IAMX

It's not often that a band infiltrates the essence of your being, where you live and breathe their music and their words. The Berlin based IAMX isn't merely a band, it's an event - a full-on aural and visual attack which has created a die-hard cult who wait for their every move with bated breath. While most artists tend to see their art as a finite entity, IAMX's mastermind Chris Corner sees his music as ever evolving, open to interpretation and change. Like an electro glam soundtrack to a Jan Svankmajer film, IAMX mixes Corner's erotically-charged vocals with fresh intricate production, melancholia and psychotic lyrics. Music that is as brutal as it is emotional. »I never really listen to what I have done previously and don't have specific contemporary or cultural reference points when I make a record. In fact I don't listen to music at all. Film influences me much more. Perhaps that's why IAMX is difficult to define. The reference points are not from the expected places and are thrown together to make the mess that you hear,« says Corner. Growing up in a working class family in Northern England defined Chris' realistic and practical creative approach. »I have always been a hard worker and we grew up with nothing. I don't focus on doing things the correct accepted way, but on quickly finding the most effective solutions. That is what has lead me to a DIY approach in everything I do, in my art and in my personal life,« Chris explains. After three successful releases and years of touring the world as founding member, writer, producer and singer of the band Sneaker Pimps, Chris began his solo project IAMX in 2004. From the start, IAMX celebrated the independent anti-commercial industry approach, releasing uncompromising music, with focus on a strong bond with the fans. A movement whose fan base grows steadily through word-of mouth and online activity. In 2004, Corner released the IAMX debut album Kiss + Swallow, which has already been considered an underground classic, with songs such as the title track, Skin Vision, Missile, and Sailor among others, setting up a new sound many call 'Glam Noir'. The follow up, their internationally acclaimed second album The Alternative, voted the Number One Album of 2007 by XM Radio in US, was the sound of an independent revolution offering the perfect "alternative" to the insipid radio drone of the mainstream. To write and record The Alternative, Chris Corner moved from London to Berlin in 2006. He is since residing in an old industrial GDR building outside the city which functions as the permanent IAMX base. Here rehearsals take place, videos and live visuals are shot, and all music is written and recorded. The run down art factory IAMX call TURMWERK, is also a place where Corner collaborates with artist friends like Imogen Heap, Jim Abbiss and James Cook among others. With the third studio album, Kingdom of Welcome Addiction, IAMX created another masterpiece, in which the glam noir styling got an organic and much more intimate makeover. The naked emotion was embracingly welcomed on this album by both fans and critics. From the vulnerable shuffle of "Tear Garden" and the regal march of "Kingdom of Welcome Addiction" to the late night primal dance floor rhythms of "Nature Of Inviting." IAMX have played extensively to sold out audiences across Europe and the US. The live performances have become a highlight of the project. Dressed to kill, set to a backdrop of self created art visuals, explosive and passionate, the band gives everything on stage and has gained a reputation as an exceptional live act. The fourth IAMX album Volatile Times has been released throughout Europe on March 18, 2011 by BMG Rights Management and distributed through Rough Trade. Releases in the US, Canada and UK will follow later this year.