Thomas Köner

Thomas Köner (born 1965 in Bochum ) is a German sound and multimedia artist. Köner combined in his works often with visual auditory experiences.

Life

Köner studied from 1985 to 1990 electronic music at the CEM - Studio in Arnhem. From 1987 to 1992 he studied at a conservatory in Dortmund.

In 1990 his first album Nunatak Gongamur appeared on the Dutch label Barooni. 1992 and 1993 also appeared on the albums Barooni Teimo and permafrost. Both albums were re-released as a compilation in 1997 by the German label Mille Plateaux and a much wider audience accessible thereby. Together with Nunatak was published in 2010 another compilation of the first three albums on the label type.

Between 1992 and 1994 Köner was employed at the Ruhr Sound Studios in Dortmund. Since 1995 he has worked as a freelance artist.

In 1996 Köner alongside Paul Schütze Pete Namlook, Anton Fier, Haroumi Hosono, Mick Harris and Tetsu Inoue contributed a piece for the album Distill the Bill Laswell project Divination. The musician Andy Mellwig Köner released under the project name Porter Ricks between 1996 and 1999 a series of stylistically influential dub techno releases on labels such as Chain Reaction, Mille Plateaux and Force Inc. Music Works. Built in 1997 by the group Experimental Audio Research (Andy Mellwig, Eddie Prévost, Kevin Martin, Kevin Shields, Pete Kember ) released album The Köner experiment grabbed his name on the title and was also sound in relation to its own minimal techno designs ( minimum techno).

Together with the sound artist Asmus Tietchens he founded the Project Contact the youths, which released several albums and EPs since 2001.

His video Banlieue du Vide ( " suburb of emptiness " ) originated from wintry shots of surveillance cameras that Köner without cuts slowly over hidden and painted with drones and field recordings. The video received at the 2004 Prix Ars Electronica Golden Nica in the category of Digital Music & Sound Art

Discography

Albums

Singles and EPs

• 2002: Illusion of Safety / Thomas Köner - Heartmath / Intro / Col de Vence ( The City )
• 2002: Asmus Tietchens / Thomas Köner / Illusion of Safety / Ditte Rich Euler- Donnersperg - Untitled ( The City )

Awards

• 2000: New Media Prize, Montreal
• 2001: Artist in residence Cité International des Arts, Paris
• 2004: Norman Award Best Film / Video, Filmwinter
• 2004: Laureate, BBI Creation Contest, Freiburg
• 2004: German Sound Art Award - Production Price WDR, Marl
• 2004: Golden Nica at the Prix Ars Electronica in the category of Digital Music & Sound Art for Banlieue du Vide
• 2005: Tiger Cub Award, Best Short, International Film Festival Rotterdam
• 2005: Transmediale.05 Award, International Media Art Festival, Berlin
• 2006: Artist in residence Villa Aurora, Los Angeles
• 2007: Off Screen Award Best New Media Work, Images Festival Toronto
• 2009: EMARE grant European Media Art Network
• 2009: MuVi prize for the best German music video at the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen for Porter Ricks - Pasajeros peregrinos pilotos