Oval and Frank Bretschneider at Roter Salon Berlin / Sunday, 28.09.2014

Another excellent lineup in Palais Wittgenstein’s outstanding programme for this autumn, with the double bill of Oval and Frank Bretschneider fans of glitchy electronica have an unmissble event. Ever since his first groundbreaking album releases, Markus Popp aka “oval” continues to be one of the most prolific and influential forces in contemporary electronic music – a laptop legend and true visionary of digital audio.

httpv://https://youtube.com/watch?v=e948QjqxBGA

Popp’s now legendary early album releases sent shockwaves though the electronic music landscape and laid the foundations for an entire new class of digital sound & production aesthetics. With an undeniable instinct for the pleasantly irritating, the drastic and the dreamy, Popp pioneered “glitch” and “clicks & cuts” – inspiring and provoking a new generation of music producers to this day.

httpv://https://youtube.com/watch?v=vvW6qiTkZdw

The raw, yet strangely organic appeal of many of Popp’s albums are regarded as watershed moments for the entire genre. Popp has constantly refined his signature style and instantly recognizable aesthetics in several collaborations. Popp has worked with BJÖRK, RYUICHI SAKAMOTO, TORTOISE, MOUSE ON MARS, SQUAREPUSHER, PIZZICATO 5, GASTR DEL SOL among others.

In 2007, Frank Bretschneider was invited to compose music for the Subharchord, a unique electronic instrument developed during the 1960’s at the RFZ, the technical center for radio and television of the East German postal service. Built in a limited edition of eight machines total, only three Subharcords (in Vienna, Trondheim and Berlin) are believed to survive to this day.

httpv://https://youtube.com/watch?v=YE_cvmUcF2E

The Subharchord is, broadly defined, a subharmonic sound generator, comparable soundwise to the Mixturtrautonium. It’s suggested main purpose was to be the central “special effects” machine at film or broadcast studios.