The Next Day #9: Berlin Weekend Guide
From 27 to 30 of July
Hallo!
For music lovers, two exceptional events stand out this weekend! Firstly, there's "ETCH! Live," a journey through electronic productions with real instruments. Or you can venture to the forests of Brandenburg for "O MATO x Slow Life," a 24-hour open-air festival featuring live acts and DJ sets, all in a unique location just an hour from Berlin.
For those seeking a unique experience, "Cream Cake: Rabbit Hole" at Spreepark Plänterwald awaits you. This event takes you into the decaying funfair, where musicians, performers, and DJs explore madness through experimental music.
Beyond the music scene, Berlin also offers diverse art exhibitions. We recommend the fascinating exhibitions by Atsushi Kaga, Damien Hirst, and Lucia Koch, each offering a unique experience.
For theater enthusiasts, "Grotest Maru: Global Amazonia" offers a breathtaking stage show that artistically explores climate change and species extinction. Another great attraction for people who love experimental music and art is the “Gaswerk Art Days” event
Lastly, our friend Valerie Renay has shared her favorite place in Berlin with us and two exceptional one-time-only events happening in the city.
Enjoy the weekend!
Lalai & Mateus
Concerts & Parties
ETCH! Live
ECHT! explore the format of a DJ set as a band and take a journey through the sound world of electronic productions with real instruments. Rejecting full reliance on technology, they infuse their creative process with a human touch, skillfully combining electronic and hip-hop influences through expert live instrument play. You can listen to their music here. Friday, 28.07, u pm. Gretchen Yard, Obentrautstr. 19-21, 10963 Berlin. Ticket: 19,80 €.
O MATO x Slow Life
Slow Life and O MATO presents this 24-hour open-air festival in the forests of Brandenburg. Offering a mixture of daytime live acts and nighttime DJ sets. Catch performances from Marcos Valle, Kaidi Tatham, Desyn, and Dimitra Zina in a stunning and unique location only an hour from Berlin. Saturday, 29.07, 12 pm - 12 am. Flugplatz Altes Lager, Brandemburg. Ticket: 53,90 € + Bus 4,50 €.
Syncope: Latinx Club Music
Syncope hosts a saucy lineup showcasing Latin-influenced club and experimental music, with performances from Dinamarca, Dengue Dengue Dengue!, Lila Tirando, and Violeta. Saturday, 29.07, 3 pm - 6 am. ÆDEN, Schleusenufer 2, 10997 Berlin. Ticket: 22,60 €
Radiance
A new festival with Len Faki, Daniel Avery, Goldie, Bjarki, and Julien Bracht, Radiance, brings together, for 30 hours, the diversity, vibes, and energy that make up electronic sounds. Festival guests can embark on a spectacular journey through sound and visuals. It's all here, from D'n'B to house to techno, from headliners to newcomers. Saturday, 29.07, 11:59 pm until 31.07, 6 am. RSO, Schnellerstrasse 137, 12439 Berlin. Tickets: 23-25 €.
Experimental Music & Art
Gaswerk Art Days
Experimental live music, performance, dance, exhibitions, installations, and video screenings. With Shackleton, Andrea Belfi, Perera Elsewhere, Mop Mop, Derek Gripper, and many more. 28, 29, and 30 July. More info here. Berlin Blockdammweg 1, Berlin. Tickets: 9-28 €/day - 60-70 €/festival pass.
Cream Cake: Rabbit Hole
Step into Berlin's revived amusement park for an immersive event. Musicians, performers, and DJs invade the blight funfair, exploring madness through experimental music. Witness unique performances like Elvin Brandhi's audio textures and Maria Metsalu's boundary-breaking collaboration. The after-party happens at Zenner. Saturday, 29.07, 2-11 pm. Spreepark Plänterwald, Kiehnwerderallee 1; 12437 Berlin. Tickets: 22,60 €.
A rainwater symphony
The "Rainwater Symphony" celebrates precipitation: raindrop music and water basin dance, rubber boot tours, taste explosions at the water tasting bar, and talk with wet experts. If you haven't experienced the Floating Project, this event offers a perfect opportunity to do so. Don't miss out! Sunday, 30.07, 12 - 10 pm. Floating e.V. Lilienthalstraße 32, 10965, Close to Treptower Park. Berlin. Free Admission.
Sound installation: Nika Schmitt „umwandler” by singuhr — projekte
Luxembourg-born artist Nika Schmitt debuts “umwandler,” a sound installation in Berlin's Large Water Reservoir. The system generates power while disrupting energy flow, resulting in dynamic sound movements. 27.7.-13.08.2023. Open: Wed-Sun from 2-8 pm. Großer Wasserspeicher, Belforter Strasse in 10405 Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg. Ticket: 3/6 €.
Theater
Grotest Maru: “Global Amazonia”
Grotest Maru presents in the week of “Earth Overshoot Day” the piece “Global Amazonia,” a breathtaking experience occurring in the air and on the ground, which artistically negotiates the issues of climate change and species extinction. The event will take place on the grounds of the "Stasi Headquarters. Campus for Democracy." Guided tours of the grounds will take place prior to the event. Thursday, 27.07, 7 pm - 10 pm. Campus für Demokratie, Normannenstraße 20, 10365, Berlin. Free Admission.
Exhibitions
Atsushi Kaga - Things Will Carry Us Through
Bringing together Atsushi Kaga’s diverse body of work, the exhibition includes acrylic paintings on canvas, bronze sculptures, drawings, and an installation of Japanese Chōchin lanterns. Drawing from his upbringing in Tokyo and the influence of Japanese subculture, Kaga meticulously conjures up a dream-like world filled with symbolism, memory, loss, and hope. Until 26.8. Tue - Sat, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. Tanya Leighton Berlin, Kurfürstenstraße 156 & 24/25, Berlin 10785. Free Admission.
Damien Hirst – Oranges and Lemons
Damien Hirst's work offers commentaries on our time, seeking guiding answers to social phenomena. However, pictorial inventions only provide fleeting solutions amid the overwhelming flood of images. Even poetic ciphers hold tragic moments, with beauty symbolizing the imminent threat of extinction. Until 30.09. Wed – Sat, from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Galerie Bastian, Taylorstraße 1, 14195 Berlin. Free Admission.
Lucia Koch - Light Falls
Lucia Koch's immersive works shift spaces through scale and materiality. From site-responsive projects in the '90s to recent installations using translucent materials, fabrics, and filters, she reimagines urban and architectural dynamics. Until 26.08. Carlier Gebauer, Markgrafenstrasse, 67, 10969 Berlin. Free Admission.
Romain Berger - All You Need Is Love
”All You Need Is Love” is a message of tolerance and love in a society that is regressing day by day, putting the lives of queer people more and more at risk. Influenced by photographer David Lachapelle's staging and director Gregg Araki's aestheticism for his colors, Romain Berger's work is an ode to life, love, and freedom of expression. Opening: 28.7 from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Fri – Sun, 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. Until 06.08. Retramp Gallery, Reuterstraße 62, 12047 Berlin. Free Admission.
Regular Summer Events
Berlin Beats at Hamburger Bahnhof: Every Thursday until 31 August, 7 - 10 pm. Free Admission.
DURCHLÜFTEN at Humbold Forum: The transcultural and cross-genre live program presents international guests and musicians from the Berlin scene. Free Admission.
Kultur Sommer Festival: One different event every day in a different venue. Free entrance. You can check out the agenda here.
Picnic Concert at Silent Green: Open-air concerts with headphones in Silent Green’s garden. Saturday, from 7 pm. Free Admission - reservation here.
Tropez at Humboldthain Public Swimming Pool: a three-month art program during the outdoor pool season, including a group exhibition, a performance series, and workshops for children. Daily from 10 am-6 pm. Ticket: 5,50 €.
Sunshine Bar Berlin at Plötzensee: Swimming, lake, food, drinks, and music. Ticket: 5 / 8 €.
Dark Matter: Tensor - Sommerlights: Concerts & DJs. This Friday, Max Cooper effortlessly blurs the lines between genres, fusing techno, ambient, and experimental sound elements. With an unparalleled ability to captivate audiences, he seamlessly weaves intricate layers of sound that transcend the dancefloor. Ticket: 28 €.
Last Call
Ulysses Jenkins: Without Your Interpretation
Ulysses Jenkins, a pivotal figure in contemporary art for over five decades, probes questions of race and gender using multimedia forms. This LA native’s expansive exhibition, co-curated by Erin Christovale and Meg Onli, features over fifteen videos and nearly sixty works, offering a comprehensive view of his diverse practice. Until 30.07. Saturday and Sunday, 12 – 6 pm. Julia Stoschek Foundation Berlin, Leipziger Straße 60 (entrance: Jerusalemer Straße). Ticket: 5 €.
Valerie Renay recommends:
Step into the captivating world of Valerie Renay, a Berlin-based French-Caribbean artist. She keeps transgressing genre boundaries throughout her career, building an intriguing link between music, performance art, and fashion. Concerned with notions of identity, our place in society, our spiritual quest, and everyday psychosis, Valerie creates music and performance work holding the emotional body at its core. She recently played at Fusion Festival, Arkaoda, Mahalla, and HAU1 Hebbel am Ufer. You can check her music here.
We’ve invited her to share with us her favorite place and events in Berlin:
Vater Bar
A secret hang-out for Berlin underground artists, Vater bar offers, at a reasonable price, the best shot in town: Boyarsky (strawberry, vodka, Tabasco), a full range of beer, wine, and beautiful cocktails. There’s even the refreshing “Vater cocktail” with or without alcohol. With Russian wall carpets and giant plastic plants, the atmosphere is nice and cozy, with a wood fire in winter. The bartenders are charming and friendly. They've been known to organize impromptu lo-fi concerts, after-hours naked parties, and long conversations about life's meaning. Seriously, what more do you want from a bar? Opens at 7 pm - open ending! Weserstrasse, 202, 12047 Berlin.
Montag Modus: archive of futures II - Interdisciplinary Performance Exhibition
Local cosmologies, queer practices of world-making, and decolonial historiographies underpin the “Montag Modus: archive of futures” project. The second edition, a one-evening performance exhibition at Radialsystem, presents video works and performances by artist Alicja Rogalska, the collective Hollow, and the choreographers Przemek Kamiński and Marta Ziółek. Featuring artists from Hungary and Poland, the evening unfolds along the search for visions of the future that leave space for local identities and regional agency beyond nationalist ideologies. Saturday, 29.07. 5 p.m. - 10 p.m. Radialsystem, Holzmarktstr. 33, 10243 Berlin. Tickets: 14€/10€
Æther
The return of Aether! In the beautiful black hall of MaHalla Berlin, be ready to embark on a diverse sensory experience filled with unique music, live performances, captivating visuals, delicious food, and a brand-new aromatic journey for your senses. Sunday, 30.07. From 12 p.m.- 11 p.m. Mahalla, Wilhelminenhofstraße 76, 12459 Berlin. Tickets: 10€
Beyond Berlin
WHOLE - United Queer Festival
Prepare for three days of absolute bliss. WHOLE Festival returns to the industrial grounds of Ferropolis. Nita Aviance, Nene H, rRoxymore, DJ Gigola, and Juliana Huxtable back-to-back JASSS are just a few of the highlights to look out for. 28-31 July, Ferropolis. Ticket: 215 €.