Kontakt der Jünglinge is a cross-generational collaboration between sound artists Thomas Köner and his friend and mentor, Asmus Tietchens. The project is an homage to Stockhausen, playing on the titles of two of his most famous pieces, “Gesang der Jünglinge” (1955-56), described as "the first masterpiece of electronic music" ([1] Bryan Simms in Music of the Twentieth Century: Style and Structure. New York) and “Kontakte” (1958-60), one of Stockhausen’s paradigmatic early works.
Kontakt Der Jünglinge 1 was released on Die Stadt in 2001 and features the duo’s first performance, which took place in the 'Lagerhaus' Bremen/Germany in December 1999. The performances of Kontakt der Jünglinge are “always intuitive personal explorations of sonic material resulting in unexpected and exciting modern music” ([2] Köner/Tietchens).
Asmus Tietchens (1947) has had a significant influence on the development of German electronic music, as well as on industrial, noise, and experimental music, though he explicitly eschews well-defined genres. He is extremely prolific, recording under the monikers Hematic Sunsets and Club of Rome among many others, as well as under his own name. His extensive catalogue has brought him some of the most important German awards in the field of tonal art (including the Karl-Sczuka-Preis für Akustische Kunst award which he won both in 2003 and 2006). Born in Hamburg, Tietchens began experimenting with tape loops as a teen in the mid 60s. When he started using synthesizers in the early 70s, his music showed affinities with musique concrète, serialism, minimalism, and krautrock. His work has strong ties to Karlheinz Stockhausen's early electronic pieces in that they are “intuitive and personal explorations of the studio as an instrument, of a specific musical notion, or collaboration” (Argos Center for Art and Media). He has taught acoustics in Hamburg since 1989.
Thomas Köner (1965) is a successful sound and video artist whose primary interest is the exploration of 'sound colour' and combining visual and auditory experiences. Köner studied electronic music at the CEM studio in Arnhem in the late 80s, after which he studied at the Dortmund Conservatorium. His first album, Nunatak Gongamur was released on Dutch label Barooni in 1990, followed by Teimo and Permafrost in 92 and 93 respectively. Both albums were rereleased on Mille Plateaux in 1997, and all three were again released in 2010 as a compilation on UK-based label Type Records.
Köner worked at RuhrSound Studios in Dortmund in the early 90s. He has won many prestigious international awards such as Golden Nica, Prix Ars Electronica, Linz, Transmediale.05 Award, Berlin and Tiger Cub Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. He is also active in the techno world as one half of Porter Ricks, a duo with producer Andy Mellweg that also perform at CTM 2014.
References
[1] Simms, Bryan R. 1986. Music of the Twentieth Century: Style and Structure. New York: Schirmer Books; Kohl, Jerome. 1998. "Guest Editor's Introduction" to "A Seventieth-Birthday Festschrift for Karlheinz Stockhausen (Part One)". Perspectives of New Music 36, no. 1 (Winter): 59–64.
[2]http://www.koener.de/kontaktderjnglinge.htm accessed 27.12.2013