Live Review: Out Of Line Weekender - Berlin 2025 (Day 1 & 2)

Astra Kulturhaus, Berlin, Germany
Dates: 8th to 10th May 2025
Out Of Line Weekender 2025 - Dark’n’Electro Edition - with Corlyx, Years of Denial, Motor!k, Marie Davidson, Linea Aspera, The KVB, Kllsgnl, Any Second, Klutae, Torul, Dive, Solitary Experiments, Hocico

For three days in May, Berlin’s Astra Kulturhaus turned into a black-clad sanctuary of sound. Out Of Line Weekender 2025 delivered a carefully curated blend of genres - from raw Industrial to ethereal Synth-Pop, Coldwave, and Moise.

I was able to attend the first two days, Thursday and Friday, before private obligations kept me from Saturday’s grand finale. Even so, what I experienced was a rich and relentless celebration of dark electronic music - unsettling, moving, euphoric and cathartic, often all at once. Lighting left much to be desired, but sonically, these nights were unforgettable.


Day 1 - Thursday, 8th May 2025

Corlyx

Unfortunately, I only caught the final moments of CORLYX’s opening set due to a delayed arrival after work. The last haunting synth lines were still echoing through the venue as I entered, but I wasn’t able to capture photos or get a full sense of the performance. Still, the atmosphere hinted at a promising start, and audience reactions suggested it was a worthy opener.


Years of Denial

Fully immersed and with camera in hand, I joined the crowd just in time for YEARS OF DENIAL - and what a shift it was. The Franco-British duo created a ritualistic tension with their hypnotic beats, distorted vocals and heavy atmosphere. The performance unfolded like a post-apocalyptic sermon, dark and transfixing. Minimal lighting created harsh silhouettes - a visual that worked better by accident than design.

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Motor!k

MOTOR!K offered something completely different: hypnotic Krautrock grooves with no vocals, no theatrics - just slow-burning, loop-driven trance. The Belgian trio’s chemistry was tight, and their evolving textures created a meditative pull. Dim lights cast them in near-constant shadow, which somehow enhanced the music’s mechanical mystique.

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Marie Davidson

A highlight in terms of concept and presence, MARIE DAVIDSON performed like a futurist beat poet. Her set mixed dry spoken-word commentary with pulsing Techno and a theatrical detachment that both amused and provoked. She was sharp, stylish, and completely in control. Unfortunately, the weak stage lighting undercut her visual impact - a missed opportunity for a set this nuanced.

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Linea Aspera

LINEA ASPERA brought a flood of Darkwave emotion. Alison Lewis sang with aching precision over analogue synths, delivering every lyric like a memory pulled from a wound. The set felt deeply intimate - like dancing in a stranger’s heartbreak. The lights, sadly, did nothing to support her - often too dim to capture facial expression or mood changes. Still, the music pierced through.

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The KVB

Closing the evening, THE KVB wrapped us in layers of reverb and synth, combining Shoegaze fog with driving electronics. It was a gorgeous sound bath, though one that struggled visually - both performers were hidden in near-constant shadows. But no one seemed to mind. The crowd drifted, danced, dissolved into the sound. A cinematic close to a striking first night.

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Day 2 - Friday, 9th May 2025

Kllsgnl

KLLSGNL opened with a brooding, atmospheric set. More ambient sculpture than traditional performance, their textures shifted like fog over concrete. The lighting was nearly non-existent - which may have been intentional, though it left little to engage with visually. A subdued start, but an evocative one.

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Any Second

ANY SECOND shattered the stillness with pounding EBM and vicious vocal attack. Their energy turned the venue into a body-moving pressure cooker. Harsh, direct, loud - exactly what the crowd needed. The lighting, while chaotic, was marginally better here, enough to reflect sweat and steel.

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Klutæ

Punk-infused industrial violence - KLUTÆ came in swinging. Claus Larsen prowled the stage with Punk Rock rage, spitting distortion-heavy tracks like protest anthems from the underground. It was messy in the best way. Red and white strobe bursts matched the chaos, though again - too little contrast or depth on stage.

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Torul

With TORUL, melody returned. Their sleek Synth-Pop stylings and melancholic songwriting gave the crowd something softer to hold onto. The audience swayed, sang and smiled - a welcome emotional break. Sadly, the visuals were disappointingly flat, not reflecting the elegance of the music.

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Dive

DIRK IVENS as DIVE was a masterclass in minimal Industrial power. Just a man and a strobe light – and it was brilliant. The relentless noise, the cold visuals, the raw voice - everything boiled down to essence. Lighting didn’t matter. He brought his own.

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Solitary Experiments

Berlin’s own SOLITARY EXPERIMENTS were greeted with roaring approval and gave the crowd what they wanted: emotional Future Pop with anthemic choruses and warm energy. One of the most crowd-connected sets of the weekend. While the lighting wasn’t ideal, their charisma and clarity carried it through.

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Hocico

HOCICO closed the night with unrelenting force - but this was more than just sound. It was theatre, ritual, chaos and control all at once. The Mexican duo fused harsh Aggro-Electro with a visual experience that bordered on spiritual possession. Dancers emerged like apparitions from a pre-Hispanic vision, performing intricate, trance-like rituals that evoked the spirit of ancient Mexico. The stage turned into a modern pagan altar, where industrial noise and ancestral energy collided. Frontman Erk Aicrag owned the space with primal energy, pacing, screaming, conducting. Between the throbbing basslines and searing synths, the ceremonial elements offered a striking contrast - movement steeped in heritage layered over synthetic violence. It was intense, cinematic, unforgettable. For once, even the lighting rose to the occasion - at least partially - bathing the stage in blood-red and obsidian shadows that suited the theme perfectly.

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Day 3 - Saturday, 10th May 2025 (Not attended)

Due to personal commitments, I was unable to attend Saturday’s performances. However, the final day featured a powerful lineup that extended the festival’s momentum, including: COVENANT, LEÆTHER STRIP, SHE HATES EMOTIONS, SIDEWALKS AND SKELETONS, MINTAGE, VIOLENT MAGIC ORCHESTRA. From synthpop legends to blackened noise-art provocateurs, the closing night surely delivered a fitting end to an intense and deeply textured weekend.

All Pictures by Dagmar Urlbauer