Krake Festival, Berlin - Review
Known to push the musical boundaries and introduce the world to sick fucking electronic music, Killekill are not your average record label. Broadcasting this via the wonderfully curated Krake Festvial, the 8 year old festival had advanced, binding international sound lovers across multiple venues in Berlin.
Berlin is home to many great music venues immersed in history but the venue of Krake Festival opening night was pretty special. Set in a former crematorium, Silent Green, Mary Ocher, with her piano and voice filled the octagonal shaped room to deliver a stunning performance. The uniqueness of the surroundings combined with a mind-bending AV show from Byetone culminated to create a blissfully harrowing snug for spectators.
Promoting daring artists that delve into new sound concepts, the festival celebrates the creativity of sound and performance that is still very much needed in this diverse city.
In the good spirit of Killekill, Eotrax’s label night in the city’s infamous Griessmuehle club marked Day II of the festival. Eomac paired up with Sal Stapleton to premiere live AV show ‘Reconnect’. The infiltration of organic chaos throughout the club carried the ravers into a state of sanctuary and the thrilling lights and beats were a perfect introduction to techno queen Paula Temple who is releasing later this year on the label.
Day III allowed record labels, artists, promoters and basically every sub title you can give in the industry to come together under the heat of the sun in the Urban Spree garden. With the likes of Aufnahme + Weidergabe, No Suit records, Rabe, South London Analogue Material, Black Verb Records and She Lost Kontrol all manning the fort, people spent the day chatting, making new friends and business contacts, with the shrilling sound of techno littering the atmosphere. Alongside the Synth Making Masterclass, performances from Tim Exile, Transistors of Mercy and a dual performance with 21 Downbeat (an electronic band including several musicians with disabilities that write all of their own songs) and T. Raumschmiere were underway.
An outstanding dark live performance held in Urban Spree club from AJA created a sensual experience for the eyes and ears.
The festival ended at Griessmuehle with three main floors of techno and beats catering for festival attendees and overspill of fellow pride percipients such as DJ Flush. Basked in the darkness of the underground room, Silo and the likes of JK Flesh, Halv Drøm and Purita D had us stomping well into the unknown hours. Coming up for air and walking into the garden, our ears were greeted by Plateau Repas where naked, sun-kissed ravers were writhing their bodies to fine vocals, an absolutely delightful contribution to the end of the festival.
It’s great to see a festival that celebrates music and represents the hard work artist’s endure to release their art into the world. Krake is an extremely intimate and personal festival, unlike the traditional approach of throwing up a stage and creating barriers. This was an opportunity to communicate and engage with people of the industry and to discover how much work goes into making the music we’ve all come to love.
![Review: Ireen Amnes - Faus Nova [Instruments of Discipline]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bb4d63_ef3ff57fbfd646b2a6b6dec6d04e9564~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_38,h_37,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/bb4d63_ef3ff57fbfd646b2a6b6dec6d04e9564~mv2.jpg)
