Photo by Marius Watz

Ich wünschte ich wäre ein Berliner. In addition to being the present epicenter of clubbing, Berlin plays host to a number of great events as well, including the sprawling Club Transmediale festival which kicked off last night. Opening with Wolfgang Voigt performing as Gas, the festival is already off to a great start and there’s a whole week still to come. After the jump we’ll break down our favorite events and shows, and offer the chance to win a pair of tickets to ~scape’s closing party, which features the likes of Pole, Dan Bell, Peverelist, Mike Huckaby and more.

Like Mutek, the Club Transmediale festival is broken up into day events like lectures, discussions, and film screenings, and night events, when the ties are loosened up and things get pleasantly blurry. Because the festival lasts for more than a week (ending January 31st) with so much planned each day, LWE will showcase a few events that caught our eye and made us wish for more frequent flyer miles. (Tickets available here.)

Photo by uglynoid

Day Events:

• Peter Wicke discusses “The Crisis of the Music Industry: Chance or Calamity?” @ The Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien, Jan. 24th, 15:00
• The KLF member, Bill Drummond, asserts “All Recorded Music Has Run Its Course“ @ The Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien, Jan. 25th, 18:00
• A panel discusses the purpose and future of “digital-only” labels at The Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien, Jan. 27th, 16:30
• Film screening of “I Need That Record!”, which examines the fate of independent record shops in America, @ The Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien, Jan. 28th, 15:00
• A discussion of “New platforms for cooperative, networked production” @ The Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien, Jan. 28th, 18:00

Photo by bedzhanova

Night Events:

• Live visual/musical performance from Errorsmith, visomat inc. and Telematique @ Maria am Ostbahnhof main hall, Jan. 23rd, 23:00
• Spektral Disco party featuring Lindstrøm, Prins Thomas, Black Devil Disco Club, The Emperor Machine and Elitetechnique @ Maria am Ostbahnhof main hall, Jan. 24rd, 23:00
• Shitkatapult’s 100th Strike party featuring Daniel Meteo, Tom Thiel, Thomas Fehlmann, O.S.T., Felix, DJ Flush and T.Raumschmiere @ Maria am Ostbahnhof main hall, Jan. 25rd, 21:00
• Roster-Noton’s rhythm_screen performance featuring alva noto (Carsten Nicolai), Byetone, SND and Frank Bretschneider @ Maria am Ostbahnhof 2nd stage, Jan. 28th, 22:00
• RA vs. CTM: Audictive party featuring Guillaume & the Coutu Dumonts, Black Rose (Henrik Schwarz & Jesse Rose), Anja Schneider, Mathias Kaden & VJ Rixon, Touane, and Reynold @ Maria am Ostbahnhof main hall, Jan. 30th, 23:00

But the last party of the festival at Maria am Ostbahnhof (Jan. 31st, 23:00), curated by ~scape, is our favorite. Featuring two floors of musical madness, the event caters to techno lovers of all stripes.

Celebrating the release of the Round Black Ghosts 2 compilation, the main hall features performances by Peverelist, Pole (live), Benga, Skream, Zed Bias, and Bass Clef. The Deep Droid floor is stunning as well, offering performances by Dan Bell and friends (live), Mike Huckaby, New World Aquarium (live), Barbara Preisinger, and Syncom Data (live). If you find yourself drooling at the line-up and will be in the Berlin area that night, simply answer this trivia question and you and a friend will get in for free: Which artist playing ~scape’s magnificent party has released on vaunted indie rock label, Matador? Send your answer to editor[at]littlewhiteearbuds[dot]com by January 28th, 12:00 CST; one correct answer will be chosen at random. Good luck, and enjoy the festivities for us!