The Next Day Berlin: CTM 2025
Our Must-See Highlights at CTM 2025
The CTM Festival is back in 2025!!! I couldn't be more excited, even though I'm stuck in Brazil with major FOMO about this year's program! In its 26th edition, this Berlin gem continues to blow my mind with its perfect mix of established names, fresh faces, and unique collaborations.
This year, the festival is shaped by three thematic strands: "Resynthesising the Traditional," which explores how artists are transforming cultural classics into something completely new and unexpected; "Stranger IA," which explores how AI is reshaping music and performance in ways that push creative boundaries; and "Immersive Audio," which focuses on spatial sound technologies and Berlin's growing role as a European hub for immersive listening experiences.
CTM is where I've always found my next musical obsessions - artists who aren't afraid to experiment and push what music can be. Let me share the highlights that caught my eye, even if I'll be experiencing them through social media this time around:
Friday, 24.01
Tarta Relena
Tarta Relena mixes Mediterranean vocal traditions with synthetic elements, reimagining folklore through flamenco, lyrical singing, and jazz in a timeless dialogue of grief, joy, and divinity.
🕓 Concert: 8 pm 📌 silent green / Kuppelhalle 🎧 És pregunta
Saturday, 25.01
These New Puritans
The duo creates music that fuses post-punk vigor with avant-garde and minimalist elements. Their constantly shifting style transcends genres, presenting a mysterious blend of contemporary rhythms and muted nostalgia.
🕓 Concert: 9 pm 📌 silent green 🎧 Inside the Rose
Sunday, 26.01
Heinali & Andriana-Yaroslava Saienko
🎧 Heinali and 🎧 Saienko reimagine 🎧 Hildegard von Bingen's works, merging Ukrainian folk singing and modular synths to reflect war experiences and a new spiritual lens.
🕓 Concert: 7 pm 📌 silent green / Kuppelhalle
Xiu Xiu
An experimental rock band, Xiu Xiu mixes intense emotions with bold, dramatic sounds, combining heavy beats and shimmering synths.
🕓 Concert: 10 pm 📌 silent green / Betonhalle 🎧 13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto
Wednesday, 29.01
Bendik Giske
The Norwegian saxophonist employs circular breathing techniques to create intense physical and emotional performances. I’m a big fan, and seeing him play at Berghain feels like it will be something special.
🕓 Concert: 11:50 pm 📌 Berghain 🎧 Bendik Giske
Thursday, 30.01
ANTCONSTANTINO
A DJ and producer from Brazil, ANTCONSTANTINO mixes grime, drill, and "pula pula" beats into dynamic, high-energy sets.
🕓 DJ Set: 1:30 am 📌 Säule/Berghain 🎧 Death Drop
Aya x MFO
Aya Sinclair reshapes hyperclub music with fragmented rhythms and surreal textures. Her album 🎧 "Im Hole" mixes playful dissonance with Afrobeat influences, breaking post-dance conventions.
🕓 Live: 1:30 am 📌 Berghain 🎧 Lip Flip (EP)
Friday, 31.01
AKA HEX (Aïsha Devi & Slikback)
A powerful collaboration blending Aïsha Devi's ethereal experimental soundscapes with Slikback's intense bass-driven beats. Expect a unique fusion of tribal rhythms and hypnotic vocals.
🕓 Concert: 9 pm 📌 Alte Münze / Prägehalle 🎧 Do The Rite Thing
Saturday, 01.02
Ellen Arkbro & Microtub
This collaboration explores meditative drone music and tonal textures through Arkbro's minimalist compositions and Microtub’s deep soundscapes.
🕓 Concert: 9 pm 📌 Volksbühne 🎧 For Organ and Brass
claire rousay & Martyna Basta
A delicate encounter of sonic experimentation and emotional compositions. The 🎧 claire rousay and 🎧 Martyne Basta collaboration promises an intimate and immersive premiere.
🕓 Concert: 10:15 pm 📌 Volksbühne 🎧 It Could Be As It Was Forever
❗The February 1st lineup at RSO is a must for those in the mood for a long-night party:
Marie Davidson presents »City of Clowns« with Nick Verstand
Marie Davidson premieres "City of Clowns," blending her hypnotic techno with Nick Verstand’s stunning audiovisual design, exploring urban narratives.
🕓 Live: 2:30 am 📌 RSO Robus 🎧 City of Clowns
Tayhana
The Argentine producer merges urban beats, reggaeton, and experimental sounds, crafting a genre-defying sonic experience.
🕓 DJ Set: 4:05 am 📌 RSO Summe 🎧 Rompe El Silencio
rRoxymore b2b Deena Abdelwahed
A boundary-pushing mix of hybrid electronic sounds, experimental grooves, and bold club rhythms from two innovative artists.
🕓 DJ Set: 5:00 am 📌 RSO Robus 🎧 Jbal Rrsas جبل الرصاص
Sunday, 02.02 - Closing Concert
Zola Jesus
Zola Jesus combines operatic vocals with industrial and synth influences. Her concert explores raw rhythms and powerful sound, offering a deep, immersive musical experience.
🕓 Concert: 9 pm 📌 Volksbühne 🎧 Arkhon
I’ve invited the low frequency sound artist Stefanie Egedy* to share her top three CTM 2025 highlights. For this edition, she emphasizes the Brazilian presence in the festival’s lineup in various contexts:
alys(alys)alys
alys(alys)alys fuses experimental, club, and Soundcloud sounds into playful, genre-blending DJ sets and productions. A DRY Berlin resident, her work bridges pop mischief and boundary-pushing club vibes.
🗓️ Thu, 30.01 🕓 DJ Set: 11 pm 📌 Panorama Bar / Night 3 🎧 booty&legs vol.3
Deize Tigrona
A Brazilian funk icon, Deize brings the electrifying energy of Rio’s baile funk to the global stage, blending roots with modern beats. It’s time to drop it low.
🗓️ Thu, 30.01 🕓 Concert: 2 am 📌 Panorama Bar / Night 3 🎧 Boiler Room
Bella Comsom
Bella Comsom turns electromagnetic fields into sound, creating works that connect the tangible and intangible through installations, A/V pieces, and performances. The event features a talk and concert.
🗓️ Sun, 02.02 🕓 Concert: 4 - 9 pm 📌 Sonnenraum 🎧 SO(Ñ)AR
*Low frequency sound artist Stefanie Egedy investigates sound as a composer of conceptual pieces, commissioned works, and experimental electronic music. Focused on researching possibilities with low frequency sound, bodies, and subwoofers, her work stems from installations to live performances as sonic propositions, building a body of work called BODIES AND SUBWOOFERS (B.A.S.).
Special program:
d&b Soundscapes: A cutting-edge sound system transforms listening experiences at CTM 2025, hosting performances and workshops exploring spatial sound and object-based audio techniques.
MONOM 4DSound: Performances featuring spatial audio for immersive sound experiences. Highlights include Maria W Horn and Lucy Railton.
Soft Centre x CTM: Collaborations with Australian artists like Female Wizard and Karina Utomo, presenting experimental and boundary-pushing performances.
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