FLOATING SOUND GALLERY

Vienna

Moritz Bernhard

Sound artist, composer, record collector & producer,

^{photo: Moritz Bernhard}

*1990 in Tragin, AT
Sound artist, composer, record collector & producer,
studies Electroacoustic and Experimental Music, ELAK
at the MDW, University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, since 2021 and is a vinyl DJ since 2009.
He lives and works in Vienna.

Moritz Bernhard was born to a pair of bohemians in the delirium of the 80s, who gifted to him his first records at the age of fifteen, marking the beginning of his colossal vinyl collection, that blossomed and fourished with furious appetite, drinking from sonic streams all around the world.

From modern Electronic Music, African Grooves and Cosmic Disco to Psychedelic Tropical Exotica, Ex-Yu Balkan Sounds and Oriental Rhythms, Moritz Bernhard, recently also known as ritzmoe or formerly as DJ Moe, spreads the message of aural devotion and smooth sonic vibrations. Every set means the creation of a total experience, the perfect party, nutty as fruitcake. He’s a true magician of the turntables, harnessing the microgroove with dexterity and love. To watch him weave everything from World
Music, Acid House and Early Disco to Yacht Pop and New Wave gems into a single tapestry is enough to turn the dance floor into a seductive realm of joy. The harmonious, but at the same time enormously diverse interaction of a wide range of genres is not a self-imposed musical concept, but always a spontaneous drift-away derived by the individual atmosphere and vibe of each evening.

In collaboration with fellow culture freaks he helped found the art collective Pomeranze (RIP 2017) and joined the disc jockey collective Tingel Tangel for a small span of time shortly after. 2016 he also started Voodoo Kitchen, a space to cook up delicious musical abundance, that almost by itself grew into the Living Room Live Sessions. His trajectory has been set skyward since, with regular appearances in his adopted hometown of Vienna in addition to international appearances flung as far as India, unleashing his spinning talents upon a wide audience over the years. On his many trips he also discovered the art of field recording, which led to a new chapter in his musical journey.

2019 was the baptism of a very personal project, the Tragin Festival, which took place right next to the waterfall in the jungle of Southern Austria, his birth forest in Tragin, Carinthia. It celebrates its return in 2022.

One lucky punch in form of a record collection of over forty thousand 7-inches, which he got hold of in 2019, has enabled him to build up the finest recording studio over the last few years, which is still being expanded and refined from time to time. The studio’s centerpiece is a vintage analog mixing console, handmade in the UK, alongside analog synthesizers and drum machines from the 80s to the present day.

Well equipped, he recorded a rather obscure concept album called Klub Kali in 2021, together with the two artists Negra Bernhard (who happens to be his beloved wife) and RSMA, both offspring of Daniel Richter’s painting class at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. The release is already underway and will probably take place in 2022.

The desire to study Electroacoustic and Experimental Music at the MDW crystallized in 2021, due to the previous many many years of dealing with very different types of music. Several own Sound compositions followed so far, as well as some Live Sound Sets.

The next challenge, which he pursues with great anticipation, is to produce tracks for the dance floor and to incorporate his newly discovered knowledge of experimental sound art into them. Vice versa, of course, his enormous previous DJ experience also influences his most recent soundscapes. In the future he mainly wants to perform self-composed pieces for the Acousmonium and spin records in clubs.

More about Moritz Bernhard: moritzbernhard.com

Live Improvisation Performance mit 2 verschiedenen Bandmaschinen (Nagra 4.2 & Tascam 464) gespeist mit Field recordings und einem Synth (Lyra-8)

Performance im Rahmen von Circuit Fantôme Season 3 Episoide 11 - Grand Finale