Chris Rainier grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, graduating from the University of Cape Town as a classical guitarist, having studied with Elspeth Jack and Ganiefa van der Schyff. In 2000 he completed postgraduate studies in composition with Dr. Peter Klatzow, and in 2002 he completed a Master’s degree in composition at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, under the supervision of Dr. Greg Schiemer. During this time he explored the history of microtonal music, microtonal theory and notation, new instrument designs, and the music of the American composer Harry Partch.

As a classical guitarist Chris has performed solo works, in duos and guitar quartets, as well as performing guitar concerti. His repertoire included composers such as Takemitsu, Bartok, Reich, Hindemith and Webern. He also performed the electric guitar part at the African premiere of George Crumb’s work Songs, Drones And Refrains Of Death, with the composer present, as well as the sitar part in Crumb’s work Lux Aeterna.

He has composed music for various solo instruments, chamber ensembles, symphony orchestra and choir, and attended masterclasses with composers George Crumb, Helmut Lachenmann and Steve Reich. His work has been performed in the USA, Europe, South Africa and Australia, and in the precense of dignitaries such as the Dalai Lama.

Chris’ interest in a variety of music from around the world has seen him perform with Balinese gamelan ensemble Sekaa Gong Tirta Sinar. He has studied South Indian (Carnatic) drumming with Ugen Padayachee and Anandhan Sivamani in South Africa and India, and South Indian instrumental music in Sydney. Currently he is studying North Indian (Hindustani) instrumental music with Girish Makwana in Melbourne. As an instrument builder, Chris has been influenced by the legacy of Harry Partch in designing and building instruments such as the Xenophone (Diamond Metallophone), the Escherphone, the Balarimba and the MicroVibe. He has played the Xenophone on Optus TV’s Australian/Asian arts program Opus in 2000, with percussionist Dale Gorfinkel at the Sydney Conservatorium’s Xenharmonic Horizons Festival in 2002, and with composer Warren Burt at the University of Wollongong’s Sonic Connections Festival in 2003. In the same year Chris recreated Partch’s Adapted Guitar no.1, and performed the Australasian premiere of the work on ABC Radio National (in an interview with composer Andrew Ford), and as part of Ensemble Offspring’s Partch’s Bastards concert. Recently he has developed a system of interchangeable microtonal fretboards for his electric lapsteel guitar.

As a lapsteel guitar player Chris has recorded with Scottish/Australian ”folktronica” group Abacus Roolz, and his playing was featured on the soundtrack to the AFI-winning film Somersault. He is currently performing a combination of North Indian classical music, Delta Blues and Hawaiian songs with tabla player Girish Makwana. He also performed on electric guitar as part of the Wall Of E Electric Guitar Orchestra during the Melbourne Fringe Festival in October 2005.

Since 2002, Chris has focused on extending the boundaries of the lapsteel guitar into the realms of experimental and improvised music genres. He uses a combination of acoustic techniques unique to the instrument, as well as an array of electronic effects pedals and custom electronic devices. His debut solo release, The Universe Is A Long Time, will be released globally on Apple’s iTunes in March of 2006, and in the UK/Europe through Gold Filling Records.

Forthcoming projects include a dobro and electronics album (and live concert album) with South African producer De Wet van der Spuy (The Humming Of Wires and Oscillator/Modulator), an experimental folk album (Ghost Of The Land), two albums with electronics legend Ollie Olsen (Australia), and performance and recording collaborations with Girish Makwana (India/Australia) and Andy Lund (South Africa). Currently Chris is performing regularly in a duo with drummer Mat Watson, with whom he’ll tour the West Coast of the USA in early 2007. They recently performed at the Great Escape Festival in Sydney, alongside international acts like Sigur Ros, The Black Keys and Silverchair.

Chris has recently acquired a one-of-a-kind replica of a Trautonium, an obsolete electronic instrument from the 1930’s with which he has been obsessed for some time!

He is also studying towards a PhD at the University of Wollongong, investigating complex microtonal tuning systems, the explorations of the upper reaches of the harmonic series by La Monte Young, and numerical sequences/patterns in nature and their application in sound.