Biography

Hackedepicciotto is an experimental duo consisting of longtime partners Alexander Hacke (of Einstürzende Neubauten) and Danielle de Picciotto, an American-born musician, artist, author, and filmmaker. Their work together consists primarily of stirring soundscapes blending acoustic instruments such as violin, hurdy-gurdy, and autoharp with rumbling bass guitar and electronic feedback. Both artists sing and chant -- de Picciotto recites colorful poetic lyrics, and Hacke occasionally throat sings. While the pair describe their music as "cinematic drone," they incorporated postindustrial rhythms into their 2020 full-length The Current and the more expansive, symphonic 2021 release The Silver Threshold. Hacke is a native of Berlin, and has been a member of Einstürzende Neubauten since 1980, when he was 15 years old. De Picciotto moved to Berlin in 1987 and became the singer of the Space Cowboys, later co-founding the first Love Parade with Dr. Motte in 1989. She also collaborated with Gudrun Gut (an early member of Neubauten) on an ongoing event series called Ocean Club, which began in 1993. De Picciotto filmed videos for Hacke and Neubauten during the 2000s, and the two individuals organized Bada Bing, a monthly event showcasing unusual music and visuals. The couple were married in 2006. In 2008, they released The Ship of Fools, a CD and DVD of their audiovisual interpretation of the novel written by Sebastian Brant in 1495. As with all of the duo's recording projects together, it was issued through Neubauten's Potomak imprint. They also recorded a mainly acoustic album of ballads and Western-inspired tunes titled Hitman's Heel, which was released in early 2011. In 2010, the pair decided to leave Berlin in order to live a nomadic lifestyle. They held a three-month artist residency in Prague, toured throughout Eastern Europe with Julee Cruise and Kid Congo Powers, and participated in the reunion of Crime & the City Solution, who recorded an album in Detroit in 2012. Perseverantia, a primarily instrumental full-length recorded in the Californian Mojave Desert, was released in 2016. Unity (Meditation Soundtrack), three 20-minute compositions intended to accompany yoga exercises, appeared later in the year. Menetekel, the duo's first release officially credited as hackedepicciotto, came out in 2017; the vinyl edition included the bonus track "The House of Shadows with the Sound of Light," a 20-minute piece composed for a sound installation that took place in an Austrian church. A second meditation soundtrack, Joy, was issued in 2018, featuring Vincent Signorelli and Eric Hubel, both veterans of the New York no wave and noise rock scenes. Recorded in Blackpool, England, 2020's The Current was inspired by the city's working-class environment. The Silver Threshold, the duo's first album for Mute, appeared in 2021. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi