Elektro Guzzi

Austrian trio Elektro Guzzi deliver hypnotic minimal techno entirely in real time, without any computers, loops, sequencers, or prerecorded elements. The lineup comprises bassist Jakob Schneidewind, drummer Bernhard Breuer, and guitarist Bernhard Hammer. Onstage the musicians resemble an ordinary rock band, yet they generate machine-like grooves via oscillators, effects processing, and precise drumming that might readily pass for programming from drum machines and synthesizers. Formed in 2004, the group spent more than five years refining its approach in rehearsals and live settings before entering the studio for its first album. That debut, the self-titled full-length, surfaced in 2010 on Stefan Goldmann’s Macro imprint. Already established as a compelling concert act by then, the band had appeared at Barcelona’s Sónar Festival and toured Japan, after which it maintained an intensive schedule of performances. Macro followed with the 2011 full-length Live P.A. together with the Parquet full-length and the Extrakt EP; Pomelo then released the Allegro EP in 2012. The Tapeworm issued the cassette Circling Above in 2013, while Macro put out the Cashmere EP. The same label brought forth the full-length Observatory in 2014, a CD edition of Circling Above, and the 12-inch Atlas/Vodolaz Versions (a collaboration with KiNK) in 2015. Sixth album Clones arrived in 2016, accompanied by two cassettes pressed exclusively for tour dates, one of them a split with Rocketnumbernine. Later that year Elektro Guzzi switched to the Denovali label for the EP Parade, which included trombone contributions from Hilary Jeffery, Daniel Riegler, and Martin Ptak.