-Z- is a German psytrance duo formed in St. Pauli, Hamburg by Alpha (André Szigethy, who had previously released a synth pop album under his own name in 1983) and Antagon (Peter Lars, who has released several solo albums). The duo has a dark, energetic sound heavily inspired by '80s new wave and industrial, as well as traditional European folk and classical music. Their dense, busy productions are usually above the 150-bpm range (sometimes reaching as high as 190) and are chock-full of gleefully manipulated samples of their musical and cinematic influences. -Z-'s music has a bit of a cheeky sense of humor, but their music has an undercurrent of political resistance, as demonstrated by 2015 track "Madiba," which samples the Selecter's "Too Much Pressure" and the words of Nelson Mandela. The duo has brought its dynamic live show to numerous trance festivals across Europe, including VuuV, Universo Paralello, S.U.N. Festival, and Noise Poison. -Z-'s first release was the Images EP in April of 2009, released by Indian label Shivlink Records. The three-track release featured the duo's remix of "All Consuming Fire" by New Model Army. Full-length debut Revo followed two months later on the same label. Sophomore effort Gospodin arrived in late 2011 on South African label Sangoma Records. The album featured collaborations with Paratox, Cosmo, and Kindzadza; sampled the words of Che Guevara and Klaus Kinski; and featured the duo's version of Bauhaus' "Bela Lugosi's Dead." The duo returned in early 2015 with its third full-length, Doodle's End, on British label Alice-D Records. ~ Paul Simpson