Artist Talk: Carsten Nicolai + Olaf Bender

Presented by OCAD’s Interdisciplinary Masters in Art, Media and Design, the Goethe-Institut Toronto and Yatra Arts:

FREE ADMISSION

OCAD 100 McCaul Street, Central Hall, Room 230

raster-noton. archiv für ton und nichtton

CARSTEN NICOLAI <> OLAF BENDER

Having emerged from the fusion of the Rastermusic and Noton labels in 1999, raster-noton has since established itself as the single most influential German platform for experimental electronic music. Run by Noton's Carsten Nicolai (aka Alva Noto) and Olaf Bender (aka Byetone, co-founder of Rastermusic alongside Frank Bretschneider), raster-noton's field of activity expands far beyond that of a traditional record label, encompassing work in design, media art, sound installation, special collaborative projects and sonic research. The label's catalogue of over 100 releases includes works of renowned artists such as Ryoji Ikeda, Ivan Pavlov aka COH, Atom TM, SND, Senking, Mika Vainio (Pan Sonic), Ryuichi Sakamoto, Carl Michael von Hausswolff and newcomers Pixel, NHK, Kangding Ray etc. With a vision that looks well into the future, there is no other imprint like raster-noton in the world today.

O L A F <> B E N D E R

Olaf Bender has built a dynamic, multidisciplinary career in experimental art for almost a quarter century. Bridging the worlds of film, sound and visuals, he is renown for his inventiveness and his ability to synthesize different forms into a cohesive whole.

His first artistic endeavours began when he was a student. The chance discovery of some 16mm equipment sparked a curiosity for film both as a medium and as a material. In his early works, constrained by technical limitations, he created geometrical shapes by scratching the images directly on the film itself to create simple patterns of motion.

These early works brought him into contact with the underground group AG-Geige, who he joined permanently in 1988. His time with them exposed him to the possibilities of sound in art, specifically those offered by computers for artists, like himself, with a strong interest in music, but without formal training.

When the Berlin Wall collapsed in 1989, Bender was working for a music distributor. His experiences there gave him the idea of starting his own music label, to distribute the electronic sounds that were close to his own heart and, in 1996, he started Rastermusic with friend and collaborator Frank Bretschneider. Along with giving a platform to electronic artists working in the same genre, Bender and Bretschneider sought to forge a new aesthetic, with artwork that reflected the unique processes used in the creation of electronic experimental music.

One of the earliest releases of Rastermusic was Project Signal, featuring Bender, Bretschnider and Carsten Nicolai, a musician and proprietor of the Noton label. Project Signal continues as a musical collaboration to this day and, in 1999, the two labels were merged to form the Raster-Noton imprint.

Today, Olaf Bender is responsible for the management of Raster-Noton and is also the chief graphic designer and publicist for the label. He performs as a solo musician under the name Byetone.

PERFORMANCE

Bender creates his music digitally, using sine waves to weave a complex sonic fabric, accented by clicks and effects, taking the listener to an alternate sonic reality, where the rules of the physical world are forgotten.

Live, the fabric of his music is blended seamlessly with a tapestry of animated light, forming a visual balance to the audio component. These abstract images are controlled in real time by Bender, to form a dynamic work of art that overcomes the traditional difficulties of performing electronic music for a live audience.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

Byetone - Death of a Typographer

In the first place my music of course should trigger the physical impulse to dance. My visuals also target on a corresponding physical experience – on the retina – to further stimulate the musical impact with rhythmic changes of light and dark. thus I try to avoid complexity by promoting a comprehensible real-time interchange of visual and musical language.

The numbers used in the visuals represent the progress of beats by simple counting. at the same time they suggest a possible climax – e.g. at the points of 10, 100 or 1000. With the increasing density of the tracks the numbers get superimposed by dynamic layers and lines patterns. The movements and formations of those patterns are calculated according to the frequency rates and intensity of the sound.

The initial black and white patterns gradually are complemented by coloured elements. in the course of the live set the patterns and numbers hence combine in a ever-growing rhythmic complexity.


ARCHIVE

RECORDINGS

Byetone

1999 byetone.20' to 2000, raster-noton
2001 oacis.box, raster-noton
2001 morte aux vaches, staalplaat
2003 byetone.feld, bine-music
2008 byetone.plasticstar ep
2008 byetone.death of a typographer

Collaborations

1996 produkt. float, raster-noton
1997 produkt. stretch, raster-noton
1998 signal.waves and lines, raster-noton
2000 signal.centrum, raster-noton
2003 lumen.weltecho, raster-noton
2007 signal.robotron

Tracks Appear On

2000 new forms, raster-noton
2003 neue berliner initiative, nbi
2004 archiv1, raster-noton
2008 mdslktr.byetone remix

SOLO PERFORMANCES



Byetone

1999 phonotactic, vienna austria
1999 elecrip rote fabrik, zurich switzerland
1999 link., bologna italy
1999 scart-fylkingen, stockholm sweden
2000 ars electronica linz austria
2000 mutek festival, canada
2001 micro mutek, montreal canada
2001 tonic, new york city usa
2002 spiral, tokyo japan
2002 radar, copenhagen denmark
2003 bios, athens greece
2003 alte zeche, essen germany
2003 künstlerhaus bethanien, berlin germany
2004 sensoralia, palladium rome italy
2004 sonic acts festival, amsterdam the netherlands

2006 japan-tour with alva noto, frank bretschneider, signal

2007 domino festival, brussels belgium
2007 decibel festival, seattle usa
2007 paradiso, amsterdam the netherlands
2007 volksbühne, berlin germany

2008 ica, london uk
2008 offf festival, lisbon portugal
2008 paradiso, amsterdam the netherlands
2008 territoriossevilla festival, sevilla, spain
2008 ars electronica, linz austria
2008 todaysart festival, the hague the netherlands
2008 latin-america tour with alva noto (brazil, argentina, uruguay)
2008 mutek mx, mexico city mexico
2008 club to club festival, torino italy
2008 20th years of goethe-institute, beijing china

2009 centraltheater, leipzig germany
2009 bem-festival, bozar - centre of fine arts, brussels belgium
2009 nemo festival, paris france
2009 latin-america tour with alva noto (argentina, chile, peru, uruguay)
2009 lev-festival, gijon spain
2009 offf festival, lisboa portugal
2009 dissonanze festival, rome italy
2009 mutek festival, montreal canada
2009 raster-noton artist talk & concert, toronto canada
2009 red house, syracuse usa
2009 sónar festival, barcelona spain