Max Eilbacher

Max Eilbacher is a composer, intermedia artist, and performer based in Baltimore. As a solo artist, his work draws from electro-acoustic composition and process-intensive computer music as well as the freewheeling spirit of the American noise underground. His unpredictable, collage-like pieces incorporate modular synthesis and generative computer programs, as well as field recordings and found sounds. He has released solo works on labels such as Spectrum Spools (2013's Red Anxiety Tracers) and NNA Tapes (2016's Schizophrenia as Architecture). Among other collaborations, Eilbacher plays bass and electronics in avant-rock quartet Horse Lords, and regularly works with conceptual electronic duo Matmos. During the late 2000s, Eilbacher played violin and saxophone in the psychedelic rock ensemble Teeth Mountain. He also participated in the actionist-inspired experimental rock group Needle Gun. In 2010, he formed Horse Lords with saxophonist Andrew Bernstein, guitarist Owen Gardner, and drummer Sam Haberman. Using hand-modified instruments, the group play in just intonation and utilize experimental techniques such as microtonal harmonies and algorithmic composition. Their self-titled debut appeared in 2012, and they have continued to tour and issue full-lengths and mixtapes. Following a few limited cassettes and CD-R releases, Eilbacher's first solo LP, Red Anxiety Tracers, appeared on Spectrum Spools in 2013. The same year, he contributed to Matmos' The Marriage of True Minds, and continued performing and recording with the duo. His second LP, Subtle Scatter, was released by Fogged Records in 2015. NNA Tapes issued Eilbacher's Schizophrenia as Architecture in 2016. SEF III, a collaboration with Alex Moskos and Duncan Moore, appeared on Ehse Records the same year, and a second album was released under the project name SEF III two years later. Following several more cassette and CD-R releases, Eilbacher's Here a Peak, There an Abyss was issued by Spanish label Anòmia in 2020. His composition Metabolist Meter (Foster, Cottin, Caetani, and a Fly) appeared on a split LP with Lucy Railton, issued by the Portraits GRM imprint, a collaboration between Austrian experimental label Editions Mego and French electro-acoustic institution INA GRM. ~ Paul Simpson