Klayton

Klayton

Moscow, 2012
Background information
Also known as Celldweller, Circle of Dust, Dred, Deathwish, Krasniy, Tox
Born New York City, New York, U.S.
Genres Industrial music, electronic rock, alternative metal
Occupation(s) Multi-instrumentalist, record producer, songwriter, performer, programming (music), remixer
Instruments Electric guitar, synthesizer, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, percussion, drums, turntables
Years active 1988 – present
Labels FiXT Music
R.E.X. Records
Tooth & Nail Records
Associated acts Celldweller
Chatterbox
Criss Angel
Circle of Dust
Angeldust
Argyle Park
Scandroid
AP2
Varien
Website www.klayton.info

Klayton is a multi-instrumentalist musician formerly of New York City and currently of Detroit, Michigan who has led several cult status underground bands and has performed under a variety of stage names since the early 1990s. He is best known for his current project, Celldweller, which has been widely successful.

Personal life

Klayton grew up in a conservative Christian household[1] in New York and went to church with his younger brother, Dan (now a solo musician going by the band LVL) and friends Buka and Klank, who would both collaborate with him on a number of future music projects. He never had any formal training on an instrument, instead picking up whatever his latest fancy was and learning it himself.[2] He studied music theory for one semester in college, but dropped out, because "all they wanted to tell [him] is what [he] could and couldn’t do according to the laws of music and [he] couldn’t have cared less."[3] This eventually led to Klayton characterizing himself as being a "jack of all trades, master of none" when it came to musical instruments.[4] The first of these instruments was the flute.[5]

As a teenager, Klayton listened to a lot of metal, only later being introduced to electronic music through bands such as Depeche Mode and Skinny Puppy.[6] All of these would influence Klayton's musical output in the early and mid 1990s, as he melded heavy guitars with layered samples and synths in the handful of industrial metal bands that he formed. In later years, Klayton has referenced European drum'n'bass and Goa/psychedelic trance as influential on the sound of his project Celldweller.[7]

Though Klayton's numerous projects in the early and mid 1990s were signed to Christian record labels and are generally considered Christian bands, Klayton took great pains to distance himself from that distinction and that subculture in the later 1990s by splitting from the CCM industry and forgoing any further performances at Christian venues. He described this move and the reasoning behind it to great length in a 1998 interview with Christian metal publication HM Magazine[1] and has reiterated his stance in more recent Celldweller interviews.[8]

Klayton has stated repeatedly that he is a fan of Godzilla and the Kaiju genre in general. In an interview with Bloody Disgusting, Klayton said that David Fincher's audio commentary on the films Seven and Fight Club have inspired him to record his own audio commentaries for his Beta Cession releases for Wish Upon a Blackstar.[9]

He revealed that he was of Italian origin.[10]

Music career

Immortal, late 1980s

Immortal was a thrash metal band that put out one demo cassette in the late 1980s. It was this cassette that got the attention of R.E.X. Records, who would later sign Klayton's band Circle of Dust. Dan (lvl) was also a member of Immortal.[11]

Circle of Dust, Brainchild, and Argyle Park, 1990–present

Main articles: Circle of Dust and Argyle Park

Klayton's primary band throughout the 1990s was Circle of Dust, an industrial metal outfit he formed in 1990. Circle of Dust got signed to R.E.X. Records, a small label that concerned itself primarily with underground Christian metal in the late 1980s and early 1990s.Despite heavy touring and some notable success in the underground industrial metal scene, Circle of Dust released only two proper albums, those being a self-titled debut in 1992 and a posthumous collection called Disengage in 1998.[1] In between the times of those releases, Klayton created two notable side projects under various aliases and with various collaborators. The first of these was Brainchild, formed with the president of R.E.X. Records, Doug Mann. The only Brainchild album, Mindwarp, was released shortly after the debut Circle of Dust album in 1992 and featured even heavier thrash metal influences. Later, in 1994, the Mindwarp album was re-issued as a Circle of Dust album titled Brainchild to take advantage of a new distribution deal R.E.X. had signed without having to write and record a new album.[12] That same year, Klayton co-formed, along with the mysterious musician Buka, the supergroup Argyle Park, arguably the most controversial Christian industrial metal band in the short history of the genre. Argyle Park produced one album, Misguided, which was released to both high acclaim and heavy criticism in 1995 and featured a number of collaborators from mainstream industrial rock bands and Christian rock bands alike.[13] 1995 would prove to be a busy and chaotic year for Klayton; he toured and released a complete re-recording of the self-titled Circle of Dust album[12] while R.E.X., it turned out, was losing its distribution deal. This caused the label, who refused to release any of their signed bands from contract, to slide into bankruptcy. Essentially, Circle of Dust was trapped on a sinking ship, unable to record and release new music but also prevented from signing to any other label. Later that year, Klayton decided to end Circle of Dust and find new means of creating and releasing music.[1]

It wasn't until early 2016 that Klayton bought the rights to his Circle of Dust music back from the record company it was released on, and began remastering and re-releasing all of those albums, including the ones from Brainchild and Argyle Park. He has also announced that he will release a brand-new Circle of Dust album in December 2016.

Angeldust/Criss Angel, 1995–2000

While Circle of Dust was touring in 1994/1995, Klayton had been contacted on a number of occasions by illusionist Criss Angel, who wanted to collaborate on a magic show. When R.E.X.'s legal troubles prevented Klayton from recording or touring in 1995, he put the band to rest and began writing with Angel. The two combined their names and called the band Angeldust and spent upwards of two years creating a live theatrical show that would feature "Illusions, a live band, avant-garde characters that roam the landscape, robotic lighting, television monitors and projectors, performance art pieces and more."[1] They released their first album, Musical Conjurings from the World of Illusion, in 1998, the same year as the final Circle of Dust album. However, by 2000, all mention of Klayton had been erased from the Criss Angel website and a complete trilogy of albums, including a re-issue of the first album, were released only under the name Criss Angel as the extended soundtrack for his Amystika show. Klayton later explained that it had become apparent to the two that they were better off working on their own projects.[14] Several years later, however, it appeared that the two had made amends, as Klayton recorded and remixed a new theme song for Angel's Mindfreak show in 2006. This collaboration represents Klayton's final contribution to the discography of Criss Angel.

During this time period, Klayton changed his moniker from Scott Albert (and various other aliases) to Klay Scott.

Celldweller, 1999–present

Main article: Celldweller

Klayton, previously having used Celldweller only as an occasional production moniker, turned the entity into a full-fledged solo band after parting ways with Criss Angel in 1999 and released a five song limited edition teaser EP that same year. Interest ran high, with several Celldweller demo songs and remixes earning high marks on the charts on the old Mp3.com. A number of setbacks, including attempts to find backing by a major label that fell through, caused the debut eponymous Celldweller album to be delayed by two years.[15] It was independently released in 2003 and has made a number of achievements such as reaching the 17th spot on Billboard's Internet Sales Chart,[16] winning a number of 2004 Just Plain Folks Music Awards,[17] and having every track present on the album being licensed to appear in movie trailers, television shows, or computer games, a feat only previously accomplished by Moby and Crystal Method.

In 2008, Celldweller released Soundtrack for the Voices in My Head Vol. 01, a collection of works that Klayton felt were more apt for theatrical use than main album material.[18] Some of these tracks have now been licensed to media, and additional volumes are expected to appear in the future. Klayton has been working on the second Celldweller album, Wish Upon a Blackstar, for the past four or five years and recently announced the release method, which involves publishing the album digitally in chapters of two songs each over time as he finishes the songs in the studio.[19] This approach is tailored to the "post-album" atmosphere of the modern music industry, and parallels similar movements by such high-profile artists as The Smashing Pumpkins.

Klayton has also produced a number of songs and albums for similar artists since starting Celldweller, most notably appearing on AP2, the resurrection of Argyle Park, on Tooth & Nail Records in 2000. Klayton wrote two songs for the album, while LVL wrote the bulk of the album.[20]

Scandroid, 2013–present

Main article: Scandroid

Recently, starting from July 24, Klayton, via his Celldweller social pages, had been posting quotes and links to the video titled "What is the Salvation Code?",[21] which revealed a skull-like logo had been posted around July 17, hinting this upcoming project.[22] Later, he posted a new link to the website "SalvationCode", requiring a password that was hinted on the video posted previously, which turned out to be "2513", the four final digits of the date at the end of the video. After entering the password, the next page contained a video that had an extended preview of the unreleased song that had been heard on the previous video, both videos of which hinted that the date, August 6, 2013, will be the date that the full song titled "Salvation Code" will be released.

Also on the latest video, several images where displayed; one of which was of Klayton on the left, and who was believed to be Varien, an electronica artist, and another image being a possible official artwork of the upcoming single. The second video had later been uploaded YouTube Account on July 30, 2013,[23] along with Klayton making a post on both his and the new Scandroid social pages to confirm that the project will consist of both him and Varien, who had made the same post. The post also stated that the Scandroid music will consist of elements of 1980s retro and electronic music with what they described as a "Neo-Tokyo" theme.[24]

FiXT

Klayton and his manager had formed Esion Media to release the first Celldweller album themselves, and after the success of that album, Klayton morphed Esion into an all new independent record label, FiXT Music. FiXT grew quickly over the following few years and now features an extensive online store that distributes artists, including Blue Stahli, signed to both FiXT itself and to a variety of other independent record labels. FiXT has branched into the world of literary publication with two award-winning science fiction novels called The Bane of Yoto. In early 2013, Klayton announced FiXT would be publishing a novel by Josh Viola called Blackstar, which is based on Klayton's Wish Upon a Blackstar album. FiXT also sells digital art packs, original clothing designs, and other merchandise related to the music and artistic concepts of FiXT-associated artists.[25] Until late 2012, FiXT also sponsored and hosted remix contests in which fans were provided original recordings and tracks ("stems") of songs by FiXT artists to create and submit their own remixes; winners were awarded prizes including FiXT merchandise, artwork, and music production software. FiXT Remix was discontinued due to mounting expenses and the difficulty of maintenance and development[26]

Clothing line

Klayton hinted in a YouTube video 'Cellevision' (a YouTube series distributed by Celldweller) in March 2014 that he is to announce a new clothing line under the name of 'Outland'.[27] Items in this line are becoming available through the FiXT label and site, with a sister site WeAreOutland used for promotional purposes.

Stage names

Klayton appeared under a number of pseudonyms during the 1990s before settling on the moniker Klayton in 1999. He used his birth name, Scott Albert, for Immortal and for Circle of Dust through their touring years, up until 1995. For the Brainchild side project, Klayton used the alias Tox.[28] Brainchild also gave rise to the handle of Celldweller; an outtake of the album, "Heldweller", appeared on a compilation in 1993 and friends of Klayton twisted the title into "Celldweller", applying it to Klayton with the explanation that he spent all his time in his basement, like a prisoner, working on music. For Argyle Park, Klayton appeared as two fictitious band members, Dred and Deathwish,[28] and also used the Celldweller moniker for the first time as the name of the album's producer. Again, in 1996, Klayton appeared on a tribute to Stryper under the slightly altered name Cell Dweller.

By 1998, when Klayton had begun working with Criss Angel, he had changed his name from Scott Albert to Klay Scott, explaining in an interview that the name had been given to him by Angel for his ability to "take sounds and shape them as if they were clay".[29] He appeared as Klay Scott on the Angeldust/Criss Angel Amystika releases and on the posthumous Circle of Dust album Disengage. At this stage he also stated he was done with pseudonyms, preferring to establish one identity under which all of his music projects took shape.[1] However, despite this, Klay's name would change once more by 1999, when he made Celldweller his sole musical output. The simple name of Klayton has stuck ever since, with the artist restating in newer interviews that he was done experimenting with musical personas and does not want to confuse his fans any longer: "I've been so guilty of doing a million side projects. I've changed my name on every one of them. It's got to the point when my own fans didn't know whether I worked on an album or not."[30] In a January 2016 question-and-answer video, Klayton explained that "Klayton" is his legal name, and that he thus no longer answers to the name Scott Albert.[31]

Discography

Primary projects

Immortal

Circle of Dust

Argyle Park

Angeldust/Criss Angel

Celldweller

Scandroid

Production, programming, and remixing credits

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Morrow, Matt. "Klayton: Circle of Dust on leaving R.E.X. Records". HM Magazine. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
  2. ↑ "Klayton interview with Carpe Noctem Magazine". Carpe Noctem Magazine. 1997. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
  3. ↑ "Interview: Celldweller". Infectious Magazine. 2012-07-10. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  4. ↑ "1998 audio interview on unknown radio station". (released on retrospective Klay Scott: Jack of All Trades, Master of None CD-R). 1998. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
  5. ↑ "Klayton Interview with D1 Music Network". Retrieved 2009-04-20. Valdyr: How exactly did you start in music?Klayton: Bought a drumset for a hundred dollars when I was 12. Had no idea what I was doing, but just watched, listened and learned until I figured it out.
  6. ↑ "Celldweller – Klayton Scott (2/06/03) - RockNet Webzine".
  7. ↑ "Klayton interview with James Rhodes". Celldweller.com. 2005. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
  8. ↑ "Klayton interview with ReGen". 2006. Retrieved 2009-04-21. I'm not getting up there and I'm not going to get up on a pedestal and try to promote a church affiliation or organization. As far as my beliefs in God, absolutely I believe in God and that will never change I'm sure. But as far as my being the cheerleader for somebody, some cause or some organization, I have nothing to do with that. I'm not here with my pom-poms to support somebody's cause.
  9. ↑ http://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3148171/interview-celldwellers-klayton-on-wishing-upon-a-blackstar-horror-and-prometheus/
  10. ↑ "Ask Celldweller EP.15: Red". Celldweller. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
  11. ↑ "Band information page about Immortal". Encyclopaedia Metallum. 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-18.
  12. 1 2 Pyle, Josh (1994). "Radio Free Wheaton interview with Circle of Dust". Retrieved 2009-04-08.
  13. ↑ Powell, Mark Allan (2002). "Argyle Park". Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music (First printing ed.). Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers. p. 48. ISBN 1-56563-679-1.
  14. ↑ "Klayton Interview with 1340 Mag". Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  15. ↑ "Celldweller". Archived from the original on October 11, 2002. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  16. ↑ "Celldweller ranking at Billboard". Retrieved 2009-04-21.
  17. ↑ "2004 Just Plain Folks Music Awards". November 7, 2004. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  18. ↑ "Klayton Was Here...(artist's blog)". September 5, 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  19. ↑ "Wish Upon a Blackstar: Release Details (artist's blog)". Celdweller.com. April 13, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-21. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help) Archived April 22, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  20. ↑ "Level interview". Ballistic Test 'Zine. February 1999. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
  21. ↑ "What is the Salvation Code?". Facebook. Celldweller. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  22. ↑ "Unknown Skull Logo". Facebook. Celldweller. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  23. ↑ "We Are Scandroid video". YouTube. Scandroid. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  24. ↑ "Announcement of Who Are Scandroid". Facebook. Scandroid. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  25. ↑ "FiXT Store". FiXT Music. 2014. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  26. ↑ "FiXT Remix (Landing Page Only)". FiXT Music. 2012. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  27. ↑ "Cellevision EP.02: The FiXT Artists" (Online video). YouTube.com. Celldweller. March 20, 2014. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  28. 1 2 "Circle of Dust interview". The Garlic Press. 1997. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
  29. ↑ "Klay Scott interview". RIM Magazine. 1997. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
  30. ↑ VanPut, Brett (2003-03-04). "Klayton Interview with Transcending the Mundane". Retrieved 2009-04-21.
  31. ↑ celldweller (2016-01-19), Ask Circle of Dust EP.01 (Part 2/3), retrieved 2016-01-30
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