As Berlin faces the impending impact of a fourth-wave of the pandemic, 8MM Musik’s Synästhesie Festival returned from a two year hiatus. Remaining Covid-safe, festival tickets were sold to just 50% capacity of the 2019 installment, however the Berlin Kulturbraurei boasted a high energy mix of 20 post-punk and psych-rock artists from around the world. Kicking off with a talk from legendary Berlin music figurehead, Mark Reeder, and 8MM/Synästhesie founder Alex “Olli” Remzi, punters set off into the historic building to soak up a long missed festival atmosphere.
The sold-out festival was spread across three indoor stages in two of the Kulturbrauerei’s buildings, making it feel more like a two-day concert event than a typical sprawling festival. The venue is a former brewery which has been repurposed into a culture center and now houses a radio station, shops, a cinema, and a club that was fronted by a long line filled with more mainstream people in the courtyard outside the main festival entrance. Upon showing both vaccination and test results, entering the Kesselhaus to the main stage, we were greeted with a mix of die-hard old rock heads and upstarts all eager to see what the weekend had in store for them.
The first night saw iconic Krautrock band Faust performing their “IV” album live to an enthralled crowd of eager punters. The band are credited with pioneering the genre, and, despite having their heyday in the 1970’s, they pulled off an interesting live performance to a packed out room with 8 musicians on stage. The first take away from the festival was a promising sign that the sound and lighting were going to be a highlight.
The Maschinehaus stage was housed upstairs in the same the same building as the main stage, so we moved on to see Italian alternative rock band New Candys take over. While the band lay their references in plain view, they presented a ear-melting, high energy performance with a rowdy crowd bustling in the front row.
Local Berlin label Dutchess Box Records presented the third stage which was a short walk out from the main building through the courtyard and into a more typical Berlin style dive-bar setting. We found tables and a bar with DJ spinning dark-wave tunes in the first room, and a sweaty, low-stage DIY energy in the band room. Our first taste of this was German grunge act Laura Lee & The Jets. The band’s music was soaked in gritty 90s nostalgic guitars topped with sweet vocal tones and cowboy hats.
Navigating the Dutchess Box space felt like pre-covid times where the biggest worry was making sure to get a good spot in the crowd and not missing any artists. For a moment, we could get lost in the energy coming from the bands who also seemed like they had a lot of built up frustration to let out on stage.
The main stage was also about to turn up and match the energy as we entered to catch SynFest regulars A Place To Bury Strangers. With the front man walking into the center of the crowd, a circle of excitement formed around him with distorted noises wailing throughout the room. Upon moving back onto the stage, the band proceeded to unleash loud, distorted tones, flooded in flashing strobe lights while a haze of smoke engulfing the stage.
It was only on the afternoon of the festival’s first day that the “secret guest” was revealed to be prolific psych-rock legends Brian Jonestown Massacre. BJM are known for the 2004 documentary Dig! which gave a look into the tumultuous inner-workings of the band, their heavy drug use and the often erratic behavior from the band’s front-man, Anton Newcombe. They had played a rehearsal show with new members a few days earlier at 8mm Bar which was limited to 50 tickets and sold out in just 4 minutes. They’ve reached somewhat of a cult status, having released 18 albums, 5 compilation albums, 5 live albums, 13 EPs, 16 singles as well as 2 compilation albums to date. With a line up of new members and Newcombe’s now stable demeanor, the band presented a solid set of irregularly-tuned psych-rock chords and layered guitars, rhythmic drums and bright tambourine hits. While there were some quiet moments of tuning in between songs, the set reinforced why they earned such a reputation as leaders in the genre.
This ended night one for us and we headed home with ringing ears and the satisfaction that comes with seeing such an array of live music and a lively scene of supportive fans in Berlin. While we tried to catch everyone on the bill, our recap leaves out other artists that performed no doubt great sets on the first night, including Automatic, Plaisir, Shybits, Emerson Snowe, Sei Still and Hello Pity.
Re-entering the venue on night two, we planned ahead and knew that food options at the festival were scarce (one wurst stand in the courtyard) and that earplugs may be necessary. First on the bill was local Berliner THALA who combines a dreamy soundscape with thoughtful lyrics and retro 70s vibes melded with 90s shoe-gaze and psych. Her charismatic stage presence provided a warm welcome back to the festival. Following her set, we moved over to the upstairs stage and briefly saw ERRORR doing their thing before heading to the other stage. The third stage was now presented by A Place To Bury Strangers‘ Oliver Ackermann’s label DedStrange. Ackermann was performing solo under his other name Death By Audio with a bunch of analogue synths and effects linked up with patch cables in a winding mess a top a table in the center of the room where he was churning out high-velocity noise music.
British/German singer-songwriter, political journalist and poet Anika was an artist that we had on our radar to seeing on the second night. As we moved back to the Kesselhaus, she took the stage and introduced her music between introverted musings which were at times difficult to hear. Nevertheless, it was made up for with her endearingly off-kilter vocals and an impressive performance from her band.
Another thing that we were aware of from night one was that for the gritty DIY spirit that we were craving at the festival, the third stage was the best place to get it. Heading back to DedStrange was the first real encounter with a previously unknown band that left a lasting impression, Berlin-based act The Pleasure Majenta. The band describe themselves as “dark psych from your mother’s womb” and the show they put on was both dark and nurturing to our expectations of the night. We entered to find a bassist in a ski-mask, one member on a drum machine in a kilt and another screaming into the mic. Can recommend!
Looping back once more, we walked past the ever-snaking line of people waiting to enter the random club across the courtyard. This time, though, we saw a fight break out with two guys ganging up on another and pushing him down onto the cobblestones. No one really cared, everyone was minding their own business (including the security guards) and no one seemed to get hurt. It was time to see another anticipated act, London’s The KVB. The band presented a combination of electronic, psychedelic, post-punk and shoe-gaze, playing a bunch of well known hits as well as some new tracks which were in a similar vein. Dark, loud and backed by surreal visuals, The KVB are always worth experiencing.
We were told that German post-punk act Bleib Modern cancelled due to illness but were happy to return to DedStrange to see the Berlin-based three-piece Jealous. Fronted by two riot girls, Dane Joe and Paz Bonfil, the band proved to be another highlight of the festival, with the two playing back to back, stomping on the stage in heels and giving zero fucks while their heavy-hitting drummer sat back and kept it together.
The final act on the main stage was Bristol’s experimental electronic rock band with Portishead’s Geoff Barrow on drums, the fan favorite Beak>. Although they took to the stage with a seated front man, no visuals and basic spot lights, the crowd ate it up, shouting banter back and forth between songs and eventually booing when the set was over. The seated vocalist/bassist, Billy Fuller, jokingly snapped back something to the effect of “two minutes ago you loved me and now I want to leave and so you hate me, fuck you”. The music was impressive and with the production not being as impressive compared to some other acts on the main stage, it took away from the visual experience and put the main focus on the music. With one member playing a sample pads and keyboards simultaneously and the band presenting their unique mix of dub and experimental Krautrock, they proved to be another standout performance.
Bringing the festival to a close was Berlin-based electronic/rock band Plattenbau on the DedStange stage. By this point, we were ready to have one last raucous encounter before calling the weekend. Plattenbau’s Bassist had also played for Anika on the main stage and was a highlight, along with German guitarist Jesper Munk. The band were a fitting end to festival, thrashing away and giving the DIY stage one last energetic performance before the room emptied and the crowd began to head off into the night.
Synästhesie Festival once again claimed its place in the Berlin music community with a well-curated mix of artists representing different scenes around the world and coming together to share common interests and a love for music. Looking back on the weekend with ears still ringing, it’s clear that 8MM Musik have a solid grip on how to pull of successful big events with impressive sound and lighting and managed to bring 20 artists representing different genders and sexualities together during a pandemic to create a memorable weekend of live performances. We look forward to seeing what the festival brings next year as it continues to grow and is hopefully no longer effected by the pandemic.
Photographers:
Alex Forrest
Sol Astolfi
