16-17 | uk

Saxophonist Alex Buess and drummer Knut Remond originated 16-17`s
turbulent sound in the comparatively sedate surroundings of Basel,
Switzerland in 1983. Sharing fellow countryman H.R. Giger`s fascination
with suppressed horrors, their primal shock therapy raged against
passivity. 16-17 were determined to locate a shared melting point for
Extremist Rock, Free Music and Avant Garde electronics.

It wasn`t until they recruited guitarist/noise fetishist Markus
Kneubühler, and consequently released their firey, cassette only,
`Buffbunker and Hardkore`on Swiss Indie `Vision`, that they began to
fulfil their aims in earnest. Extending the electro/jazz explorations
instigated by Miles Davis and his accolytes (Tony Williams`Lifetime in
particular) in the early seventies, 16-17`s aggressive combination of
Beat, Breath and Electronics mutated into a refreshing, Post Punk
antidote to all the increasingly conformist tendencies. Released in
1984, the tape succeeded in winding up the enemy: The sad part is
thatit needn`t have been this way. The destruction of the music on this
record is from the intentional use of distorted devices ...... Michael
C. Mahan / Alternative Press. (1988)

If the knee jerk reaction of the old guard was somewhat predictable, the
short-sighted tirades against the band were offset by their
exhiliratingly unpredictable, live demolition derbys. Where Buess`s
heavily effected skronk blasts (c. Lester Bangs) were consistantly
antagonised by the waves of atonal power electronics, summoned from the
self-made guitars and gadgetry of Kneubühler, who patently owes as much
to Varese as Hendrix. Listening back to their eponymously titled debut
on vinyl, (again released through `Vision`in 1986) it is the
unidirectional thresh patterns provided by Remond`s jackhammer rhythms
which not only ensure the band`s physical impact, his beats identify
their individual sound. This raw mixture of Hardcore and Free Jazz
confirms their unrecognised status as overlooked visionaries. They
effortlessly predated Zorn & Co`s much publicized conjunction of the two
apparently dispirate genres.

16-17 is a Guitar/Drums/Winds trio that shakes like the most frantic
early line-up of the Contortions, wired on Benzedrine and forced to play
for their lives in front of a panel of armed Black Panthers. Byron
Coley / Spin.(1987)

Apart from supporting prime noise era Swans - who themselves were being
steered by Basel exile Roli Mosiman at the time - 16-17`s individual
members predominantly concentrated upon outside projects in the 3 years
leading up to the critically acclaimed follow up, `When All Else Fails,`
which appeared in 1989.

Now that the fusion of Hardcore , Extremist Rock and Free Jazz has been
popularized by the likes of Pain Killer, Caspar Brötzmann Massaker,
God, etc. and now that Switzerland has received media attention
through the exploits of bands like e.g. the Young Gods ; it seems as if
`Gyatso` (16-17`s first studio- based recording in their 11-year
history), constitutes a timely rebirth for the group. Produced by
long-time admirer , Kevin Martin (Techno Animal, Sidewinder, ICE),
`Gyatso`was initially discussed whilst Martin and Buess worked on
Pathological`s `ICE` project (feat. Justin Broadrick: Godflesh, Techno
AnImal Sidewinder...) as producer and engineer respectively. Using
extensive sampling and digital editing, `Gyatso` combined Martin`s
penchant for Dub productions with Buess`s growing experience as a
recording engineer e.g. as an early in-house producer for the London
based Praxis label.
Dragging Jazz in to the Digital Age, with the added bonus of the
gratuitously low ended support of G.C. Green on Bass (Godflesh / Main
anchorman), `Gyatso` presents 16-17`s Improv splatter to the 21st
century.

Following the success of the introduction of a Bass player and machine
based gear on `Gyatso`, Damian Bennett (Deathless, Techno Animal) has
been brought into the band on Bass. The new live line-up also
includes Michael Wertmüller who has replaced Knut Remond on drums.
After the acclaimed Pathological release `Gyatso`in 1994 Alex Buess
wanted to push 16-17 towards an even more radical ,electronics-oriented
production style. Again he asked Kevin Martin who already had produced
`Gyatso`to work on an EP. The result is the EP`Human Distortion`
appearing on `Digital Hardcore Recordings (DHR)`in March
1998,with an album to follow in October 1998 again on DHR.

Having released the DHR EP "Human Distortion", Alex Buess has
built up the "16-17 SOUNDSYSTEM" to be able to produce 16-17`s studio
sound live on stage and to infiltrate clubs and dancefloors.

Therefore at the moment there are two possibilities to book 16-17:

16-17 the group with Damian Bennett ( bass), Michael Wertmüller (drums)
and Alex Buess.

and

the 16-17 SOUNDSYSTEM which is a mixture of live played elements DJ
-ing , live-mixing and live-video scratching.
It includes Alex Buess (live mix/treatment saxes and electronics),
drummer Daniel Buess who also works as a percussion player in
contemporary music , DJ X-Trak - T Ruggero Conte "the man of
thousand ideas". He also works as a special effects sound designer
specialized in horror movies (Live Digital Extract) and the Video -
Scratch Artist (and photographer) Christian Lichtenberg. (video
scratching/mixing).



DISCOGRAPHY

'buffbunker and hardkore' mc,1984, vision
'16-17' lp, 1986, vision (mach 8807)
'when all else fails' lp, 1989, vision
'gyatso' cd, 1994, pathological/big cat (path 12cd)
‘human distortion’ ep, 1998, dhr .