Jules Brookes Reports from the recent Ableton Lecture delivered by Professor Robert Henke and Gerhard Behles
“It’s not often that music biz types finds themselves ruminating on higher levels of consciousness within the hallowed portals of the Institution of Engineering and Technology in Savoy Place, London…
But that’s exactly what happened when myself and Point Blank CEO Robert Cowan attended a lecture there given by Ableton Live supremos, programmer/developer Professor Robert Henke (who produces under the Monolake moniker) and CEO Gerhard Behles. Accompanied by Ableton Live favourite Certified Trainer Freddy Cuin, the speakers were regaled with questions such as: what denotes that a software programme is a tool and when does it become an instrument? What for example, separates a saxophone as an instrument when you can play a software programme with the same level of musicality? Professor Henke also outlined the creative process as he sees it with a diagram showing all the myriad decisions and cul de sacs that the creation of a ‘tune’ engenders. Yes, it was deep stuff my learned friends and all delivered in an oak-panelled lecture hall with portraits of scientific luminaries from the 1700’s peering down at the audience imposingly.
Afterwards, we managed to catch Gerhard himself for a quick chat in the Green Room who noted that we spoke ‘funny’ and the same way as each other. That’s what comes of sharing an office for 10 years I guess! It was an honour of the highest order to meet such important luminaries of the music business, people who have changed the course of music production as we know it and as a result have affected our lives immeasurably.”
If you’d like to see the lecture in full, click here
Watch Robert Henke talk about his signature Granulator Max for Live device below:
