The latest project by Kevin Martin aka The Bug, whose appearance at CTM 2015 left a speechless, shell-shocked Berghain audience in its wake, is a collaborative face-off with Dylan Carlson of the legendary Seattle drone metal band Earth. These two sonic maximalists will engage in an aptly-matched, epic musical battle between subterranean guitar drones and structure-rattling electronics. While Martin’s work in dub, industrial hip hop and dancehall engages with the politics of contemporary urban landscapes, Carlson’s artistic trajectory flows through dark Americana.

Opening for The Bug vs. Dylan Carlson of Earth will be Polish guitarist and composer Jakub Ziołek (of T’ien Lai), whose one-man project Stara Rzeka ("Old River") is similarly imaginative in its references to the dark underbelly of cultural heritage. Named after a small village in the heart of Poland's beautiful Tuchola Forest region, the project infuses black metal with krautrock and psychedelic folk to reflect on the historical and contemporary relationship between human civilisation and nature — a relationship defined by both joy and profound loss.

A spirited afterparty at the multi-room club and community center SchwuZ, which since its establishment in 1977 has been an indispensable resource in Berlin’s gay and queer scenes, will spotlight a range of voices to celebrate the diversity and unity that has shaped the very foundations of club culture. MikeQ, a hero in the long-standing east coast USA ballroom/vogue-house scene, is an active DJ and head of the collective Qween Beat. He will be joined by dancers from Berlin Voguing Out, an initiative founded in 2011 by Georgina Leo Melody and Mic Oala that organizes vogue balls, classes, lectures, and an annual festival.

Gothenberg’s Toxe, a 2015 RBMA participant and one of the most celebrated members of the forward-looking Staycore label, will dish out a serving of colourful, plastic nihilism and techy, reference-loaded severity. 

Skilfully toying with the codes of current bass music and layering sonic emotion with ultra-percussive breaks, Berlin-based Jackie will present her unique vision with a genre-defying DJ set of twisted HD groove.

DFA-signee and ex- opera singer Nils Bech, who is equal parts avant-garde performance artist and dancefloor songwriter, will present his romantic, sweet-toothed pop songs.

Presenting a new piece developed for the occasion, Berlin-based Brazilian artist Negroma proposes music as an extension of their performative body.

2016 RBMA Montreal participant Marie Davidson will present the heavy-lidded coldwave, synthpop and EBM that have made her one of the year’s buzzed-about emerging talents.

DJ, producer, and Peaches collaborator Ziúr combines challenging sonic textures and brainy beats for a foggy, noisy, entrancing do-si-do.

Kicking off the night, RBMA alumnus Alis mixes the abstract, noisey end of contemporary club with new dancefloor mutations.

Berlin fixture Jan Paul Anders will provide a soft landing at the end of 10 long festival days with a vigorous house set.

CTM will also team up with Red Bull Studios Berlin to present several daytime events with a variety of partners.

On February 1st, CTM and ingenious Berlin-based music hardware and software company Ableton will collectively host a masterclass with composer, sound designer and percussionist Dennis DeSantis, who is Head of Documentation at the company and wrote the popular book Making Music: Creative Strategies for Electronic Music Producers. In this talk, which is open to beginners and pros alike, DeSantis will explore different types of creative strategies for getting started, making progress, and (most importantly) getting music finished.

On February 2nd and 3rd,  celebrated Berlin based music hardware/software company Native Instruments, will offer the two -day “Native Sessions.” This event picks up from the "Komplete Sketches" project in which Native Instruments challenge a handful of Berlin-based producers, CTM alumni, and CTM 2017 artists to create a musical sketch using effects and instruments exclusively from the Native Instrument "Komplete 11" software. The producers will present their work and offer sound design masterclasses. The event will be expanded via roundtable discussions about the role of cutting-edge sound design in giving voice to emotions and developing artistic identity. The sketches will be played at a listening station in Kunstquartier Bethanien throughout the festival.

On Saturday, February 4th, CTM and RBMA present special sessions with Earth’s Dylan Carlson and with MikeQ at Red Bull Studios Berlin.