efzeg

Efzeg, an electro-acoustic free improv ensemble from Vienna, Austria, surfaced in 1999 precisely when the city's avant-garde milieu was undergoing a compelling shift. Alongside Dachte Musik and Polwechsel, the quartet advanced a fresh method of live improvisation that centered on silence and the merging of individual roles to yield an organic yet thoroughly abstract collective texture. The group's manifesto declares that "Efzeg does not guarantee that its music will be a source of ‘intense pleasure' to listeners." Although that claim may prove accurate, the sounds nevertheless engage the mind sharply, even if they border on discomfort for listeners less attuned to experimental forms. Efzeg has stood at the forefront of European avant-garde music since its formation. Viennese saxophonist Boris Hauf assembled the ensemble and borrowed its name from a 1998 album he issued on Extraplatte. The earlier trio that included Franz Hautzinger and Bertl Mütter shares scant stylistic overlap with the 1999 quartet. Hauf added guitarists Martin Siewert, a partner from Pull My Daisy, and Burkhard Stangl from the minimalist new music collective Polwechsel, while turntablist Dieb 13 (Dieter Kovacic) completed the initial lineup. That configuration made its first appearance in October 1999 and captured material for the debut album Grain, issued in February 2000 on Durian, the label run by Polwechsel's Werner Dafeldecker. Video artist Billy "Gnu" Roisz then joined, enabling performances across Austria. A June 2001 concert in Vienna expanded the group with guests Dafeldecker, Martin Zrost, John Norman, and Joe Williamson. Shows at the Batofar in Paris and the Podewil in Berlin increased attention for the project. Though all members pursue separate endeavors, many of which overlap with other Efzeg participants, the second album Boogie appeared in July 2002 on the German label Grob and was followed by a European tour.