| Klaus Nomi | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1981 | |||
| Recorded |
| |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 32:25 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Producer | Ron Johnsen | |||
| Klaus Nomi chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Klaus Nomi | ||||
| ||||
Klaus Nomi is the debut album by German countertenor Klaus Nomi, released in 1981 by RCA. The album combines his technique as an opera singer with rock influences.
Klaus Nomi had relocated from Germany to New York City in 1972, and by the late 1970s he had become a well-known face on the city's gay circuit as well as its performance art scene. He made his first public performance in 1978, [1] and was soon after approached by songwriter and keyboardist Kristian Hoffman (Mumps, the Swinging Madisons), who offered to help Nomi put together a band. [2] Hoffman, an active figure in New York's no wave scene, [3] would become Nomi's musical director and also write some of the songs Nomi was most identified with, such as "Total Eclipse", "Nomi Song" and "After the Fall". [2] A set of songs was put together consisting of operatic arias, original electronic pop songs, and offbeat covers adapted to Nomi's operatic singing style. [1] [4] With a band featuring Hoffman, Joey Arias (vocals, dancing), Tony Frere (vocals, dancing), George Elliott (guitar), Joe Katz (bass), Page Wood (drums), and others, Nomi gained attention in New York playing popular venues such as Danceteria, Hurrah's, Max's Kansas City, and the Mudd Club. Besides unusual costumes, the shows would also include dancers and elaborate sets. [4] [5]
Nomi's big break came when he and Arias were introduced to David Bowie one night at the Mudd Club, [6] and the two were subsequently hired by Bowie as backing singers for a Saturday Night Live performance in December 1979. [1] The exposure lead to Nomi signing a record deal with the European branch of Bowie's label RCA. [4] By the time Nomi recorded his debut album, his management had discarded his original band in favour of session musicians. [4] [7] Klaus Nomi was released in late 1981 [8] as a Europe and Japan-only release [9] and showcased a wide-ranging musical repertoire that drew from pop, new wave, post-punk, opera, and cabaret. [10]
The album is dedicated to Anders Grafstrom, who was a Swedish-born film maker and friend of Nomi's. He filmed many of Nomi's early performances and directed the 1980 art film The Long Island Four, in which Nomi had a role. Grafstrom was killed in a car accident in Mexico at the age of 23 a few months after completing the film. [11] [12]
The first thing Kristian Hoffman did when he started working with Klaus Nomi was to suggest covering Lou Christie's 1966 hit "Lightning Strikes" and reinterpret a pop song that would exploit Nomi's operatic range. [13] Hoffman's arrangement of the song is relatively straight, with Nomi using "his piercing voice to subvert the lyrics' smarmy, swinging-bachelor heteronormativity," according to a Pitchfork review. "Hearing Klaus Nomi sing 'Every boy wants a girl' is never not funny," it stated. [14] Lesley Gore's "You Don't Own Me" from 1963 has often been regarded as a feminist anthem, [15] [16] and Nomi's cover "lets the power of the original do most of the talking for him," Pitchfork opined. "From his pointed delivery of "Don't say I can't go with other boys!" to singing "I'm free and I love to be free" even higher than Gore did, he's simply making the same points in a shifted context." [14] The album's third pop cover, "The Twist", is reinvented as a slow "bass-driven space-out" in which Nomi uses his "upper range and Germanic diction to make one of the most overplayed songs of all time sound disorientingly unfamiliar," Pitchfork said. [14]
Thinking that Nomi should have some original material, Hoffman started writing songs for him. "I sort of was the author of the original pop musical vision for Klaus", Hoffman said in 2008. "He of course knew everything about opera and I knew nothing, so all the classical pieces were his choice and his arrangement." First Hoffman wrote the new wave-ish "Nomi Song", [10] which Hoffman said was "sort of like an easy joke on his name, 'do you Nomi now,' ... I really thought that Klaus was so fully formed that he needed to announce[ sic ] himself and what his intentions were in a pop format." [13] Hoffman's "Total Eclipse" enters the same new wave territory as "Nomi Song," [10] and with its "nuclear panic," Pitchfork stated, it "wouldn't feel out of place on a Devo record, except of course for the singing." [14] Both songs were written with Nomi's sci-fi stage persona in mind. "I tried to think about who he would be in music as a character, kind of like thinking about Bowie," Hoffman said. "They were very Bowie-specific. I wanted him to have this big expansive-ism. I thought grandiosity was a good thing." [10] Nomi's self-penned "Keys of Life", a "Bowiesque" track complete with synthesizer drones and multi-layered vocals, introduces an alien visitor with a message that's both messianic and apocalyptic about the future of Earth. [14] [15]
The album's second side finds examples of Nomi's operatic material. "The Cold Song" is based on an aria from baroque composer Henry Purcell's King Arthur , on which Nomi transforms the original bass vocals to his countertenor voice. [14] "Wasting My Time," a co-write between Nomi and guitarist Scott Woody is a disco-influenced track, while "Nomi Chant" is a mostly instrumental synth-orchestra soundscape written by Man Parrish. The latter serves as an introduction to the album's final track, a live recording of composer Camille Saint-Saëns's aria "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix" from the 1877 opera Samson and Delilah . [15]
The album cover photo was taken in February 1980 by photographer Michael Halsband, as part of his senior thesis at the School of Visual Arts. Halsband was an acquaintance of Joey Arias and wanted to photograph him and Klaus Nomi after seeing them on Saturday Night Live with David Bowie. Nomi showed up in Halsband's studio with a space-like plastic outfit that had just been made by a costume designer. [17] The exaggerated Weimar-style suit [1] was influenced by a similar outfit David Bowie wore on their Saturday Night Live performance, [2] which again was based on Sonia Delaunay's design for 1920s Dadaist artist Tristan Tzara in the play The Gas Heart . [18] "[Nomi] said that it would be great for me to be the first person to photograph him in that outfit, so we worked on it," Halsband said in 2010. "He and Joey loved working with me since I was into precision, trying to find a balanced portrait." [17] Halsband has since gone on to become a successful photographer in music, art, fashion and film. [19]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [20] |
| Pitchfork | 8.4/10 [14] |
In a retrospective review, AllMusic's Sean Carruthers wrote, "Both the cover and the music within lean heavily to the dramatic – Nomi's delivery is all in a very operatic falsetto, though most of the music itself is more of the early-'80s European dance school ... fans of off-kilter pop music will certainly find a lot to love about this album." [20] Ira Robbins of Trouser Press wrote that the album stretches from "hauntingly beautiful (Purcell's stunning 'Cold Song') to hysterically funny (a somber reading of 'Can't Help Falling in Love,' a languid dissection of 'The Twist')". [21] Sean T. Collins, writing retrospectively for Pitchfork, wrote that the album's "multifaceted musical intelligence ... belies any attempt to write Nomi off as a novelty act or one-trick pony." Calling Nomi "so much more than merely interesting" and "a spectacle in the best sense", Collins stated that "the album's overwhelming impression is of outsized emotion, and that's precisely the spectacular thing that Nomi's spectacle was designed to convey." [14]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Publisher | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Keys of Life" | Klaus Nomi | Spindizzy Music | 2:26 |
| 2. | "Lightning Strikes" | Lou Christie, Twyla Herbert | Rambed pub. | 2:59 |
| 3. | "The Twist" | Hank Ballard | Fort-Knox Music | 3:10 |
| 4. | "Nomi Song" | Kristian Hoffman | Adra Music, BMI | 2:47 |
| 5. | "You Don't Own Me" | John Medora, David White | Merjoda Music | 3:39 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Publisher | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "The Cold Song" | Henry Purcell, John Dryden | Spindizzy Music | 4:03 |
| 7. | "Wasting My Time" | Nomi, Scott Woody | Spindizzy Music | 4:16 |
| 8. | "Total Eclipse" | Hoffman | Adra Music | 3:29 |
| 9. | "Nomi Chant" | Man Parrish | Spindizzy Music RCA | 1:53 |
| 10. | "Samson and Delilah (Aria)" (Recorded live at Merlyn's, Madison, Wisconsin, 20 September 1980) | Camille Saint-Saëns | E. Durand | 3:43 |
Adapted from the album's liner notes. [22]
Klaus Sperber, known professionally as Klaus Nomi, was a German countertenor noted for his wide vocal range and an unusual, otherworldly stage persona.
Julee Ann Cruise was an American singer and actress, known for her collaborations with composer Angelo Badalamenti and film director David Lynch in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She released four albums beginning with 1989's Floating into the Night.
"The Man Who Sold the World" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. The title track of Bowie's third studio album, it was released in November 1970 in the US and in April 1971 in the UK by Mercury Records. Produced by Tony Visconti, it was recorded at Trident and Advision Studios in London in May 1970, towards the end of the album's sessions; Bowie recorded his vocal on the final day of mixing for the album, reflecting his generally dismissive attitude during the sessions. Musically, it is based around a "circular" guitar riff from Mick Ronson. Its lyrics are cryptic and evocative, being inspired by numerous poems including the 1899 "Antigonish" by William Hughes Mearns. Bowie's vocals are heavily "phased" throughout and have been described as "haunting".
Joey Arias is an American artist based in New York City, best known for work as a performance artist, cabaret singer, and drag artist, but also as a published author, comedian, stage persona and film actor. He also goes by the names Joseph Arias and Joe Arias.
Manuel "Man" Parrish is an American songwriter, vocalist and producer. He, along with artists such as Yellow Magic Orchestra, Kraftwerk, Art of Noise, Arthur Baker, Afrika Bambaataa, John Robie, Jellybean Benitez, Lotti Golden, Richard Scher and Aldo Marin, helped create and define electro in the early 1980s.
"The Passenger" is a song written by Iggy Pop and Ricky Gardiner, recorded and released by Iggy Pop on the Lust for Life album in 1977. It was also released as the B-side of the album's only single, "Success". It was released as a single in its own right in March 1998, reaching number 22 in the UK charts.
"'Heroes'" is a song by the English musician David Bowie from his 12th studio album of the same name. Co-written by Bowie and Brian Eno and co-produced by Bowie and Tony Visconti, the song was recorded in mid-1977 at Hansa Studio 2 in West Berlin. Using a G–D chord progression, the backing track was recorded fully before lyrics were written; Bowie and Eno added synthesiser overdubs while Robert Fripp contributed guitar. To record the vocal, Visconti devised a "multi-latch" system, wherein three microphones were placed at different distances from Bowie and would open when he sang loud enough. Like other album tracks, he improvised lyrics while standing at the microphone.
"TVC 15" is a song by English musician David Bowie, released on his 1976 album Station to Station. RCA Records later released it as the second single from the album on 30 April 1976. The song was recorded in late 1975 at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles. Co-produced by Bowie and Harry Maslin, the recording featured guitarists Carlos Alomar and Earl Slick, bassist George Murray, drummer Dennis Davis, pianist Roy Bittan and Warren Peace on backing vocals. The upbeat song is mostly art rock performed in a style reminiscent of the 1950s. Lyrically, the song concerns a character's girlfriend being eaten by a television set. It was inspired by a dream of Iggy Pop's and Bowie's role in The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). Some lyrics are also influenced by the Yardbirds and Kraftwerk.
"Sound and Vision" is a song by the English musician David Bowie. It was released in January 1977 by RCA Records on side one of his 11th studio album Low. RCA later chose it as the first single from the album. Co-produced by Bowie and Tony Visconti, the song was recorded at the Château d'Hérouville in Hérouville, France, in September 1976, and completed at Hansa Studios in West Berlin in October and November. The song began as a simple G major chord progression that Bowie gave to the backing musicians, writing and recording his vocals afterward. It features backing vocals from Brian Eno and Visconti's then-wife Mary Hopkin.
"Boys Keep Swinging" is a song by English musician David Bowie, released on 27 April 1979 by RCA Records in the United Kingdom as the lead single from his 1979 album Lodger. It was written by Bowie and Brian Eno and recorded in Montreux and New York City in September 1978 and March 1979. The recording utilised techniques from Eno's Oblique Strategies cards, which resulted in the musicians swapping instruments. Adrian Belew contributed a guitar solo, which he played receiving little guidance and was composited from multiple takes. The song was also built on the same chord sequence as the album track "Fantastic Voyage". Musically, "Boys Keep Swinging" contains elements of glam rock, funk and new wave, while lyrically, the song deals with the concept of gender identity, featuring various gender-bending lyrics. Bowie himself stated that the song was full of irony.
"Hallo Spaceboy" is a song by the English musician David Bowie from his 1995 album Outside. It originated as an instrumental by Reeves Gabrels called "Moondust", which Bowie and Brian Eno stripped down and used to form the final track. An industrial rock and electronica number influenced by the Pixies and Nine Inch Nails, the song contains a hypnotic sound, with synthesisers, loops and distorted guitar lines. Lyrically influenced by Brion Gysin, the song contains images of apocalypse and continues the androgynous conundrums of former Bowie songs such as "Rebel Rebel".
Kristian Hoffman is an American musician.
Labyrinth is a soundtrack album by David Bowie and composer Trevor Jones, released in 1986 for the film Labyrinth. It was the second of three soundtrack releases in which Bowie had a major role, following Christiane F. (1981) and preceding The Buddha of Suburbia (1993). The soundtrack album features Jones' score, which is split into six tracks for the soundtrack: "Into the Labyrinth", "Sarah", "Hallucination", "The Goblin Battle", "Thirteen O'Clock", and "Home at Last".
Simple Man is the second album by German countertenor Klaus Nomi, released on 23 November 1982 by RCA. It was also the last album of original material to be released during Nomi's lifetime.
The Nomi Song is a 2004 Documentary film about the life of singer Klaus Nomi, written and directed by Andrew Horn. The film debuted at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2004, where it won a Teddy Award for "Best Documentary Film."
Blah-Blah-Blah is the seventh studio album by American musician Iggy Pop. Originally released in October 1986, on the label A&M, it remains his most commercially successful album to date. Blah-Blah-Blah appeared after a four-year hiatus for Pop, with David Bowie serving as his prime collaborator. It would be their final collaboration. A successful tour followed the album's release.
Za Bakdaz: The Unfinished Opera is a collection of songs German countertenor Klaus Nomi was working on up until his death in 1983. The album was released posthumously in 2007. The large majority of the tracks have never before been heard on an official studio release; the original sessions took place from 1979 to 1983, with the tracks completed between 1984 and 2006 at the home studio of Page Wood and George Elliott. Some of those involved with the project have said that the album was nowhere near completed at the time of Klaus' passing.
"Total Eclipse" / "Die schwarze Witwe" is a double A-side single released in 2001 by German pop duo Rosenstolz, featuring guest singers Marc Almond and Nina Hagen. The single reached No. 22 in the German singles chart.
"Funtime" is a song written by Iggy Pop and David Bowie, first released by Iggy Pop on his 1977 album entitled The Idiot. It reflects Iggy and Bowie's growing fascination with the German music scene, and bears marked similarities to "Lila Engel" by krautrock band Neu!. It has since been covered by multiple artists including Blondie, Boy George, Bebe Buell, Peter Murphy, R.E.M. and The Cars.
Infest the Rats' Nest is the fifteenth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 16 August 2019 by the band's record label, Flightless, and ATO Records. The album sees the band using a heavy metal and thrash metal style, which they had only briefly touched upon on previous albums. Its lyrics address environmental themes such as climate change and ecological disaster through a cli-fi narrative involving space colonisation.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)