CTM Festival 2014: January 24 – February 2nd

Since its founding as a sister to the Transmediale arts festival, Berlin-based CTM has earned a reputation as one of the world’s more forward-thinking festivals of music and sound art. A founding member of the ICAS (International Cities of Advanced Sound) network, the festival’s diverse lineup runs the gamut from modern classical to drone metal to hip-hop.

As a proud supporting partner of CTM, we’ll be soaking things up all week; on the launch of this year’s festival, we thought we’d share some of our tips for shows that are not to be missed if you’re in town, with some links to give you a flavour of things if you’re farther afield. You can learn more about all these events at the CTM Festival site.

The Inheritors: Hobocombo and James Holden
Wednesday, January 29, 7:30 PM
HAU1

James Holden’s The Inheritors impressed us last year, with layers of tweaked modular synths and an immersive atmosphere. Here, he’s joined by Hobocombo, a trio which plays the music of legendary outsider artist and drummer Moondog. Here’s a flavour of what to expect from James’s live show at Machine Du Moulin Rouge:

Owen Roberts Ensemble
Thursday, January 30, 10 PM
Berghain

Young, up-and-coming composer Owen Roberts performs “Recycled Hyperprism Plastik for Amplified Chamber Ensemble”, a piece inspired by pioneering composer Edgard Varese and specially commissioned for CTM. Listen to a recent live set from Owen below:

Un Cut / Dis Arrange / Im Balance
Saturday, Feburary 1, 11 PM
Stattbad

Between dub techno legend Mark Ernestus, fiery new beatsmiths Fatima al Qadiri and Lotic, and the warped house of 1991 and Basic House, it’s hard to pick a favorite here. Hear “Fractures” from Lotic’s recent EP, Fallout:

Robert Henke – Lumière
Sunday, February 2, 9:30 PM
HKW

CTM closes with the highly-anticipated Berlin debut of Robert Henke’s acclaimed Lumière performance. Featuring high-powered laser visuals, this promises to be a memorable, affecting and immersive experience. We’ll be talking to Robert about Lumière during CTM, check back soon for some insight into the technology behind the project. Enjoy this video looking behind the scenes as Lumière comes together:

Learn more about the CTM Festival