monolake: The genesis of Ableton

Henke prepares for a Live 3 demonstration at AES New York 2003.


Before there was Ableton, there was monolake. Established in 1995 by Robert Henke and Gerhard Behles, the music of monolake combines dance club-inspired beats with the sophisticated sound design of academic computer music in order to create a new form of sonic structure. In order to realize their complex musical constructions, Behles and Henke started writing their own software for recording and performing in venues as diverse as clubs, temples, harbors and abandoned office buildings. The creation of this software ultimately led to the foundation of Ableton by Behles in 1999.

While remaining an integral part of Ableton, Henke became the primary driving force behind the musical development of monolake from that point on. For Henke, Ableton’s revolutionary software program Live is not only his instrument of choice on stage, but also the heart of the monolake studio. Originally created in response to a conspicuous lack of performance-oriented software applications, Henke now uses Live for editing and arranging tracks, recording sounds from his hardware synthesizers and effects, mixing, and sound design.

“Software sequencers and hard-disk recording applications were originally designed as studio tools, replacing tape machines,“ explains Henke. “Historically, they were more aimed towards sound engineers than towards musicians. The underlying idea of timeline-based editing is construction and sculpturing, not so much performing. As a result, those tools fail onstage or in any context where improvisation or interaction with musicians is essential. So all the software Gerhard and I wrote for our own purposes enabled us to interact with the music in real time. We liked the concept of step sequencers and drum computers because they allowed for immediate control of structure by changing patterns in real time. Live is the result of applying some of these ideas to the world of sound files, thus providing more flexibility and easy access to an inifinite pool of possible source material.”

Today, Henke divides his time between touring around the globe to deliver modulating beats and elegant soundscapes to massive crowds, and sitting in a modest office in Berlin developing Ableton Live. Though the two environments differ dramatically, each enhances the other, driving both to new heights.

“The transition from live performance to software development can be pretty painful from time to time. But my input as a conceptionalist at Ableton comes from my personal needs as an artist. For me, details are very important. If a function is there but it does not feel right, it is not done well. My constant contact with other artists also has a great impact on the ongoing development of Live. I play at festivals and when I talk to other Live users they discuss their needs with me, and I bring them back to the office.”

The sound of monolake

Encompassing minimalist techno, dub, breakbeat, and ambient sound, monolake has dazzled listeners with five albums and a variety of 12-inches and remixes over the last eight years. “Andrej Tarkowski described his films as sculptures in time,” says Henke. “I find this also very appropriate for my music. It is structure and sound, inspired by structures I see, whether they are found in architecture, nature, or engineering.”

In the elusive moments of silence between traveling from gig to gig and coding new revs to Live, Henke collected ideas, created new sounds, and waited patiently for the moment when he would be able to focus squarely on creating a new monolake album. In October of this year, Henke released the highly anticipated “Momentum” through his monolake / imabalance computer music label, which he founded in 1997 to attain ultimate creative independence.

“Momentum” is a series of nine pieces exposing the darker, more rhythmic side of monolake. Refined via countless live performances, the material on “Momentum” is devoted futuristic techno, full of beauty, color and power.

“‘Momentum’ is more industrial and less friendly then the previous works,” explains Henke. “I felt the need to get some distance to the notion of monolake as being "nice" ambient music. We do not live in nice times. Moreover, the musical evolution towards more rhythmical and driving structures is partly the result of performing live all these years. It is a challenge to get a normal house club crowd into a state where they are willing to dance to more complex stuff. I figured out that my newer works do surprisingly well in a club context if presented in an appropriate manner.”

To read more about Henke and monolake, please visit http://www.monolake.de .

To learn more about Ableton Live, please visit http://www.ableton.com .