Minimalistic installations does not lift anyone’s eyebrow these days, but in the shadows of the mighty halls of Kraftwerk in Berlin there will always be a tension between minimum and maximum. Kraftwerk, a once abandoned power-station above Tresor that now holds some of Berlin’s most exciting events. It was here that ‘Deep Web’ was situated — an awesome audiovisual performance from Christopher Bauder and Robert Henke.

Deep Web is an installation using the generative, luminous architectural structure weaves 175 motorized spheres and 12 high power laser systems into a 25 meter wide and 10 meter high super-structure, bringing to life a luminous analogy to the nodes and connections of digital networks. Moving up and down, and choreographed and synchronized to an original multi-channel musical score by Robert Henke, the spheres are illuminated by blasts of colourful laser beams resulting in three-dimensional sculptural light drawings and arrangements in Kraftwerk Berlin’s cavernous darkness.”

With the lights out Kraftwerk will morph into an industrial version of the halls of Moria (LOTR) and musique concrète, this exhibition is a spectacle of dangling baubles that lift and fall, creating intricate constellations of light and motion, giving the illusion that they are free falling.

Henke and Bauder have used Kraftwerk to its maximum potential, giving the whole setting a surreal feeling between its massive concrete pillars. The idea of the ‘web’ too is significant. The spheres of light work together like a network of nodes, a geometric representation of the cross-continental influence of the ‘new geographies’. The connotations to Daft Punk and the Grid is also present, although the music does not share the same resemblance as Henke and Bauder more moves into the realms of noise, soundscapes and electricity.

Deep Web has been developed for Fete des Lumieres in Lyon 2015. The event has been cancelled after the IS attacks in Paris in November 2015. The premiere did happen at CTM Festival Berlin in February 2016 instead.

Loop, 30 minutes. Lasers, Kinetic Lights moving elements, surround sound, fog.

Founded in 1999, Berlin’s CTM festival has become a benchmark for underground experimental music festivals. This year’s “New Geographies” edition focused on examining “today’s rapidly collapsing borders and emerging new topographies.” The objective, according to the festival, was to “to reflect recent artistic, social and technical developments in music culture.” Apart from Deep web and the avant-garde opening concert directed by Rabih Beaini—one of the the guest festival curators—events of particular note included Hatsune Miku’s “Still Be Here”performance, Vincent Moon’s “Ritual” installation, as well as a much-anticipated “Seismographic Sounds” exhibition.

Robert Henke is an artist working in the fields of audiovisual installation, music and performance. He was born 1969 in Munich, Germany, and lives in Berlin.

His materials are computer generated sound and images, field recordings, photography and light; transformed, re-arranged and modulated by mathematical rules, real time interaction and controlled random operations. Robert Henke’s work has a particular focus on the exploration of spaces, both virtual and physical. Many of his works use multiple channels of audio or are specifically conceived for unique locations and their individual properties. For the past few years, he has been exploring the artistic usage of high power lasers in his installations and performances.

The results include music on the edge of contemporary club culture, surround sound concerts, compositions in the tradition of academic computer music, photography, audiovisual installations, sound art and publicly available software. His long term musical project Monolake, founded in 1995, became one of the key icons of a new electronic club music culture emerging in Berlin after the fall of the Wall.

Robert Henke is also one of the main creators of the music software Ableton Live, which since its invention in 1999 became the standard tool for electronic music production and completely redefined the performance practice of electronic music.