Takeover Festival

Classical meets techno: this is the specialty of the trio founded in Wiesbaden in 2008 and consisting of Daniel Brandt, Jan Brauer, and Paul Frick. At the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, the ensemble transforms the backstage into an exclusive club. The musicians combine the repetitive groove of electronic dance music with the sound world of new classical music – revealing a stylistic openness typical of the musicians of their generation.

Switzerland and ballet are more than just Basel and Zurich. In search of exciting approaches to modern dance, we came across the French-Swiss Beaver Dam Company. With its founder and chief choreographer Edouard Hue, Dive explores people and their innate emotions. “Are you feeling yourself yet?” This is the main question asked by the work – in line with the focus of our Takeover Festival: the immediacy of feeling.

Neoclassical! Take the best compositional tricks of classical music, mix them with the loops of pop music, incorporate the know-how of film musicians, and we have a sound experience where everyone can join in – this sums up the Kirill Richter & Richter Trio, who open up new listening worlds out of old dreams. The music of Kirill Richter, Alena Zinovieva, and Avgust Krepak speaks to the brain as well as the feelings – in other words, neo is just like good old classical.

A musical journey around the world in downtempo: this is how Berlin DJ and producer Nicolas Demuth a.k.a Parra for Cuva made it to number six on the British singles charts. When piano, steel drum, and kalimba all enter the dance floor at the same time, there are no more boundaries between pop, house, and world music. Musical expeditions for multiple senses: with Parra for Cuva’s specially-designed visuals, our eyes join the listening experience.

Classical music fans know the term "Mannheim School" – some pop artists may have even honed their craft in one. But get ready for the "Weilheim sound"! Many bands have been born in this city, all modeled on the German indie rock band The Notwist. We have invited the original from Bavaria to Baden-Baden and are looking forward to a mix of indie rock, electronics, and experimental pop.

ÄTNA, a German electronica/independent duo from Dresden, is known for its mix of electronic music and live performance centering around the piano – usually. But with us everything is different. The two ÄTNA musicians Inéz Schaefer and Demian Kappenstein have arranged their songs for the North German chamber orchestra ensemble reflektor. We’re looking forward! After all, the Takeover Festival was founded to make such artistic collaborations possible.

Living under laboratory conditions? At some point it was enough for Hervé Koubi, the PhD pharmacist with Algerian roots. He traded the security of a bourgeois profession for the happiness of an artist's life and founded his own dance company, where Sleeping Beauty dances at rave parties. With his mix of contemporary ballet and elements of urban dance culture, Koubi got off to a flying start and is now presenting his art in Baden-Baden.