Venice

Venice, the fourth studio album by Christain Fennesz, was recorded on location in the summer of 2003 and subsequently assembled and mixed at Amann Studios, Vienna in early 2004. Venice finds electronic music at a crossroads between its early status as digital subculture, and the feeling that there has to be something more -- an emotional quality that rises above noise and moves towards melody and rapture. Fennesz burst upon the scene with "Instrument" [Mego, 1995] and followed up with a succession of groundbreaking and highly original solo albums. As The Wire wrote, "He offers all the puzzles and adventures of experimental music, but with a more assimilable grasp of melody -- and a prominent role for the guitar," and to be sure, "though the process may sound simple, it takes some skillful manipulation to simultaneously tug those heartstrings and poke them with tiny pins." [Nick Phillips, City Pages, USA]. Fennesz has been active in film soundtrack work, live performances, and has taken part in many collaborations: Fenn O'Berg, Jim O'Rourke and Peter Rehberg, a duo with Rosy Parlane, and Polwechsel. He also recorded with Sparklehorse (the fruits of this collaboration appear on the recently released "Spire").