The Ruhrtriennale 2016 features another party night of electronic pop music. The programme once again explores the area between noise and love songs. Esoteric underground sounds meet grand pop gestures beyond the mainstream. Hardly any band has represented where these worlds overlap in such an influential way as Moderat. Moderat was originally planned as a temporary fusion between the Berlin electronic artist Sascha Ring (Apparat) and the techno duo Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary (Modeselektor). However, it soon became apparent that the supergroup Moderat had massive potential to change contemporary electronic pop permanently.

This year’s Ritournelle also features appearances from a whole host of bands, live acts and DJs – from top international acts to representatives of the local subculture of the Ruhr region. The open air floor by the water tower is programmed in collaboration with the Essen club Goethebunker.

Moderat
Moderat’s hybrid sound is shaped by contrasting approaches of its individual protagonists: as the solo artist Apparat, Sascha Ring was known for his interest in experimental sounds, exploring the boundaries between introverted ambient music and what was once called indietronica. With his band of the same name he has been moving in the direction of indie rock since 2011, somewhere in between Radiohead and My Bloody Valentine. Modeselektor was closer to techno in origin. The duo’s phenotypical sound sought out the wayward and unfathomable realm of the dance floor. Influenced by hip hop, drum & bass and break beats – but also by African sound traditions – Modeselektor created their own unmistakeable variation on Intelligent Dance Music (IDM). These international stars of the electronic club scene will release their new album in April 2016. Moderat will perform their only concert in North Rhine-Westphalia in summer 2016 at the Ruhrtriennale. Their extensive light and video show is developed by the Berlin artists’ collective Pfadfinderei.

Oneohtrix Point Never
The music of Los Angeles resident Daniel Lopatin alias Oneohtrix Point Never crosses borders in the best sense. Lopatin’s tracks manoeuvre with biting irony and yet heart-melting devotion through the post-digital hyper-pop culture of the 21st century. Stockhausen and Skrillex stand eye to eye. And on top of them, Krautrock, EDM, IDM, Death Metal, Free Jazz, Easy Listening, New Age and esoteric kitsch all come together. Oneohtrix Point Never creates such a skilful and carefree blend of high and low culture that one can sense it contains the music of a time to come amid the dense cluster of references, acknowledgements and explicit quotations. At the Ruhrtriennale 2016 Oneohtrix Point Never will perform one of only two concerts in Germany this year.

Peaches
When the Canadian’s first album ‘Teaches of Peaches’ was released in 2000 on the Berlin cult label Kitty Yo, the cracks within the pop system seemed more glaring than ever. And on her latest album ‘Rub’, which appeared in 2015, she has lost none of her vigour: gender issues formulated in a punchy Sprechgesang over analogue electronics. For over 16 years the mother of all post-feminist pop music has been throwing gender codes into playful confusion and sticking her fingers inside the wounds of a music industry still dominated by heterosexual men. Her flamboyant live shows are unpredictable performances full of punk attitude and pop quotes.

20 years of raster-noton
In 2016 the “raster-noton.archive for sound and non-sound” celebrates its twentieth anniversary. The label has established an international reputation as an interdisciplinary platform where abstract musical concepts and installation art forms can meet. Club musicians, composers in the classical tradition, pioneers of noise and media artists have come together in over 150 published works. Those who can be found on the label include Ruhrtriennale artists such as Ryoji Ikeda, who presented his installation ‘test pattern [100 m version]’ at the Ruhrtriennale 2014. Or Mika Vainio, who undertook the electronic extension of Wagner’s ‘Das Rheingold’ last year (director: Johan Simons). Alongside label founders Olaf Bender (aka Byetone) and Carsten Nicolai (aka Alva Noto) Kangding Ray and Grischa Lichtenberger will also appear as live acts in the Turbinenhalle.

Again in 2016 the programme for the open air stage by the water tower will be developed in collaboration with the Essen club Goethebunker. Along with Essen residents Quartier Midi and head booker Ahmet Sisman, this year Cologne-based Lena Willikens from the Comème label will also be in charge of the decks. With her fearless DJ-style, which allows her to digress into outlying domains in between edgy disco and psychedelic house, she has played her way to a reputation as an exceptional presence on the club scene. The same also goes for young Briton Ben UFO, who is regarded as one of the most accomplished turntable artists in the world. He was one of the first to think of putting house and dubstep together. His eclectic selection of tracks regularly demonstrates everything a DJ set is capable of. The third set is provided live by Âme, undisputedly one of the most exciting international live acts. His pop-like house tracks reach a depth of emotion which call for their like from the club sector.

As part of our programme to mark twenty years of raster-noton, the duo Emptyset will also present a semi-installation/concert performance on Monday, 15.08.2016 at the Maschinenhaus der Zeche Carl in Essen.