Synesthetic Octet

"Madness with subtle means: Pongrácz elevates hip- hop as cleverly as Maurice Ravel once abstracted the waltz in his piece 'La Valse.' Yet these tracks certainly get into the dance groove, like the break-ridden beat of 'Schack.'" (Christoph Irrgeher, Wiener Zeitung) The Synesthetic Octet was founded in 2013 by Austrian musician and bandleader Vincent Pongrácz. The inspiration for the name came from the composer and ornithologist Olivier Messiaen, who was himself a synesthete. The music mostly oscillates between hip- hop, contemporary classical music, and jazz. Shortly after its formation, the band was described as an "all- star ensemble of the young Vienna jazz scene."