This time, I've left America - although the artist I'm writing about now lives in Los Angeles - and travelled back to Europe. I'm currently in Germany which is where the artist's studio is located, however, they originate from North England.
So today I'm in Berlin, Germany bringing you the music of an amazing musical genius. By name you may not know him - Chris Corner - but he's also known by his solo project name, IAMX.
Corner is a founding member of Trip Hop band, Sneakerpimps, based in Hartlepool back in 1994. He then left the group 10 years later in the hopes of launching his solo career. Although his solo project was formed in the UK, he moved to Berlin for inspiration and set up his IAMX studio. He was based in Berlin from 2004 until 2014 when he relocated yet again to the states.
Anyway, his debut solo album, Kiss + Swallow, was released in 2004, two months before my 20th birthday. I didn't know or realise of the project until after his next album, The Alternative (2006). During my first year of university, I made friends with people on my course who were also musicians. One of which, was a woman called Jo Whitby. After one long day at university, I went to her flat and had a jamming session with her and we talked about music. IAMX came up as one of her inspirations, however, when I realised IAMX was part of Sneakerpimps, I liked the project by default as Corner is a very talented individual.
The next two albums, Kingdom of Welcome Addiction (2009) and Volitile Times (2011), while still being electronic in essence, incorporated industrial and cabaret into his sound, which personally I think works really well together when it's done right. This was also around the time I was getting into Industrial music more than any other genre, as I like the experimentation of the new wave, electronic and industrial sound.
The last two albums, The Unified Field (2013) and Metanoia (2015), were also Industrial releases, but played with the genre a lot more than on previous releases. Corner is still making music under the project name, IAMX and also potentially working on a fourth Sneaker Pimps album.
This is it for now. Where I'll be next time is anyone's guess. I will be waiting in anticipation for Sneaker Pimpms and IAMX's new albums respectively.
