Vienna-based guitarist Christian Fennesz is one of the city's many artists associated with the noted Mego label, which releases mostly free-form ambient and experimental electronica. Similar in some respects to the work of Seefeel or Experimental Audio Research, Fennesz's six-string soundscapes are both darker than the former and more complex and intricate than the latter, combining dense, multilayered sheets of treated guitar and synth with thin, odd-metered electronic percussion and engaging sampler work. A former member of Austrian underground experimental rock group Maische, Fennesz has also collaborated with Mego artist Peter "Pita" Rehberg on his Seven Tons for Free CD, as well as performed ensemble pieces for conceptual and multimedia art installation. His first solo work for Mego, the Instrument EP, was released in 1996, and featured four tracks of stunning, uncompromised ambient and electro-acoustic, combining elements of experimental electro/techno with heavily treated guitar and electronics. Hotel Paral.lel followed in 1997, and three years later Fennesz returned with Plus Forty Seven Degrees 56' 37" Minus Sixteen Degrees 51' 08" and Music for an Isolation Tank. Endless Summer, released in 2000, brought him back to the Mego fold, while a string of releases for Touch -- Venice (2004), the Ryuichi Sakamoto collaboration Cendre (2007), and Black Sea (2008) significantly raised his profile. ~ Sean Cooper, All Music Guide
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]
In the late 1980s, he formed a band called Maische, with a 'noise meets pop' approach similar to bands such as Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine. Maische found some local popularity, but Fennesz was uncomfortable with the band setup and left [1].
Afterwards, 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.
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 Actuel de Victoriaville, and will continue to tour Europe together into June.
Influences
The emphasis on the guitar texture and the burying of pop melodies under layers of effects are common features of Fennesz's music. 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)
(2008) "Saffron Revolution" (Touch) - download only
Remixes
(2003) Remixed "Tomorrow Never Knows" and "The Future Sound Of Music" (titled "Only the Poor have to Travel") by Ulver on 1993-2003: A Decade In The Machines (Jester Records)
(2005) Remixed "Weight" by Isis on Oceanic Remixes Vol. 4 (Ipecac)
