Sandro Nicolussi is a musician – shaped by his prolific work as a media artist, cultural worker, label operator and music journalist. Nicolussi’s approach is self-taught, transdisciplinary and firmly rooted in the DIY environment of local and international noise scenes. His compositions are created in a process-oriented, playful and collaborative context. Due to his strong community orientation, Nicolussi strives for peer production and anti-gatekeeping.
Plunderphonics, field recordings and everyday noises form the basis for his heavily manipulated sound designs. His sound aesthetic is in the style of a contemporary experimental music tradition and, in a sense, a statement of a punk attitude unaffected by the music industry. Nicolussi experiments with homemade instruments and works in the field of media archaeology. He tinkers with repurposed circuits, tape recorders and obsolete electronic devices. A focus of his artistic practice lies in working with found sounds and redefining the term: audio and video data carriers from flea market finds and discarded collections provide raw material for artistic appropriation and manipulation.
Sandro Nicolussi works solo, in bands, spontaneous collaborations and collectives – sometimes under different pseudonyms. Nicolussi currently runs the Koje workshop, studio and concert space in Hernals together with Angélica Castelló, Stefan Voglsinger and Moritz Morast. Since 2024, he has been co-operator of the tape label Epileptic Media.
Nicolussi releases on labels such as Objects & Sounds, Abhorrent A.D., Höllenfrau Records, Beach Buddies, A.T.C. Records, Vienna Underground Traxx, composes for film (SKRFF, 2024), theatre (ABSENCE, 2023; Stromberger oder Bilder von allem, 2024) and creates audiovisual installations and performances.