I Klatus ‘Borningroom’ CD 2008
A newly released album by electronic avant-experimentalists I Klatus was available as a free download, this collection of nine tracks (forty six minutes) was originally recorded between 2003-2005. I Klatus are a deliberately obscure and mysterious collective of several people, based in Chicago, some of them members of the fabulous Lair Of The Minotaur (drummer Chris Wozniak), Yakuza, and black metallers Nachtmystium. The album sleeve is designed by heavy metal uber-artist of the phantastique, Tom Denney (a macabre Roger Dean for the sludge generation), and is also downloadable.
The music is an eerie sonic landscape, essentially ambient and with quite a harsh and industrial feel. It should be played loud. As it states on their myspace page, the music of I Klatus is described as ‘beyondcore’, a ‘high end repetitious noise’ devoid of ‘discernable dynamics’. Themes evoke Alien intelligence, twisted Shamanism and a dystopian future of dark technology. This is not the first release by I Klatus, they have had previous releases, most notably the album ‘Surveillance and Worship’, which had a more industrialised ‘heavy metal’ sound (and also featured some vocals).
Track seven, ‘Prison or Paradise’, features intriguing samples of arch-conspiracy hybrid theorist David Icke (ex-Coventry City) speaking about hate and love and the future of the human race. Splendidly entertaining stuff – I did go and see him once in 1994 in Stoke, admittedly for a laugh (and it was), along with every body else in the audience. Was I a fool for mocking him? Is this man a true un-masker of reality or a nasty little right wing shit-stirrer who hasn’t got one single original idea in his whole canon of dangerous lunacy? If I don’t believe him is it because I am mind-controlled by a reptilian race from the constellation Draco?
Anyway, back to the music. Very dark. Sounds like the pulsing generator of a gargantuan alien craft in places. In other places, particularly on track eight, ‘Escalation of Consitant Failure’, I Klatus sound like a throbbing cyber-insect, obviously of extra-terrestrial construction. If you’re expecting guitars (although there is some on track two) forget it. This is Throbbing Gristle and ambient era-Eno genetically mutated with Ministry, an ominous disconnected soundtrack for a future-shock film that was never made. Perfect music to put disturbing images to (you know – Auschwitz, serial killers, Hiroshima, George W. Bush, etc.) So if you enjoy dark fucked-up electronica and fancy a break from the roar of an amplified guitar, get it. As a parental tip, I found frightening my children with it provided an effective sonic discipline tool.
Label: Self Released
Website: www.myspace.com/iklatus
Scribed by: Adam Stone
