Jochen Gutsch is a Sydney-based composer, musician, artist and producer.

Jochen grew up in Germany, surrounded by classical music. As a young person, he played the trumpet in symphony orchestras, chamber ensembles and solo concerts and won several titles at the prestigious German Jugend Musiziert competitions. As a teenager, he taught himself to play guitar and shifted his attention to the more progressive side of hardcore and post-punk. 

The debut gig with his first band Feedback Recycling took place in 1988 at legendary punk venue UJZ Kornstrasse in Hannover, Germany. In the following years, Jochen was involved in the thriving independent music scene. His bands released albums and toured, often sharing bills with international acts such as Flipper, Melt-Banana!, Saccharine Trust, All, Helios Creed, The Notwist, Godflesh and many others. 

In the 1990s Jochen developed an interest in more experimental and electronic music. He moved from Germany to Australia and eventually started producing and performing under the name Hinterlandt. He experimented with electronics, improvisation, field recordings, and soundscapes.

Following many solo albums and tours, he zoned in on purely acoustic music. Since then he has notated music for an ensemble of classically trained musicians; his group Hinterlandt focuses on intricate string arrangements with trumpet, guitar, percussion and vocals.

In addition to Hinterlandt, Jochen satisfies his instinctive urge for high-energy post-punk in the trios Recalibrate in Australia and Snob Club in Germany. In addition, there are a multitude of collaborations and art projects.

Jochen sees beauty in diversity. His work is about the creation of organic arrangements based on a variety of methods, instruments, and compositional concepts. Combining, merging and blending seemingly contrasting movements and sections, he takes care to create coherent and accessible arrangements and songs. 

Apart from musical influences, Jochen’s work is informed by literature, travels, landscapes, conversations, and stories in a broader sense. Audience members often compare live performances to a soundtrack without a film, and reviewers frequently refer to the narrative aspect of his music.

While Jochen maintains an uncompromising approach towards his art, he is easily approachable and maintains a down-to-earth attitude as an artist.