Christian Fennesz (born 25 December 1962) is an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n producer and guitarist active in

electronic music Electronic music is a Music genre, genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or electronics, circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromech ...

since the 1990s, often credited simply by his last name. His work utilizes

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

and laptop computers to blend melody with treated samples and glitch production. He lives and works in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, and currently records on the UK label

Touch In physiology, the somatosensory system is the network of neural structures in the brain and body that produce the perception of touch ( haptic perception), as well as temperature ( thermoception), body position ( proprioception), and pain. It ...

. Fennesz first received widespread recognition for his 2001 album ''

Endless Summer Endless Summer or The Endless Summer may refer to: Places * Universal's Endless Summer Resort, twin hotels at the Universal Orlando Resort featuring surf and coastal-themed decor Film and television * ''The Endless Summer'', a 1966 documentary ...

'', released on the Austrian label Mego. He has collaborated with a number of artists, including Ryuichi Sakamoto,

Jim O'Rourke James O'Rourke may refer to: Sports * Jim O'Rourke (baseball) (1850–1919), American baseball player and Hall of Fame inductee * Jimmy O'Rourke (baseball) (1883–1955), American baseball player, son of the Hall of Fame inductee * James O'Rourk ...

, Ulver, David Sylvian, and King Midas Sound.

Biography

Fennesz was born and raised in Austria and studied music formally in

art school An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, including fine art – especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. Art schools can offer elementary, secondary, post-sec ...

. He started playing guitar around the age of 8 or 9. He initially performed as a member of the Austrian

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

band Maische before signing to

label Mego as a solo artist. The influence of

techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

led him to begin composing with a laptop. In 1995 he released his first EP ''Instrument'', which explored electro-acoustic and ambient stylings. In 1997, Fennesz released his debut full-length album ''Hotel Paral.lel'', which saw him delve more explicitly into laptop production and early glitch aesthetics. He followed with the 1998 single ''Plays'', which contained near-unrecognizable covers of

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

' " Paint It Black" and the Beach Boys' "

Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder) "Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album '' Pet Sounds''. Written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, it is a ballad about nonverbal communication between lovers. Musically, ...

". In the following years, he collaborated with a variety of artists, including Peter "Pita" Rehberg and

as part of Fenn O'Berg. In 2001, he released his third studio album ''

'' to widespread critical praise and recognition. He collaborated with figures such as David Sylvian, Keith Rowe, eRikm, Ryuichi Sakamoto in the following years, and released the albums ''

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

'' (2004) and ''

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, ...

'' (2007) to further critical praise. In 2009 Fennesz teamed up with Mark Linkous ( Sparklehorse) to create

In the Fishtank 15 ''In the Fishtank 15'' is a collaborative EP by Sparklehorse and Christian Fennesz. It is the fifteenth and most recent installment of the collaboration project by Konkurrent and the final release by Sparklehorse before the death of leader Mark ...

. The following year Fennesz released ''Szampler'', a cassette containing his sample collection on the Tapeworm label. This release was later remixed by

Stefan Goldmann Stefan Goldmann (born 1978) is a German-Bulgarian DJ and composer of electronic music. His work has been described as intelligent minimal techno. Rob Young: “Stefan Goldmann – Close to the edit”, WIRE Magazine, #314, April 2010 Career Sin ...

and released as ''Goldmann vs. Fennesz: Remiksz''. In 2011, he appeared on the live Ulver release ''

The Norwegian National Opera ''The Norwegian National Opera'' is a concert film by Norwegian Experimental electronica band Ulver. Directed by Erlend Gjertsen, the film was issued on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in November 2011 via Jester Records and Kscope. The film documents Ulver ...

'', contributing guitar and effects to "Not Saved." In November 2013, Fennesz played the final holiday camp edition of the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Camber Sands, England. In 2014, he released the studio album ''Bécs''. In 2015, he collaborated with UK group King Midas Sound on the album ''Editions 1''.

Recording techniques

Since the 1990s, Fennesz has worked with the programming software Max/MSP and the free patch Ppooll, which he runs in conjunction with the workstation Logic 9. In both studio and live settings, he routes his guitar through

effects pedal An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing. Common effects include distortion/overdrive, often used with electric guitar in e ...

s (including a custom distortion box) and into his computer. There, it is processed and combined with Ppooll software

plugins Plug-in, plug in or plugin may refer to: * Plug-in (computing) is a software component that adds a specific feature to an existing computer program. ** Audio plug-in, adds audio signal processing features ** Photoshop plugin, a piece of software t ...

and tools such as

sampler Sampler may refer to: * Sampler (signal), a digital signal processing device that converts a continuous signal to a discrete signal * Sampler (needlework), a handstitched piece of embroidery used to demonstrate skill in needlework * Sampler (surna ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis ...

s, effects, and MIDI controllers.

Discography

; Studio albums * (1997) ''Hotel Paral.lel'' (Mego) * (1999) ''Plus Forty Seven Degrees 56' 37" Minus Sixteen Degrees 51' 08"'' (

) * (2001) ''Endless Summer'' (Mego) * (2004) ''Venice'' (

) * (2008) ''Black Sea'' (

) * (2014) '' Bécs'' (Editions Mego) * (2019) ''Agora'' (

) ; Collaboration albums * (2004) ''GRM Experience'' with Mika Vainio &

Christian Zanési Christian Zanési (born 22 May 1952) is a French composer. Biography Born in Lourdes, Zanési studied with Guy Maneveau and Marie-Françoise Lacaze at the Pau University (South of France) (1974–1975), and with Pierre Schaeffer and Guy Reibel ...

(Signature) * (2005) ''Cloud'' with Keith Rowe, Toshimaru Nakamura and Oren Ambarchi (Erstwhile) * (2007) ''

Cendre ''Cendre'' is a 2007 studio album, a collaboration between Fennesz and Ryuichi Sakamoto. It follows their previous collaboration on 2005's '' Sala Santa Cecilia''. Track listing All songs by Sakamoto and Fennesz. # "Oto" – 3:49 # "Aware" � ...

'' with Sakamoto (

) * (2008) ''Til the Old World's Blown Up and a New One Is Created'' with Martin Brandlmayr & Werner Dafeldecker (Mosz) * (2009) ''

'' with Sparklehorse ( Konkurrent) * (2010) ''Knoxville'' with David Daniell and Tony Buck ( Thrill Jockey) * (2010) ''Remiksz'' with

(Tapeworm) * (2011) '' Flumina'' with Sakamoto (Commmons/

) * (2015) ''

Edition 1 ''Edition 1'' is a collaborative studio album by British crossover project King Midas Sound and Christian Fennesz, released on 15 September 2015 on Ninja Tune Ninja Tune is an English independent record label based in London. It has a sa ...

'' with King Midas Sound ( Ninja Tune) * (2015) ''AirEffect'' with OZmotic ( Folk Wisdom) * (2016) ''It's Hard For Me To Say I'm Sorry'' with

(Editions Mego) ; Compilations * (2002) ''Field Recordings: 1995–2002'' (

) * (2010) ''Szampler'' (Tapeworm) ; Live recordings * (2000) ''Live at Revolver, Melbourne'' live EP (

) * (2004) ''Live at the LU'' with Keith Rowe (Erstwhile) * (2005) ''Sala Santa Cecilia'' live EP with Ryuichi Sakamoto (

) * (2005) ''Live in Japan'' CD (Headz/Touch, 2003) and LP (Autofact/

) * (2009) ''Live @ The V. Sessions'' streaming video recording
The V. Sessions
, 2009 * (2014) ''Mahler Remixed'' vinyl (

) ; 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 Mego was an experimental electronic music independent record label based in Vienna, Austria. The label has been superseded by a new company, Editions Mego, which was set up both to keep Mego albums in print and to issue new albums, run by P ...

) * (2011) ''Seven Stars'' CDEP/10" vinyl (

) ; Singles, tracks, guest collaborations, etc. * (2002) "Wrapped Islands" with Polwechsel (

Erstwhile Erstwhile Records is an independent record label devoted to free improvisation, particularly the electroacoustic variety, contemporary, experimental composed music, and combinations of both. Erstwhile was founded by Jon Abbey in 1999, whose pers ...

) * (2005) "Erstlive 004" with Peter Rehberg, Sachiko M and

Otomo Yoshihide is a Japanese composer and multi-instrumentalist. He mainly plays guitar, turntables, and electronics. He first came to international prominence in the 1990s as the leader of the experimental rock group Ground Zero, and has since worked in ...

(Erstwhile) * (2007) "On a desolate shore a shadow passes by" (

) – download only * (2008) "Transition" (

) * (2008) "Saffron Revolution" (

) – download only * (2010) "Future Back" and "Impassive Skies" with Patrick Pulsinger, on Pulsinger's album ''Impassive Skies'' (Disko B) * (2011) "Fearless" (Thrill Jockey) – contribution for the ''Benefit for the Recovery in Japan'' compilation ; Remixes * (2001) "IVEND 00", based on material from ''Attention: Cats'' by Various Artists, on ''rkk13cd'' (Reckankreuzungsklankewerkzeuge) * (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 Jester Records was a record label founded in 1998 by Kristoffer Rygg (also known as Garm, Trickster G, G. Wolf and Fiery G. Maelstrom) after conflicts between his band Ulver and their German/American label Century Media Records. Artists * 1349 ...

) * (2005) Remixed "Weight" by

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic language, Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician language, Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major ancient Egyptian deities, goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughou ...

on ''Oceanic Remixes Vol. 4'' ( Ipecac) * (2007) Remixed "In This Twilight" by

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the ban ...

on '' Year Zero Remixed'' ( Interscope) * (2010) Remixed "Returnal" by

Oneohtrix Point Never Daniel Lopatin (born July 25, 1982), best known as Oneohtrix Point Never or OPN, is an American experimental electronic music producer, composer, singer and songwriter. His music has experimented with tropes from various music genres and eras, s ...

on '' Returnal Maxi Single 7"'' (Editions Mego) * (2011) Remixed "The Visitor" by Miracle on ''Fluid Window'' * (2011) Remixed "Shikaku Kakumei" (titled "QSMJAF") by Sōtaisei Riron on ''Tadashii Sōtaisei Riron'' ( Commmons/Mirai Records) ; Soundtracks * (1999) ''Beyond the Ocean'' (USA) * (2000) ''Gelbe Kirschen'' (Austria), directed by

Leopold Lummerstorfer Leopold Lummerstorfer (born 1968 in Gramastetten, Austria) is an Austrian film director, author and producer. He resides in Vienna and near Kapuvár. Leopold Lummerstorfer is one of the younger directors of the new Austrian cinema. As early as 19, ...

* (2002) '' Blue Moon'' (Austria), written and directed by Andrea Maria Dusl * (2005)
Platform#09 Chicago
' (France) directed by Cedrick Eymenier * (2009) ''Film ist. a girl & a gun'' (Austria), directed by Gustav Deutsch, with

Lucía Pulido Lucía Pulido (born 1962) is a Colombian singer who since 1986 has sung traditional music such as cumbia, bullerengue and joropos. In 1994, she moved to New York, where she has performed traditional music and has sung with jazz musicians. She perfor ...

, Martin Siewert,

Burkhard Stangl Burkhard Stangl (born 6 November 1960 in Eggenburg, Lower Austria) is a composer and musician, currently residing in Vienna, Austria. Playing primarily guitar and electronics, he is a prolific performer in the world of electro-acoustic improvisa ...

(7", Interstellar Records, Austria 2009) * (2012) ''AUN: The Beginning and the End of All Things'' (Ash International) ; 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 ; With

Food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ...

*''Quiet Inlet'' (ECM, 2010) *''Mercurial Balm'' (ECM, 2012) *'' This Is Not a Miracle'' (ECM, 2015)

Biography

Recording techniques

Discography

See also

References

External links