Roland KAYN
“Elektroakustische Projekte & Makro”

Great news for fans of electronic music: Reiger Records Reeks is set to release a new 5-CD box set dedicated to Roland Kayn’s Cybernetic Music. The collection is based on the original recordings from the Lydia and Roland Kayn Archive, which were sensibly remastered by Jim O’Rourke,

The box set includes the tracks from legendary opuses MAKRO I, II, III, created at the Institute for Sonology, and Elektroakustische Projekte, featuring works like Cybernetic I, II, and III, which were recorded at the Studio di Fonologia in Milan, alongside Entropy PE31, Monades, and Eon. These pieces – previously available only on rare out-of-print vinyl editions – highlight both Kayn’s innovative approach to musical structures and his significant impact on the development of electronic and cybernetic compositions.

Roland Kayn poetically described Makro (1977) during an interview with Mark van de Voort: “Makro breathes in and breathes out, then it breathes in again before disappearing into the dark.” This imagery emphasizes the delicate balance and subtle transition through which the piece unfolds and eventually fades. The idea of the music “disappearing into the dark” suggests a soft, elusive conclusion, as if the sounds gradually dissolve into a space where they can no longer be heard, but still linger in some way.

This description also synthesizes the mystical and organic qualities of the piece: the music doesn’t end abruptly, but transitions smoothly into silence, like a clear picture gradually turning into shadow. Kayn’s reflection that he was never able to fully recapture this unique quality in his later works shows how Makro – a composition where sound, process, and silence merge in a single entity – was a special creature for him.