The Next Day #33: Berlin Weekend Guide
From January 18th to January 21st.
Hi!
This weekend, Vorspiel kicks off the CTM Festival, one of our favorite music festivals in Berlin. Stages are bustling with diverse concerts. Our pick is Soulwax for nostalgia, and we're intrigued by the Japanese artist Hatis Noit for a transcendental sonic experience. For a meditative vibe, check out the reopening of Reethaus for a contemplative listening session with 'The Gyuto Monks Tibetan Tantric Choir.'
Dance floors are buzzing too. For a weird and fun sonic experience, we're eyeing Stranger Bits. On Friday, Panorama Bar beckons with Young Marco, Palmx Trax x DJ Gigola on the lineup. Toy Tonics, one of our favorite parties in town, features our beloved Daniel Wang, an entertainer in his own right.
Dance enthusiasts can enjoy masterpieces like "Bovary" by Staatsballett Berlin and "Corps extrêmes" by Compagnie de Chaillot from France.
If, like us, you enjoy a good listening experience, Berlin has gained a new listening bar in Wedding that we can't wait to check out, Migas.
Stay updated on Berlin's top news in English with 20 Percent Berlin, offering a Tuesday preview of three-weekend events for your planning.
We would love to hear your feedback on the guide—whether you've been using it, discovered new places, and what you've enjoyed the most. If you have an event to submit, simply send us the complete details.
See you around.
Lalai & Mateus
Follow us on Instagram for ‘save the dates’ and other events that don’t happen on the weekend.
The Sister of Mercy
Thursday, 18.01, 8 pm. Columbiahalle, Columbiadamm 13-21, 10965. Ticket: 44€.
Here's to the glorious times! If you miss the goth golden age, we're sure you'll have a good time at this concert. Okay, we're feeling a bit nostalgic this week. 🎧 Foodland
Martin Dupont
Thursday, 18.01, 8 pm. S036, Oranienstrasse 190, 10999 Berlin. Ticket: 26,90 €.
If you're feeling that '80s vibe, checking out a Martin Dupont concert is another cool choice. If you like atmospheric and minimalistic sound featuring synthesizers, drum machines, and melancholic vocals, this gig is for you. 🎧 Hot Paradox
Soulwax
Friday, 19.01, 8 pm. Huxleys Neue Welt, Hasenheide 107, 10967. Ticket: 34,80€.
The last concert I went to was outstanding. With her smooth voice, Laima has become my new band's queen. I won't be skipping that one! 🎧 Nite Versions
Hatis Noit
Saturday, 20.01, 8 pm. silent green, Gerichtstrasse 35, 13347, Wedding. Ticket: 18€.
Hatis Noit, a self-taught Japanese vocal performer, blends Gagaku, opera, and diverse vocal styles with astonishing range. After hearing her, it's impossible to forget her unique voice. It can be a deep meditative experience. 🎧 Aura
Black Flower
Saturday, 20.01, 8 pm. Privatclub, Skalitzer Str. 85-86, 10997. Ticket: 27,15€.
For those looking for an intimate gig, we suggest Black Flower for a night filled with jazz fusion, Afrobeats, dub, and oriental harmonies. 🎧 Magma
If you’re more into rock, psychedelic, and guitar riffs, our friend Brendon Hooper has shared these concerts recommendations:
🎧 Black Magic Tree delivers a tasty 70s heavy rock menu cooked in a hot stoner rock oven and garnished with a touch of psychedelic. Sat, 20.01, 7 pm. Loophole Berlin: Boddinstraße 60, 12053 Berlin. Ticket: 12€.
🎸 The stoner rock bands 🎧 Rotor for Stoner and Samavayo. Sat. 20.01, 9:30 pm. Supamolly, Jessnerstrasse 41, 10247 Berlin.
Listening Session:
Open Haus: The Gyuto Monks Tibetan Tantric Choir
Sunday, 21.01, from 2 pm. Reethaus - Flussbad, Köpenicker Chaussee 3a 10317 Berlin. Free admission with pre-registration.
Be ready for contemplative listening: In 1985, Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead recorded Gyuto Monks Tantric Choir's sacred rituals in California. Overdubbing their voices, he recreated the massive sound of a 100-voice choir. At Reethaus, the spatial sound system unveils rhythmic chants and ambient sounds, accentuating their ritual movements' physical and spiritual impact. It promises to be a beautiful experience.
Stranger Bits
Thursday, 18.01, 8 pm - 2 am. Panke, Gerichtstrasse 23, 13347 Berlin. Ticket: 10€.
Stranger Bits: Unconventional music, diverse instruments, no genres. The party sets the dancefloor on fire with Nintendo Game Boy, Sega Mega Drive, Commodore 64, and more. It’s a party for open-minded people. 🎧 Carmilla by Coconut Massacre
Live From Earth Klub
Friday, 19.01, 10 pm - 7 am. Berghain/Panorama Bar. 70 Am Wriezener Bahnhof.
Wait for a night of good music and vibes featuring 🎧 Palms Trax b2b DJ Gigola, Young Marco, and Alcatraz, spinning a mix of house, Italo disco, and some Afrobeats.
Christian Löffler (live)
Friday, 19.01, 10 pm - 09 am. Ritter Butzke, Ritterstrasse 26; Kreuzberg. Ticket: 27€.
It's not a club we usually attend, but with this line-up, it's worth considering going. Some highlights besides 🎧 Christian Löffler are 🎧 Fejká, 🎧 J. Wockenfuss, and 🎧 Just Lauren.
Toy Tonics presents Italomania
Friday, 19.01, 11 pm - 8 pm. OXI, Wiesenweg 1-4, 10365 Berlin. Ticket: 20,35/22,60€.
Toy Tonics is always a fantastic party for those seeking to dance all night long with disco and Italo disco vibes. Our beloved 🎧 DJ Daniel Wang is in the line-up.
radioPHØNIX Workshop
Until 19.01. silent green, Gerichtstrasse 35, 13347, Wedding. Free admission.
radioPHØNIX, by Timo Kreuser & PHØNIX16, features 24 global radio stations exploring radiophonic practices through sound installations. The workshop invites organizations, artists, and the public to experiment with radio and sound, creating material for future events. Our highlight is the closing with PAULINE Radiophonic Meditation (19.01, 9:30-10:10 pm).
Vorspiel
Opening Friday, 19.01, 5 - 11:45 pm. Pandora Art Gallery, Mittenwalder Str. 6 Kreuzberg. Ticket: 10€.
"Vorspiel" means prelude in German. The festival serves as the prelude to CTM, one of the favorite music festivals here. This year, Vorspiel has a more thorough agenda with exhibitions, art installations, and music. Save the date for 'Iwakura + Metaract' at Zeiss-Großplanetarium (25.01).
Ultraschall Berlin
Until 21.01. Radialsystem and Heimathafen Neukölln. Tickets: 12/60€.
Ultraschall Berlin is a festival that integrates recent works into a musical-historical context spanning 70 years. It counters contemporary trends, emphasizing intensive listening over expansive auditory realms. It's perfect for those who enjoy exploratory music and sound art. We’d like to see Sarah Maria Sun & Jan Philip Schulze, 'Adolescência' by 🎧 Ricardo Eizirik, and Martin Schüttler.
Bovary
Thursday and Friday,18-19, 22.01, 7:30 pm; 21.01, 4 pm. Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bismarckstrasse 35, 10627 - Berlin. Tickets: 12/138€.
Flaubert's "Madame Bovary" inspires the ballet "Bovary," directed by Christian Spuck. The adaptation investigates Emma's rebellion, exploring self-determination, loneliness, and the blurred line between fantasy and reality. Using abstract choreography and humor, it transforms the characters' inner worlds into dance.
Corps extrêmes
Thursday, 18.01 7:30 pm. Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Schaperstrasse 24, 10719 Berlin. Tickets: 17€ to 55€.
It is a unique chance to watch in Berlin this piece created in 2021 by Rachid Ouramdane for the Compagnie de Chaillot – Théâtre national de la Danse in Paris as part of the Performing Arts Season at Berliner Festspiele. Acrobats and luminaries of extreme sports meet all the way up in the air, fathoming the limits of the human body.
URUBUS
Friday and Saturday, 19-20.01, 8 pm and Sunday, 21.01, 7 pm. By and with Aloísio Avaz, Daniel Brunet, Anete Colacioppo, Vinicius Giusti & mxm. Acker Stadt Palast Ackerstrasse 169/170, 10115 Berlin. Tickets: 10/25€.
URUBUS, a book of short stories by the Berlin-based Brazilian writer Carla Bessa, is being reinterpreted performatively and musically on the stage by each artist or artist duo. The title refers to vultures, and in the Brazilian context - Urubu - to a scavenging bird that feeds on waste and carrion.
Kunstmosaik at the Brazilian Embassy in Berlin 2nd edition
Thursday, 18.01, 7 pm. Brazilian Embassy in Berlin, Wallstrasse 57, 10179 Berlin. Admission free. Registration required.
Curated and produced by Cena Berlim, Kunstmosaik will take place at the Brazilian Embassy in Berlin. It will showcase a diverse mix of visual arts, music, and theatre, featuring Brazilian artists Dayana Silva, Feu Marinho, Frederico Santiago, and Júlia Portes.
Zohar Fraiman: Game of Phones
Opening Friday, 19.01, from 7 pm. Galerie Russi Klenner, Luckauer Str. 16, 10969 Berlin.
Zohar Fraiman has this cool thing going on where he blends pop culture, collage ideas, and phones to whip up these super lively and colorful paintings.
Xylor Jane: New Painting / Juergen Staack: Unserdeutsch
Opening Friday, 19.01, 6 - 9 pm. Until 13.04. Konrad Fischer Galerie, Neue Grünstrasse 12, 10179.
Xylor Jane's dazzling art weaves intricate constellations with precision, utilizing thousands of tiny dots to explore patterned systems. The result is a hypnotic symphony of textures and colors, geometrically perfect and truly fascinating.
Non-Specific Objects
Opening Saturday, 20.01. Until 24.02. Tue-Sat, 11 am–6 pm. Capitain Petzel, Karl-Marx-Allee 45, Mitte.
This exhibition counters Donald Judd’s 1964 essay 'Specific Objects.' It explores the abstracted body—intimate, collective, extended, or stylized. Featured artists include N. Baghramian, M. Bonvicini, D. Douard, N. Gale, S. Kantarovsky, K. Nagel, J. O’Brien, S. W. Kin, A. Szapocznikow, and F. West.
British Shorts Film Festival
18-24.01, various venues. Tickets: 6/11€.
The "British Shorts" festival showcases diverse and entertaining short films from the UK, spanning genres like drama, comedy, and documentaries. The program includes animations, horror, science fiction, and music videos. Awards are given for the best short film, and the festival features concerts, filmmaker discussions, and an exhibition at Sputnik-Kino. Ravers that we are, we won't miss the retrospective "Weekender – Memories of Acid House & 90s Rave Scenes" at Gretchen.
Movies premiering this weekend that we want to watch:
Poor Things (2024/UK - 141 min) / Release 18.01
Dr. Godwin revives Bella Baxter (Emma Stone). Craving worldly experiences, she joins Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) on a global escapade in this dark comedy. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos.
✨ CTM Festival: Lalai’s favorite festival in Berlin is about to begin. 26.01-04.02, various locations.
☄ Vektor: Memories in Art and Sound by Christopher Bauder: If you like the experience at Dark Matter Berlin, you can’t miss this huge light installation at Kraftwerk. From 01.02 until 07.04.
♡ Slowdive. With TikTok bringing back shoegaze, this is one of the best shoegaze bands to take a look at. 25.01, 8 pm, Columbiahlle. Ticket: 42,45 €. 🎧 everything is alive
🪩 Roísin Murphy: What to say about our disco diva who launched one of the best albums in 2023? 16.03, 8 pm. Verti Music Hall. Ticket: 78,40/133,40 €. 🎧 Hit Parade
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