'Vom Bleiben' (What Remains)

Hamburg-based photographers André Giesemann and Daniel Schulz have taken a quirky look at Germany's club scene in their photography series "Vom Bleiben" (What Remains). Staying until the bitter end of the party once the clubbers and DJs had long since gone home, they captured social spaces completely devoid of party-goers. Their goal: causing people to reflect on their relationship with clubs.

Shooting for the series took place in several cities, including Offenbach near Frankfurt. One of the venues featured there was techno club Robert Johnson, notable in past years for not announcing who was playing there to prevent crowds only turning up to see big name DJs. Known now for its minimalist design and top sound system, André Giesemann says, "It serves the people of Frankfurt well!"

Berlin was an inevitable stop on the guys' rounds of the country's clubs. Its nightlife is internationally renowned, and the city boasts some 2,300 bars and clubs, which cater to thousands of clubbers every weekend all year. Shots were taken in Tresor, arguably the granddaddy of techno clubs. André Giesemann refers to the venue as "a real training ground" for the budding clubber.

The photo series also documents some of Germany's clubs that no longer exist. One such example: Berlin's Rechenzentrum. A former computing center, it was situated on the same site as the former East German broadcasting house. The river tour company Reederei Riedel bought the plot in 2009, and the club was closed and demolished.

While the emphasis of the series was on clubs focusing on electronic music, Haus 73 in Hamburg proved to be the exception to the rule. In addition to hosting DJs, the cultural center on the northern fringes of the St. Pauli district also offers a venue for concerts, readings, plays and table football tournaments. André Giesemann sums it up as a "black-tiled battleground."

Another venue to have bitten the dust is Frankfurt's Cocoon. The venue boasted two restaurants and a number of bars and dancefloors catering to around 1,500 customers each weekend. Another feature were the cocoons; private couch niches that party-goers could rent. The venue, which André Giesemann compared with a spaceship, hosted its closing party in November 2012.

Another venue in the photographers' native Hamburg to be featured is Ego, well-known for its ultra-modern interior decor. André Giesemann describes partying there as "the surprise of suddenly finding yourself in a science fiction film." In addition to the high-end technology and line-up of cool DJs, the club also runs a limo service catering to guests who are out to impress.

Golden Gate, tucked away under the train tracks at the Jannowitzbrücke subway station, is something of a hidden pearl for many Berliners. It's small, scruffy and come Thursday night plays nothing but techno and house for three days straight - making it one of the city's most popular venues for electronic dance music. For André Giesemann, it is among nightlife's "small, undiscovered caves."

Dice opened its doors amid much hype at the end of 2008 and initially ticked all the boxes: an industrial setting (in this case a former electricity substation), high-end technology and celebrity DJs booked for the opening. But after initial interest, audiences soon fell away, before the club closed its doors less than a year later. André Giesemann curtly describes it as "not Berghain."

Golden Pudel on the banks of the Elbe in Hamburg's St. Pauli district looks more like an Alpine hut than an electro venue. The club's website claims: "The wooden building, once built from criminals' hipbones, shakes. Electricity falls off. Golden Pudel did it again. I could cry with joy every time I encounter this black snow-lamb on the parish meadow." No, we didn't understand a word either.

Tape, which first opened its doors in 2008, very quickly established itself as one of Berlin's key places to be and injected some much-needed life into the rather barren industrial area neighboring the city's central train station. Despite a stellar sound system, the venue closed in 2012. André Giesemann cheekily recalls its interior as follows: "So much wood never hurt a raver."