Bio
LEAETHER STRIP is the solo-project of Danish electronic industrial artist Claus Larsen. Discovered by the German techno artist and producer Talla 2XLC, LEAETHER STRIP quickly built a buzz as one of the most exciting emerging acts in Europe in the early 90's.
After a very successful "Japanese Bodies" 12", the debut album ("The Pleasure of Penetration" " released in 1990) instantly established itself as a classic, featuring a punishing rhythm pace and aggressive electronic style with distorted vocals that he has since become renown for and that is often described as "LEAETHER STRIP"s trademark". The following albums and MCDs allowed LEAETHER STRIP to conquer the hearts of hundreds of thousands of fans of electronic industrial music across the world and to become one of the leading acts on the cult Zoth Ommog label. Both "Solitary Confinement" (1992) and "Underneath The Laughter" (1993) albums helped Claus Larsen establishing his position on the music map, reaching top sales in both the European and American electro scenes. While reminding the powerful angst seen in other electro acts such as FRONT 242, SKINNY PUPPY or even NINE INCH NAILS, LEAETHER STRIP rapidly got the reputation to be carrying a deeper message and meaning in his work through his very personal intense music and the sometimes emotional, sometimes political dimension of his lyrics.
With "Serenade for the Dead" (1994) LEAETHER STRIP shook the foundations of the industrial scene by surprise, radically departing from past expectations, drifting away from his trademark harsh power sound towards a more orchestral / gothic sound we would later refer to as "symphonic dark electronics". Conceived as a soundtrack piece, this beautiful album showed a completely different side of Claus Larsen"s talent and proved that LEAETHER STRIP was able to take the challenge of redefining his sound while still offering the same song writing depth and force. A milestone in his discography that took the path of a more versatile musical approach that highlighted his diversity in rhyme and his masterful crafting in song writing.
Fears of seeing Claus Larsen express his inner torments only through his turbo-driven side-project KLUTE, while letting LEAETHER STRIP fade from its roots, were rapidly gone with the release of the follow-up albums "Legacy Of Hate And Lust" (1995) and "The Rebirth Of Agony" (1996).
His last album to date, "Self-Inflicted" released in 1997, continued the LEAETHER STRIP sound tradition, revealing a full return to the Claus Larsen sound of old, while being in many ways more diverse than anything he's done before, allying solidity and confidence; and being still today described as his best effort to date. The sound and vocal diversity being emphasised by a forced upgrade of Claus" home studio after a devastating flood.
A few months later LEAETHER STRIP paid homage to SOFT CELL with the release of the "Anal Cabaret" ep which allowed many journalists to acknowledge that "The guy can actually sing, which is pretty unusual in the EBM genre, where volume and distortion can make up for a lot of vocal inadequacies".
Besides a bunch of "best of", "demo collections" and other "remix albums", it was at the turn of the millennium that LEAETHER STRIP released his last 7-track single to date "Carry Me" (2000).
2005 marks the official return for LEAETHER STRIP... |
