New collaborative work by two veterans of the European experimental scene, Dirk Serries + Asmus Tietchens Dirk Serries and I have long been colleagues and friends. Since the 1990ies we have exchanged sound materials to be reworked and published on an on and off basis. "Die Höfner Akten" are something new and special to in so far as the source material with its basic structure has been improvised exclusively on an acoustic guitar (of the 'Höfner' brand). Dirk and I had agreed upon the following: I would rework the provided sound material in such a way that the character of his improvisations would remain intact while at the same same time expanding the sound palette through further manipulations. In doing so we hoped the results would sound equally like Serries or Tietchens, or - even better - like none of us. We on our part are happy with the results. It is upon the listener of the "Die Höfner Akten" to decide whether we succeeded in our endeavours. Asmus Tietchens

Asmus Tietchens Tietchens was born in Hamburg in 1947. Since 1975 he has been working as an independent musician; in 1980 he released his first solo record Nachtstücke. After producing a series of rhythmic and harmonic albums for the Sky label in the early 1980s he released his first industrial record Formen letzter Hausmusik in 1984 on United Dairies. Here Tietchens articulated his musical interests clearly: everyday noises were treated and at times deformed beyond recognition and placed into new contexts. Until now Asmus Tietchens has released more than 80 albums on international labels where he continues to explore the possibilities presented to him by specific sound sources (ranging from water sounds to pure sine wave tones). He has a more rhythm-oriented fake band project called Hematic Sunsets. Tietchens’ work is rooted in a deeply sceptic gesture, marked by frequent quotes from the works of philosopher E.M. Cioran on his album covers. Asmus Tietchens has been awarded with the prestigious Karl Sczuka Prize of the Südwestrundfunk (SWR) twice: in 2003 for his work Heidelberger Studien 1-6 and in 2006 for Trois Dryades. He lives and works in Hamburg.

Dirk Serries This Belgian-based artist has experimented with music on the border between avant-garde, industrial, experimental and ambient for more than 30 years. He released his earliest work (1984) behind the pseudonym vidnaObmana up to 2007, with which he gained worldwide praise. Other projects like Fear Falls Burning and his Microphonics series made him collaborate with several key-players like Steven Wilson, Justin K. Broadrick, Cult Of Luna, Steve Roach and toured extensively on the sides of Jesu, MONO, Low, My Bloody Valentine and Cult Of Luna. In October 2013 Dirk Serries re-booted his classic vidnaObmana ambient sound from the mid eighties/early nineties. In contrary to his original music that was mostly synth-based, this ambient music is constructed on electric guitar. Music that flows from its discreet origins: sonic purity, washes of harmony, and organic textures which slow time to a phase of transcendence. On the spot, improvised and real-time. Acclaimed albums were under his own name on Projekt Records and his swansong EPITAPH on Consouling Sounds. However, being a follower of (free) jazz for years, when meeting Tomas Järmyr (Motorpsycho) and Kristoffer Lo to form YODOK III his confidence in improvisation boosted and slowly shifted from his meticulously executed subtle ambience to being a full improviser on mostly the guitar. As heavily influenced by legendary improviser Derek Bailey, over the past years Dirk manifested him as a strong and new leading figure in the Belgian improv scene. Serries is the curator of the New Wave of Jazz label.