Christina Vantzou

Christina Vantzou works as a composer and multi-media artist, shaping extended, gradually unfolding ambient textures that fuse electronic elements and sampled material with orchestral scoring. She entered the world in Kansas City, pursued studies at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, and relocated to Brussels, Belgium in 2003. Early recognition arrived through her video work, which included animations produced for MTV Netherlands and a music video made for Interpol. Those visuals drew the notice of Stars of the Lid’s Adam Wiltzie, prompting the pair to establish the audio-visual project the Dead Texan. On the group’s 2004 self-titled release, Vantzou supplied vocals and mellotron while also directing the videos featured on its companion DVD. She performed on keyboards in the band’s live shows, including several 2007 European dates supporting Sparklehorse. Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse is cited by Vantzou as the catalyst that led her toward independent solo projects.

After extended periods spent exploring MIDI keyboards and samples, she forwarded a demo to composer Dustin O’Halloran, who introduced her to Minna Choi of Magik*Magik Orchestra; together they began arranging the pieces Vantzou had already written. Her composition “11 Generations of My Fathers” appeared on Ghostly International’s early 2011 compilation SMM: Context, after which Kranky issued her symphonic debut solo album No. 1 in October of that year, accompanied by a DVD of abstract films derived from the album’s tracks and a remix collection featuring Loscil, ISAN, Koen Holtkamp, and additional contributors. She presented concerts backed by a string quartet while simultaneously composing her second album and working as a math tutor. Kranky released No. 2, which extended the sonic approach of her first album, in early 2014; an EP of remixes by Motion Sickness of Time Travel, Ken Camden, and others followed. October 2015 brought No. 3, a release on Kranky that adopted a modestly more structured framework than its predecessors, with the remix EP 3.5 arriving the next year.

Vantzou next joined Forma's John Also Bennett for an improvised musical response to a 90-meter panoramic wall drawing created by French artist Zin Taylor. Shelter Press issued the resulting album, Thoughts of a Dot as It Travels a Surface, in February 2018. Kranky then released No. 4 in April of the following year, an album that includes a guest appearance by Steve Hauschildt.