Berlin Atonal is back this August 19th to 23rd, taking over the cavernous venue Kraftwerk, delivering, as promised, innovation and new methods in light and sound. This year’s festival showcases over 50 artists along the experimental music and audio-visual sound art spectrum, with world-class contemporary techno artists, experimental music veterans, and local up-and-coming talents. Afterparties, audiovisual exhibitions, installations, screenings, and discussions run alongside the main program combining a creative contemporary art focus with Berlin’s infamous techno scene.
The converted abandoned power station will be host to the festival’s overflowing five day program, with a new second stage added this year, which comes alive each night after the main stage lineup. Opening night presents a lineup of immersive experimental sound with commissioned collaborations by Alessandro Cortini and Australian composer/producer Lawrence English, and by synthesiser genius Max Loderbauer and Polish experimentalist Jacek Sienkiewicz. Festival main stage headliners include Varg, Shackleton, Mike Parker, Powell, and Shed, and the closing night debuts a new intense audiovisual project by Samuel Kerridge. After the mainstage performances, ticket holders are spoilt for choice between the second stage lineup and the afterparties hosted at Tresor and OHM, with a club program including Moritz von Oswald, Shifted, Sigha, Skarn, Abdulla Rashim, Willie Burns, Anton Zap, Post Scriptum, and Skee Mask.
With Atonal’s mission to promote a broad spectrum of experimental and contemporary music and art, expect more than just a club music festival. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights kick off with screenings on the ground floor of the monumental venue. Get there early on Thursday to see the German premiere of Industrial Soundtrack For The Urban Decay (2015), a documentary film tracing the history of industrial music. Friday begins with a performative lecture by influential avant-garde experimental filmmaker and sound artist Tony Conrad, and Saturday opens with a screening of Bruce Conner‘s iconic experimental film collage Crossroads (1976).
Check out the lineup and get your festival pass or individual day tickets here.
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Additional Information
Berlin Atonal
Festival: Aug. 19 – Aug. 23, 2015
Kraftwerk
Köpenicker Strasse 70 (click here for map)
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Blog entry by April Dell in Berlin; Wednesday, Jul. 29, 2015.
