burkhard stangl / dieb13 - “eh”

burkhard stangl: acoustic & electric guitars, electronic devices
dieb13: turntables, portable computer, portable gramophone

burkhard stangl and dieb13 are both integral members of the increasingly prominent viennese improvised music scene, coalescing around the activities of the durian and charhizma labels.

stangl explores the full range of the guitar, from quiet, melodic plucking to atonal walls of noisy drones. this range and adaptability has allowed him to become a ubiquitous presence on record over the past few years, in the collective projects polwechsel (recordings on erstwhile, durian and hat art), efzeg (grob, durian), and sssd (grob), in duos and trio with christof kurzmann and taku sugimoto (erstwhile, slub, musica genera), and solo (durian, future release on charhizma).

dieb13, who uses a range of names for performing including his real one, dieter kovacic, is a immensely skilled turntablist, as demonstrated by his solo disc (charhizma), and his recorded work with martin siewert, boris hauf, günter müller, jason kahn, werner dafeldecker, and uli fussenegger (durian, grob, for 4 ears).

stangl and dieb first met at a living room concert of efzeg in vienna in 1999. since then they have been continously collaborating in various groups, as well as both participating in billy roisz's videos with soundtrack works. eh documents stangl and dieb's initial work as a duo, and will be complemented by billy roisz's visuals in live situations.

eh was recorded by christoph amann in his studio in vienna (his third project for erstwhile, after schnee and wrapped islands) in december 2001. eh explores a constantly shifting tableau of guitar and electro-acoustic sound, utilizing a kaleidoscopic range of approaches, framed by lulling intro and outro pieces in which stangl's melodies both battle and meld with dieb's noisescapes. the instruments used, from viennese contraguitar and portable gramophone to electric guitar, electronics and computer, encompass over a century of musical history. the source material for the design comes from viennese artist billy roisz, utilizing extreme closeups of old shellac records to create the proper gritty ambience.

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