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Christian Fennesz (born December 25, 1962) is an Austrian electronic musician, often credited on albums simply as Fennesz. A key figure in the ascent of IDM and electronica in the 1990s, Fennesz uses guitar and notebook computers to make multilayered compositions that blend melody and conventional musical instruments with harsh, irregular glitch-influenced sounds and washes of white noise. He lives and works in Vienna, Austria and Paris, France.

Fennesz was born and raised in Austria and studied music formally in art school. He started playing guitar around the ages 8 or 9. In the late 1980s, he formed a band called Maische, with a 'noise meets pop' approach similar to bands such as Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine. Maische found some local popularity, but Fennesz was uncomfortable with the band setup and left. Afterwards, he became involved in the Viennese techno scene of the early 1990s. From there on, he began to collect his own equipment and produce music based loosely around guitar and synthesizer sounds.