Monolake is a German
electronic music project, initially consisting of members Gerhard Behles and
Robert Henke, Monolake is now perpetuated by Henke while Behles focuses on running
music software company
Ableton, which they founded in 1999 together with Bernd Roggendorf. From 2004, Torsten Pröfrock became a member of Monolake.
Monolake's minimal,
dub-influenced
techno helped establish the sound of the
Chain Reaction label, also located in Berlin, subsequently using their own
l/i(''Monolake / Imbalance Computer Music'') label for the group's output. Both current members have solo projects, with Henke releasing under his own name and Pröfrock as "T++" and "Various Artists."
In 2008, T++ followed
Ricardo Villalobos in bridging the gap between
minimal techno and
dubstep, by
remix
A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...
ing
Shackleton
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of An ...
's ''Death Is Not Final'' for the
Skull Disco label.
In 2009, Robert Henke appeared in the electronic music documentary, ''
Speaking In Code'', which presented the completion of the
Monodeck.
As of 2012, Henke has been designing a new form of live show syncing surround-sound audio stems with visual loops, allowing for improvisation.
Monolake is named after
Mono Lake, which is east of the
Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...
in
California.
Monodeck
Henke is a
software engineer who develops custom software and hardware for live performances. As well as working as an engineer for Ableton, Henke designed the Atlantic Waves software for performing live with other producers in different countries simultaneously.
In 2003, Henke designed the Monodeck, a
MIDI-controller interface for spontaneous editing and effects work during live performances, even without having to look at the computer screen.
The Monodeck and its successor, Monodeck II, control Ableton Live through special software designed with
Max/MSP.
Discography
Monolake albums
* ''Hongkong'' (Chain Reaction, 1997, re-issued remastered and re-edited in 2008)
* ''Gobi. The Desert EP'' (
l/i 1999)
* ''Interstate'' (
l/i 1999 re-issued in 2007)
* ''Cinemascope'' (
l/i 2001)
* ''Gravity'' (
l/i 2001)
* ''Momentum'' (
l/i 2003)
* ''Polygon_Cities'' (
l/i 2005)
* ''Plumbicon Versions'' (
l/i 2006)
* ''Silence'' (
l/i 2009)
* ''
Ghosts
A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
'' (
l/i 2012)
* ''VLSI'' (2016)
* ''Archaeopteryx'' (2020)
Robert Henke albums
* ''Piercing Music'' (Imbalance, 1994, re-released 2003)
* ''Floating Point'' (Imbalance, 1997)
* ''Signal to Noise'' (Imbalance Computer Music, 2004)
* ''Layering Buddha'' (Imbalance Computer Music, 2006) also released as a 5 x 7" box set
* ''Atom/Document'' (Imbalance Computer Music, 2008)
* ''Indigo_Transform'' (Imbalance Computer Music, 2009)
Torsten Pröfrock albums
* Various Artists ''Decay Product'' (Chain Reaction, 1997)
* Various Artists ''8, 8.5, 9 Remixes'' (FatCat, 1999)
* Dynamo ''Außen Vor'' (DIN, 2002)
References
External links
monolake.de- official website
*
Monolake / Imbalance Computer Musicat
Discogs.com
*
InterviewInterview (2005)Interview (2005)A Conversation with Robert Henke: Silence, Technology, and Process
on Create Digital Music (2010)
{{Authority control
German electronic music groups
Intelligent dance musicians
Ableton Live users
Musical groups from Berlin