The night is part of Berlin’s CTM festival 2024. The Irish-focused event will also involve Lankum’s Ian Lynch as One Eye One Leg and Shampain.

GASH is gearing up to curate their own night in Berghain next February. The Irish collective which champions female, trans, queer, and non-binary people in the industry, are hosting in the iconic club as part of CTM Festival 2024. The party and label have gained a following in Dublin by carefully curating safe spaces for the development of new ideas, particularly from marginalised voices which all too often go unrecognised.

Berlin’s CTM festival is an annual affair, and this year it returns for a celebration of its 25th anniversary with a core focus on Ireland. Thanks to Zeitgeist Irland 24 initiative from Culture Ireland and the Embassy of Ireland in Germany, the festival aims to weave stories and sounds from Ireland into the festivities to ‘showcase Irish talent to German audiences’. CTM also plays with the theme ‘sustain’, asking the questions, What if ‘sustain’ were a sound? What would it sound like? The way the festival seeks to engage in music is multifaceted, one level it sees music as a place of expression and refuge, yet it also sees it as a force for good, propelling listeners to ‘the brighter end of the spectrum‘.

The festival’s focus on Ireland goes beyond the hallowed halls of Berghain, with a packed daytime schedule including panel talks and interactive workshops. The first part of the festival will be a deep dive into how Irish folklore can be an inspiration for creating dark and even mournful walls of sound in the underground scene. Ian Lynch, founding member of the experimental folk group Lankum, is debuting his solo venture One Eye One Leg at CTM. There’s much anticipation surrounding the performance of Lynch’s 2022 album And Take The Black Worm With Me as it’s often seen as a distinctly harrowing spacial exploration of Dublin. Other Irish artists involved in the festival include Galway-based DJ Shampain, electronic folk project Moundabout, and more.

Attendees of GASH’s Berghain night are in for something very special. “Opening with Baptist Goth, who appears live as a fusion of an emo trap idol and a Catholic saint, after which Americhord will drive up the bpm with a dive into deep techno and electronica,” as promised by CTM’s website. “ALYXIS deepens the groove with a dark and bassy live AV set that might include interjections from a reassuring chatbot voice and housey pop edits. DJ sets from the collective’s co-founders ELLLL and Lolz span abstract experimentalism, fragmented rhythms, and bass-heavy club bangers, while GASH collective regulars and avid record collectors Eliza and Maeve O’Neill will close with a wide-ranging set drawing on electro, ebm, techno, and acid.”

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