Berlin’s Industrial Techno voyage: Berlin – Atonal announces more premiere performances

Berlins radical audio-visual festival announces another batch of new artists, adding more luminescence to Tresor’s beloved mega-complex.

For all those who have been acquainted with Berlin’s Atonal, you’ll be pleased to hear that a second wave of artists, curations, and planned commissions have recently been announced. Taking place 24th-28th August within the walls of the brutalist, glory of Kraftwerk building; 2016’s Berlin Atonal will be showcasing some of the most progressive of visionary live performances, collaborations and one-off performances for the ultimate techno-transcendence.

Berlin’s-Atonal is a highly innovative, contemporary festival of sonic and visual collaboration. Since its inception in 1982 – 1990, (in which it saw a lengthy period of hiatus, followed by its revival in 2013). Berlin -Atonal has been unleashing ‘new codes in sight and sound’ amongst the select prestige of music fanatics, artists, and creatives. Combining concepts of art-exhibition, electronic hedonism to forge a haunting synaesthetic festival experience. Kraftwerk provides a beautifully dark chaos of escapism for all devout techno purists and supporters of experimentalism.

Alexander von Borsig / Atonal Festival Berlin 1982 from Alexander Hacke on Vimeo.

So far, this year’s first cut announced Death in Vegas (Richard Fearless) who will be delivering a world premiere performance of new album Transmission. As well as boundary-pushing performances to be unleashed from the likes of Alessandro Cortini, Drew McDowall, Silent Servant/Phase Fatale, The Chi Factory and more.

Now we ready ourselves up for a few specially devised projects set to take place exclusively in Mitte’s industrial mecca. Peter Zinovieff  will be collaborating with renowned cellist Lucy Railton to devise a new performance work that merge the cello with electronic’s. Promising to be a “bold and luminous meshing of voices”. Another legendary sound project to premiere will be coming from Porter Ricks – from German producers Thomas Köner & Andy Mellwig. In anticipation of their first LP release in 2o years. The live show will mark the 1st chapter of their seminal project before the release next year.

Berlin Atonal 2016 - Web

And for all those awaiting an eruption of techno and industrial finesse, this year will be seeing a never before seen exclusive. Orphx has been developing their signature fusion of hypnotic rhythms and experimental noise for the past twenty years. JK Flesh is the outlet for the angry, disenchanted beat and bass-driven, bass-driven side of Justin K. Broadrick (of Napalm Death and Godflesh fame). These two “inimitable pillars of the dark experimental techno scene will present their one-off live project at Berlin-Atonal.”

With a captivating green laser show coming from revered sound engineer Robin Fox, and colossal visuals of Moritz von Oswald and Rashad Becker which uses a live piano to create a sonic spectacle. Berlin’s-Atonal looks truly cement its footprint in the advanced art consciousness.

Berlin- Atonal delivers the kind of intense festival transcendence that one seeks in subterranean soundscapes of pulsating rhythms, industrial noise, and hypnotic minimalism. Not for the faint hearted, and probably not for you if you can’t get down with black uniform aesthetic, and cathedral level acoustics.

Berlin Atonal 2015 from Berlin Atonal on Vimeo.

 Words by Leah Abraham

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