Clan of Xymox
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Clan Of Xymox, also known as Xymox at various parts of their career, are a gothic rock band founded in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, in 1983 by Ronny Moorings - who was to be the leader and only constant member of the group. The Subsequent Pleasures EP was self-published under the name Xymox, at that time consisting of Moorings on guitar and vocals, his girlfriend Anke Wolbert on bass and vocals, and Pieter Nooten on keyboards. A chance meeting with Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance led to an invitation to support that band on a UK tour, and then a recording contract with their record label, 4AD.
Their debut album, self-titled under their newly adopted name Clan Of Xymox, was released by 4AD in 1985, and drew comparisons to Joy Division and The Cure. 1986 saw their second album, Medusa (considered by many fans to be their finest work), continuing in this dark vein.
Subsequently, Clan Of Xymox and 4AD parted company, Pieter Nooten left the band, the name Xymox was once again adopted, and the band signed to the Polygram subsidiary label Wing. 1989's Twist Of Shadows was the band's most commercially successful album, selling 300,000 copies, but 1991's follow-up Phoenix (with Nooten back on board) was less successful, and when Wing declined to release the next album, Metamorphosis, Nooten and Wolbert left the band for good.
Mojca Zugna joined Moorings as bass-player (and album cover designer) and two albums followed on independent label Zok Records - Metamorphosis (1992) and Headclouds (1994) - before Moorings decided it was time for a change. "On Headclouds, Xymox tried to combine dance grooves with a melancholic sound, plus vocals. It was part of an experiment which we now steer clear of.. After Headclouds, I moved back to Amsterdam and had a break from making music, and regained my interest by meeting different people, going to Industrial/Gothic parties, and basically rediscovering myself again".
Once again, the Clan Of Xymox name was adopted, and the album Hidden Faces was released in 1997. Moorings described it as "a logical follow-up to what Clan of Xymox made in the early '80s", and the band went on to tour extensively, co-headlining the Wave Gotik Treffen and Zillo festivals in Germany, where two singles from Hidden Faces, "Out Of The Rain" and "This World" both reached the top 10 in the independent charts. Two more albums (1999's Creatures and 2001's Notes From The Underground) followed, blending guitars and electronics into a heavy gothic sound which has won Clan Of Xymox a new generation of fans in the gothic subculture.
The current lineup of Clan Of Xymox is Moorings, Mojca, Denise Dijkstra (keyboards) and Paul Whittlesea (guitar). A new album, Farewell, was released in September 2003.
External links
- Official site (http://www.clanofxymox.com/)
- Caduceus' fan site (http://www.clanofxymox.net/)
- Chronological biography (http://www.clan-of-xymox-fanbase.de/BiographieE.htm)
- Metropolis Records Clan Of Xymox page (http://www.metropolis-records.com/?/artists/?artist=xymox)