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Fennesz

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Christian Fennesz
Fennesz performing with Mike Patton at Dissonanze Festival in Rome on 2007-06-02.
Fennesz performing with Mike Patton at Dissonanze Festival in Rome on 2007-06-02.
Background information
Birth nameChristian Fennesz
Also known asFennesz
Born (1962-12-25) 25 December 1962 (age 61)
OriginVienna, Austria
InstrumentGuitar
LabelsMego, Touch
Websitefennesz.com

Christian Fennesz (born 25 December 1962) is an Austrian guitarist active in electronic music, often credited on albums simply as Fennesz.

Fennesz uses guitar[1] and notebook computers to make multilayered compositions that blend melody and conventional musical instruments with harsh, irregular glitch-influenced sounds and washes of white noise. He lives and works in Vienna, Austria.

Biography

Fennesz was born and raised in Austria and studied music formally in art school. He started playing guitar around the ages 8 or 9.[2]

He became involved in the Viennese techno scene of the early 1990s. From there on, he began to collect his own equipment and produce music based loosely around guitar and synthesizer sounds.

Since the 1990s, Fennesz played live with Ryuichi Sakamoto, with British electroacoustic improvisation icon Keith Rowe, and with American pop group Sparklehorse. He has also worked alongside Peter Rehberg and Jim O'Rourke in the improvisional trio Fenn O'Berg, and with British singer David Sylvian - Sylvian sang on Fennesz's album Venice while Fennesz composed the music for "A Fire in the Forest" from Sylvian's album Blemish and made contributions to Sylvian's "When Loud Weather Buffeted Naoshima". Fennesz also remixed Ulver on the album 1993-2003: First Decade in the Machines, as well as appearing on their 2007 album Shadows of the Sun.

Fennesz had ties with the Vienna-based label Mego, and is now signed to Touch in the UK.

Fennesz and Sakamoto released a collaborative album entitled Cendre in March 2007 on Sakamoto's new Commmons label, via Touch.

Fennesz performed with singer Mike Patton at the 2007 Moers Festival - marking the first time the two have performed together on stage in Europe, as they have performed in 2006 at the Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville, and will continue to tour Europe together into June.

In 2009 Fennesz teamed up with Mark Linkous (Sparklehorse) to create In the Fishtank 15. The following year Fennesz released Szampler,[3] a cassette containing his sample collection on the Tapeworm label. This release was later remixed by Stefan Goldmann and released as Goldmann vs. Fennesz: Remiksz.[4]

Influences

The emphasis on the guitar texture and the burying of pop melodies under layers of effects are common features of Fennesz's music. Ultimately, this is something that can be traced to the various Fripp & Eno collaborations of the 1970s; and the early guitar synthesis work of Chuck Hammer who recorded with Lou Reed and David Bowie. Also, the music of the Beach Boys has had an influence on Fennesz, as revealed by his cover of “Don’t Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)” on the Plays EP. The Beach Boys influence is mentioned in a Pitchforkmedia interview, in relation to the album title, cover art, and melodic emphasis of his Endless Summer LP.

Discography

Studio albums
  • (1997) Hotel Paral.lel (Mego)
  • (1999) Plus Forty Seven Degrees 56' 37" Minus Sixteen Degrees 51' 08" (Touch)
  • (2001) Endless Summer (Mego)
  • (2004) Venice (Touch)
  • (2008) Black Sea (Touch)
  • (2010) Szampler (Tapeworm)
Collaboration albums
Compilations
  • (2002) Field Recordings: 1995-2002 (Touch)
Live recordings
  • (2000) Live at Revolver, Melbourne live EP (Touch)
  • (2004) Live at the LU with Keith Rowe (Erstwhile)
  • (2005) Sala Santa Cecilia live EP with Ryuichi Sakamoto (Touch)
  • (2005) Live in Japan CD (Headz/Touch, 2003) and LP (Autofact/Touch)
  • (2009) Live @ The V. Sessions streaming video recording (The V. Sessions), 2009
Studio EPs
  • (1995) Instrument 12" vinyl (Mego)
  • (1998) Il Libro Mio EP (Tanz Hotel)
  • (1998) Plays 7" (Mego)
  • (1999) Plays CDEP (Moikai)
  • (2006) Plays 10" vinyl (Editions Mego)
  • (2011) Seven Stars 10" vinyl (Touch)
Singles, tracks
  • (2002) "Wrapped Islands" with Polwechsel (Erstwhile)
  • (2005) "Erstlive 004" with Peter Rehberg, Sachiko M and Otomo Yoshihide (Erstwhile)
  • (2007) "On a desolate shore a shadow passes by" (Touch) - download only
  • (2008) "Transition" (Touch)
  • (2008) "Saffron Revolution" (Touch) - download only
  • (2011) "Fearless" (Thrill Jockey) - contribution for the Benefit for the Recovery in Japan compilation
Remixes
Soundtracks
  • (1999) Beyond the Ocean (USA)
  • (2000) Gelbe Kirschen (Austria), directed by Leopold Lummerstorfer
  • (2002) Blue Moon (Austria), written and directed by Andrea Maria Dusl
  • (2005) Platform#09 Chicago loo (France) by Cedrick Eymenier
  • (2009) Film ist. a girl & a gun (Austria), directed by Gustav Deutsch, with Lucia Pulido, Martin Siewert, Burkhard Stangl (7", Interstellar Records, Austria 2009)
  • (2012) AUN: The Beginning and the End of All Things
In Fenn O'Berg
  • (1999) The Magic Sound of Fenn O'Berg (Mego)
  • (2002) The Return of Fenn O'Berg (Mego)
  • (2009) Magic & Return Double CD reissue (Editions Mego)
  • (2010) In Stereo (Mego)
Tribute to Fennesz
  • (2004) Tim Hecker "Mirages" (Alien8 Recordings) - Incurably optimistic
  • (2012) Lcoma "Fennesz" (Unsigned) - Musical influence

References

  1. ^ "Fennesz" by Sean Cooper for Allmusic.com; retrieved 2007-08-07
  2. ^ at Semtexinc.com
  3. ^ The Tapeworm, TTW#16 - Fennesz - Szampler
  4. ^ The Tapeworm, TTW#26 - Goldmann vs Fennesz - Remiksz

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