Colin Benders

A giant Eurorack instead of a USB of hits

On the European techno scene, Colin Benders has turned the modular synthesizer into an instrument of total improvisation: every kick, bassline, and texture is born in the moment, with no rehearsed sequences or tracklist. The audience doesn't expect recognizable anthems, but a journey that only exists while the machines are turned on. That commitment—technical virtuosity in the service of dance, not a cable spectacle—has taken him from Utrecht to clubs and festivals like Berghain, Awakenings, Dekmantel, Mysteryland, fabric, or Soenda, and to concert halls like the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

Kyteman, platinum, and an orchestra without a score

Before that electrified life, he became known as Kyteman. With Kyteman's HipHop Orchestra and, later, The Kyteman Orchestra, he fused rap, jazz, opera, and classical training in an oversized ensemble that toured Pinkpop, Lowlands, and North Sea Jazz. The album The Hermit Sessions (2009) reached the top 5 in the Netherlands, stayed on the charts for over two years, sold over 75,000 copies, and went platinum; the project won the Popprijs and he received the Zilveren Harp. In 2011, he released Kytecrash with his former trumpet teacher Eric Vloeimans; in 2012, The Kyteman Orchestra reached number 1. He even shared the stage with Sting at Symphonica in Rosso. Around 2012, he began abandoning the orchestral format upon discovering electronic instruments; when the orchestra dissolved, he hung up his trumpet and dedicated himself to Eurorack.

Modular Mayhem, Hiss & Hertz, and techno without a net

Since 2011, he has worked almost exclusively with modular. In 2016, he began streaming improvised jams—Modular Mayhem—on Twitch and later on YouTube, and a community with its own Discord grew around them. In 2020, he released Floaty Things on vinyl, his first work under the name Colin Benders on the Hiss & Hertz label; in 2021, Rigmarole arrived, extracted from lockdown sessions, followed later by pieces like I Can't Feel My Legs, Prignalia, or Sandpaper. He rarely prioritizes a studio catalog: he prefers that the music disappears when the rack is turned off. He has occupied both the Holland Festival and hard club dancefloors, sometimes in multi-hour hardware jams with STERAC. His recent sound is drier and more primitive, with monolithic kicks and raw percussion. International booking is handled by Reprise Talent Agency and, in the Netherlands, by MOJO. He continues to rebuild his modular system and expand his tour—with dates in South America, South Africa, and Dekmantel 2026—while the improvised live act remains the center of his craft.