Smallforms w/ Thomas Berghammer x Gran Bankrott

the monthly series of smallforms seeks to support contemporary and experimental forms of music which require an attitude of listening.

Thomas Berghammer
trumpet, flugelhorn, alto horn, etc. musician, composer, educator

live and work in vienna since 1991. previous studies at the musikunis in linz and graz. primarily dealing with freely improvised music, contemporary jazz and world music. co-organizer at monday improvisers session, the international music series founded by marco eneidi in 2005 and now more than 14 years old in celeste, hamburgerstrasse / vienna. numerous appearances at home and abroad.

Gran Bankrott

Gran is dead! Long live Gran Bankrott! After one EP and two LPs, DIY-jack-of-all- trades Florian Tremmel says goodbye to his solo act Gran to resurrect him in the form of Gran Bankrott. On The Album we encounter a lot of Gran’s already outstanding act in post punk circles: A skilful mix of groovy driven post punk à la Gang of Four, big poses towards Wire, enriched with synth-laden excursions into darker new wave realms and finally rounded off with a fine touch of dub, pop and funk refinements. Gran Bankrott, - now supported by Numavi Records, who are never tired passionates of the Austrian musical underground - is not the only good news: Not only the mainly German lyrics, but also some synth effects or noise loops remind of the interface of NDW and avant-garde punk, which were celebrated by Zigzag Record bands like Abwärts in the 80s. While they translate the hustle of everyday urban life - from loud gasoline engines to shrill beeping supermarket tills - Gran Bankrott leads us through the current dreariness of what is supposedly the world's most livable city, Vienna. This journey takes us past rental electric scooters that are carelessly distributed on the sidewalks by slim-fit suits, as well as through a parcours full of racing, underpaid bicycle suppliers dressed in shrill neon colors.

This LP comprises hymns for a generation of precarious people who are not quite satisfied with any of the social offers. In the hypnotizing first video extraction Raum, an ode to subcultural oases, such as the Viennese art space SSTR6, a temporary vanishing point in this misery is sketched: "this space gives applause, I rest in it". Certainly not a rescue, but at least a breather. The slogan remains: Precarious people of all countries unite and dance Dark Pogo with Gran Bankrott!