CTM 2014 – Dis Continuity

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The 15th anniversary edition of CTM took place from 24 January – 2 February 2014 in various Berlin venues including HAU – Hebbel am Ufer, Berghain, Stattbad, West Germany, Where is Jesus? Temporary Space, and Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien.

Entitled Dis Continuity, CTM 2014 focused on hidden connections between past and present musical experimentation by fostering dialogue between musical pioneers whose ideas and discoveries continue to influence how we create and experience music today, and a rising young generation of artists. Adopting a less hierarchical approach, Dis Continuity reconstructed and re-imagined select threads of experimental and electronic music history. Thus it illuminated and contributed to a gradual evolution towards an increasingly open and dynamic concept of music that transgresses the barriers between scientific research, art, pop, academic culture, and various forms of artistic practice.

Widespread access to archival materials currently sparks new, creative ways of interacting with the past that challenge concepts of history and how it is transmitted. The 10-day CTM 2014 festival could at best only begin to convey an idea of how we can play with and (re)shape the ways that individual and collectives stories and ideas can be relayed.

Over 200 artists and professionals from 33 different countries contributed to over 180 performances and projects that made up the CTM 2014 programme, which also included an 8-day Transfer programme that encompassed the discourse series of artist talks and film screenings, a collaborative MusicMaker’s Hacklab for music technology, contributions from universities via performances and an Education Networking Day. The 15th edition featured several premieres of commissioned works, either through CTM’s new Berlin Current programme or through the CTM 2014 Radio Lab. This edition also hosted an installation and exhibition, both of which ran long past the festival.

As always, the CTM festival was held in parallel to and in collaboration with transmediale – festival for art and digital culture which took place at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt. The weekend before the festivals, CTM and transmediale’s P2P Vorspiel.

»Olympos van avontuur en experiment.«
→ Kindamuzik.net, Sven Schlijper

»L’un de ces festivals qui permet de vivre de rares expériences.«
→ Les inrockuptibles, Jérôme Provençal

»Un festival che guarda costantemente al futuro.«
→ witclub.net, Manuel Grippa

»As rich as Berlin's music scene is, its nightlife veers strongly toward all things house and techno. CTM does a good job of shaking this up a bit, bringing in different styles, highlighting more experimental artists and generally taking a lot of chances.«
→ Resident Advisor, Will Lynch

»Lasting over a week, CTM is not a festival for the faint hearted. This really is the strength and weakness of CTM: as it is genuinely impossible to attend every event, one is forced to pick and choose, but the broad and fascinating range of artists on the bill tell an incredible story, leaving you wishing you could be in two places at once.«
→ Crack Magazine, Thomas Painter

»Le CTM festival équivaut presque à un temple solaire pour tous les mélomanes qui n’ont pas froid aux yeux – ni aux oreilles.«
→ Mouvement, J.P.

»Il programma è, al solito, ricchissimo, ricercato e sorprendente, costellato di anteprime, progetti esclusivi e punte di diamante.«
→ artribune.com

»Depuis 15 ans, le leitmotiv est simple: sortir la musique électronique expérimentale des cercles restreints d’initiés où elle se trouve pour la faire entendre au grand public. Pour cela, le fesitval s’attache à proposer durant une semaine des concerts, des conférences, des performances, des projections d’artistes, dont le travail peu médiatisé et souvent inconnu recèle pourtant de véritables merveilles artistiques. Le CTM contribue à démocratiser un milieu réellement innovant mais mahleureusement confidentiel.«
→ Berlin Poche, Florent Rousse