Erste Stufe Haifisch

ERSTE STUFE HAIFISCH
Indie / Post-Rock / Noise (Vienna / Berlin)

"Erste Stufe Haifisch have only existed since late 2007, but already gathered a great deal of interest and acclaim from playing their first few concerts in the cramped and informal settings of singer, keyboardist and visual artist, Katrin Plavcak’s exhibition openings. Katrin and drummer Rudi Fischerlehner previously played together in Vienna based BLENDWERK. Through his own Farai-Records label, Rudi has released some of his many experimental improvised jazz and electronic projects such as Pinx, Grid Mesh and NHF.

In Erste Stufe Haifisch, Rudi and Katrin are joined by Berlin raised musicians, Elis C. Bihn on guitar and R.ockstroh on bass. With a diverse range of influences from free jazz, experimental noise to Chicago math and post-rock bands such as US Maple and Shellac, their performances exhibit complex jazzy arrangements powerfully delivered with blustering energy and passion."
(West Germany Press Release)


"Erste Stufe Haifisch followed with a brilliant set of swirving math rock collisions between Portishead and Sonic Youth. Hardcore riffs emerged out of spazz jazz non-chords, two note melodies and powerful, drumming underpinned by an ever sinuous bass in turn complimented, contradicted and sometimes overruled by a dodgy looking analogue synth and skittering, eccentric vocals.

The 60s cinema soundtrack moves favored by Portishead found reconciliation with the ghost punk, noh wave anti-stylings of noise rock as, on Unbewusst, Katrin Plavcak, cackled and sobbed her way to a mock nervous breakdown. This was the Haifischs first gig in Berlin, Dorfdisco looks forward to their next."
(David Selden, Dorfdisco)