.jpg)
Cineplexx
October 2009ZANI - A Genius Band
Cineplexx is the brainchild of Sebastian Litmanovich - a 34 year old Argentinean born Graphic Artist and musician that currently calls Barcelona his home. Growing up at a time when the sounds of punk clashed with the short-lived wave of disco and the singer-songwriter was contrasted by the album-centric epics of bands like Pink Floyd, Sebastian found himself somewhere in the middle. "The Velvet Underground were the first band that really blew my mind… and I've been a fan of ABBA ever since I was four," he admits. For Sebastian, his life and career have been as varied and exciting as his musical influences, some of them are: Velvet Underground, Belle & Sebastian, BMX Bandits, Flaming Lips, Melero, Cerati, Tanguito, all Tropicalia music, Joe Meek, The Pastels, The Vaselines, Teenage Fanclub, The Ronnettes, Beach Boys, Magnetic Fields, Lemans and others...
Fast forward to 1996 and we find a young Sebastian studying abroad in New York City - a turning point in his life. It was during this time in a foreign country, studying in a foreign language and meeting new and strange people that motivated Sebastian to live life on his own terms in the creative realm. On his return to Buenos Aires, Sebastian quickly found the energy he needed to channel his passion for art and music and started his first band, a post-rock outfit called the Amarena Incident, as well as co-founding a design studio.
In 1998, after a few bands and a lot of design work, Cineplexx was born when Sebastian and his brother and frequent collaborator, Martin, bought themselves a four-track. In somewhat of an obsessive nature, Sebastian recorded a slew of material that ranged from electronic driven pop to full on instrumental landscapes of blips and beeps. His first release came through Caipirinha; an experimental electronic label based in NY.
Soon thereafter, Cineplexx began playing shows - in Argentina, New York and Tokyo, appearing at the Lowlands Festival in Holland and the Sonar Festival in Barcelona, just to name a few. Soon after finishing his next release in 2002, he took off to Barcelona where he established his design studio, Tea Time and himself as a performing musician. For four years he played around Europe and Asia both as Cineplexx and as part of the audio-visual duo, Cacahuetes Inc, performing at film festivals around the world. In 2006, longtime friend, Federico Aubele (ESL Records) invited Sebastian to join his band on a European Tour.
Last year Cineplexx began work on Picnic, enlisting the help of friends Duglas Stewart (BMX Bandits), Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub), Jad Fair and Federico Aubele to flesh out the 13 song record. The outcome is truly beautiful - with a throng of strings, wall-of-sound-like arrangements and Spanish language vocals, Cineplexx has delivered to our shores an instant classic.
He also made some albums under diverse alias and projects, and also have some collaborations with Jad Fair, Daniel Melero, Glaznost, Leumann, Sebastian Kramer, Wevie Stonder, Jaime sin Tierra, Giradioses, jackson souvenirs, aBe (bcn), Duglas Stewart (Bmx Bandits) & Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub).
in 2009 the cult label Cherry Red Records release Nuevahola, a thirteen track introduction to Cineplexx containing old, new & rare Cineplexx songs which include collaborations with Duglas T. Stewart & Stuart Kidd (BMX Bandits) & Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub)
© Words – Dean Cavanagh/ ZANI
