Choelniko[at]gmail.com
pretend here is a really interesting text to read about what i do and what i don´t.
for Roland TR-808 and Drums
Built around repetition and restraint, the work challenges traditional notions of musical development. Rather than constant variation, Klangdome embraces subtle shifts and evolving structures. Patterns emerge gradually, resisting the urge to jump forward too quickly, and allowing rhythm to unfold as form.
The title plays on the performer’s name Dominik “Dome” Rösler and the idea of a resonant space shaped by sound. The TR-808 is spatialised across the performance environment, setting its sequenced precision in contrast to the physical, expressive playing of the drum kit.
Inspired by Aphex Twin, Klangdome explores the tension between algorithmic rigidity and human nuance, creating a rhythmic architecture that is both mechanical and alive.
for piano, violin, viola and woodblocks
Premiered by the OpenScore Ensemble at the HfM Trossingen concert hall in 2025, YGD_1 explores tension, instability, and the beauty found within controlled chaos.
The work opens with a playful, hyperactive theme that quickly collapses into a rhythmically shifting duel between piano and percussion. While the underlying structure remains steady, shifting groupings and rhythmic modulations create a sense of changing meter without altering the beat.
The final chord, a clear D in the piano interrupted by a D# in the violin, is a deliberate musical gesture, that highlights the idea that even with full effort, perfection is not always attainable, and that imperfection is part of the artistic experience.
for selfplaying piano and multichannel electronics
The work investigates the relationship between composed material and real-time interaction. Drawing from Schoenberg’s Op. 19, No. 6 as a sonic foundation, the piece uses granular synthesis, resonant piano bodies, and quadraphonic spatialisation to deconstruct and recontextualise its harmonic language. Musical fragments are stretched, layered, and transformed, producing a shifting acoustic texture.
The technical structure consists of two networked computers: one controlling the Disklavier and the other responsible for the spatial audio environment. The system allows for bidirectional communication between piano and playback, enabling both sides to interact precisely with live audio and fixed media without relying on a clicktrack. Audio coming from speakers placed within the piano gets organically coloured by the instrument’s resonance board, further bridging the gap between live and prepared audio.
Tiefen embraces complexity not as a technical feat, but as a compositional strategy. It invites listeners into an environment shaped by interdependence, where sound moves fluidly between structure and emergence. The piece is less concerned with resolution than with presence, and the unfolding of depth through time.
Created in collaboration with a 17-person team of programmers, writers, and visual artists, the game addresses themes of radicalisation, trust, and personal responsibility through a branching dialogue system set in a stylised dystopian world.
Developed over 48 hours under the Game Jam’s annual theme “Bubble”, Party Burst places players at the edge of a political echo chamber. Tasked with reconnecting with old friends drawn into a cult-like movement, players must navigate dialogue choices that balance suspicion and trust. Misjudging the emotional landscape can lead to failure, not just for the player, but for the characters they aim to save.
Musically, the game draws from a cyberpunk-inspired aesthetic. The soundtrack features character-specific themes, ambient layers, and reactive music systems implemented via FMOD and integrated into the Godot engine. The music team composed adaptive A-B-A’ forms and contrasting endings, from solo piano to abstract sound design, aligning closely with player decisions and emotional pacing.
While rooted in game development, Party Burst also functions as a broader artistic statement against extremism, using narrative interactivity and sound to reflect on how social environments shape belief and identity. A Steam release is still planned, with proceeds pledged to support anti-fascist and LGBTQ+ initiatives.
interactive generative composition
The work explores the relationship between humans and nature, positioning visitors not just as observers but as active participants whose movements and presence influence the soundscape in real time.
The sound design of In den Wald is built around two layers: an atmospheric background and an interactive foreground. The background features forest-like sounds, rustling leaves, wind, and wood-like textures to create a tranquil, immersive environment in line with the exhibition's theme, "Nature Unlimited." The foreground evolves from percussive sounds to bird calls, which add a lively, organic element to the experience. The piece integrates four main sound groups: bird calls and synthesisers interacting with visitors, field recordings of forest sounds, and variable wind sounds that increase as more people enter the space.
At the heart of the installation is the custom-built light barrier system, which uses lasers and brightness sensors to track visitors’ movements. This system translates the data into MIDI messages, which are processed to drive generative sound elements. As people enter or exit the space, the system recalculates the sonic landscape, ensuring no two experiences are the same.
In den Wald offers a unique exploration of how technology can enhance the perception of natural environments, creating a living, breathing sound ecosystem where the boundary between human presence and nature blurs. The installation invites visitors to participate in the unfolding experience, fostering an evolving interaction between technology, sound, and nature.
for self playing paino and multichannel electronics
The work is scored for self playing piano and spatial audio system, both orchestrated via two computers that combine notational logic, real-time audio synthesis, and algorithmic behaviours in a wireless environment. Sonically, the piece draws on a wide palette: glitched-out piano fragments, recursive Shepard-tone illusions, unstable loops, and recontextualized audience interactions. These elements blend into a hybrid between composed material and performative instability, where no two performances are alike.
Originally commissioned for the next_generation X Festival at ZKM, Mild Inconveniences was developed with an openness to emergent failure. Each of its performances take on a radically different shape, not by design, but through a willingness to integrate real-time complications, including technical malfunctions and spontaneous audience participation.
Rather than resist these interruptions, the piece treats them as collaborators.
Conceptually, the work engages with the growing complexity and interdependence of technology in performance. In an era where music and performance are increasingly intertwined with sophisticated infrastructures of software, automation, and interfaces, the line between artistic intention and technical disruption becomes an intriguing space for exploration.
Functioning somewhere between experimental composition, performance art, and systems design, the piece interrogates what it means to "control" a musical system and whether control is even desirable. It is not merely about mishaps; it is about systems failing gracefully, about listening through disorder, and about building aesthetic value from the uncomfortable, and the imperfect.
for multichannel electronics
Reflecting on the philosophical implications of polyphony, the piece pushes beyond traditional polyphonic instruments. While traditional instruments, like the piano, cannot truly create discrete polyphony due to their shared resonance, Eine kleine Studie der Polyphonie uses the array of 31 speakers to break this limitation. Each speaker functions like a distinct instrument, capable of independent tonal shaping, creating a truly polyphonic experience reminiscent of a choir of 31 singing speakers, each playing a strict electronic score. This approach aligns with a broader exploration of electroacoustic composition, where the synthesis of sound, its spatialization, and the live manipulation of these elements creates new forms of musical expression.
At its core, the piece serves as a "proof of concept," illustrating the potential of combining modern synthesis, experimental spatial sound techniques, and live performance. The integration of philosophy, technology, and creative experimentation demonstrates the future possibilities of electroacoustic music, where the boundaries of both sound and space are fluid and open to reinterpretation. The work continues to evolve, with future revisions planned to refine its structural and sonic elements further, ensuring that it reaches its fullest potential as an innovative and engaging piece for both performers and listeners alike.