The New East’s reputation as a global hotspot for rave culture is gaining traction — Bassiani in Tbilisi has been named among the best club in the world, in a guide put together by electronic music elders, Resident Advisor.
Bassiani, the biggest techno club in Georgia’s capital, is located beneath the Dinamo Arena, Georgia’s national football stadium. The concrete maze has an official capacity of 700 people, though it is said that up to 1,200 people can be seen partying until the early hours of the morning in this former Soviet-era swimming pool.
Bassiani was launched in 2014 by Zviad Gelbakhiani and Tato Getia, with an aim to provide not just a great techno club, but a space of equality and tolerance for people of all sexual, ethnic and religious backgrounds. In the context of oppressive drug laws and cultural entrenched homophobia in Georgia, Bassiani is a beacon of progressive ideals, and its reverberations have been felt throughout the global clubbing world.
The guide published by HostelWorld sees Bassiani featuring alongside world renowned clubs such as Berghain in Berlin, DC10 in Ibiza and Concrete in Paris, cementing its place as an aspirational promised land for serious ravers worldwide.
Source: Georgian Journal