What Fits in a Room

The REMMI DEMMI Festival runs on a clean concept: one evening, one ticket, six acts, a single room at the Bi Nuu in Kreuzberg. Berlin has no shortage of sprawling outdoor festival culture, but this kind of intimate indoor evening—carefully curated, small enough that you can actually see the performers’ faces—is something different and usually better.

The April 2017 lineup was genuinely interesting. KEØMA—the project of Kat Frankie and Chris Klopfer—headlined. Frankie has a voice that sounds effortless while clearly not being effortless, which is the good kind of talent. AVEC came from Austria, Klischée from Switzerland. The one that caught my attention most was egopusher, also Swiss, who perform with the unusual combination of drums and violin. That either works beautifully or it’s a disaster, and there’s only one way to find out.

Mari Mana closed the bill. The organizers apparently fell for her voice immediately upon hearing it, which is either a very good sign or a sign that everyone involved was briefly in love. Possibly both.