Berlin Atonal Festival 2015 – Review

Berlin’s best experimental art & music festival

By Manolis & Liila

This year was the 5th year of the Berlin Atonal festival. Although it is not popular among the general public, Atonal is a famous destination for the techno music crowd. The festival is a celebration of experimental music as well as new media, attracting visitors from all around the world.

As an electronic musician, I (Manolis) have always been fascinated by Berlin’s electronic scene and particularly by Atonal as a sophisticated showcase of the most experimental, edgy and provocative artists currently contributing to enrich such a scene. That’s why we decided to visit this year’s festival and write about it.

The Venue and the programme

Atonal is situated in an impressive old warehouse (note that it has no similarities to any warehouse you have been in before, or that you could imagine), next to the famous techno mecca Tresor. The venue is incredible and massive. Part of Berlin’s industrial history, it’s a 3 story former heating plant with massive open spaces and ceilings that are more than 10 meters high (like an enormous Berghain). The unique combination of the venue, the music and the audience creates a dark, sci-fi environment that reminds me of scenes straight out of the classic Blade Runner or Matrix movies.

The 5-day program combined upcoming and well-known international audio visual acts from techno, noise, industrial and experimental scenes. On the first and second floors you could find impressive futuristic and interactive audio-visual installations. The program was ambitious and rich and each day featured several interesting acts. We decided to visit the festival on the Friday.

Friday’s main stage schedule included a live audiovisual set by Ugandan Methods (a joint project by Ancient Methods and Regis), Mike Parker, Powell, Peder Mannerfelt and Ena. There were also some interesting acts on stage null featuring names such as Abdulla Rashim and Acronym. Finally, there was an after show party at Tresor with DJs and live sets by the likes of the techno legend Moritz Von Oswald, Regis and Mark Verbos.

Highlights of the night

We enjoyed the dark techno grooves of the Ugandan Methods set, and the visuals of Peder Mannerfelt. We also loved most of the installations, especially Pierre Bastien’s Mécanologie. Bastien had transformed regular everyday objects into kinetic sound producing sculptures that make awesome techno style sounds and rhythms. On stage null, Pedro Maia’s Wasteland installation created a mysterious space with projector screens hanging from the ceilings, projecting old analogue films taken by an old film lab. Maia’s idea was to re-materialise leftovers created by the film development process. The way the installation was placed encouraged visitors to play shadow games with the projectors and the screens which made it interactive and fun.

All in all, Berlin Atonal is definitely a great experience and probably the best place for those looking forward to the future and love electronic/experimental music and new media.

P.S. I would also include in the highlights the delicious street food stalls outside the venue, where you could find anything from Asian burgers to tacos and spring rolls.

Below you can check out a nice video of the night.