The festival takes place in about twenty-five different venues around the city and kicks off with Junior Boys and Tricky tomorrow night. Get Physical, Ninja Tunes, BPitch, !K7, EdBanger and Innervisions all have their own label nights in different clubs during the event.

The festival's been running since 1989 and has been based in Berlin since 2004. Apart from the obvious opportunities to go and see a lot of good music, the festival also gives out awards, acts as a trade show for the music industry and hosts a congress where the important issues in music are tackled. This year Wim Wenders is giving a keynote talk, and Radiohead's In Rainbows will be the subject of a debate.

For Berliners on the ground the festival, they say, is a bit of a pain in the ass. All of a sudden the clubs and bars they go to and love are full of sleep-starved bookers stood patiently with notebooks looking for the next act to pay the bills.

Check out our interviews after the festival.