-off collab, but quickly took on a life of its own. Thankfully, we were able to catch up with Mordorkore’s fellowship on their quest to becoming Berlin’s most adventurous new club night. Below, we hear from co-founder Naoki Stuhlman.
When and why did you first start Mordorkore?
Naoki Stuhlman: Mordorkore came about through the meeting of two independent Berlin club nights, BLADEBEXXX and Butters. BLADEBEXXX was being run by Simon Villaret (s1m0nc3ll0), Dominic Mealy (HYPOXIA NERVOSA), Matilda and Audrey Belaud and was a wacky experimental hardcore night – a gabber night for weirdos when that wasn’t really a thing in Berlin. Butters was a queer trashy happy hardcore night that began in 2016, founded and run by Nico Lim, Nat Lall (DJ Fluffie), myself (fkintwigs), Tabitha Swanson and others.
Our first event as Mordorkore took place in February 2019, and what better way to combine our different ideas and aesthetics than through a fantasy medieval union of our two kingdoms? We solidified our bond through a ritualistic blood oath on stage (fake blood obvs), and then soon two became one.
What was the inspiration behind the night?
Naoki Stuhlman: We had developed a fascination with folkloric and medieval elements in frenchcore and psycore and other genres, and we had this strong appreciation for dark ambient music and dungeon synth, along with an interest in RPG games and animé that explored dark fantasy themes. BLADEBEXXX shared Butters’ boredom with the repetitive, predictable Berlin scene and sought to create an alternative, something that was genuinely creative and musically explorative, but also accessible and that embraced fun and being extremely silly.
Why Mordor?
Naoki Stuhlman: The funny thing about the name is that none of us are particularly passionate about The Lord of the Rings, and about half of us think it’s totally boring. What we all appreciate is fantasy, a playful approach to medieval aesthetics and the idea of structuring parties around a theme. We share an appreciation for LARP [live action role-play] and the creative possibilities it presents but we are not interested in historical reenactment, or historically accurate themes. We wanted something that was playful, fun and other worldly, that was open for interpretation and engagement.
For us [who are a part of] Mordorkore, the idea of medieval fantasy isn’t rooted in an actual past, or specific literary or gamer lore, it’s a stand-in for an imaginary non-space where anything is possible, and normal rules do not apply. Mordorkore was the first name suggested, and it just made sense. Of course, it was meant to convey the combination of dark high fantasy with high-BPM dance music. But the central point that ties together the Mordor with the core is ‘dork’, the magic in the middle that makes everything make sense. We have a saying here: ‘It’s Mordorkore if we say it is.’
How would you describe the style of the people who come to the night?
Naoki Stuhlman: You can always expect a healthy mix of cosplay, clubcore, bright lurid colours, goblincore, rave looks, knightcore, chainmail, fake blood, weirdeval and elf ears. It’s like medieval fantasy but yass-ified or bimbo-ified, and uploaded through a PS2 filter. Historically inaccurate creative nonsense is encouraged!
Can you talk me through the DJs and artists you collaborated with for this edition?
Naoki Stuhlman: At the recent party [in the photographs], we had Deli Girls, MAAY, LADY PLAGUE, KIIRM, THE FOOL, FRZNTE and as for us ‘Mordodorks’, there’s DJ Fluffie, fkintwigs a.k.a chopin.pur, HYPOXIA NERVOSA, and S1M0NC3LL0. Each of our events are unique, however, we generally don’t book the same artist twice and each party showcases a mixture of performance art pieces, live acts and DJs.
What makes Mordorkore different from other club nights?
Naoki Stuhlman: We feel less like a club night and more like a clubhouse for freaks. We really appeal to the people who don’t exactly fit in with typical Berlin nightlife – freaks who haven’t found a place for freaks like them. People don’t come to Mordorkore to look cool and be seen, they come to be silly and to have fun and to express themselves in whatever way makes them feel good. We see ourselves like a tavern for all different kinds of strange and marvellous creatures.