Hans Platzgumer

Austrian-born singer and guitarist Hans Platzgumer first drew attention in the early 1990s, soon after settling in New York City alongside fellow countryman and longtime associate Frank Puempel on bass and vocals; the pair launched the psychedelic alt-rock outfit H.P. Zinker. Their inaugural EP, 1989’s …And There Was Light, was cut with the help of a drum machine and shaped an unusually wide-ranging palette that touched on folk, jazz, and heavy metal, becoming the very first title issued by the independent imprint Matador. After repeated roster adjustments and a succession of full-length albums that frequently earned strong underground-press approval, the group dissolved in 1995. Platzgumer subsequently moved back to Europe and recast himself as an electronica specialist, trying out assorted dance and house approaches before issuing several albums both under his own name and via the Aura Anthropica alias.