Biography
The duo known as PIVIXKI are a unique combination of two distinct talents: two hard-working veterans of the Melbourne (and indeed international) music scene. Multi-instrumentalist and keyboard player within the band, Anthony Pateras, has a CV big enough to fill three press releases. Working within the musical realms of modern composition, improvisation, electronics, avant-rock and noise, he’s composed for major orchestras, played with a multitude of collaborators (including the likes of Oren Ambarchi, Christian Fennesz, Tony Buck, Han Bennink, Dave Brown and violin virtuoso Richard Tognetti), performed in everything from seedy dives to concert halls the world over, released his music on a multitude of labels (including two acclaimed CDs on John Zorn’s Tzadik imprint) and is currently the composer-in-residence at the Australian National Academy Of Music.
Max Kohane has been playing in bands since he was 12 and touring since he was 16. He’s infamous for his dynamic, intensely fast and technical drumming style and has earned a rep as perhaps the best skin-hitter in Australia’s hardcore punk scene. He’s played in the likes of Far Left Limit, George W. Bush, Terra Firma, Cut Sick, grind kings Agents Of Abhorrence and crust-punkers ABC Weapons. In that time, he’s managed to play shows in places as far flung as Macedonia, Japan, Indonesia and the U.S.
The beauty of PIVIXKI lies in the clash of these two musical cultures, though the willing experimentation of Pateras and Kohane has seen fit that there is no clash at all. PIVIXKI’s debut, Gravissima, recorded by U.S. expatriate Casey Rice, sees an amazing melding of sensibilities. Nominally a piano/drums duo, the band expands their sound with percussive flourishes and the addition of organ and electronic keyboards into the mix. Some of the songs are short, fast and cut to the point; others organically develop over several minutes like soundtrack pieces, occasionally feeding through the creepy, picturesque qualities of Italy’s horror-music legends Goblin, or the seething musical soundscapes of France’s avant-prog troupe, Magma.
