The origin of the peculiar sound of Christian Fennesz (born on 25 th December 1962) lies in the use of the guitar, processed in real time on a laptop, thus creating compositions that fuse melodies and conventional instruments with abrupt glitch sounds and flashes of white noise. At present the producer lives in Vienna, capital of Austria.

Fennesz studied music at his home-town’s art school. He started playing the guitar at the age of eight and became the singer, guitarist and songwriter of the band Maische, one of the most interesting groups on the Vienna underground in the late eighties. In the early nineties he got involved with the techno scene and started producing music based on guitar and synthesiser sounds. In 1995 he made his debut with the EP “Instrument”, released by Mego, followed by his first album for the same label, “Hotel Paral·lel” (named after the Barcelona hotel he stayed in the first time he was invited to play at Sónar). In 2001 he released “Endless Summer”, considered his best work to date: it's based on the digital manipulation of guitar sounds, but focussing much more on the melody and pop composition than his previous efforts. Later he released some works on which experiment is in perfect balance with emotion - full of sadness and melancholy - like “Venice” in 2004 (his first work for the Touch label, besides his track for the compilation “plus forty seven degrees 56’ 37” minus sixteen degrees 51’ 08”), and “Black Sea” in 2008.

Since the early nineties, Fennesz has worked with musicians like Ryuichi Sakamoto (with whom he has released two records), Keith Rowe and bands like Sparklehorse. With Peter Rehberg and Jim O'Rourke he forms the trio Fenn’OBerg, focussing on the real-time manipulation of software and digital sound sources, in the tradition of academic computer music.

Selected discography

“Hotel Paral·lel” (Mego, 1997)

“plus forty seven degrees 56’ 37” minus sixteen degrees 51’ 08” (Touch, 1999)

“Endless Summer” (Mego, 2001)

“Live In Japan” (Headz, 2003)

“Venice” (Touch, 2004)

“Black Sea” (Touch, 2008)

With Ryuichi Sakamoto

“Cendre” (Touch, 2007)

“Flumina” (Commons-Touch, 2001)