Andrew Pekler (DE / ~scape)
 
Andrew Pekler – Russian born, Californian bred and Berlin based – has a solid indie background (Sad Rockets, Mucus 2, Bergheim 34, and is now one third of Jan Jelinek’s Groupshow. Guitarist and electronics tinkerer, he has previous releases on the ~scape, Kranky and Staubgold labels.
Pekler was born in the Soviet Union, but grew up in Monterey, California listening to Slayer and the Velvet Underground, playing electric guitar in various bands. In 1995 Pekler moved to Heidelberg and, working in a record store, started exploring electronic music. He became involved in various projects: as guitarist and singer in garage rock/noise combo Mucus 2 and as multi-instrumentalist in pop/electronica band Bergheim 34 (Klang Elektronik).
In 1998 Source Records released Pekler’s debut, Plays, under the alias Sad Rockets, to acclaim. A year later saw the release of Once Upon A Time Called Now on Morbid, a sub-label of Vienna´s Cheap Records, and in November 2000 the album Transition appeared on U.S. indie giant, Matador. Sad Rockets' first live gigs in the Spring of 2001 took Pekler and friends around much of Europe before the tour's successful conclusion at the Sonar festival in Barcelona
Pekler's relocation to Berlin brought him into direct contact with Stephan Bekte’s ~scape Records, who requested a track for the Staedtizism 2 compilation. The mutual interest eventually resulted in Station to Station, Pekler´s first full-length album under his own name. 2004 saw Pekler back in his studio in Berlin recording his second album Nocturnes, False Dawns & Breakdowns, released by ~scape in November of that year.
Pekler also dabbles in gear making and is the creator of TeaspoonCAS, a handheld voltage controlled instant looping playback sampler. 
 
> www.scape-music.de
 
> CTM.05