The enclaves of Folk and Pop have melded with the expansive borderlessness of laptop Electronica into what is yet another overused, floating signifier: Folktronica. The reach of the term, grown to encompass the spectrum from Four Tet to Múm and all things boreal, freaky and foresty, is stretched, but still too narrow to cover the tendencies to folkiness in instrumentation, exploratory structures and a certain homeliness that are being engaged with by a wide range of musicians, identifiably woven with Noise, Psychedelia and cosmic Sounds. In tonight’s line-up, there may be plucked harps and acoustic guitars, but the darkness that pervades the music is at odds with flower garlands and foliage – the genial warmth of folk and pop elements belie the depths just below the surface in these probing, beguiling projects.
 
Holland’s Machinefabriek, who creates delicate, textured soundscapes with laptop and instruments, will be making his first appearance in Berlin. His finely tuned performance-sense ensures listeners will be enchanted by the trance-like, atmospheric sound. Floating, surreal filigrees drift through dark tones and high volumes to reveal the power
 
Islaja is a widely acclaimed solo project from Merja Kokkonen who is closely affiliated with the Finnish Free Folk scene and its psychedelic aesthetic. Her songs, recorded at home in her own studio, evince mesmerising, fine acoustic textures and bewilderingly surreal moments. A wonderful complement to the bluesy, sometimes gentle, sometimes thrilling psychedelia of her neighbour on the bill, Ignatz.
 
Jan Jelinek of Farben and the landmark Loop-finding Jazz Records fame alongside fellow Berliners Hanno Leichmann and Andrew Pekler introduces the new project, Groupshow. In a folky collectivism strongly focused on the live-experience of music making they create improvised chaos that resolves itself into drone-based explorations with Krautrock-like looping beats, and cosmic undertones.
 
At the end of the evening stands the Berlin debut for the Danish band, Efterklang, that unites acoustic beauty and electronic melancholy in a mix of folk and gentle Pop gestures. Efterklang’s first album, Tripper (2004) catapulted the band to fame and assured it a number one hit in the Danish singles charts. Their second album, Parades, released in 2007 on The Leaf Label, brings together 11 emotionally charged, majestically ethereal orchestral pieces, elaborated with romantic charm that lures the listener into strangely enchanting worlds. To see the 9-strong band live is a fascinating experience.