Berlin's THE OCEAN are co-organizers of the newborn Friction Fest taking place at the Astra and the Cassiopeia clubs in Berlin, Germany on May 7th and 8th.

A press release on the event reads as follows:

Friction Fest - the name reflects our mission: to create friction between different genres and styles of music, mainly within the rock realm, but open in any possible direction. We aim to establish an international forum for bands and artists who are committed to exploring new sounds and taking things a little step further than your average rock or metal band. In doing so, we intend to set a counterpoint to the prevalent festival routines which perpetuate musical boredom and mediocrity by offering only bands from a very narrow musical spectrum.

Friction Fest, instead, is a festival for music lovers - for people who love the KING CRIMSON as much as the SWANS and NASUM. A spirit of daringness and willingness to experiment and push boundaries is the leitmotif that unites all artists performing at Friction Fest and ourselves, the promoters. However, we never want to forget where we come from: the glorious land of rock n' roll, home of the riff!

Friction Fest is taking place in Berlin, and there is a reason why. Berlin has long been appreciated as the alternative capital of Europe, by Berliners as much as by backpackers from all over the world. It is a city with a thriving underground music scene, not only in electronic regards, but also in terms of punk, hardcore, metal, post-rock, ambient, drone and experimental guitar music of any kind. Seeing that, it is hard to understand why Berlin does not already have a Friction Fest!

Confirmed bands:

ENTOMBED, CYNIC, WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM, THE OCEAN, BOHREN & DER CLUB OF GORE, EFTERKLANG, THE BLACK HEART PROCESSION, OLAFUR ARNALDS,, NILS FRAHM & PETER BRODERICK, SAMAVAYO,, LONG DISTANCE CALLING, GRAILS, AMEN RA, PG.LOST, MASTER MUSICIANS OF BUKKAKE, TAINT, ARMS & SLEEPERS, AUCAN, DER WEG EINER FREIHEIT, ELYJAH, ZATOKREV, ROBIN TOM RINK, FREDY ROTTEN.

For more info visit www.frictionfest.com.