Robert Henke
He was born in Munich, Germany, and lives in Berlin. Coming from an engineering background, Henke is fascinated by the beauty of technical objects. Developing his own instruments and algorithms is an integral part of his creative process.
Robert Henke

Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
- Name
- Robert Henke
- Born
- 1969 · Munich.
- Nationality
- Germany
- Occupation
- composer · audio engineer · design engineer · musician · software developer · docent
- Fields
- electronic music
- Languages
- German
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Documentary summary
He was born in Munich, Germany, and lives in Berlin. Coming from an engineering background, Henke is fascinated by the beauty of technical objects. Developing his own instruments and algorithms is an integral part of his creative process.
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Note VALÉORINE
Robert Henke (born 1969) is a German audio engineer, composer and design engineer, among other activities. The audio engineer was born in Munich. Robert Henke worked in Berlin.
Genres include electronic music. Languages used include German.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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wikidata · Q90682 · wikipedia · Robert Henke
In this article
Biography
Biography
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. 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. Also a co-creator of the music software Ableton Live, with Gerhard Behles. Since 1995 he has produced electronic music under the name Monolake, which he founded in collaboration with Gerhard Behles. He writes and lectures about sound and the creative use of computers at the Berlin University of the Arts, the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) at Stanford University, and the Studio National des Arts Contemporains - Le Fresnoy in Lille, France. His installations, performances and concerts have been presented at the Tate Modern London, the Centre Pompidou Paris, Le Lieu Unique Nantes, PS-1 New York, MUDAM Luxembourg, MAK Vienna, the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Australia, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin. • Illustration — Robert Henke during an Atom live performance

The Monodeck is designed to be "as stupid as possible". It has no intelligence, and its controls and its displays are not directly connected to each other. This Max/MSP patch not only links the Monodeck to Ableton Live; it also drives the leds for each one of the tracks.
Javier Candeira from Madrid, Spain · Max/MSP Patch

Much more thorough than Q+A.
Javier Candeira from Madrid, Spain · Q*A
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Robert Henke • Alias — Monolake • Origin — Munich, Germany • Genre — Electronic music • Years Active — 1994–present • Label — Imbalance Computer Music • Website — www.roberthenke.com
Selected installations
Selected installations
• Fountain Scan • Cos/Sin • Destructive Observation Field • Werk III • Fragile Territories • Ritual • Phosphor • Works for Wave Field Synthesis • Fundamental Forces
Selected performances
Selected performances
• CBM 8032 AV • Deep Web • Lumiere II • Destructive Observation Field • Monolake Live Surround • Intersection • Atlantic Waves
Selected albums
Selected albums
• Robert Henke - Signal To Noise - Volume II (2026) • Monolake - Studio (2024) • Monolake - Archaeopteryx (2020) • Monolake - VLSI (2016) • Monolake - Ghosts (2012) • Monolake - Silence (2009) • Robert Henke - Indigo_Transform (2009) • Robert Henke - Atom/Document (2008) • Robert Henke - Layering Buddha (2006) • Monolake - Plumbicon Versions (2006) • Monolake - Polygon Cities (2005) • Robert Henke - Signal To Noise (2004) • Monolake - Momentum (2003) • Monolake - Cinemascope (2001) • Monolake - Gravity (2000) • Monolake - Gobi. The Desert EP (1999) • Monolake - Interstate (1998) • Robert Henke - Floating.Point (1997) • Monolake - Hongkong (1997) • Robert Henke - Piercing Music (1994)
Identity
Identity
Robert Henke is recorded with the occupation electronic musician. Recorded with the occupation software developer. Recorded with the occupation design engineer. Classed in the genre electronic music. Recorded as composer, audio engineer, design engineer, musician and software developer.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1969
Robert Henke was born on 10 February 1969.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Robert Henke”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q90682: Robert Henke
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Shaw, Dan. Ableton Live: taking the DAW from the studio to the stage. HappyMag. 18 February 2020.
- 2.Gerhard Behles and Robert Henke on Ableton. www.roberthenke.com.
- 3.Listen to a discussion with Monolake from Unsound New York 2012. Wire.
- 4.Robert Henke Fountain Scan. www.roberthenke.com.
- 5.Robert Henke Cos/Sin. www.roberthenke.com.
- 6.Robert Henke Destructive Observation Field. www.roberthenke.com.
- 7.Robert Henke Fragile Territories. www.roberthenke.com.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
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General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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