Inside the complicated history of Georgian techno: David Lezhava's q block party from Tbilisi

On Sunday, May 13, 15,000 people gathered on the steps outside Georgia's parliament, and protested, to a soundtrack of techno.

Some had come directly from jail, where they'd spent the night after police raids on Tbilisi's nightclubs. The police say they were trying to round up drug dealers, but the protesters say the raids were just another display of force against club culture.

Tbilisi has become a global destination for techno, with DJs and fans visiting from all over the world, but after the police raids, many clubs have been forced to shut down, including Cafe Gallery, one of Tbilisi's only openly queer spaces. Others, like Bassiani, are at risk of closing for good.

David Lezhava is someone who's in Tbilisi right now. He runs Electronauts, an awards program for electronic music in Georgia, and he's been fighting for Tbilisi's club culture since before there were clubs. In this edition of the q block party, he takes us through the complicated history of Georgian techno. 

— Produced by Frank Palmer