Berlin Atonal 2019: Distorted Realities in a Former Power Plant

Berlin Atonal 2019 took place in a former thermoelectric plant in Berlin, a cathedral-sized complex that normally houses two of the city's most famous nightclubs. The five-day festival, running since 1982 with a hiatus from 1990 to 2013, presented interdisciplinary projects featuring music so dissonant it divided audiences. The curatorial team noted that the superhuman architecture, combined with sound, light, and video, distorts human dimensions. Attendees, many dressed in black, experienced physical listening as bass frequencies vibrated through their bodies. The lineup included French duo Cécile Beau & Emma Loriaut, who presented 'Reversion,' an alchemical work where silver, copper, or lead crystals grow on stones immersed in glass containers over the festival's duration. Cyprien Gaillard, 39, performed an audio-visual adaptation of his Venice Biennale piece 'Ocean II Ocean,' exploring the cyclical nature of time. Previous editions featured groups like Einstürzende Neubauten and Laibach. The festival encourages artists to take risks in their experiments, with more performers exploring voice, image, and performance. Audience reactions ranged from trance-like states to confusion, with one unaccustomed attendee remarking the music 'wasn't going anywhere,' while another called a DJ 'absolutely unpredictable.'