Matti Gajek (DE) produces and performs electronic music under the stage name Gajek. From an East German perspective Gajek inscribes himself into the progressive myth of Krautrock by shifting the focus to a different side of German history marked by the material traces of the Cold War. In his music Gajek explores evolving textures of high-energy digital production, vibrant rhythms, strings and synths through endless effect-chains of pitch-shifters and ring-modulators drawing on East German avantgarde music as well as the electronic music of West Germany, post internet genre bending, improvisation and noise. In his live performance Gajek uses a Casio MIDI guitar to control digital sound generation implemented by Reaktor and Max/MSP.

Gajek has published records on Throttle records, Monkeytown and Infinite Greyscale. His band project SIM CARD HØLDER together with Drone Operatør and Artist Ian Brunner released their first album on FaltyDL’s Blueberry Records in 2021. Gajek composes music for films, theatre, exhibitions and performances, most recently for New Scenarios Chernobyl Papers and the score for Max Linz´ Weitermachen Sanssouci. In 2022 Gajek launched mix series Socialist Realness on UK radio Resonance Extra focusing on avant-garde music produced in the GDR and shortly after the fall of the Berlin wall. Gajek has performed his music in venues such as TraumaBar, Berghain and Printworks London. Matti Gajek lives and works in Berlin.