Q+A: 5 Minutes with Elektro Guzzi
Take a moment to meet Elektro Guzzi, the live techno band from Austria that’s about to take the world by storm. The trio is comprised of Bernhard Hammer on the guitar, Jakob Schneidewind on the bass and Bernhard Breuer on drums who are all currently building towards the release of their upcoming LP, Triangle for early next year. We’ve been gifted with a ‘Prototyp’ ahead of the release in the form of a high-energy single, accompanied by a live video.
Stream ‘Prototyp’ on Spotify – iTunes
The trio have already made an undeniable impact on the world, having received an EBBA Award for their LP, Parquet and performing on numerous international stages including the Sonar Festival in Barcelona and Fabric Nightclub in London. Elektro Guzzi will be continuing to tour in the upcoming months and well into next year, looking forward to reuniting with fans as well as the undeniable energy of live performances.
Set the tone for us. Why the arts?
Since we first met we knew that there’s a special energy between the 3 of us. We shared the same passion for rhythm and sound. So we never had to discuss basics. We love to work in the studio but the best part of our job is definitely to play live. That’s why we see ourselves as a live band.
Which comes first when you’re producing – the sound or the idea?
We’ve changed our working process several times in the past. we had times when we were composing before recording or we had a concept for special sounds. For “triangle”, our next album we just went to the studio without any preparation and started to record. This fits much more to our live concept where we mostly improvise.
Does your material feature any collaborations?
We did many collaborations in the past: We played with Cuban percussionists, we did an album featuring 3 trombone players, we also did a composition for a string orchestra. But for this album, we decided to concentrate on our core competence which is playing high energy music as a trio
What’s on your current playlist?
For the tour in Spring and Summer, we will prepare tracks from the new album and will combine them with improvisations.
Tell us about the chemistry you have with your fans on stage.
For us, the best moments happen when we get in the “tunnel” and the audience follows us. This can be a very energetic moment when we respond to the energy of the audience and vice versa. We always try to make people dance cause that’s what the music is meant for.
What techniques do you experiment with to get your original sound?
We experimented a lot when we started the band. We hid in the studio for 2 years to work on our concept to play techno with instruments. We tried different things like preparations on the instrument, using sound effects or different micing techniques.
Take us through a day in the recording studio.
We live in different cities so we meet for recording sessions 2 times a month which take 3 or 4 days. We meet in the studio and make a plan for how we will structure the following days. After that we make a recording set up with microphones, mixing desk and all effects we are going to use. After that, we try to get in the right mood for recording. Then we try to play as many takes as it takes to get to interesting music. If we are all happy with this we work on this in more detail.
Was there a specific moment in your life where you thought, “this is what I want to do”?
In my case, it was the day when my first drumset arrived. I couldn´t stop playing. It was not the idea to do it professionally. This happened later when I got more deeply into music.
What do you keep close by while you’re playing a set?
Concentration and something to drink…
Any emerging artists on your radar?
Rojin Sahrafi. She is a young Austrian electronic producer who is very talented.
What gets your creative juices flowing?
Being in the same room with other creative people and diving deep into music.
Take us through your collection of gear, tech or software that accompanies your creative expression.
We use a lot of effect pedals like reverb, delays, distortion… On the drums, we combine the acoustic set with a Norddrum modul and effects. Besides that, we use preparations on the instruments to get different sounds.
Any side projects you’re working on?
We just released our solo projects on our own imprint Palazzo Recordings:
SCHNEIDEWIND : Digital-EP ‘Beta’
BUENOVENTURA : Digital-EP ‘Gamma’
BLACK PULSE : Digital-EP ‘Delta’
How have you refined your craft since you entered the industry?
We are continuously working on sound structure and rhythm. We never get bored to do so and we see a lot of possibilities to go even deeper into the music.
Breakdown the news for us: what can we expect from you for the rest of this year?
We will release our new Album “Triangle” on March 18th which will be followed by a tour in Europe in Spring and Festival Shows in Summer. This will be the main focus for 2022
Follow Elektro Guzzi:
Website – Facebook – Twitter – Soundcloud – Youtube – Instagram – Spotify
By Sarah Britton
