Thomas Köner

Introduction
Thomas Köner is a multimedia artist born in Bochum, Germany in 1965. His main focus is in combining visual and auditory experiences and he is noted for using low frequencies. He is famous in the contemporary music, techno, and multimedia fields and has been internationally recognized in all of his areas. Köner's knowledge of visual and sonic art has helped him land commissions to create music for many silent films and art installations. Köner's performances and art are described as audiovisual meditations that dive deep into the notions of time, memory, and location.

Work Analysis
The work I will be analyzing is Thomas Köner's Permafrost. Permafrost is the 4th song off Köner's 3rd solo album Permafrost. Permafrost (the album) is considered by many to be Köner's greatest work. In this album, he further develops the icy feel he had been working on in previous works. The title track is the climax of this icy picture. The album was released in 1993 and got its name from the word Permafrost which is soil at or below the freezing point of water for two or more years (wiki). It was difficult to analyze this piece at first because really it sounds like wind going through a tunnel or vent. However after listening to Permafrost a couple of times I realized that the real skill behind it is using different frequency waves to create different pitches. The beginning of the piece uses a very low frequency creating a lower sound and then progressively the wavelengths become longer making the frequency and the pitch louder.

Comparisons
In an interview with 15questions.net, Thomas Köner explains that he gained most of his inspiration and influence from faculty at the Conservatory of Music where he studied piano and composition before studying in the electronic studio. His earliest noted influence is Asmus Tietchens a German avant-garde composer who was Köner's teacher in the 1980s. Tietchen was known for experimenting with experimental music and began recording sounds in 1965 with electronic instruments, tape loops, and synthesizers.

Observations
I'm not the biggest fan of Thomas Köner's music simply because subjectively to me it is not appealing. However, using my background knowledge in physics and wavelengths I found it easier to comprehend the pitch usage and frequencies.