Limpe Fuchs (1941, Munich) studied classical piano and violin in Munich and percussion with Hans Holzl, naming avant-garde composers such as Murray Schaefer and John Cage as his first musical influences. She prefers to call herself a percussionist in the tradition of sound-scape artists, but it’s also clear that the visual dimension of her work has always deserved the same attention as the acoustic. Throughout her half-century career, she has continued to experiment with sound and visual improvisations “without formalism”, using handmade instruments and sound sculptures. Her immersive performances are meant to be listened to attentively, demanding the audience’s attention as she moves freely in space evoking her natural soundscapes while playing her woodhorn viola, pendulum string, a lithophone constructed from four-meter steel, sheet metal, pieces of wood and singing in her unique, ephemeral bird-like style.
Limpe Fuchs was recognized as a seminal influence on the Krautrock scene of the late 60s and 70s and later became an inspiration for the experimental psychedelic underground of the late 70s and early 80s (HNAS, Nurse with Wound, etc.) and for subsequent generations. Limpe began her career in the late 60s with Anima Musica, together with her then partner, the sculptor Paul Fuchs, and in 1971 they recorded their first album entitled “Stuermischer Himmel”. The next release was an unofficial release from the Ossiach Festival, which lasted three days and was recorded live, including performances by Weather Report and Tangerine Dream, among others. It was here that they met the organizer, pianist Friedrich Gulda, who quickly joined Limpe and Paul to create Anima. Subsequently, the albums entitled “Anima” and “Musik Fur Alle” were both released in 1972. From 1969 to 1989, the duo continued to perform, record and tour (most notably on a 30 km/h tractor pulling the stage), often adding new members, including their son, Zoro. She then began her solo career and continues to perform live, collaborating with many musicians and even venturing into theater.