For this year’s opening OPTICAL showcase we’re proud to be bringing together three masters of ambient sound design and composition; Mexico’s Murcof, Germany’s Robert Henke (aka Monolake) and the London born, New York based Mark Van Hoen (aka Locust).

Murcof’s critically acclaimed 2002 debut album “Martes” took the underground electronic music world by storm. It’s seemless fusion of acoustic instrumentation and digital sound design set new a precedent for both IDM and ambient music, which at the time weren’t incorporating the type of classical compositions that Murcof was experimenting with. On his later releases, “Utopia”, “Remembranza” and “Cosmos” Murcof delves deeper into hullicinatory ambient compositions that work beautifully in with abstract imagery.

Over the past 15 years, Berliner Robert Henke (aka Monolake) has contributed more to electronic music than any other figure.  An expert sound designer, software engineer and composer, Robert has an incredible gift of recreating organic sounds digitally and weaving them into beautifully haunting compositions that often pay homage to 20^th century composers and artists like Philip Glass, Brian Eno and Steve Reich. An avid traveler, Robert is constantly recording the world around him, which he blends into his music.

Mark Van Hoen’s career spans nearly 20 years. As a founding member of seminal group Seefeel (Warp / Too Pure) and producer/member of the group Scala (Touch / Too Pure), Mark played major role in fusing early 90s melancholy pop with experimental electronic music. Mark’s crowning achievement however was his solo project Locust,  which released over a dozen records between 1993-2001 on the Apollo imprint. His more recent albums for the City Centre Offices and Touch contain some of his most accomplished and critically acclaimed work to date.