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Christian Fennesz (Austria)
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November 28
DOM Art Center 
 “Imagine the electric guitar severed from cliche and all of its physical limitations, shaping a bold new musical language." - (City Newspaper, USA). Christian Fennesz is an Austrian musician that uses guitar and computer technology to create a shimmering, swirling electronic sound with complex musicality and great range. He makes multilayered compositions that blend melody and conventional musical instruments with harsh, irregular glitch-influenced sounds and white noise. Although Fennesz uses computers to produce his music, his compositions are lush and luminant and are nothing like sterile computer experiments. His music resembles sensitive recordings of rainforest insect life or natural atmospheric occurrences, with inherent naturalism permeating each piece.
Fennesz was born in and raised in Austria where he received formal musical training studying guitar form the age of 8. He started his career in the late 1980s, when he formed a band called Maische. Maische had a “noise meets pop” approach similar to bands such as Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine. Although Maische had a following, Fennesz had left the band and became involved in the Viennese techno scene of the early 1990s. Since then Christian Fennesz has start to create music loosely based around guitar and synthesizer sounds.
For the past two decades Fennesz collaborated with various musicians such as Ryuichi Sakamoto, a Japanese musician and composer active in electronic music; Keith Rowe, the British electro-acoustic improvisation icon; Sparklehorse, a pop group from the US. He also worked with Mike Patton, David Sylvian, Jim O’Rourke and many others. Fennesz has also worked for nearly a decade alongside Peter Rehberg and Jim O'Rourke in the improvisational trio Fenn O'Berg. Sakamoto and Fennesz released a collaborative album “Cendre” in March 2007 on Sakamoto’s Commons label. In 2009, Fennesz and Mark Linkous from Sparklehorse (US) recorded the album “The Fishtank,” with dreamy atmospherics and beautiful experimentation. His most recent solo album, “The Szampler,” which released in March 2010, features a collection of samples Fennesz used between 1989 and 1996.
Fennesz has stated that the music of the Beach Boys had an influence on his development as a musician and performer. This is revealed by his cover of “Don’t Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)” on the “Plays” EP and in relation to the almub title, cover art and melodic emphasis of the “Endless Summer” album. Christian Fennesz has ties with a Vienna-based label Mego and is currently signed with Touch in the UK. More info
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