John Bender

One of the most shadowy, mysterious figures of the early-'80s experimental music underground, John Bender released three LPs and several cassettes of cold, sparse, abstract synth pop songs that later became the holy grail for aficionados of "minimal synth" or "minimal wave" music. Born in 1950 in Nuremberg, Germany, Bender relocated frequently as a child, eventually settling in Cincinnati. Inspired by experimental rock luminaries such as the Velvet Underground and the Motorik rhythms of Krautrock groups like Can, but with a limited supply of electronic instruments on hand, Ben...