t-mag

OPENLESS: Berlin Atonal’s new sonic odyssey

In the vast, industrial expanse of Berlin’s Kraftwerk, the stage is set for an unexpected weekend. Berlin Atonal breaks the waiting for its next edition and makes its much-anticipated return with OPENLESS—an essential chapter in the story that BERLIN ATONAL is telling: a story of movement, connection, and transformation; a deep immersion into a world where the line between the listener and the soundscape dissolves.

OPENLESS plunges into the nocturnal heart of Berlin, where every beat is a pulse, every vibration a whisper in the darkness, shaping the very air around it. Each note reverberates off Kraftwerk’s towering columns, filling the cavernous void with something almost sacred, a connection that’s felt rather than heard.

From August 23 to 25, Kraftwerk morphs into a living, breathing organism of sound. Its vast, industrial framework seems to have been built for moments like these—where operatic performances can unfold with the full weight of their intensity. Yet, this year, OPENLESS pushes further, offering 15 world premieres that promise to stretch the narrative of the festival in new directions.

OPENLESS opens with The Less Deceived, blending music, sound design, and site-specific performance. Saint Abdullah, Eomac, and Rebecca Salvadori delve into identity with their haunting piece A Forbidden Distance, while Forensis (Forensic Architecture) and Bill Kouligas explore history and memory in The Drum and The Bird. Chris Watson and Isabel Dłudłudzyk present a work based on field recordings from the Białowieża Forest, and Lord Spikeart brings Kenya’s death metal scene to the Kraftwerk main hall.

The second night of OPENLESS, titled Transcriptions, spotlights the rhythmic tradition of sabar drumming and the musical legacy of Doudou N’Diaye Rose. The concert follows the structure of Senegal’s traditional Tannebier celebration, featuring members of the N’Diaye Rose family and electronic music artists who reinterpret this percussive art form. Participants include Birame, Molamine, Wadane N’Diaye Rose, Berlin-based studio LABOUR, Nkisi, Lamin Fofana, Holy Tongue, and Shackleton. This live performance marks the latest evolution of a project initiated in 2020 to preserve and experiment with Doudou’s extensive repertoire of sabar rhythms.

The final night of OPENLESS, The Clearing, transforms the vast Kraftwerk space into a dynamic canvas for immersive sonic exploration. Demdike Stare premieres Baselines, an audio-visual journey through the legacy of tape culture, blending influences from jazz, noise, house, techno, and jungle. Grand River and Abul Mogard present their new live show, balancing operatic grandeur with textural simplicity. Kelman Duran and Franziska Aigner debut their collaboration, Sphaîra, inspired by the abandoned Niemeyer dome in Tripoli, Lebanon, aiming to recreate its unique sonic atmosphere. Sara Persico and Mika Oki present an adventurous audiovisual project, while CS + Kreme bring their hallucinatory blend of dub, post-punk, and chamber music to Berlin for the first time. Additionally, Canzonieri, featuring Lord Spikeheart and Lara Damaso, blends electronic and neofolk elements in a multimedia performance curated by Kuboraum.

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But OPENLESS doesn’t pause when the night ends. As darkness transitions to dawn, the energy pulses onward into Tresor, Globus, and OHM. Friday night features a rare live show by Simo Cell, offering an eclectic, club-oriented experience, with London’s Aircode opening with experimental rhythms. Togo’s Yao Bobby and Simon Grab deliver intense, shape-shifting sounds, followed by Assyouti‘s ethereal morning set. Saturday brings Falyakon‘s atmospheric compositions, Quiet Husband‘s noisy complexity, and Polish 2K88‘s blend of 90s rap and club sonics.

OPENLESS is about the conversations that echo in the alleys of Berlin, the fleeting connections made on a crowded dancefloor, the sensation of being part of something that stretches beyond the self. Berlin in its gritty, creative, and unpredictable essence is at the core of this experience, and OPENLESS invites those who dare to lose themselves in the labyrinth of sound, to emerge transformed by the journey.

So, as the weekend approaches, prepare yourself for an odyssey—one that will not only leave you questioning what it means to truly experience art but will also draw you into a realm where the sensations of sound, space, and night intertwine, leaving their mark on your very soul.

CHECK HERE THE FULL PROGRAM