Various venues, Berlin

The festival takes place between the Tresor, Globus and OHM clubs. The smaller stage NULL hosts early screenings, late night performances and a yearly label showcase (this year featuring the Regis and Silent Servant’s Jealous God label) while OHM offers an in-depth selection of underground and experimental music mostly by curated by N.K. Berlin. Across the Atonal weekend, Tresor and Globus open their doors to more dancefloor-oriented live acts and DJ sets until the very early hours.

But inside the immense Kraft- werk, small rooms and nooks unveil hidden treasures. Situated on Köpenicker Strasse in Berlin’s Mitte district, the now legendary Kraftwerk building acts as the central gathering point at Berlin Atonal. This former power plant, built around the same time as the Berlin wall, used to provide heating to the residents of East Berlin. And one cannot talk about Berlin Atonal without noting the impact this larger than life edifice has on its attendees. Equipped with an impressive minimalist lighting system that is harmoniously synchronized with the sounds rattling through the space, at one end of the hall a three-storey high screen provides the backdrop against countless fog machines. This, combined with the immensity of the main hall, lends to an overall sense of awe.

  • © Camille Blake

Since the resurgence of the festival four years ago – after a 23 year hiatus following the fall of the Berlin wall – Berlin Atonal named Delfina Venditi as its art director; offering a refined coherence and organic evolution of the festival’s visual identity. To abstractly introduce this year’s edition, various mediums and techniques were used to create abstract poetic arrangements of broken shapes and forms. Breaking away from the standards of graphic design, Delfina Venditi set the stage for the festival’s gathering of the jagged and confrontational vanguard of modern noise, industrial and techno. Atonal also curates a brilliant selection of contemporary visual art through permanent installations and a daily program of projections. This year’s installations held an emphasis on the convergence of analog and digital medias, with the presented pieces exploring metaphysical investigations into the mind alongside various matters where analog and digital converge, and human and nature coexist.

  • © Camille Blake

Unique collaborations are a guiding force for the musical programme each year, and this was no different. The collaboration between Canadians Orphx and JK Flesh (Justin K. Broadrick of the legendary Godflesh) was a stand out for many, engulfing the main stage with a haunting blend of dark industrial techno. Collaboration proved effective within the Jealous God showcase, too – hotly anticipated following a very long schedule setback, label head Juan Mendez’s alias Silent Servant and Berlin-based Phase Fatale provided a searing set. Posh Isolation head Loke Rahbek, performing under his Croatian Amor moniker, presented his new album with a theatrical stage performance, while the grand finale was reserved to ex-Nine Inch Nails synth wizard Alessandro Cortini for the world premiere of his AVANTI project, with immersive visual arrangements by Sean Curtis Patrick.

An open mind, a sense of curiosity and adventure are the key components to keep in mind while experiencing Berlin Atonal. Beyond the formal beauty of its artistic selection and setting, there emanates from Berlin Atonal an intangible sense of magic where each elements (architecture, sound, visual and even its culinary offerings) converge and complete each other harmoniously. This five-day experience seems closer to reality, or a way of life, rather than simply being another ephemeral musical gathering.