(French version is below) [ENG] From Viki’s perspective 👇
Thursday, January 29th, 12:30 PM. We dig the car out of the snow, start the engine, and blast our favorite artists. We’re as excited as kids at Christmas. Around 5 PM, we arrive in freezing Berlin and head straight to RadialSystem to pick up our festival wristbands. On the way, we grab our favorite lemon Radlers and some snacks. We booked a hotel in Alexanderplatz, so we’re more or less equidistant from all the venues.
Radialsystem
First night: Berghain
When we arrive, Microhm and ABOPF are opening the show. Then, the Peruvian duo Dengue Dengue Dengue takes the stage with a super energetic set that gets us going from the first drink.
While the atmosphere at the Säule is more dance-oriented, with Latin American cumbias blended with electro, on the main floor, it gets much heavier. Pain Magazine set a really dark mood, then King Yosef… honestly, it’s not really my thing (laugh), but Milan was super happy with the raw sound. A bit of a metal vibe.
Second night: Haus de Visionäre & RSO
Friday, we arrived at 7:30 pm at Haus de Visionäre.
The musician CORINE had set up a mini-stage in the middle of the room. Her performance was unique: she played a series of Filipino gongs that resonated powerfully with each strike. In the background, atmospheric sounds came from speakers placed 360° around her. The most magical moment was when you walked around the room in a circle and realized that each speaker was playing a different sound—the combination was constantly changing. The dynamics were gradual, smooth, almost hypnotic at first.
CORINE. Photo: Camille Blake, CTM
After her, Sote started his set with very pronounced sounds, sometimes downright aggressive to the ears. His thing was clearly working with lengths and synthetic waveforms, which he sculpted behind his PC. A quick break in town to recharge with a beer and a kebab, then off to the other side of Berlin, to RSO.
We were especially looking forward to Catnapp, and frankly, she surprised us in the best possible way. We were worried we wouldn’t be able to keep up after the previous night, but her energy and live vocals revived everything. The evening had been opened by our friend Michail, aka OpiumHum, one of the festival’s long-time music curators.
Last night: RadialSystem
Saturday, 7 p.m., back to RadialSystem for the audiovisual performances.
Zeynep Schilling had a visual backdrop reminiscent of hair submerged in water, or seaweed undulating beneath the surface. Green-yellow lights around the perimeter highlighted her silhouette. At one point, she plunged the room into total darkness, then reappeared with a flute and a small lamp—a simple yet incredibly powerful moment.
Then, the duo Khrystyna Kirik & Mark Bain literally made the room vibrate. Not just the walls—the floor shook beneath our feet, the chairs too. It created a real sense of instability, almost unsettling. It’s crazy how even slight vibrations can throw you off balance. We had to go outside for some fresh air to recalibrate ourselves a bit.
It was my first time at CTM. Honestly, I went to Berlin with no expectations. Along with Milan, our goal at festivals is primarily to explore. The first weekend, Blawan and Kavari were playing—they were the only names I really knew—but we decided to explore the second weekend and enjoy the „easily accessible Berghain“ for just one day.
Khrystyna Kirik x Mark Bain w- lighting by zeroday »The Core« @ Radialsystem – CTM Festival 2026 © Camille Blake
The biggest surprise for me was Nexus. Incredible. They reminded me a bit of Death Grips, even though they’re still a pretty underground band (500 Instagram followers). The festival clearly chose to support smaller but incredibly talented acts. And that’s the idea: to push strong artists, for whom a single performance at a festival like this can really launch a career. Over those three days, we had planned even more performances, but the extreme cold and fatigue held us back.
I would recommend this festival to anyone who always listens to the same genre on repeat. Milan taught me to be musically open-minded. To try styles that, on first listen, seem too weird or too experimental. In alternative/electronic music, it makes all the difference listening to a track on headphones at home versus experiencing it live, with a huge sound system.
From Milan’s perspective 👇
This year’s CTM Festival has been as exhausting as ever. Berlin’s coldest month, combined with a widely spread festival program, has brought an unsurprising amount of emotional experience. The only regret is not seeing more, not visiting for more days, not seeing all the venues. As usual, an impossible task to manage. Despite the disappointment with our own performance, the others mostly outdid themselves. How could I be surprised? In the setting of Berlin clubs, nothing can hit the wrong note… maybe it can, but it never lasts, as those pleasant gigs overpower the rest.
Club der Visionäre. Foto: kiezcolours.wordpress.com
In this report, I cannot, unfortunately, cover everything, as I was unable to see most of it. Also, it would be unfair of me to be overly critical of any of the gigs, as it says nothing relevant about the artist as a whole and doesn’t reflect on the festival in any useful way. I would like to focus on the beautiful moments, and not just the musical ones. CTM, while mainly a music festival, creates a pleasant universe of cute intersections within the alternative music scene. Excuse my sentiment in advance.
Our CTM started before the last weekend in Berghain — pretentiously, perhaps, but who cares. Whether you like it or not, this club might be a blueprint for all modern clubs — if they had the money to spend. Naturally, all clubs are unique in their own way, and generally speaking, they are not pretty places. However, this one might come close. Sculptural installations inside, the possibility of drinking an espresso martini while listening to music on Function-One systems — amazing.
While discussing the set-up is tempting, since most CTM venues are amazing or interesting in some way, music is what brings us there. The first weekend was so packed with interesting names that I cannot even mention them all, as this would turn into a short essay instead of a report. What amazed me the most was King Yosef playing before Youth Code, whom I got bored of quicker than I expected, even though I like listening to their records. I made a note to describe King Yosef as if Death Grips had all eaten rusty razors. Screaming hardcore vocals combined with live drums and industrial instrumentals made me think of the US trio — not because of the band set-up, but because of their energy. While you might imagine the industrial part would do the trick, it was really the members themselves who created such a similar atmosphere. I felt very at home and welcome — and the venue helped a lot.
What amazed me even more was Microhm. Playing warm-up is rarely pleasant or enjoyable in my opinion, but I believe this one aced it. Usually, you need to make some compromise between tempo, energy, and repetitiveness, and I truly felt that Microhm balanced them exceptionally well. I haven’t heard a bigger sound at the whole festival, which is beyond impressive for an opener. Combined with outstanding sound design and Latin grooves, it made me want to listen to him more and more with every passing minute.
Moving to a different venue, we wanted to explore gigs emphasizing the diversity of musical approaches. While this is not usually my cup of tea, I wanted to push myself in case I had been terribly wrong. I need to mention the Iranian artist Corin, who transformed Haus der Visionäre — usually an empty storage hall — into a spacious, warm gallery filled with soundscapes. A bit less repetitive and a touch harder, and I would be a full fan.
To speak honestly, we really underperformed this year. After a sleepless night in a club, one cannot easily motivate oneself to go out into the arctic weather of Berlin in January, and it was truly one of the coldest. This is one horrible aspect of the festival. If you are not from Berlin, CTM might not only be expensive but also partially disappointing. Not because it’s poorly done, but because you simply cannot see everything. At summer festivals, I am usually the one who wants to catch everything planned, plus any fortunate surprise. In the case of CTM, this is almost impossible. You are glad if you can make it to at least the things you have planned.
One of those things I managed to see was a night at RSO. As you can probably tell, I focused my schedule around club nights, as that is where the most energy is concentrated in one place for such a long time. Also, club nights are the closest thing to a one-site festival: a few stages, many performers, and a strong social aspect make them my top choice every year.
I have three names to mention. Nexus — a brilliant, noisy rap duo that turned the whole club into raw mayhem of sound and movement. Maybe I just searched poorly, but as Nexus, the artists don’t seem to have released much. That’s the only downside. Then there is Catnapp. I’ve liked her music for a while, and I’ve also seen her at Festival 66h in Smolnik — I don’t assume anyone has been there or will be. However, that performance was a jaw-dropping moment for me. Bass-heavy production combined with a powerful performance made the whole club dance (surprising, as CTM tends to have a higher age average than most clubs). Lastly, DJ and producer Container. It made me laugh to see his panel talk the next day titled something like “How to Sound Like Container.” I should have attended, because that set was something beyond expectations. The most experimental and psycho club DJ set I have witnessed. Was it because I was already tired? Maybe — another CTM phenomenon. Anyhow, that is what I took from that night, and I would gladly go again.
Not to bore you any further, I want to mention one last performance of this year’s CTM. Disturbed Ground was, for me, a truly artistic and unbelievably intense experience. Imagine motionless performers painted by intensely focused lights and backed by powerful bi-colour visuals on a screen. Sound-wise, the whole performance was dominated by bass-heavy soundscapes that rumbled through the space. The most stunning part was how coherent it felt. The entire performance amazed me. I want to relive it. I want to be shaken again by the sheer weight of sound and strength of the visuals.
CTM is truly a place in space and time where one can experience such things countless times… if not frozen or otherwise demotivated. I would like to encourage you all to go next year.
First, you can support one of the most ambitious endeavors in the European music scene. Second, you can invest in your artistic and explorative ambitions far more than through any research on any platform. This festival does something different — and very right. While 90% of European festivals share the same lineup, CTM cannot even be compared to them. Perhaps only because they share the same description: a festival. It is not just a festival. It is a cultural happening for those who seek the most, not just a bit more. If only it took place somewhere warmer.
[FR] From Viki’s perspective 👇
Jeudi 29/01, 12h30. On dégage la voiture sous la neige, on démarre le moteur et on balance nos artistes préférés. On est excités comme des gamins à Noël.
Vers 17h on arrive dans un Berlin bien glacé et on file direct au RadialSystem pour récupérer nos bracelets du festival. Sur la route, on s’est pris nos radlers citron préférés et quelques snacks. On a booké un hôtel à Alexanderplatz, d’être plus ou moins à la même distance de toutes les venues.
Premier soir : Berghain
À notre arrivée, Microhm et ABOPF ouvrent la soirée. Ensuite, le duo péruvien Dengue Dengue Dengue débarque avec un set hyper énergique qui nous embarque dès le premier drink.
Pendant qu’au Säule l’ambiance est plutôt dansante, avec des cumbias latino-américaines blendées à l’électro, sur le main floor ça devient beaucoup plus heavy. Pain Magazine pose une atmosphère bien sombre, puis King Yosef… honnêtement, c’est pas trop mon délire 😀 bah Milan était super content du son brut. Une ambiance un peu metal.
Deuxième soir : Haus de Visionäre & RSO
Vendredi, on débarque à 19h30 au Haus de Visionäre.
La musicienne CORINE avait installé une mini-scène au milieu de la salle. Sa performance était unique : elle jouait une série de gongs philippins qui résonnaient puissamment à chaque frappe. En fond, des sons atmosphériques sortaient d’enceintes placées à 360° autour d’elle. Le moment le plus magique, c’était quand tu te baladais en cercle dans la pièce et que tu réalisais que chaque enceinte diffusait un son différent — la combinaison changeait tout le temps. La dynamique était progressive, douce, presque hypnotique au début.
Après elle, Sote commence son set avec des sons très marqués, parfois carrément agressifs pour les oreilles. Son truc à lui, c’était clairement le travail sur les longueurs et les formes d’ondes synthétiques qu’il sculptait derrière son PC.
Petite pause en ville pour reprendre des forces avec une bière et un kebab, puis direction l’autre côté de Berlin, au RSO.
On attendait surtout Catnapp, et franchement, elle nous a surpris dans le meilleur sens du terme. On avait peur de ne pas tenir après la veille, mais son énergie et ses vocals live ont tout relancé. La soirée avait été ouverte par notre ami Michail aka OpiumHum, un des bookers historiques du festival.
Dernier soir : RadialSystem
Samedi, 19h, retour au RadialSystem pour les performances audiovisuelles.
Zeynep Schilling avait un visuel en arrière-plan qui rappelait des cheveux immergés dans l’eau, ou des algues qui ondulent sous la surface. Des lumières vert-jaune en périphérie soulignaient sa silhouette. À un moment, elle a plongé la salle dans le noir total, puis est réapparue avec une flûte et une petite lampe — moment simple mais super puissant.
Ensuite, le duo Khrystyna Kirik & Mark Bain a littéralement fait vibrer la salle. Pas seulement les murs — le sol tremblait sous nos pieds, les chaises aussi. Ça créait un vrai sentiment d’instabilité, presque dérangeant. C’est fou comme même de légères vibrations peuvent te faire perdre tes repères. On a dû sortir prendre l’air pour se recalibrer un peu.
C’était ma première fois au CTM.
Honnêtement, je suis partie à Berlin sans aucune attente. Avec Milan, notre objectif en festival, c’est surtout découvrir. Le premier week-end, Blawan et Kavari jouaient — c’étaient les seuls noms que je connaissais vraiment — mais on a décidé d’explorer le deuxième week-end et de profiter du “Berghain facilement accessible” juste un jour.
La grosse surprise pour moi, c’était Nexus. Incroyables. Ça m’a un peu rappelé Death Grips, même si c’est un groupe encore assez under (genre 500 followers Insta). Le festival a clairement choisi de soutenir des noms plus petits mais super qualitatifs. Et c’est ça l’idée : push des artistes forts, à qui une seule perf sur un festival comme ça peut vraiment shifter la carrière. Sur ces trois jours, on avait prévu encore plus de performances, mais le froid hardcore et la fatigue nous ont freinés.
Je recommanderais ce festival à tous ceux qui écoutent toujours le même genre en boucle. Milan m’a appris à être open-minded musicalement. Tester des styles qui, au premier listen, paraissent trop chelous ou trop expérimentaux. En musique alternative/électronique, ça change tout d’écouter un track au casque chez toi ou de le vivre en live, avec un énorme soundsystem.
–
Text: Viki + Milan
Pridaj komentár