Skrillex unveils CONTRA, an evolving platform connecting experimental electronic music and contemporary culture

Skrillex has revealed CONTRA, launching it as an evolving platform aiming to connect experimental electronic music, emerging club sounds and contemporary popular culture with an ambitious two-day event at Kraftwerk Berlin later this month.

Taking place on May 30 and 31 in collaboration with Berlin Atonal, the inaugural experience of CONTRA will take over the entirety of Kraftwerk’s sprawling industrial complex, activating not only the former power station itself but also the connected club spaces of Tresor, Globus and OHM.

The event will host more than 70 artists spanning club music, experimental sound design and live performance, with organisers describing the programme as moving “between collective intensity and exploratory forms” while using Kraftwerk’s monumental architecture as an active part of the experience.

Though initial teasers for the festival surfaced last week, CONTRA has now officially been confirmed as a project spearheaded by Skrillex alongside an international curatorial and creative team. The line-up reflects the project’s broad sonic scope, bringing together artists from underground electronic scenes, internet-born rap and experimental performance.

Among the newly announced headliners are Blawan, Knock2, Bladee, BNYX, Ecco2k and Mechatok alongside collaborative performances from Palestinian vocalist Nai Barghouti with Thys and Péter Somos, as well as Tohji x Mechatok.

They join an already expansive cast featuring Juliana Huxtable, Nick Leon, Slikback, Crystallmess, Isabella Lovestory, Kamixlo, KAVARI, Malibu, TYGAPAW, Toma Kami and JASSS among many others.

Beyond the music programming, CONTRA places a significant emphasis on spatial and visual design. Paris-based studio Matiere Noire will lead the event’s environmental design, transforming Kraftwerk’s cavernous industrial halls into more intimate environments through large-scale scenography and lighting interventions.

The studio is known for work with brands including Courrèges, MM6 Maison Margiela, Cartier, Chanel and Y-3, with organisers stating the installation will aim to dissolve distinctions between sound, light and architecture.

CONTRA arrives at a moment where the lines between underground electronic music, avant-pop and internet culture continue to blur, particularly among younger audiences moving fluidly between club spaces, online communities and experimental live performance. With its combination of heavyweight names, forward-thinking curation and one of Berlin’s most imposing venues, the project positions itself less as a conventional festival and more as a new interdisciplinary cultural platform.