HP ZINKER
started out in summer 89 when Austrians Hans Platzgumer and Frank Puempel decided to move to New York City and form a noise-pop band, armed with tons of effect-pedals and a cheap drum machine.

Only a few weeks later the twosome already had established a crowd and a record-deal by doing legendary shows in NYC clubs such as CBGB's or Downtown Beirut. Gerard Chosloy and Chris Lomabardi were so convinced about the band's abilities that they booked them into Wharton Tiers's Waterfront studios to record their first album 'And There Was Light', the launch for HPZ and MATADOR RECORDS.

Becoming a solid part of the growing NY-noise scene around Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr. or Jon Spencer, HPZ teamed up with drummer David Wasik and released the single The-Know-It-All before signing to the english indie-label FIRE RECORDS, home to bands like Spaceman3, Jazzbutcher or Television Personalities. In England they recorded and released their albums 'Beyond It All' and 'Hovering', both leaning towards epic progressive indie-rock.

Constant touring across the US and Europe, as well as their breakthrough hit SUNSHINE, (backed by a collaboration with Evan Dando), raised the band's popularity but Frank Puempel could not keep up with the erratic rock'n'roll lifestyle any longer and quit his musical career.

With ever-changing bass-players HPZ continued and released their most successful album PERSEVERANCE as the first release of the reknowned Chicago-based record company THRILL JOCKEY.

Those classic drug problems and fatal business set-backs gave the band's carreer another halt and it took over 2 years until their last album AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS was released on NY-based ENERGY Records in 1994.

The label's distribution folded just as the record came out and even though the album's outstanding sleeve (designed by STEFAN SAGMEISTER) was nominated for a grammy that year the chaos surrounding and affecting the band got worse and worse.
The band moved from New York to Los Angeles in order to get back to reality
but in 1995 the endless tours and rough circumstances paid their toll and HPZ broke up.

Hans Platzgumer moved back to Europe and successfully started to focus on the art of electronic music.
He released dozens of electronic records and soundtracks, worked with people like DJ Hell, Sawasaki, André Heller or Patrick Pulsinger and labels like Disko B, Domino, Cheap, Gigolo or Playhouse. He deejayed and performed accross the globe with various artists and projects until in 2002 he decided the time was right to pick up the guitar again.

After experimenting with digital soundscapes, guitar parts and multi-layered vocals he found a unique way to combine both his experiences with electronic and guitar-based music in a new project entitled CONVERTIBLE ...

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