Bensnburner - Three Phases Of Risk (2025) Hi-Res

“Three Phases of Risk” by Ben Krahl aka bensnburner & renowned violinist Harald Kimmig is an intense and expressive 47-minute, three-track installation of contemporary sound art of the most palpable and storytelling kind.

The three phases explore the cognitive states and emotions linked to risk—namely uncertainty, ambivalence, and aporia—while the entirety of the album frames risk as a generative artistic force rather than an obstacle.

The Album is a fervent and haunting work that invites the listener into its center to experience a whirlwind of organic, unrelenting, and shapeshifting tonalities governing the album’s inner environments.

Though the aural leanings occupy a space of their own, listeners familiar with various strains of avant-garde, ambient, noise, and free jazz will recognize echoes of known terrains. With a firm emphasis on rich, slowly evolving textures, Three Phases of Risk offers a wide palette of experimental hues, leaving no stone unturned on its winding path.

Krahl and Kimmig push the envelope of what can emerge from seemingly simple raw material. The canvas painted on Three Phases of Risk reveals a surprising wealth of vibrant nuance for attentive ears.

Created using only two instruments—the 8 Oscillators of the analog Synth Lyra-8 (Krahl) and a violin (Kimmig), each processed through individual pedalboards—the project originated from Krahl’s Klangfenster series: a Freiburg-based art event where Krahl performs in duos with other experimental musicians inside a windowed space. Audiences experience the performance either from inside or via headphones mounted outside on the street.

For this recording, the setup was designed to blur the boundary between performer and observer, private and public. Passersby could join and leave the sonic experience at will—simply by picking up the headphones.