Put your hands in the air everybody \o/ five out of seven tips on our list are festivals! August gets all offbeat and wacky with sounds ranging from atonal to fab pop. Style-wise, no need to worry about matching black with black these days; allow the multicolor festival creature in you to shine, for the brand new Pop-Kultur held in all six Berghain venues turns all-things-Berlin upside down.

WEDNESDAY 19.08

20.00 Berlin Atonal @ Kraftwerk

WHY: Berlin Atonal returns this year to Kraftwerk with program of world premiere performances, special projects, audio-visual shows, installations, and more. The cavernous Kraftwerk cathedral will open its doors to host figures operating in and around the world of experimental art and music. Alongside this, aftershows at Tresor, OHM, and various other venues in the massive Kraftwerk complex will also add to the full program of Atonal’s unique take on club music.

Kraftwerk / Köpenicker Str. 70, 10179 Berlin, U Heinrich-Heine-Str. / more info

FRIDAY 21.08

23.00 HOT TOPIC X Shameless/Limitless W/ DJs Asbjørn, Anastazja Filipovna & Olgazm @ SchwuZ

WHY: Hot Topic stands for politics & music. It opens 3 dancefloors at Schwuz with live acts representing the diversity of queer scene in Berlin. Musically it builds on the tradition of past SchwuZ events such as the Rocknacht, Subworxx, and Search & Destroy. Rock, QueerPop and much more, with DJs Asbjørn, Anastazja Filipovna & Olgazm, as well as Resident-DJs Viola & LCavaliero.

SchwuZ / Rollbergstr. 26, 12053 Berlin, U Rathaus Neukölln / more info

WEDNESDAY 26.08

17.00 Pop-Kultur @ Berghain

WHY: Pop-Kultur is a new festival for Berlin, held for the first time ever from August 26 to 28 at Berghain. With its program comprising live concerts, performances, talks, and readings by more than 60 acts ‚Pop-Kultur‘ shines a light on Berlin’s busy scene while meeting standards of internationality and diversity. Everything will take place within the impressive atmosphere of Berghain; all six venues included: Berghain, Panorama Bar, Halle am Berghain, Kantine am Berghain, Schlackehalle and the Berghain coat check.

Berghain / Am Wriezener Bahnhof, 10243 Berlin, S+U Warschauer Strasse – S Ostbahnhof / more info

18.30 mikromusik – Festival of Experimental Music and Sound Art @ Various locations

WHY: The festival mikromusik of the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program takes place for the second time, featuring concerts and installations at various Berlin locations. A play on the word’s polysemy, mikromusik denotes micro-tonality, micro-spaces, and micro-events, as well as microphonic or microscopic realities; it opposes an overlybroad, hegemonic worldview with one that focuses attention on the small, the incidental, and on what lies below the surface. The festival features bicycle-powered music machines, subterranean sounds, Aeolian guitars, head movements, the whir of buzzing bees, and an overabundance of music.

Various locations (Sophienkirche, St. Elisabeth-Kirche, Villa Elisabeth, daadgalerie) / more info

THURSDAY 27.08

20.30 Shameless/Limitless: Melting Hearts + Slow Steve + Islaja @ Loophole

WHY: One look at the event poster already won you over, right? Thursday is considered the beginning of the wekeend by many; start having fun at Loophole with music by Jaakko Eino Kalevi affiliate Melting Hearts, a solo show from Slow Steve, and Islaja who will tend to matters MP3 throughout the night. 

Loophole / Boddinstr. 60, 12053 Berlin, U Rathaus Neukolln / more info

FRIDAY 28.08

20.00 Artlake Festival @ Kiekebusch See

WHY: Artlake Festival takes place near Berlin, at the idyllic Kiekebusch lake. Festively decorated location welcomes you for three days of music ranging from avant-garde pop to electronic productions and world music. Culinary highlights, artistic and experimental performances, street art, games, literature and discussions will complete the festival experience.

Kiekebusch See bei Berlin / more info

21.00 Labor Sonor @ Ballhaus Ost

WHY: What happens when music is translated into music? "Labor Sonor: Translating Music" presents nine world premieres on three nights: re-compositions, cover versions, reinterpretations, and transformations that cross borders of style and genre. Echtzeitmusik meets contemporary composition, minimal techno, and experimental pop. The concerts are accompanied by a symposium, offering insights into the practice of musical translation and the creative processes of the premiered works.

Ballhaus Ost / Pappelallee 15, 10437 Berlin, U Eberswalder Str. / more info