When the news broke that Berlin Atonal was returning in 2021 with an immersive exhibition I was both excited and restrained. In the pandemic era, festivals have been forced to either completely change, cancel or adapt to the ever evolving event landscape and navigate rules that are both unheard of and unprecedented. Many clubs around the world have utilized their spaces for art exhibitions and site specific installations.

While I totally understand, appreciate and welcome this direction, at times these exhibitions can feel a little somber, almost as if we are walking through a museum - examining something from a long lost era. I didn’t quite like this feeling. The pandemic changed all of our lives and industries but, it wasn’t as if things were completely gone. I don’t want to feel like I was walking through memories of a past life that doesn’t exist anymore.

I was slightly concerned this might be the case when going through Metabolic Rift, Berlin Atonal’s latest project. The Kraftwerk space is so iconic and Atonal’s shows so legendary, I didn’t want to feel like it was gone. Luckily, this was not the case at all! The Atonal team put something together that is fresh, new and uses the space as a glimpse to the future and not the past.

One of the most unique aspects of Metabolic Rift, is the audience’s ability to explore the space on their own. We first entered by the traditional entrance to Tresor and a host tells us a little bit about the excursion but after that our group ventures in to the tunnel completely on our own. It’s pitch black and and we are only guided by an ever growing light, beaming from around the corner. Here’s where we first encounter site specific works from leading international artists that fit the space perfectly. We encounter Adameyko Lab + Vladislav Delay’s hypnotic eight channel video projection as well as Pan Daijing’s great piece on the closed Tresor floor using light, ice, metal and video.

Once leaving Tresor, we enter a space inside Kraftwerk I’ve never been. Now it gets extra interested as it feels we are in the bowels of the great structure and completely behind the scenes, moving through doors and halls, encountering more and more great art works that span sculpture, video and more.

As the group ventures through the spaces, the concept becomes more clear as well. The Kraftwerk complex functions as a Metabolic system, we move through its various arteries and eventually “exhaled” into the main hall. Along the way, we are treated to previously unseen parts of the complex which was amazing for me to see as there are few structures that can match Kraftwerk’s immensity. One of my favorite moments was definitely Cyprien Gaillard + Hieroglyphic Being’s “No Dancing”. Cyprien Gaillard makes entropy of both the human-made and the natural world the central concern of his videos, sculptures, photography, collages and public art. In his contribution for Metabolic Rift Gaillard teases out the unresolved implications of a world that, for reasons of a global pandemic, has been compelled to unprecedented stillness in the dance. He collaborates with prolific producer Jamal Moss a.k.a Hieroglyphic Being on a new commissioned kinetic sculpture featuring the iconic Killasan System. The installation is presented in a previously inaccessible area of the Kraftwerk. As an aside, this room also contains a curious artefact from the history of the Kraftwerk building. When the former powerplant was first taken possession of by Dimitri Hegemann, there were countless problems with it – renovations uncovered structural problems and the city was not forthcoming with the permits for using the space. Hegemann turned to a team of Tibetan monks he had befriended, who took up residence in this attic space for three days - completing a clearing ceremony. After they left, a strange set of footprints was observed on the floor in the snow (in those days the room was not entirely closed to the elements). They said not to worry, their prayers and offerings worked, it was just a dragon who had come to protect the building. On the next morning the permit from the city arrived. The shrine has been left in place ever since.

Next, as spill out into the main hall of Kraftwerk, we are greeted by massive projections and sound from Armand Hammer, the New York-based rap duo, who delivers a large scale multi-projection performance which submerges us into the hip hop’s dustiest margins and activism. As usual, we are permitted to explore all the corners of the space and it’s both amazing and meditative to be inside, allowed to float through the tremendous hall.

We are also permitted to move downstairs, which is another favorite part of the exhibition - MFO + Lyra Pramuk - This too will pass. Several car wrecks lie distributed in the north-west corner of the building as if abandoned, their arrangement faintly reminiscent of a parking-lot rave. The cars are dead skeletons, weathered or burnt, yet their sound- systems remain functional. This new piece by Marcel Weber (MFO) with sound from vocalist Lyra Pramuk, centers around memories of automobile rave culture, where discovery and experimentation were always projected within established frameworks: status, class and a mechanistic understanding of the environment. For me, this was an incredible use of the space and commentary on the music, environment and beyond.

On the same floor, we’re also treated to multiple sculptures, projections and more and given free reign to linger, examine and walk about. This was special for me as It was great to just me inside the space, surrounded by art and left to explore at your own pace. It felt less like a museum and more like an immersive experience where sound, visual and environment encapsulate the audience and transport them elsewhere. More importantly, I didn’t feel like I was walking through a former club, but a multi-purpose space which is constantly re-inventing.

Along with the (unguided) exhibition, Atonal staged several live concerts throughout the duration. While concerts were happening in the main hall, the exhibition was not open so it created two different aspects of Metabolic Rift. On October 21st, I was fortunately enough to return to the great hall for light-years presents Caterina Barbieri with Bendik Giske, Nkisi + MFO, caner teker presents KIRKPINAR. It had been over 2 years since last seeing a concert inside Kraftwerk and I was especially excited.

When I arrived I realized the stage set-up was a bit different than normal and the stage was not up against the far wall but on the side of the main floor facing out. This fooled me a bit at first but acclimated quickly and began enjoying the music. The most was tantalizing part was Bendek Giske’s seductive saxophone playing which had the whole audience silent and in awe. Caterina Barbieri is also no strange to the A/V festival stage and she delivered a beautiful signature mix of electronics, moods and atmospheres. Being back inside was great and a bittersweet moment as well as I was not sure when I would be back next.

In the end, Metabolic Rift surpassed expectations and I think set the new standard of immersive festival/club experiences. This was something totally fresh, unexpected and opening up the insides of the mighty Kraftwerk was an incredible concept with great execution. Just being in some of the spaces a lone is like a work of art, but the Atonal team also curated a great selection of works that fit in with the space while also being tied to the music community.

The only question which remains now is, do we need to do this again or is it only for the pandemic period? Personally, I think we should keep on building off the positive points of the pandemic and works, exhibitions and installations that we were forced to create. Either way, I look forward to seeing what Atonal has in store for 2022.

For more visit: https://the-metabolic-rift.com/

-JRS