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 NÍÐ. 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 Bruital Nights (D 2024), Fab_In Festival (PL 2023), Klikken Festivalen (N 2023) Wroclaw Industrial Festival (PL 2022), Zasavje Noisefest International (SLO 2019), Audio Art Festival (PL 2016), Les Digitales (CH 2016 & 2017), 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), LAB 30 (DE 2009), Ausklang Festival (DE 2006), SHIFT (CH 2007 & 2008), and many more...

  B°TONG has played up to 400 concerts in Europe, North America and Japan. He has shared stages with artists like Bohren und der Club of Gore, Alan Courtis, Dark Buddha Rising, Daniel Davidovsky, Dave Phillips, Esplendor Geometrico, Fabrizio Casti, Feine Trinkers Bei Pinkels Daheim, Frontline Assembly, Joke Lanz, Jozef van Wissem, Michael Northam, Origami Galaktika, Puce Mary, Ramleh, Rinus Van Alebeek, Robert Curgenwen, Robert Rich, Sudden Infant, Zbigniew Karkowski, and many more.

  B°TONG may also collaborate with other musicians. So 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). The newest collaboration project is Bu.d.d.A. (AKA Bund des dritten Auges) - an ambient drone duo together with Sascha Stadlmeier (Emerge).

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  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.



In 2017, Chris composed the music to „Vertikal“ - a theatre performance by circus-artist Finn Jagd Andersen (Zirkus Gonzo).
, which they perform live together. In 2018 Chris was seen on national televison in the well-known Swiss series "Der Bestatter". In the episode "Spiel Mit Dem Feuer" he is the guitarist in a fictional band perfroming one of his songs...

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  B°TONG releases can be found on Force Majeure, Oxidation, Reverse Alignment and Silken Tofu.