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SatThe raster-noton label is known worldwide for its pristine, austere, and minimal aesthetic. The label was created in 1999 in the East German city of Chemnitz (known as Karl Marx Stadt during the GDR) from the merger of merger of Carsten Nicolai’s noton.archiv für ton und nichtton label, and Rastermusic, founded by Olaf Bender and Frank Bretschneider.
Then tireless experimenters of the East German underground, and today uncompromising leaders in minimalistic technoid glitch music Bender, Bretschneider and Nicolai (aka alva noto) come together to DJ as the raster-noton all-stars, celebrating the opening of CTM’s 15th edition with their special selections.
CTM’s Opening Night events at HAU2 are supported by the Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, and Deutscher Musikrat. The entire Sound Exchange programme at CTM 2014 is presented in collaboration with DOCK e.V.
Olaf Bender, aka Byetone, co-founded the original Rastermusic label with Frank Bretschneider (Komet) and co-owns its evolution, raster-noton with Carsten Nicolai (Noto). Bender produces dark, visceral digital sound and visuals filled with noise and distorted melodics, combining a designer’s attention to symmetry with a lust for the shamanic.
Audio-visual artist Carsten Nicolai, cofounder of raster-noton, uses names Alva Noto, Noto, and Aleph-1 for works that cross the spectrums of music production, live performance, sound art, sculpture, video, and curation. Nicolai’s work emphasizes processes and working methodologies, the intersections of art and science, and the tensions between polarities.
Frank Bretschneider is a Berlin-based composer known for rhythmic-sine-funk experiments. A veteran of Germany’s electronic music scene, his involvement dates back to pre-unification days with the experimental pop group AG.Geige. He later co-founded influential imprint Raster.