Chra is the alter ego of Viennese author, DJ, music addict and radio/TV presenter Christina Nemec. After a period experimenting with low frequencies and noise effects, chra started to work on more club-friendly beats, using sinewaves processed through a tape recorder and other analogue and digital tools to allude to land scapes, territories, silence and extraordinary and extreme situations. She is also a member of Shampoo Boy and SV Damenkraft, has made performance works with Lydia Lunch, and runs her own label, Comfortzone.
FACTS:
1. growing up in a poor neighborhood in a small city close to the italian border
2. love to travel and rejoice coming home
3. started gardening and watching birds w passion and using sounds from woodscape
QUESTIONS:
1. What is the biggest inspiration for your music?
listening to music and talking about w friends, watching people in airports or trainstations, walking through my countryside home, writing down dreams in a diary
2. How and when did you get into making music?
since i was a child i was into music, my parents were listening to rockmusic and singing along all day long, i started to play w guitar, when i was about 14 i wanted to be a bass player in a punkband – still i am a bassplayer (Shampoo Boy)
in the meantime ive learned – less i more – when performing (in the late 80ies i was into thrash/deathmetal … playing like a wizzard)
3. What are 5 of your favourite albums of all time?
tricky question
Laurie Anderson – Big Science
Lydia Lunch – Queen of Siam
Sonic Youth – Sister
Missy Ellitott – Supa Dupa Fly
Andrea Parker – Kiss my Arp
4. What do you associate with Berlin?
I have been living and studying in berlin from 2003-2004, huge distances, made lots of friends there, friendly unfriendly people, food, weissensee, tellytower, seen and played great locations and parties and the biggest loss of a friend
5. What’s your favourite place in your town?
the neighborhood i live in, it has a little market w lots of footstand s, many parks and trees, a big turkish community, and some nice bars and restaurants – it is called: Brigittenau – even i can see the changes since the last 10 years into gentrification, still is a nice area to live in
6. If there was no music in the world, what would you do instead?
listening to the sounds of “nature” and environment
7. What was the last record/music you bought?
on vinyl:
Bowie – No Plan (Final Studio Recordings)
Placebo feat David Bowie – Without you i’m nothing
Raime – Tooth
ordered: Gravetemple – Domino
digital:
KTL live St John on Bethnal Green
Arrell several releases who come w beautiful postcards
8. Who would you most like to collaborate with?
i have been collaborating with lots of people for many years and i love it, made so many good experiences, but there are some artists i would really love to collab like Björk, Kim Gordon, Sia or Ursula Rucker
9. What was your best gig (as performer or spectator)?
seen so many – Techno Animal Flex, Vienna around 2000, the Go Betweens U4, vienna around 1985 ….
festival: Ein Abend in Wien, Rotterdam 1991
10. How important is technology to your creative process?
its a tool to simplify my workflow – but i am more a soundexplorer than a technician or programer – even i bought some machines who really take time to read tutorials, i work a lot w visceral systems – i am more lo- than hi-fi
11. Do you have siblings and how do they feel about your career/art?
i am a spoiled only child
www.soundcloud.com/chra
www.soundcloud.com/comfortzone
Chra will appear at Heroines of Sound on 9th July. Tickets.
