Description
#monolake #vinyl #vinylrecords
Robert Henke, the techno visionary behind Monolake, has once again pushed the boundaries of electronic music with his latest release, Studio. After a four-year hiatus, Henke returns with an album that serves as a testament to his mastery in sound design and his relentless pursuit of innovation. Released on his own Imbalance Computer Music label, Studio is not just an album; it’s a deep dive into a meticulously crafted sonic universe that challenges the listener’s perception of space, rhythm, and texture.
The album is a reflection of Henke’s journey through decades of electronic music evolution, echoing the innovative spirit of artists like Brian Eno and Aphex Twin. Much like Eno’s ambient works, Studio is an exploration of mood and atmosphere, with tracks like “The Elders Disagree” and “Cute Little Aliens” creating a sense of otherworldliness through intricate percussive details and shifting rhythmic patterns. The influence of dub techno pioneers like Basic Channel is also evident in the album’s minimalistic yet immersive soundscapes, reminiscent of the early works of Chain Reaction, the Berlin-based label that helped define the genre.
Henke’s use of analog synthesizers, such as the Sequential Prophet VS and Yamaha SY77, brings a warmth and depth to the album that is often missing in modern electronic music. These vintage machines, combined with the digital prowess of Ableton Live—a software Henke co-founded—result in a rich tapestry of sound that blurs the lines between the past and the future. The album’s production process, which involved countless revisions and a deep exploration of the material, is a nod to the meticulous craftsmanship seen in the works of artists like Autechre and Boards of Canada, who are known for their attention to detail and innovative use of technology.
The artwork for Studio is as thought-provoking as the music itself. Inspired by the interface of the Synclavier II, a pioneering digital synthesizer, Henke created a futuristic collage that reimagines what the instrument could have been in an alternate timeline. This blending of nostalgia with a forward-thinking vision is a recurring theme in Henke’s work, much like the way Kraftwerk’s iconic visual and sonic aesthetics have influenced generations of electronic musicians. The album cover, with its complex interplay of lichen photographs and computational noise fields, encapsulates the essence of Studio: a fusion of the organic and the synthetic, the real and the imagined.
In Studio, Henke transcends the confines of genre, creating a body of work that is deeply personal yet universally resonant. The album’s intricate layers and evolving structures invite repeated listens, each time revealing new details and hidden motifs. It stands as a significant contribution to the continuum of electronic music, placing Henke alongside contemporaries like Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto, who continue to push the boundaries of what is possible with sound. Studio is not just an album; it is an experience—a journey through the mind of one of electronic music’s most innovative creators.
