Elektro Guzzi.
Flow cannot be planned.
Elektro Guzzi on intuitive interplay, the freedom of their own label and the art of shaping an entire night.
In conversation with Elektro Guzzi
For Elektro Guzzi, decisions sometimes happen precisely when nobody is consciously making them. Guitar, bass and drums lock together; whether that becomes a flow depends just as much on the audience and the room. Through Palazzo, the Vienna trio bring that same attention to releases and nights of their own. Ahead of Palazzo Festival at WUK on 5 December, they discuss what they want to decide for themselves and why good hosts look beyond a single performance.
Elektro Guzzi perform techno as a trio with guitar, bass and drums. Alongside their live work, they run the Palazzo label and organise their own events in Vienna. Five questions by email; answers received on 20 October 2026, lightly edited and translated from German.
Concentration and letting go.
Your techno emerges from the interplay of guitar, bass and drums. During a set, how do you recognise that a small musical idea is becoming something you want to follow for longer? Who then sets the direction?
It is precisely this interplay that allows us to react very quickly and intuitively. At our best, we are in a flow when playing live: none of us is consciously making decisions; everything happens by itself. But quite a lot has to come together for that: the mood between the three of us, the energy with the audience and the sound in the room.
When all these factors meet, that flow emerges and everything seems to play itself. It comes through concentration and, at the same time, through letting go. That sounds illogical, but it is how it works. That is also why we cannot consciously make it happen.
It has often happened that we thought: this is the perfect moment; tonight will be especially good. But then it was not particularly exciting — and the reverse has happened just as often.
A framework of our own.
With Palazzo, you created your own home for releases. What musical idea could you realise there that required this framework of your own?
We were very happy with our first label, Macro in Berlin, because it opened doors for us and gave us fantastic support as a new band. The quality of Macro’s releases is excellent, and we were very happy to be part of it.
Afterwards, though, we had a few bad experiences with other labels, and we had generally wanted to become independent for quite a while. That meant taking every part of an album into our own hands, from mixing and mastering to artwork and promotion. It was a huge learning process and, of course, much more work, but it was definitely worth it.
The structures of the music market have changed considerably over the past 15 years. With Palazzo, we can respond much faster and finish and release an album very quickly, without the usual lead times of larger labels. And the essential thing is that we no longer have to make compromises and can decide everything ourselves.
We no longer have to make compromises and can decide everything ourselves.
Curiosity over hype.
On 5 December, Palazzo brings live acts and DJs to two floors at WUK. What does a guest need to bring musically for you to think: we want to share a night with this person?
At our own events, we always invite musicians who interest us at that particular moment. We do not look at how well known or hyped someone currently is.
At WUK, we have the wonderful WaqWaq Kingdom with one of their audio/visual live shows, plus two DJs. One is Catu Diosis, whom we met in 2023 and have finally been able to invite. She is involved with Nyege Nyege, who we have been big fans of for a long time.
Fingers of God will play a DJ set before the live acts. It is our first time working with him, but we find his music very exciting.
Influences arrive all the time.
When you are performing and helping shape the night, you presumably listen to the other acts from a second perspective too. Has an encounter or set at a Palazzo night given you a new idea for your own music?
For a few years now, we have had a fairly clear idea of the sound we want to make, and we develop it from album to album.
Of course, current outside influences are always part of that. But they happen constantly, because we listen to a lot of new music and go to lots of concerts. So it does not only happen at our own events.
More than a booked live act.
You have played in very different clubs and at festivals. What experience on the road has changed your idea of what you want to make possible at home in Vienna with Palazzo?
We have been touring since around 2009 and have developed a sense of what makes a successful night. Whether it is a summer festival or a club night makes relatively little difference.
Being part of a well-curated night is always the best thing for us. When we feel that the organisers have thought about how the entire evening unfolds, rather than simply booking us as a live act, those are always the best nights for us.
Naturally, we bring those experiences into our own events and spend a lot of time choosing the programme and its running order. It is also very important to us that the artists involved feel comfortable from the start and see themselves as part of the night.
Elektro Guzzi
Interview by email · Editorial and image art direction: SCENE:ID. Elektro Guzzi · SCENE:ID art direction · Edin Suljic · SCENE:ID art direction