hostile soundscapes, noisy tectonics, drones and tones:

Chris Sigdell is an experimental electronic musician. He developed a soft spot for early industrial textures and pioneering ambient soundscapes while cutting his teeth in cult industrial band NID. The sound of B°TONG feels a lot like an agonizingly slow crawl through a dark tunnel where the dim light at the other end never gets closer.



B°TONG is Chris Sigdell, former member of German experimental industrial group NÍÐ (1995 - 2005). With B°TONG he reaches for the nether regions of experimental ambient sound and established himself as an acknowledged professional soundscape artist. His music is a choice of dark, brooding layers of sound, high-pitched tones and weird electronic sounds that give birth to images of darkness and tranquillity, the solitude of an icy polar night or the equivalent of an underwater journey in a bottomless pit. To create these "imaginary soundtracks to the inner eye", he uses samples and field-recordings, which he processes in his computer-programs together with recordings of his own voice and/or other vocal samples. There are no hand-played instruments involved. In a live-situation the computer is taboo - Chris Sigdell uses microphone, metal, electric gadgets and various kitchen utensils. The sounds thus generated are put through various effect-pedals giving him that trademark B°TONG sound, which has earned him the nick-name “dronelord” by Aquarius Records.

B°TONG has appeared on such renown experimental festivals such as: AUM Ritual (CH 2017) AUDIO ART (PL 2016), LES DIGITALES (CH 2017 & 2016), NORBERG FESTIVALEN (S 2014), TEMPLE OF SILENCE (PL 2014), KILDEMOSE FESTIVALEN (DK 2012, 2013 & 2014), STØY PÅ LANDET (N 2010 & 2014), PNEM SOUND ART (NL 2013), ZEIT FÜR LÄRM (DE 2012), UNSER INDUSTRIE (DE 2011), LAB 30 (DE 2009), AUSKLANG FESTIVAL (DE 2006), SHIFT (CH 2007 & 2008), SINUS-SERIES (CH 2006), etc.



B°TONG has played more than 300 concerts over Europe and Russia, done three (!) U.S. tours, and shared stages with artists like: Alan Courtis, Aun, Column One, Daniel Davidovsky, Dave Phillips, Fabrizio Casti, Feine Trinkers Bei Pinkels Daheim, Frontline Assembly, Michael Northam, Michael Vorfeld, Origami Galaktika, Rinus Van Alebeek, Robert Curgenwen, Robert Rich, Sudden Infant, To Live And Shave In LA, Troum, Zbigniew Karkowski.

B°TONG is known to collaborate with other musicians - thus he is/has been part of TONGDISKLAKTIKA (feat. Benny Braaten & Per Åhlund), the trio of ÅHLUND/GAUDE/SIGDELL, and THEE SECRETE SOCIETY (feat. Jürgen Eberhard, Helge S. Moune & Melvin Neumann). He has also contributed to installations (“Polarkreis” & “95°“ by artists Brigitte Gierlich & Camilla Schuler) and video-projects (“Images” by Ulrich Fischer). His video-clips have been shown at the 2007 Miami Art Fair as part of the Urban Nomad film-festival, and in Beijing. His videos are made in collaboration with video artist Silvia Bergmann.

 As from 2017, B°TONG is also composing and performing the music to „Vertikal“ - a theatre performance by circus-artist Finn Jagd Andersen (Zirkus Gonzo).

B°TONG is signed to Reverse Alignment and Silken Tofu.