<http://musik.tonto.at>

Helmut Kaplan, Robert Lepenik, Dieter Mattersdorfer, Michael Pinter, Michi

Posch, Winfried Ritsch, Edda Strobl



Thomas Ballhausen, Norbert Gmeindl, Karl Grünling, Bernd Heinrauch, Andreas

Heller, Lissie Hödl, Andreas Klöckl, Bernhard Lang, Norbert Math, Renate

Oblak, David Reumüller, Andrea Schmidt, Clemens Stecher, Barbara Sturm, Selina

Trepp, Ludwig Zeininger



label

~music/electronic/experimental

~comics



In 1994 the name ?tonto" emerges for the very first time, being the working-title of a musical side-project of graz-based math-rock band ?fleischpost" (in engl."meat-mail", reas: b., poelzl: guit., kaplan: dr.). as a reaction to general change in circumstance (bands split up, groups turn into various solo artists/positions, computers have changed the ways of music-production..) tonto turns into a tape-series, featuring, amongst others, liebenau, fleischpost, curd duca, plazma (now farmers manual)...after 5 releases the project peters out, only to be revitalized as a cd-label in 1997, actually as a means of contribution for edda strobel´s project "call". in 1998 another platform, tonto-radio, run by winfried ritsch, comes to existence on the net. In 2001 the field of action is being enlarged by tonto-comics. The group, that had been a loose something by then, begins to get shape via self-definition. For the first time tonto-events take place...



Music

(...) the aim was, and still is, to create a series, the central thread of which being not really a specific genre, but rather the yearning for discovery. tonto does not focus on big events; the series is not supposed to be a means of position-building in social hierarchies. The overused term "self-reflection" is, without any irony, the basis for a series of cd-s, that intentionally positions itself as something in between.
Significantly, despite the lack of genre-constraints, a certain self-image has come to existence, which of course is being redefined with each new release. In spite of the claim to be timeless ( at least the aim is not to act in the spirit of any, either old or new, trend ) , the image of tonto is considered contemporary/ modern. In contrast to other comparable, profit-seeking projects the image is not contrived, but it is the contents rather, that become the image, far from market research or calculated hypes.
The cover-artwork is homogeneous; the cd-s´ layouts only differ in form of one changing front-picture. Focussing upon content by standardization of appearance; any new release serves as a reference to its predecessors.
nowadays the concept has been extended into various independent branches, such as tonto-comix or the tonto-website. concepts for concerts and events are permanently being worked on (e.g. "goddard-remix", "tonto-nights", tonto-dj-line)

comic

....tonto is a label from graz/austria that produces experimental, non-profit, ambitious music...

tonto-comics came to existence in 2000/2001; the aim was very similar to that of tonto-music productions: the development of a platform for experimental comics and animations.

at the moment the web-site is the mainplace for comparing and putting side by side various positions of artists, who frequently enter the field of comics. ideally an exchange and interaction takes place between the artists that are being presented (info-newsserve, reviews, news with an opportunity to comment, mailinglists). since the comics department had only recently been founded, it is still in a state of establishing a pool of draughtsmen (by 09/01: thomas ballhausen, norbert gmeindl, helmut kaplan, clemens stecher, edda strobl, barbara sturm, selina trepp). in addition to the development of the web-site, there will also be a series of comic-books.

releases by now: tonto-comics #0 ( genossen by edda strobl and helmut kaplan, 07/01)
future releases: tonto-comics #1, decembre 2001
tonto-comics #2 (alien(n)ation I: a displaced person ) by thomas ballhausen, march 2002

integrating into the music-label provides the opprtunity of presenting the comics at live-gigs and tonto-nights (by video or large-format prints), apart from the usual fine arts business or a, in austria practically non-existing, comic-scene, even though those channels also will be used.
(edda strobl)


internet http://musik.tonto.at

the tonto-website features information on all tonto-cd-s, including ordering-forms, the tonto-archive-radio and a news-server with annotatable text-archives, reviews and news. there is also a special tonto-net-comics-site, which is being released, in addition to the comic-books, as an independent internet-projekt.
(winfried ritsch)


Releases: Music



#1 KAPLAN wave mash target (1998)

#3 POSCH jakomini rue (1999)

#4 COOP moped (1999)

#5 POSCH gruen anger rudeboy (2000)

#6 LEPENIK atoll k. (2000)

#7 LANG a room full of shoes (2001)

#8 HEINRAUCH/KLÖCKL/MATTERSDORFER dip ling (2001)

#9 LEPENIK if you dig syd, dig for syd (2001)

#10 reMI geist der utopie (2001)

#11 REAS reas (2001)

#12 LALELOO same (2001)

#13 reMI vincit veritas (2001)



in preparation:



# POSCH triest(in)er tristesse

# REFLECTOR

# KAPLAN

# MATH/ZEININGER tempest







Releases: Comic



#0 STROBL+KAPLAN genossen



in preparation:



#1 GMEINDL, STECHER, STROBL+KAPLAN

#2 BALLHAUSEN alien(n)ation: a displaced person (2002)







concerts / events

2001



LEPENIK/KAPLAN "Hotel Pupik", Schrattenberg



MIDIHY, the early years: 1999-2001, featuring tonto;

edition MiDyHy 001/01, Forum Stadtpark, Graz

featuring: tontoDJ



GODARD-REMIX, Mediathek, Graz

5 artists, respectively artist groups, make use of the sound-track of the movie

"nouvelle vague" (france 1990) in order to develop a piece of music/sound-collage and to remix and transform the original image-source.

featuring: reMI (Renate Oblak/Michael Pinter)

WINFRIED RITSCH

HELMUT KAPLAN

LALELOO (Bernhard Lang/Robert Lepenik) &

LAUFFILM (Bernadette Moser/Markus Reisenhofer)



KÜNSTLERHAUSPASSAGE, Vienna

REAS / DIP LING / TONOT DJ



NCC48, Dom im Berg, Graz

featuring: LEPENIK/KAPLAN

RITSCH/reMI

ZOPT (Live Stream Graz, Vienna, Berlin)

REFLECTOR/REAS

FERON

STROBL

tontoDJ