WIPEOUT – A STORY SO FAR… (a little history)

WIPEOUT was found in 1992 as the result of a free-style electronic/techno jam at the end of an ecstatic X-Mass-Party, where they played a wild techno-mix produced with turntables, tapeloops, DATs, analogue-synthesizers, guitars and vocals.
Even though the majority of the audience left the club because of the immense loundess and weird noises and sounds, they were hired for playing a show at a big local festival. Based on the effect their music had on the audience they decided to call the band WIPEOUT and played their second ever gig in front of over 700 people. After this show WIPEOUT got offers from all over Austria and started playing with bands like Consolidated, Attwenger, Disharmonic Orchestra, Scorn, Dodgy, Fetish 69 to name but a few.

In 1993 WIPEOUT released their first MCD “COME INTO MY BIOMECHANICAL LOVEBOAT”, which sold over 1000 copies nationwide in less then a month. The CD got euphoric reviews in the national music press and at the end of 1993 Wipeout entered the year pools of several music magazines as “best austrian band” and “best austrain debut of the year”. But WIPEOUT was also successful in the critic’s pool of the biggest radio station “Rot-Weiß-Rote”-Radio. Their song “Lenny” (about Elvis Presley and Jimi Hendrix coming back from their graves to kill Lenny Kravitz) won place four, the entire CD got place six in the album charts and the band was labeled fourth-best dance act.

After this successful year the band started recording their second CD entitled “COUNTRY & WESTERN” and finished the work on it in early 1994. Due to mismanagement and troubles with the record label the CD was released in 1997. Instead of getting into a state of depression WIPEOUT hit the road and played shows in nearly every place in Austria and also crossed the boarders to do tours in Germany (with british industrial-metal-heads Skin Limit Show, Ex-Pitch Shifter) and several gigs in Hungaria and Slovenia. Even they had no actual record out WIPEOUT again entered the pole positions in the year pools of the national music magazines and confirmed their reputation as Austria’s best live performing group.
1995 saw the release of their genuine masterpiece “SWAMPS OF HAPPINESS”. Till this day the CD has sold over 3000 copies only in Austria, which is a very big ammount in terms of the independent business, specially for a little country like Austria and some thousand in the rest of the world via Intercord. At this time the average number of the WIPEOUT live audience raised up to 800 people. Often billed with no support band, but accompanied with selected DJs, WIPEOUT got realy famous for their ecstatic and entertaining shows which often can last over two hours if the audience wants it. At the end of the year WIPEOUT had finally strengthened their position as “Best Austrian Band”. Their international format was also shown at the year pool of the national independent-radio station FM4. With their song “I’ve Started To Read” WIPEOUT engaged place three, beaten only by Tricky and The Prodigy.

On “SALIVA” (CD 1997) you can hear the whole potential of WIPEOUT in full force. It’s a schizophrenic journey into strange sounds and sleazy grooves. By mixing Techno, House, Dub, Industrial, Trip Hop, Ambient, Electronic Listening, Disco and Glam-Pop they produce a bizarre dancefloor full of fake sweetishness, gutter glamour, mental, psychic, physical and sexual irritations. Hybride electronic popmusic-deformations your ears won’t believe, but your feet wanna dance to. Get yourself a WIPEOUT massage and taste the saliva!

1997 Wipeout released a 12″ vinyl with remixes and 1998 the 1994 recordings of “Country & Western” (Lethal) got released and got good reviews although the recordings have been 4 years old. Troubles with the label CCP made it possible to be inactive in terms of record releases in from mid-1997 to 98.

In january 1999 WIPEOUT released a 4-track MCD “Wipeout” which was only distibuted in Austria, via mailorder and sold at shows. The CD sold more than 1000 copies within weeks. At the end of 1999 Dee Dee Neidhart left the band and after playing half a year as a duo Dieter Kern, drummer of Fuckhead fame joined Wipeout on electronic drums and as composer. After a year of performing Kern got totally into the Wipeout thing and started to compose several tunes for the band. The same did Alex Jöchtl, an excellent guitarplayer and Wipeout-soundman who transformed from a rocker into an electronic music zealot.

In the mid of 2000 Wipeout started to write music for two records: a CD for the NÖ-Donaufestival Edition and a 7″ for KLANGGALERIE. The CD “Nestroy.SetNewParameters(“Wipeout”,2001)” was presented in June 2001 at the NÖ-Donaufestival and smashed the audience because of German lyrics. At the request of the festival Wipeout had to bring the lyrics of Johann Nepomuk Nestroy (Austrian „super“-poet from the 18th century) alive in an updated version. Tracks like „Der Zerissene“ made journalists swarm that a new age of „Austro-Pop“ started and fans of German-lyrics persuaded the band to switch into German.
2001 Wipeout released a 7“ vinyl with harsh industrialized disco tunes for the obscure Industrial label KLANGGALERIE – very limited in white vinyl (150 copies).

2002 became the year of Wipeout! A new album for ANGELIKA KÖHLERMANN “ANTHMENS FOR THE UNDERACHIVERS” made one of the label owners Gerhard Potuznik (GD DELUXX) rave: “Out of Austrias “stahlstadt” Linz come these three gentlemen with a truck full of loaded weapons, aiming at your ears, hearts and minds. Forget everything you heard about electronic pop music and open wide to recieve an ultimate mix of petshopboys-like eurodisco sound, with a sexy touch of Amanda Lear, blendend with harsh “pansonical” technobasskillertrax and vocals that make you cry…“ “Athems For The Underachievers” features 11 top-tracks and 4 videoclips, showing WIPEOUT live on stage without cuts and special-effects, just raw power. „Don’t let it pass by, catch it while you can and get infected with that unstoppable “WIPEOUT”-virus. Or, feel seriously sorry for a lifetime! Make up your mind, leave all behind!” was one of the very postive critcs on the album.

2003 – 10th annual! Wipeout got ten, still rockin’ hard the dance-floors with brilliant performances all over the world, or as a critic’s said: „Amanda Lear in the garage with Pet Shop Boys on heavy distortion!“ At the end of the year the band released a dark, EBM-like, quite industrial CD „Black Light District Boys“ at Klanggalerie The album got great reviews in the dark-music-press but also some hate-reviews in the dance-faction. 2004 Trost Records released a double-12inch of „Black Light District Boys“. Both releases got international distribution. The band toured regularly with success in Austria, Germany, Czech Republic and Italy and headlined some festivals. At some club-shows the humidity was that high that sweat dropped down the ceiling.

In 2005 & 2006 WIPEOUT opened their music for the digital-download market. Market-leaders like iTunes, eMusic, Yahoo-Music, Napster, Rhapsody and many other distributors sell now with success the last four Wipeout-records worldwide.

MURENA MURENA

Murena Murena is the creation of Munich-based musician and soundtrack composer Daniel Murena alias Daniel Tanqueray. Steady with a great fascination for the abysmal (also: in sound), his music could be loosely framed as #anarchopop #leftfield… yet, this reduction would only mock the actual range and bow depth of Murena’s sonic vocabulary. More rather, Murena Murena is an echo in the abyss, a shadow in the mirror, a dark twin. „Watch the Sphinx… Blood is ink.“

„Murena Murena surely takes us to places we’ve never been before – both in terms of the novelty approach towards pop-induced song structures as well talking a very special kind of mad twisted darkness immanent to nearly every single song“ – Nightstylez

„some of the most irresistible cinematically lit murder ballads and sinister shuffles heard in a long time. (…) Creative diablerie does not come much better or deliciously darker it is easy to say.“ – Ringmaster Review