User:Lindadxx/sandbox

testing references for the IAMX history section:

It was, as all IAMX albums to follow, written, produced and mixed by Corner himself. Kiss + Swallow was recorded in Corner's home studio in London, called The Den.

Cite The Alternative booklet

or the Kingdom booklet

Maybe we need something from the VT booklet so here's a ref for that as well.

blaaalalalaa...

=IAMX WIKI EDIT 1:=

IAMX is the solo musical project of Chris Corner, formerly of the band Sneaker Pimps. Founded in 2004 in London, it is an independent music project which also focuses on and experiments with visual art. Musically, IAMX spans multiple genres from electronic rock and dance music to burlesque influenced songs and emotional ballads. Corner's striking and wide ranging voice, and his way of programming sounds and beats is an obvious characteristic of the IAMX sound.

Since 2006, IAMX has been based in Berlin, Germany where Corner has found "the spirit to care less about the music industry and take an independent route." Berlin is also mentioned in the lyrics which concern subjects such as sexual identity, death, love, narcotic intoxication, decadence, critique of religion and politics, alienation, addiction, modern society and gender bending. The topic of gender bending is further emphasised by Corner's own distinctive and androgynous image.

Live, IAMX are known for their highly energetic and theatrical performances. Unusual stage outfits and body painting are also core elements of IAMX shows. The stage design consists of art and props constructed by Corner and his live band members.

The visual art element of the project can be seen in the IAMX music videos and in the projections at their live shows. Both contain sometimes strong and controversial visual content, often directed, shot and edited by Corner himself.

To date, IAMX has released four studio albums, all of which have been released independently and produced by Corner.

= History =

IAMX was founded by Corner in 2004 in London. The name 'I am X' refers to Becoming X, the title of the Sneaker Pimps' debut album. Corner explained that by founding IAMX, he no longer felt that he was becoming X, but rather that he was X. The meaning of the X, according to the founder, is ever changing like a variable in a mathematical equation.

Kiss + Swallow (2004–2006)
The debut album, Kiss + Swallow, was released in 2004 and consisted of melancholic dark 1980s-influenced electro with lyrical content referring often to the psychology of sexual fantasy, gender bending and role play, the exploration of solitude, aggression, longing, codependency and mortality. It was, as all IAMX albums to follow, written, produced and mixed by Corner himself. Kiss + Swallow was recorded in Corner's home studio in London, called The Den.

Many of the songs were initially written by Corner for a fourth Sneaker Pimps album, but as the band was working on the album it soon became clear that the songs did not suit the new direction of Sneaker Pimps. Still, the songs remained important to Corner so he decided to keep working on them and eventually use the songs for his own project.

After the release of Kiss + Swallow Corner went on tour with IAMX, playing venues throughout Europe, Eastern Europe and the US. The live line-up varied between a revolving cast of close friends including Sue Denim of Robots in Disguise (whose vocals are also featured on the album), Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt of The Mighty Boosh, James Cook of Nemo, Mary Ambrose and actress Julia Davis of Nighty Night.

On June 17, 2008 Kiss + Swallow was released in the US. The US album included the previously unreleased track "Polaroids" and a remix of the title song by Moonbootica. It also carries a different cover.

Between tours in 2005, Corner wrote and produced the soundtrack for the French movie Les Chevaliers du Ciel (English title: Sky Fighters) and the second Robots in Disguise album, Get RID!.

→ Kiss + Swallow: Main article

Move to Berlin, The Alternative and Live in Warsaw (2006–2008)
In 2006, IAMX relocated from London to Berlin. Corner explained that he decided to move because he was tired of the rat race in London and felt that Berlin was a better and more inspiring place for artists. He has described Berlin as being a sexy, liberal, decadent city which happily lacks the usual city downsides, such as constant stress and competitiveness. He also said that moving to Berlin has had a huge effect on his creative life and that this is apparent in the second IAMX album, The Alternative.

The production of The Alternative started in IAMX2 studio in Berlin and shortly after Corner's move. The Alternative was released in April 2006 in Europe, October 2007 (digitally) and November 2007 (physically) in the UK and Ireland, and May 2008 on Metropolis Records in the US.

The UK and US versions feature a slightly different cover with black tape rather than yellow tape. In addition to variant cover artwork, UK and US versions also feature reworked versions of several tracks with added production and added backing vocals from Janine Gezang. They also feature a hidden bonus track, an instrumental string version of "Spit It Out", arranged and recorded by Audrey Morse.

The following years were dominated by heavy touring throughout the US and the whole of Europe.

In summer 2006, a new live line up was announced as follows: Janine Gezang on keyboards/synths, backing vocals and bass, Dean Rosenzweig on guitars and bass and Tom Marsh on drums. Rosenzweig and Marsh left the live band in 2010 while Gezang is still an integral part of the project.

The IAMX live shows started to be widely recognised as extraordinarily energetic and captivating, drawing an increasing number of followers to the shows and enabling the band to play and headline festivals such as Maxidrom 2006, Nova Rock 2007, M'era Luna 2007, 2009, Sziget 2007, 2009 and Dour 2008.

Four singles were released from The Alternative. "Spit it Out", "Nightlife", "President", "The Alternative".

Music videos were released for "Spit it Out", "President" and "Song of Imaginary Beings". The outfits and setup in the videos established the ever evolving IAMX look which has since been adopted by fans at the band's live shows. Dressing up for the shows became a tool to help Corner and his band members and fans bring out the expression in the music and lose themselves.

In 2008, a remix EP was released in the UK, called IAMIXED. It contained remixes of "Spit it out" by Imogen Heap and Gary Numan.

Prior to the release of the "Nightlife" single, IAMX announced a contest, giving fans the opportunity to remix the track. Two fan remixes were released on the "Nightlife" single. Later in 2010, "Nightlife" also became the title song of the German movie Wir sind die Nacht (English title: We are the night), with an accompanying video featuring scenes from the movie.

A limited edition live album, Live in Warsaw, was released on November 14, 2008 on IAMX's own label, 61seconds. The performance was recorded in front of a live audience for Polskie Radio Program III and later mixed by Corner in Berlin at IAMX2 studios. The album was exclusively available at the band's online shop Boutique IAMX and is now sold out.

Kingdom of Welcome Addiction and Dogmatic Infidel Comedown OK (2009–2011)


In November 2008, the 'Unheard Tour' took place in Europe. On this tour IAMX performed songs from their unreleased upcoming third studio album, Kingdom of Welcome Addiction.

On November 7, 2008, a new track entitled "Think of England", was made available for free download.

Before the official release of Kingdom of Welcome Addiction in May 2009, the album leaked after being sent out to journalists for promotional reasons. Corner addressed the leak and the subject of illegal downloading in a blog entry shortly after this happened, writing that because the album had been produced, promoted and released independently, IAMX depended on its listeners to buy the album instead of downloading it for free.

Kingdom of Welcome Addiction featured a collaboration with Grammy award winner and close friend Imogen Heap, entitled "My Secret Friend". The song was described by Corner as being an incestuous love song and was later accompanied by several videos recorded at Turmwerk. The official music video featured a gender swapping role play with Corner dressed up as a woman and Heap as a man. Another video was an acoustic, impromptu performance of the song by both artists. A third video featured only Corner at a grand piano, performing a version of the song in German, entitled "Mein Geheimer Freund".

"My Secret Friend" was also released as a single, containing remixes of the song as well as the official video. Two other singles were released as DIY-singles, which meant that each of the singles were burned, stamped and printed by the band members themselves. One was for "Think of England", the other one for "Tear Garden". Both contained several versions of the songs. All singles were/are exclusively available at Boutique IAMX.

In early 2010, the live band was announced to be Janine Gezang on keyboards/synths, vocals and bass; Alberto Álvarez on guitars, vocals, drums and bass, and Jon Harper on drums. . In August 2010, Harper was replaced by MAX, a drum machine which was programmed and triggered by Corner.

A remixed and reworked version of Kingdom of Welcome Addiction, entitled Dogmatic Infidel Comedown OK, was released on March 19, 2010. The release features reworks done by Corner himself under the alias of UNFALL, as well as remixes and covers by other artists, including Alec Empire, Terence Fixmer, Combichrist, Black Light Odyssey and others. The artists featured on the album were all selected and asked to contribute by IAMX.

The title of the remixed album is an anagram of the original album title Kingdom of Welcome Addiction.

Volatile Times (2011)
On April 14, 2010, Corner announced on the official IAMX Twitter page that he was working on his fourth studio album, which he referred to as IAMX4. On October 19, 2010, it was announced on the official IAMX Facebook page that IAMX4 was now identified as Volatile Times. The album was released in Europe on March 18, 2011. It peaked at #68 in the German Media Control Charts. About a week before the album's release, the track "Fire and Whispers" was made available for free download from the IAMX website.

The first single was "Ghosts of Utopia", released digitally only. The video for the song was shot and edited by Corner. The song "Bernadette" was released as a digital single, accompanied by two videos, featuring the original track and a German version of it. In September 2011, the "Volatile Times" remix EP was released as a numbered and signed 500 edition, available only at Boutique IAMX. It too was accompanied by a video. Another video was released for "Dance With Me".

Corner expressed in interviews that Volatile Times was the most challenging of all the IAMX albums to date, as working on the fourth album on his own, doing everything from writing to recording, producing and mixing became a test of his strength and will to go on by himself. He said, he would not make another album this way again but share the process with others. Nevertheless, many people were involved, such as live band members Janine Gezang and Alberto Álvarez, saw player Mimosa Pale, string player Anne-Marie Kirby and producer Jim Abbiss who gave last minute inspirational advice. Corner said that with this album he wanted to focus on making art without any compromise and that this resulted in probably the least commercial IAMX album so far.

Caroline Weber joined the live lineup on drums in 2011 where two European tours took place: 'Fire And Whispers Tour' in the first half of the year and 'Into Asylum Tour' in the second half. Between tours, Corner also focused on doing visual work. He shot, directed and edited the videos for "Ghosts of Utopia" and "Dance With Me". He also chose and worked closely with the directors of the other videos that were released, and edited the German version of the "Bernadette" video himself.

IAMX5; the fifth studio album
On February 1, 2012, work had officially begun on the fifth studio album, which has the working title of IAMX5. Starting in May, a bi-weekly video journal, which would allow fans to view the recording process of IAMX5, was to be published via the official IAMX YouTube channel.

The album would be co-produced by Jim Abbiss, who also co-produced Sneaker Pimps' debut album Becoming X and has produced albums for artists such as Adele and Arctic Monkeys. In July, the name of a song likely to become a single from the forthcoming album was revealed, "Come Home".

Video company orphic is founded, showreel released. (??)

=Turmwerk=

In 2008, IAMX relocated to an old GDR factory outside Berlin. Corner spoke about the move in an interview, saying that he had bought a building which used to be a waterworks factory in the former East Germany. The factory has since been given the name "Turmwerk" and is used for studio recording, band rehearsals, photo shoots, music video and live visual production. These productions include the music video "My Secret Friend" featuring Imogen Heap, and the photo shoots for the cover of IAMX's fourth studio album Volatile Times, shot by Berlin photographer, Ben Wolf. Turmwerk has become a working space not only for IAMX, but also for other artists such as Noblesse Oblige, producer Jim Abbiss, James Cook and VIOLENTA. Corner said in an interview that his dream was to create a place for artists of all kinds where the main focus is on creativity and free-thinking.

=Live Visuals and Videos=

TEXT ABOUT VIDEO MAKING

Albums

 * Kiss + Swallow (Recall) - 13 July 2004 (US re-release: 17 June 2008)
 * The Alternative (61seconds) - 28 April 2006 (US re-release: 6 May 2008)
 * Kingdom of Welcome Addiction (61seconds) - 19 May 2009
 * Volatile Times (BMG/Rough Trade) - 18 March 2011

EPs, Remix and Live albums

 * Your Joy Is My Low (Recall) - 2004
 * Your Joy Is My Low Remixes (Anorak Supersport) - 26 May 2005
 * Live in Warsaw (61seconds) - 14 November 2008
 * IAMIXED (NoCarbon) - 20 December 2008
 * Dogmatic Infidel Comedown OK (61seconds) - 19 March 2010
 * Bernadette (Remixes) (BMG/Rough Trade) - 29 July 2011
 * Volatile Times (Remix EP) (BMG/Rough Trade) - 23 September 2011