CTM Festival 2025

Even if the year is just getting started and January isn’t much associated with the word ‘festival’, Berlin proves once again why the city’s cultural scene is so vibrant and forward-thinking. From January 24 to February 2, CTM Festival is back to offer, in their own words, “a kaleidoscope of voices amidst our chaotic and shifting realities, mirroring and adding to the confusing polyphony of our current moment.” Here’s what you can’t miss.

Self-defined as a “festival for adventurous music & art,” CTM is known for inviting artists who’re constantly pushing the limits of their media — sound experimentation, music, digital art, installation, performance, research-based practices, and more. Of course, this year the focus remains the same: to bring together communities and explore the infinite possibilities within artistic creation through masterclasses, workshops, and talks, as well as live performances and concerts.

Among the many interesting activities in their schedule, we recommend Portrait XO’s workshop Introduction to Small Data and Generative AI Sound Creation, where participants will be introduced to different plugins and softwares for sound creation. Another unmissable is Elijah’s talk Close the App, Make the Ting, where he’ll be discussing his viral and successful ‘yellow square’ project — you’ve probably seen some of his work on his Instagram (@eli1ah). On another hand, three distinctive artists will get together to share their collective approach to the resynthesis of folklore: musician Adela Mede, sound experimentalist Marta Forsberg, and light artist Nindya Nareswari.

In terms of concerts and performances, it’s hard to choose when the standards are so high, but we’ll do our best. Starting with Kianí del Valle’s Performance Group with a piece commissioned by Barcelona-based festival Sónar that “delves into the liminal realms that straddle life and death, solitude and connection.” As part of the collaboration with another Berlin festival, Transmediale, CTM schedules different performances, including Portrait XO’s The Cost of Connection and the magnificent Rick Farin & Actual Objects’ Chaos Play Live.

At Berghain, one of the city’s most emblematic clubs and cultural hubs, CTM has programmed three different days of activities, with performances and concerts by artists as diverse as Witch Club Satan, Caterina de Nicola, Bendik Giske, Sealionwoman, Kasimyn, or Minna-no-kimochi. While at Oxi, another club, collective Meta Rave will do a takeover inviting Latin American artists like Lechuga Zafiro, Genosidra, rEmPiT g0dDe$$, or Nuevo Prohibido. To end our recommendations, at Alte Münze Prägehalle, you can’t miss the performances of Aka Hex (the joint project of Aïsha Devi and Slikback), Takkak Takkak, and femtannyl.

Again, CTM Festival proves why Berlin is still one of the coolest cities in Europe and why so many people working in the creative industries want to establish themselves there. The line-up combines experts in visual art, sound experimentation, computing, AI, filmmaking, light design, and more, making it one of the most diverse and enriching events out there.