Christian Fennesz

Christian Fennesz
Fennesz performing in Bethesda, Maryland, September 2010
Background information
Birth name	Christian Fennesz
Also known as	Fennesz
Born	(1962-12-25) 25 December 1962 (age 54) Austria
Origin	Neusiedl am See, Austria
Genres	Electronic, ambient, glitch, electro-acoustic
Instruments	Guitar, laptop
Labels	Mego, Touch
Associated acts	Fenn O'Berg
Website	www.fennesz.com

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

Fennesz uses guitar and notebook computers to make multilayered compositions that blend melody and treated samples with glitch-influenced sounds and washes of white noise. He lives and works in Vienna, Austria.

Fennesz was born and raised in Austria and studied music formally in art school. He started playing guitar around the age of 8 or 9. He initially performed as a member of the Austrian experimental rock band Maische before signing to electronic music label Mego Records as a solo artist. 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' "Paint It Black" and the Beach Boys' "Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)". In the following years, he released his second album Plus Forty Seven Degrees 56' 37" Minus Sixteen Degrees 51' 08" and collaborated with a variety of artists, including Peter "Pita" Rehberg and Jim O'Rourke. In 2001, he released his third studio album Endless Summer 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 (2004) and Black Sea (2007) to further critical praise.