This was Berlin Atonal 2025
- Filip
- Sep 1
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 2
Berlin Atonal 2025 wrapped up last night, leaving its audience suspended somewhere between darkness and transcendence.
The crowd at Atonal isn’t your usual Berlin weekend chaos. Think: black-clad, fashion-forward, serious yet calm. There’s a hushed anticipation in the air, a kind of collective respect for sound. People line up for the bathroom to actually use it, not for anything else, which is a strong contrast to the hazy disorder of Berghain or Else. It’s this sense of discipline, paired with curiosity, that sets the festival apart and makes Kraftwerk feel less like a club and more like a temple.
Across its run, the festival once again proved why it holds a singular place in the global electronic and experimental music calendar — not just as a showcase of sound, but as an encounter with intensity, intimacy, and everything in between.
On Thursday, Ziúr & Sandi carved out one of the week’s most unforgettable moments. Their set unfolded like a meticulously crafted storm: abrasive yet cinematic, overwhelming yet precise. With raw presence and a heavy dose of shadow, they pulled Kraftwerk deeper into its own myth — a cathedral built for noise, ritual, and rupture.
Later that night in the tiny night club space OHM, Lil Mofo transported the crowd into a completely different headspace. Shy and introverted on the surface, the Japanese DJ quietly set the room ablaze after midnight. Her selections, subtle but relentless, had the packed floor moving as if under a spell, proof that stage presence can just as much come from restraint as from force.
The festival’s closing night on Sunday carried the energy of a true culmination. Organic Intelligence by Jokkoo Collective turned Kraftwerk into a communal zone, their charismatic front person Pasaporteman steering both vocals and spirit into a joyous, participatory ritual. What followed was Topdown Dialectic, who reversed the current completely: instead of a surge, a sonic bath. Their deep, meditative textures washed over the hall like a decompression chamber, inviting stillness after Jokkoo’s ecstatic whirlwind.
The final word belonged to Heith, performing their full LP album Escape Lounge. The duo shaped an atmosphere that was at once fragile and overwhelming — blending quiet vulnerability with sudden flashes of strobe and brass. It was an intimate encounter, the kind of performance that could only exist in a space like Kraftwerk: vast yet tender, industrial yet deeply human.
Leaving Atonal this year didn’t feel like coming down from a high. It felt like carrying something out with me. A reminder of how powerful sound and space can be when they collide, and an urge to create in response to what I’d just witnessed. With Berlin Atonal continuing to evolve and challenge its audience, here’s to many more years of stepping into Kraftwerk and walking back out inspired.
