Berlin Atonal

Remembering: Tot Onxy and Yuko Kaseki⁠'s Butoh inspired performance which unfolded like a malignant mess inside the greater processing organism of the time-based Universal Metabolism exhibition.⁠ ⁠ Premiered on 11 September 2023 as part of Universal Metabolism⁠ / Berlin Atonal 2023 ⁠ Photos: 1, 2, 3, 5 @frankiecasillophoto⁠ 4 @studiomundt⁠ 6 @jamila.kae

ryoji ikeda 27.11.2024 at silent green by berlin atonal The grounding of aesthetic production in the emergent formal properties of fundamental mathematical elements has been a major theme in the development of contemporary art. In this tradition Japanese artist Ryoji Ikeda stands out as the preeminent exponent. Berlin Atonal, in collaboration with silent green, is proud to host the German iteration of Ikeda’s latest major audiovisual project ultratronics [live set]. The new performance is based on the universalist principles laid out in Ikeda’s latest album ultratronics which was his first release in over a decade when it came out in 2022 and contained material designed between 1989 and 1999, along with more recent compositions developed between 2013 and 2022. Warning: this show will contain loud-noises and strobing light effects and is not recommended for people that may be sensitive to these phenomena. Second release tickets are now on sale from RA: https://ra.co/events/1966112

The lights are about to turn on at OPENLESS. Friday’s concert night is sold out. The very last tickets for Saturday will be gone soon and Sunday is now selling its final contingent. Tickets for the afterparties in Tresor/Globus are still available and the club will be accepting visitors from 23:00 on both nights. OHM is limited to Weekend and Combo ticket holders and capacity limited. Thanks for your support, see you soon.

OPENLESS 2: SATURDAY 24 AUGUST⁠ ⁠ Nkisi delves into her personal connection with Cheikh Anta Diop’s proto-Afrofuturist legacy through the lens of Doudou N’Diaye Rose’s 1992 composition named after the Pan-African scientist. Taken as a whole, this evening explores a new form of homage, in reverence and enthusiasm, wherein a celebration of death is a celebration of life. Nkisi’s world premiere new work recodes and decodes rhythmic strategies of storytelling as a ritual act of remembrance and reconnection. Songlines and rhythms are used to activate specific memories, intuitively guided by the pre-rhythmic abstractions of entrainment using proto-techno(logical) sonic phrases inspired by Diop’s demands for rehabilitation of history and Rose’s rhythmic cosmology building. ⁠ ⁠ Tickets to all concert programs and aftershow parties are now available from www.berlin-atonal.com

OPENLESS 3: SUNDAY 25 AUGUST⁠ ⁠ Canzonieri is a multimedia project by artist Emiliano Maggi and musician Cosimo Damiano. As two fifths of the renowned group Salò they maintain the larger group’s demented enthusiasm for noise music, oneiric atmospheres and baroque costumes, whilst channeling the sound in a more aleatory and lysergic-folkish dimension. They often use self-built or customised instruments, which vary based on the venue and circumstances. Appearing for this special one-off show like characters in a dream are Kenyan maverick Lord Spikeheart and artist/choreographer/spirit-guide Lara Dâmaso. This performative apparition is curated together with Kuboraum.⁠ ⁠ Tickets to all concert programs and aftershow parties are now available from www.berlin-atonal.com

OPENLESS 1: SATURDAY 23 AUGUST Berlin Atonal, together with Unsound, Semibreve and Sonar, invited Chris Watson and Izabela Dłużyk to go into Białowieża forest with their recording equipment. Chris Watson, formerly of Cabaret Voltaire, is probably the world’s most famous field recordist, having worked on most of the David Attenborough BBC nature productions from the early 1990s onwards. Izabela Dłużyk is a blind sound recordist recognised in the BBC’s 100 Most Influential Women in 2023 for her expertise in bird sound recording. Together they went into the forest to document one of the last remaining old growth forests in Europe, but at the same time picked up audio from an intensely politicised border area where thousands of migrants are trapped on the outside edge of the European Union. What they heard there is indeed nature, but an intensely historicised piece of nature - a second nature of human intentions and consequences. This new performance will be performed in total darkness in multichannel audio.

Kenyan maverick Lord Spikeheart weaves in and out of the OPENLESS weekend program. He first appears as part of the the Friday concert night 'The Less Deceived' alongside the new work from Forensis (Forensic Architecture) and Bill Kouligas. In this solo performance he sings, raps and screams with a noisy, frenetic style over drumlines that pulse like a massive heart. He returns again for the Sunday program in a special show with rabble rousers Canzonieri and Lara Dâmaso. Berlin Atonal invites Spikeheart to split atoms with sound and tear the Kraftwerk. Tickets to all concert programs and aftershow parties are now available from www.berlin-atonal.com

OPENLESS 3: SUNDAY 25 AUGUST The legends Demdike Stare play Berlin Atonal’s OPENLESS on Sunday 25 August in an overflowing concert program also featuring Kelman Duran, FRANKIE, Grand River, Abul Mogard, Sara Persico, MIka Oki, CS + Kreme, Canzioneri, Lara Damasca and Lord Spikeheart. Their new A/V show is entitled “Baselines” and takes them deep into a ferric oxide soaked trip of bastard child beats, lost tapes and kaleidoscopic distortions. A world premiere. Pre-sale tickets to this monumental Berlin Atonal line-up in Kraftwerk are now available for purchase from www.berlin-atonal.com

OPENLESS is the newest project from Berlin Atonal comprising site-specific concert experiences and club nights across August 23, 24 and 25 this year. The iconic Kraftwerk space will be activated for three very highly curated and unique performance nights. Each night unfolds operatically around a thematic core, combining some of the world’s most exciting musical and visual artists. The last remaining Weekend Passes, allowing unrestricted access to all events hosted as part of the OPENLESS program over 23 24 25 August, are still available to purchase. Tickets to each of the OPENLESS concert nights are now also available, as well as tickets to the club program.  Scheduling and final information will be released in July with tickets on sale until sold out. More info and tickets at www.berlin-atonal.com https://ra.co/events/1937384

Full weekend passes for OPENLESS are on sale now. https://ra.co/events/1937384 Passes allow unrestricted access to all events across the three-day program (23 24 25 August). Three original performance nights in Kraftwerk, featuring all newly created work from a range of artists working at the cutting edge of experimental culture, plus aftershows in Tresor/Globus + OHM. Available until sold out. Project and artist information, and individual tickets to the concerts as well as separate tickets for the aftershow program will be released on the 26.06.2024. Scheduling and final information released in July and tickets will be on sale until sold out. OPENLESS is a one-off project by Berlin Atonal. The next Berlin Atonal festival edition will take place in late summer 2025.

OPENLESS by Berlin Atonal. 23, 24, 25 August 2024. Situated performance nights in Kraftwerk. All new works. + Tresor/Globus + OHM. Tickets and info 06.06. https://berlin-atonal.com

HTRK turn 21 in Berlin May 17 We're delighted to help cult Australian band HTRK celebrate their 21st anniversary with an event at Globus next Friday night. Few bands in history have managed to cultivate such a cultish but nuanced following as the Australians HTRK. Through their illustrious 21-year career, HTRK have gracefully captured the uneasiness of intimacy and gained a devoted following amongst artists, cultural leaders and taste-makers around the globe. Support will be provided by Carrier, the most expansive and genre-defying output of the renowned DJ and eclectic producer Guy Brewer (Shifted, Covered in Sand, Pacific Blue, Alexan­der Lewis). Doors from 20:00 18+ 25 EUR on the door Pre-sales from https://ra.co/events/1899463

Following the 2023 edition of the festival, we are pleased to present this years merchandise collection in our online store. First, we present a special collaborative tee produced with multidisciplinary brand, Perks And Mini. The limited Perks And Mini x Berlin Atonal 2023 Tee is printed in Berlin on 203g/m2 100% cotton material.⁠ Shop: https://berlin-atonal.com/store/ 📸: Helge Mundt

We are moved by the collective passion and dedication that brought to life our most expansive edition to date. We want to express a deep appreciation to the 200+ artists and performers who entrusted us with their visions. Our gratitude to the indefatigable teams of Atonal, Tresor, and Kraftwerk; your commitment was instrumental in crafting this monumental experience. Endless gratitude goes out to the technicians and producers, whose talent transformed ideas into sonic and visual marvels. A heartfelt thank you to to the volunteers who make an invaluable part of the festival team each year. Above all, to our curious attendees, your engagement fuels our spirit and sense of purpose. Thank you!⁠ ⁠ Over coming days and weeks we will be rolling out photos and videos captured during the 11 days of BA23. 📸: Frankie Casillo (@frankiecasillophoto)

Today marks the crescendo of our massive 11-day journey of Berlin Atonal 2023. Don't miss the final night at Kraftwerk of world premieres, exciting one-off performances, ending in a frenetic club experience inside of OHM. Timetable for the last hours of BA23 is above.⁠ ⁠ Tickets to the monumental final movement of BA23 available online for pre-sale and on the door tonight. https://berlin-atonal.com

Tonight we begin to unfold the spectacular Weekend Two programme, with concerts in the powerplant and adjoining club nights stacked with world premieres, one-off shows and surprising appearances. The full timetable across Kraftwerk, Tresor/Globus and OHM is above. Individual day tickets are available for pre-sale or at the door. Reduced tickets to the aftershow party available on site from midnight. https://berlin-atonal.com

Today is the final day of Berlin Atonal's Universal Metabolism. Don't miss the final chance to see this monumental, experimental group-show experience. Universal Metabolism culminates tonight in a performance for multiple instrumentalists orchestrated by Billy Bultheel entitled The Thief’s Journal.⁠ ⁠ Then the party starts in Tresor from midnight with Anthony Linell + Jessie Granqvist, Arthur, E-Saggila, Evigt Mörker, Fadi Mohem, Yasmin Sun, Lundin Oil, Struktur and Vallmo.⁠ Tickets on the door for this massive afterparty for 22,- Euro!⁠ ⁠ Tickets to the Universal Metabolism exhibition (incl. concerts). are available online and at the door day of show. Afterparty tickets are available on the door for Tresor and Globus. https://berlin-atonal.com

Tonight (12/09) at 21:00 for Universal Metabolism at BA23, Robin Fox presents his polysensory massive-scale laser work Triptych. An “audio-visual space-time carving,” this work employs laser projectors to metamorphose the massive Kraftwerk interior and won Fox the “Isao Tomita Special Prize” from this year’s Prix Ars Electronica. This piece caps the exhibition programme which opens from 16:00 today and features Romeo Castellucci, Marco Fusinato, Ain Bailey, Tot Onyx and Yuko Kaseki, Cyprien Gaillard and over a dozen more sculptural, performance and sound artists.⁠ ⁠ Tickets available online and on the door today and allow access to the exhibition and concert. https://berlin-atonal.com Video by Hiroo Tanaka

Today opens the new Universal Metabolism project as part of BA23. A new experiment in exhibition design, Universal Metabolism combines durable objects in time with unstable sequenced events which appear and go away. All aspects of the exhibition occur in the Kraftwerk and its hidden areas. The above guide can help orient you orient yourself in time.⁠ ⁠ Tickets to the Universal Metabolism exhibition + concerts days are still available online and at the door day of show. https://berlin-atonal.com

The full timetable for Day 3 of Berlin Atonal 2023 Weekend 1 across Kraftwerk, Tresor/Globus and OHM. Individual day tickets are available for pre-sale or on the door. Tickets will also be available at the door for the aftershow programme at Tresor/Globus, OHM, and Stage Null from 00:00, for 35€. ⁠ ⁠ Tickets to the Universal Metabolism exhibition + concerts are still available. https://berlin-atonal.com ⁠ We want all our guests to feel comfortable and free regardless of differences of race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, economic status or anything else.⁠ ⁠ We do not tolerate sexism, racism, queerphobia and transphobia or hostility, fascism, age discrimination, ableism and other forms of discrimination.⁠ ⁠ There is an awareness team on site as well as first-aid-workers. Our staff and dedicated awareness team will be available to assist and support you in any case and at all times.⁠