“Creamcake grew out of our time spent in clubs,” says Daniela Seitz, co-founder of Berlin’s underground arts and performance festival. “We wanted to bring that fluidity of identities and sense of community into different architectures and Berlin spaces.”
When we take over a space, it’s empowering because it becomes fully inhabited by our community.
Since its inception in 2011 as a club night with a stage in a Südblock toilet, Creamcake has blended electronic music with art and performance, transforming both renowned and lesser-known Berlin venues into spaces for expression and experimentation. In a single night, you might find yourself watching a goth-screaming experimental artist from Shanghai, followed by a discussion on contemporary politics, before wrapping it all up with a DJ set from a local talent.
This year’s festival edition, titled ‘3hd 2024: The Shadows That Linger’, explores the political potential of the unsettling, with a focus on digital technology and the alienation it creates. The three-weekend programme kicks off with a club takeover at RSO (from the team behind the now-defunct Griessmuehle) and features cult electronic duo Bassvictim as well as the hyped London artist and producer object blue.
In addition to a wrestling event at HAU and a concert night at silent green’s Betonhalle, the festival includes a moving-image exhibition at Berlinische Galerie, showcasing diverse film works, including a talking green marble slab in Cihad Caner’s hallucinogenic and thrillingly odd film, The Green Marble.
A standout performance is the Berlin premiere of NEMATOCYST by Taiwanese-American movement director Jas Lin and producer, Hearthealer, offering a potent dose of love and liberation. “It’s a ritual,” says Seitz. “The dance floor becomes a microcosm of the world, and the audience is invited to interact with the performers, who guide them through breathing exercises and collective movement.”
This performance echoes Creamcake’s roots in fostering connections in an increasingly disembodied digital world. “The way we move our bodies, how we feel at home on the dance floor, and how individual movements ripple out into collective action – that’s really at the heart of the festival’s mission.”
Another standout is XTC, a Stockholm choir set to take over the silent green’s Betonhalle – a former crematorium – where they blend live electronics and sampled loops with 14th-century compositions. “They use a technique called ‘shadow composition’, intertwining reverberating voices with lingering electronic music,” says Seitz.
“For us, the Betonhalle is the perfect venue, as it is steeped in memory and history. When we take over a space, it’s empowering because it becomes fully inhabited by our community. For me, that’s the hidden magic of Creamcake – one day we want to take over Berlin’s Philharmonie and completely disrupt its function through our artists and the themes we explore.”
In late October, empowered by the togetherness of club culture, Berliners will themselves be able to explore the compelling chaos of this uniquely experimental festival.
- silent green, Berlinische Galerie, HAU and RSO, 3hd 2024: The Shadows That Linger, Oct 19-Nov 2, details.
