"its most glimmering elements shining like sunlight through cracks in a
wall, sharp as diamonds."
At the frontier of contemporary music is Fennesz: a meticulous laptop
conceptualist who weaves tangible melodies and glowing guitars through dense,
symphonic electronica.
Fennesz uses guitar and computer to create shimmering, swirling electronic
sound of enormous range and complex musicality. "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 know from his own particular musical world as well as his
impeccable work in creating beautiful compositions for guitar. Somewhere
between concrete music, classical and ambience sounds, he stretches musical
resources and effects to create melodies and atmospheres that fuse classical and
orchestral concepts with conceptual musical research and complex digital
structures.
He has been recording and also performing with Ryuichi Sakamoto and playing live with Keith Rowe, Sparklehorse, Mike Patton and many others.
Fennesz has also worked alongside Peter Rehberg and Jim O'Rourke in the improvisional trio Fenn O'Berg, and with David Sylvian who sang on his album "Venice" and for whom Fennesz composed the music for the song "A Fire in the Forest" for Davd Sylvian album “Blemishâ€.
2007
Fennesz and Sakamoto released a collaborative album entitled “cendreâ€:
“Ryuichi Sakamoto and Christian Fennesz blend the unstructured and imaginative qualities of improvisation with the satisfying sculpture of composition. Sakamoto's piano, his style reminiscent of Debussy and Satie, perfectly complements Fennesz with his powerful blend of shimmering guitar and passionate electronics.â€
Fennesz has done a 12 dates European tour together with Mike Patton, sharing the stage to do a “magic sonic duo†with unusual performance that is a hymn to radical creative freedom: electronic touches, krautrock landscapes, sampling, stormy drones, mellotron echoes, and mores…
Fennesz remixed the track “In This Twilight†on Nine Inch Nails remix album “Y34RZ3R0R3M1XEDâ€.
Rolling Stone described him as "the most pictorial composer-programmer in
laptop electronica".
Ben Bortwick (the wire 09/05): Fennesz guitar and laptop live set demonstrate why he remains one of the most
engaging musicians using electronics. His treatment of the laptop and guitar allow
each to give up its identity to the other, exquisite guitar washes loosing their
specificity to the crackling textures of the laptop. Live guitar chords become loops
on the laptop and he constantly shifts between contradictions and possibilities of
each.
Fennesz official website for more infos and news: fennesz.com
Fennesz discography - click on album cover for details