Published by Anita Neukirch on November 8, 2017
Main Stage (Saturday) – performance of Shackleton + Anika with Strawalde + Pedro Maia presented ‚Behind the Glass’
BERLIN ATONAL goes back to 1982 when pioneers of experimental electronic music such as Einstürzende Neubauten, Malaria, Notorische Reflexe, Didaktische Einheit came together to perform. A ground-zero for like-minded folks sharing their ideas for sonic experimental expression.
atonal – what is the meaning of it? In short: If you take for example a song on the radio, it usually ends to a particular chord you hear that marks the end of the piece. This is what the listener expects. If it comes to atonal music, it does not refer to any tonal centre. It is uncoupled to any harmonious construct. While listeners get caught into a never-ending-‘Samsara feeling tense yet floating, atonal music plays definitely with their expectation.
atonal – where does it come from? People who have studied the history of contemporary music will surely remember Arnold Schönberg who characterised atonality around 1930 as a genre for the first time. Later in the mid 50’s, 4/4 time-electronic music pioneer Karl Heinz Stockhausen was experimenting in the big tonal Studio 1 of Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) in Cologne. His most famous atonal work is ‘Music and Speech’ (‘Gesang der Jünglinge’) 1964. What connected these musicians was the longing for new sonic expression.
On Wednesday, Stockhausen’s ‘Oktophonie’ appeared as the overture for the perfect kick-off vibe of BERLIN ATONAL.
At the very beginning when entering the access of the KRAFTWERK, it was like a gateway to an abyssal area. Intense light beams blinding the audience, occasionally sprinkled with prism colours, flooded walls and vaults. The architecture – modern-industrial, monolithic and minimalistic.
Enchanting and echoing noise attracted the crowd whizzing upstairs to the Main Stage. There was a hall similar to a cold cathedral where you got taken away to a kind of meditative state due to the immense reverberation.
Listening to the music enjoying its vitreous vibe and indulging in a state of mystical void with all senses. This made it an unforgettable sonic experience.
Stage Null – another part of the KRAFTWERK area – which warmly welcomed roaring and harsh techno. A dance ritual with a hypnotic effect.
Stage Null (Saturday) – Oliver Ho knows how to exhaust synths and drum machines for his violent minimal techno
Broken English Club
’s Oliver Ho, known from the Minimal Wave Label, never short on inventive ideas keeping the crowd moving. He attaches importance to his expressionist futuristic English language played in live that perfectly fitting the ambiance wrapped in fog and mystery.
Stage Null (Saturday) – Schwefelgelb reached special attention so far due to a tremendous stream of releases
Schwefelgelb
is booming ‘n’ dooming Berlin based techno. It is still the irritant substance for mad dancing. Its soundscape is innovative and catchy and is unrivalled. It is not acid techno but sulfur techno.
TRESOR and the much smaller OHM were the popular areas once headliners when big acts on the Main Stage had finished their sets.
Descended into the gloomy depths of the TRESOR, DJs like JD Zazie and Compuma who kept the crowd in the mood to dance. Glum or not, every attendee was moving or at least swaying due to shortness of breath engulved in dense dry ice nebulae.
It might be the case that the majority of the audience was astonished by performances at GLOBUS. On stage, for instance, The Unmade Bed was creating some rather funky vibes and therefore failed the main theme of the festival in a way. Too harmonious vibes ditching the crowd with disturbed feelings.
taken from vergecampus.com/nightlife-berlin-night-tresor
This special sonic spectacle invited to immerse oneself into depths of obscure atonal soundscapes. Everyone built themselves an unique picture of experimental noise. On one hand the music was retained as central spectacle. On the other hand, light projections were underlining the whole spectacle without taking over.
ATONAL’s ticket organisation was not the best. It was disadvantageous to declare ticket’s with the names of the original purchasers only. It would have been better to put the name of the person down who was actually checking in with the ticket. It would have been a much safer way of finding out tricksters that have sold tickets many times. Furthermore, the ticket office had to admit there were problems with the platform ‘Ticketswap’ as well.
All in all, BERLIN ATONAL deserved a far better review of a leading and recognized medium such as the Deutschland Funk than its journalist Tobi Müller published. On the basis of his often times childish vocabulary and his hardly present empathy for the particular music scene, made him fail to describe the happening itself and even added another nosedive in the form of the headline: ‘Flirting with Stockhausen and television music’ („Flirt mit Stockhausen und Fernsehmusik“).
What did BERLIN ATONAL visitors take with them? Well, I hope they did not take pictures of wafts of mists only?! Instead, I would like very much to see this scene growing with attendees who got inspired by this event. Attendees who feel a thrilling urge to create great atonal music themselves from now on.
written and edited on 25th August 17