Colin Benders

About

The sound

Colin Benders is a Dutch musician and live electronic performer who builds improvised techno on a modular synthesizer. Originally known as Kyteman, he led The Kyteman Orchestra, bringing together rap, jazz and classical instrumentation before developing his electronic practice. His classical training and ensemble background precede a performance method built around making decisions in real time.

Each live set develops from the interaction between the performer and his modular system, rather than a fixed sequence of finished tracks. His recent approach emphasises raw percussion, repetition and stripped-back grooves. Alongside these temporary performances, his recorded catalogue includes Rigmarole, I Can’t Feel My Legs, Prignalia and Sandpaper. He also shares Eurorack jam sessions and Modular Mayhem streams on his own YouTube channel, making the instrument and the process of improvisation part of his recorded output.

His collaborative work includes extended hardware performances with STERAC, Steve Rachmad’s techno project. Their first joint set took place at Fusion Festival in Germany in 2023. The format gives both musicians room to respond to one another over a long performance, with synthesizers and machines shaping the music as it unfolds.