Monolake

Robert Henke with Tarik Barri
October 4–8, 2010
Studio 1—Goodman

"Berlin-based composer and sound artist Robert Henke, who is also one of the principal authors of Ableton Live software, provided insights into his artistic approach in two talks, and performed a multi-channel audiovisual concert together with visual artist Tarik Barri. As a child of Berlin’s 1990s club culture, Robert Henke started composing music influenced both by academic computer music and electronic dance music. He releases music and performs under the alias Monolake; teaches sound design at the Berlin University of Arts; and writes about computer-generated sound. He lives and works in Berlin.

October 6: Live. Max. Max For Live. What is it Good for? The Ableton Live software gave birth to a new way of creating and performing electronic music and became a huge success among dance music producers; but the academic music world remained skeptical, with Max/MSP considered the standard tool in academic computer music. Live and Max seem to cater to a very different audience. In this talk, Henke asked: what happens when those two worlds become more integrated?

October 6: Live Performance in the Age of Supercomputers Henke considered the question: How can we convincingly perform computer- based auditive or audiovisual art in today’s world? The possibilities for sound generation and manipulation are almost limitless; however, the interfaces, as well as our experience and practice with them, are not nearly as advanced. Robert Henke offered his theoretical ideas of performing live and contrasted them with a critical review of his own concerts.

October 7: Monolake Live Surround offered walls of pulsating sound made danceable by heavy percussion and massive bass pulses, exploring the possibilities of spatial sound design in a club environment by using minimal, dub-influenced techno music. This concert experience reflected Henke’s ongoing research in expanding the usual club soundscape by using four or more discrete audio channels.

Event Type
Discipline
Tools and Technology
Artist
Curator
Premiere

October 7, 2010

Wednesday, October 6, 2010 at 7PM
Talk
Robert Henke
Wednesday, October 6, 2010 at 1PM
Music/Sound, Talk
Robert Henke
October 7, 2010
Music/Sound, Performance
with Tarik Barri