| Formed in 1984, Clan Of Xymox introduced the world to something stark and surreal with their Subsequent Pleasures release. Their self-titled Clan of Xymox was to feature "A Day" and "Stranger", which are still club standards today. |
| In the late 1980s, Clan of Xymox, now Xymox, was introduced to a wider audience with their Twist of Shadows featuring the commercial hits "Imagination" and "Blind Hearts". |
| Going through an exploration of sounds in further releases, something happened in the late 1990s and once again Clan of Xymox had returned, fine-tuning their signature dark, electronic soundscape on the numerous albums that bring us to the present. |
| For more than two decades, Clan Of Xymox have continued to explore their sound without ever failing to please their fans. There is no doubt that their upcoming release Breaking Point will bring Clan of Xymox to the forefront at festivals around the world this year. Please, if you haven't been listening, don't you think it's time to get caught up!? |
| Right on the eve of the release of the single "Weak In My Knees", Project:ELEKTRA asked Ronny Moorings of Clan Of Xymox (C.O.X.) if he would answer a few questions in a net-interview format, and he agreed. |
The Interview...
ProjE: I noticed on the homepage that the band has moved.What caused the move to Germany?
RM: We moved to Leipzig in Germany because Amsterdam felt like it was bleeding artistically to death. As some@people maybe can remember we organized our Gotham festivals in Pardiso, -Amsterdam -to kick start a new and bigger scene to a certain success. The bands programmed were the bands we actually never were able to see otherwise in Amsterdam . We just grew tired of doing this because it did not seems to grow bigger as anticipated. Also the city is getting harder and harder to live in , too many horrible things - which made headline news -were happening and we can only see things deteriorating even further. Unfortunately it is not an inspiring place to live in anymore. ( from my point of view)
On the absolute contrast is Leipzig which is for years the capital of the Dark scene and we feel very comfortable here. The place we now live is very big compared with the small housing conditions we had in Amsterdam, where everyone practically lives on top of each other. We live in a very big old 19th century house and the idea is that in the near future more artist will come and live in our house. We have simply more space to do the things we want to do and we are not restricted by the smaller living conditions we knew only too well from Amsterdam. Many Artist -who released albums- live in Leipzig and my only guess is that it will be even more in the near future.
ProjE: Do you feel that the change in your physical environment has had an influence on your music?
RM: Most of the forthcoming album was however written in Amsterdam and only 4 songs were later finished in Leipzig, so I cannot tell the direct influence of Leipzig on my music yet, but I am sure it will be a good one. To me Leipzig feels great!
ProjE: In recent years, there have been more appearances as DJ Ronny COX. How do you feel about that particular mode of artistic expression?@What are you currently spinning a lot of? What might I expect to hear from a DJ set?
RM: I like to be able to express my musical taste in music through my choice of music with a DJ session at a club. Sometimes it is also frustrating when people have certain expectations from me ,(because they know me from Clan Of Xymox) meaning they would expect me to only like one style in music which I like and do contradict on the evening when I play my set. To me it is important that the dance floor is filled, so my set is always a danceable one. I do not play commercial music but only the underground hits/tracks. As I DJ I do focus on the more electro and EBM styled bands. That does not mean that I won't play any songs with guitars in it , I do occasionally when the track fits.
ProjE: Could you perhaps explain the relationship between Clan of Xymox and the artists at Xymox Control?
RM: Most people on the label I knew somehow. Of course most people I know are creative people so it is not that far fetched that they come to me with their music works and get my opinion about it. My latest signing The Frozen Autumn I met years ago when we had a talk with them, they were long time fans of my band and during the years I got to know them better, a friendship evolved and a logical step is trying to help them with a new label, in this case Xymox Control.
Also some people working with my band have their own projects, like Jesus Complex and Boidoir, which is the project of my Live sound engineer Damon Fries. Mario Usai my live guitarist plays bass in Sophya. So as you see things are sometimes intertwined. I do not run this label actively though, it is more a vehicle for certain purposes than anything else...
ProjE: Looking at the webpage stats, it would appear that Clan of Xymox has a very broad fanbase all over the world. Where would you say is the greatest concentration of fans in the world?
RM: Well , that's the thing ....I think it is kind of equal everywhere because of the reason we play everywhere all the time, within proportion of course. There are always the festivals , special events etc. where we appear together with other bands.
Touring I simply love , it is a great way to meet fans all over the world and to get educated at the same time. The main thing is the addiction to the whole thing , it is the travelling , meeting people, giving all at a concert and knowing you count as a band. Of course we have our personal highlights; I think it is that in South and Central America, it feels like we are exclusive over there. The fans are absolutely mad...it's really great how they show their enthusiasm. In those regions they just let go and go crazy, even on slower songs. A lot of people in Europe cannot imagine that there is a big interest in bands who make "dark" music, but when you go as a band you are totally stunned, they treat you there like as if you were" the Beatles" on tour. The shows we do there range from2000 to 20.000 people ( the biggest so far). So you can't say there is no dark scene over there.
First you think " how do they know us?" but then you find out they have seen the videos on the national music channel and yes they recognize you from the video. After a show it seems the whole country knows you. When we played in Mexico we were national news, we were on the news, our faces were printed on every national newspaper and of course the next day when we went to see the Maya temples in some remote area even an old women selling souvenirs to tourist had read about us and asked for an autograph, so that is a very strange experience, but of course a lovely and flattering one! It is weird to walk in countries like Mexico, Peru, Chile, Argentina or Brazil etc. When you walk on your day off in town and people come up to you constantly to ask for autographs and having their picture taken.
ProjE: How would you compare the reaction of fans in a festival setting versus a club or concert performance? Do you prefer one over the other?
RM: No, I think you need both. A club situation is a more intimate one and the festival you need to get the thrill of playing in front of a massive audience. Both are equally important to shape the character and stamina of a band.
ProjE: The new single "Weak in My Knees" is coming out this month, and the@Pandaimonium page has a tentative release date for a new CD in mid-April. Does it have a name?
RM: Yes , Breaking Point.
ProjE: Also, the cover art for the new single seems to be a visual departure compared to recent releases. Does this mark a change in the band's image or sound?
RM: No , the image just fitted with the lyrics....."I can't face the streets , I feel weak in my knees ", in general the character is afraid of going out into town, onto the street . A big city American style can feel quite claustrophobic so it matches the feeling of the lead title track. Mojca let herself being inspired by the lyrics , so the artwork reflects that. The colder colours also refect the rest of the EP.
If you would see the album sleeve for Breaking Point you would think we reverted in style :)
On the new album there will be many tracks people are used to get from Clan Of Xymox, the more dark atmospheric ones. Naturally also the more up-tempo ones will be present , but on whole the album feel is a dark one.
ProjE: Have you ever had a chance to visit Japan? Any interest?
RM: Never...it is pretty weird actually that we never played in Japan , even not when we had Twist Of Shadows out. I actually cannot find a reason why we never did , I guess it just happened that way. Now of course the music interest for cult bands is not that big, although many Japanese people look alternative it strangely does not reflect their musical taste ...
ProjE: Do you have any message for your fans in JapanH
RM: Yes , please listen to our albums , I am sure many Japanese will like our music.
My best wishes to all of you,
Ronny Moorings
Project:ELEKTRA sincerely thanks Ronny Moorings for his cooperation in this undertaking.
A04
For further reference...
Official Site
Xymox Control
Pandaimonium
Buy Clan of Xymox (Xymox) @ GOLD (Shinjuku), Metropolis,Amazon (jp), Amazon, and TOWER.JP
Created 02/2006
