-Z- emerged as a psytrance duo from St. Pauli in Hamburg when Alpha, previously known for a 1983 synth-pop album issued under the name André Szigethy, joined forces with Antagon, whose several solo albums appear under the name Peter Lars. Their sound merges darkness with high energy, drawing primary influence from 1980s new wave and industrial music alongside traditional European folk and classical sources. Productions remain dense and intricate, most often exceeding 150 bpm and occasionally climbing to 190, while incorporating abundant samples drawn from film and music sources that receive playful manipulation.
A light comedic edge runs through the tracks, yet an undercurrent of political defiance persists, most evident in the 2015 piece “Madiba,” which weaves in audio from the Selecter’s “Too Much Pressure” together with statements by Nelson Mandela. Festival stages across Europe have hosted the duo’s animated performances at events such as VuuV, Universo Paralello, S.U.N. Festival, and Noise Poison.
Their initial outing, the three-track Images EP, surfaced in April 2009 via the Indian imprint Shivlink Records and included a remix of New Model Army’s “All Consuming Fire.” Two months afterward the same label issued the full-length debut Revo. Late 2011 brought the follow-up Gospodin on South Africa’s Sangoma Records; that album incorporated guest work from Paratox, Cosmo, and Kindzadza, quoted passages from Che Guevara and Klaus Kinski, and presented the pair’s interpretation of Bauhaus’s “Bela Lugosi’s Dead.” Early 2015 saw the third album, Doodle’s End, appear on Britain’s Alice-D Records.
