The Kleptones
| The Kleptones | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Brighton, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Experimental, mashup |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Website | Kleptones.com |
| Members | Eric Kleptone |
The Kleptones are a one-man English electronic music group fronted by music producer and DJ Eric Kleptone. They are best known for their Internet-exclusive mashup albums. Typically, Eric Kleptone mixes rock/R&B instrumentals with rap and hip-hop vocals in a style that is "fun... and often surprising".[1] Both his name and the group's name are parodies of the famous guitarist, Eric Clapton, and a play on the fact that he is a "klepto of tones" (that is, he "steals" others' music).
History
The group's first release was a mix of Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots by The Flaming Lips with hip-hop/rap vocals and various soundbites from television programs and movies entitled Yoshimi Battles the Hip-Hop Robots.
A Night at the Hip-Hopera was the group's breakthrough and most highly acclaimed album, fusing Queen's rock music with rap vocals and many soundbites from movies and other sources. On 8 November 2004, Waxy, the main site that was mirroring A Night at the Hip-Hopera, received a cease and desist notice from the Walt Disney Company for illegal sampling of songs by Queen, similar to the banning of DJ Danger Mouse's The Grey Album.[2]
From Detroit to J.A. was created originally for the radio program The Rinse on XFM, and was originally broadcast on 23 January 2005. Subsequently, it was released as an internet-only album, which fused R&B instrumentals with pop, rap, and R&B vocals.
In mid-2005, Eric Kleptone was awarded the Webby Award for Artist of the Year by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, who stated he had "taken the art of mash-up to a new level" and become "a global sensation".[3]
In 2006, the group released 24 Hours, a double length album. The release of 24 Hours was preceded by three EP length releases, EP1, EP2 and EP3. Each EP was available for download for a limited time—EP2 replaced EP1, and in turn was replaced by EP3. EP3 itself was removed when 24 Hours was released.
In May 2006, the Creative Commons-licensed film project A Swarm of Angels announced the Kleptones as soundtrack producers.[4]
In late 2006, Eric Kleptone was invited to speak at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, as half of "The Pirate and the Suit", a head-to-head discussion with EMI Music vice-Chairman David Munns.
On 7 December 2006, Eric Kleptone posted a podcast, titled Hectic City on the Kleptones' blog, stating that the intention is to make it a weekly release. The podcast contains mash-ups by the Kleptones, and other artists.
In early 2008 the group released Live'r Than You'll Ever Be - Bestival 2007, a live album containing a recording of their show at Bestival, in the Isle of Wight, on Saturday 8 September 2007.
On 1 January 2010, Uptime / Downtime was released. One preview of the album, the track "Voodoo Sabotage" was released on the Kleptones blog a few weeks prior to release. Later that year, on 9 August 2010, a collection of B-sides and tracks that didn't make it onto an album, Shits & Giggles was released.
On 28 January 2018 a new EP, "COUNT-IN (1234)" was released.[5]
On 25 April 2018, The Kleptones announced via their mailing list that a new album would be released later in the year and preceded by four mixtapes.[6]
Discography
Albums
Remix albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Yoshimi Battles the Hip-Hop Robots |
|
| A Night at the Hip Hopera |
|
| From Detroit to J.A. |
|
| 24 Hours |
|
| Uptime / Downtime |
|
| Shits & Giggles |
|
Live albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Live'r Than You'll Ever Be - Bestival 2007 |
|
Extended plays
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Never Trust Originality |
|
| EP1 |
|
| EP2 |
|
| EP3 |
|
| COUNT-IN (1234) |
|
Singles
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Madonna Is a Breeder" | 2002 | Non-album singles |
| "Bling Crosby" | 2003 | |
| "Bo Rhap" | 2004 | |
| "Careless or Dead" (Bootie version) | 2006 | 24 Hours |
| "Jump You Fucker" | 2010 | Non-album single |
Mixtapes
| Title | Mixtape details |
|---|---|
| HC01 - Funk Hop & Electro Rock[7] |
|
| HC02 - A String Quartet Tribute To The Kleptones[8] |
|
| HC03a - Best Of 2006 Part 1 "Hip-Hop Started In Ipswich"[9] |
|
| HC03b - Best Of 2006 Part 2 "Sounds For The Festive Vortex"[10] |
|
| HC03c - Best Of 2006 Part 3 "If There's A Glitch, You're An Ostrich"[11] |
|
| HC04 - Live At Wired Magazine Second Life Office Launch Party[12] |
|
| HC05 - Live At Glastonbury 2010[13] |
|
| HC06 - Leaving Here[14] |
|
| HC07 - May Daze[15] |
|
| HC08a - Best Of 2008 part 1 "Songs For Magic Feet"[16] |
|
| HC08b - Best Of 2008 part 2 "We have the machine ready fi dem"[17] |
|
| HC08c - Best Of 2008 part 3 "La Blouse Piscine"[18] |
|
| HC08d - Best Of 2008 part 4 "My boss has the imagination of a gnat"[19] |
|
| HC08e - Best Of 2008 part 5 "Burned In A Feathering Pyre"[20] |
|
| HC09 - Rough And Ready On The Plinth[21] |
|
| HC10 - Once Upon A Time In The Seventies[22] |
|
| HC11 - Moombahtronica[23] |
|
| HC12 - No Wrong Show[24] |
|
| HC13 - Walking Under Ladders[25] |
|
| HC14a - M3B part 1 "A Massage From The Swedish Prime Minister"[26] |
|
| HC14b - M3B part 2 "Stop That, It's Silly…" |
|
| HC14c - M3B part 3 "I'm Sorry, I'm Going To Have To Shoot You" |
|
| HC15 - Paths To Graceland[27] |
|
| HC16 - Lucem Diem[28] |
|
| HC17 - Tenebris Noctis[29] |
|
| HC18 - Absolute Elsewhere[30] |
|
| HC19 - Tightening Up[31] |
|
| HC20 - Azimuth Divider[32] |
|
| HC21 - Liquid Oxygen[33] |
|
| HC22 - Electromagnetic Radiation[34] |
|
| HC23 - Occipital Vapour[35] |
|
References
- ↑ "New stuff from The Kleptones". Wired. 25 March 2006.
- ↑ Baio, Andy (17 November 2004). "Disney Suppressing the Kleptones". waxy.org. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
- ↑ Webby Special Achievement Awards Archived 3 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Doctorow, Cory (9 May 2006). "Kleptones join Swarm of Angels film project". Boing Boing. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
- ↑ The Kleptones (28 January 2018). "New EP "Count-In (1234)" and TWO new Hectic City mixes for YOU!". Kleptones mailing list. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (25 April 2018). "Announcement of upcoming releases". Kleptones mailing list. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (7 December 2006). "Hectic City mixtape 1". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (17 December 2006). "Hectic City mixtape 2". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (23 December 2006). "Hectic City 3a – Hip-Hop Started In Ipswich". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (30 December 2006). "Hectic City 3b – Sounds for the Festive Vortex". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (7 January 2007). "Hectic City 3c – If there's a glitch, you're an ostrich". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (18 January 2018). "Rewriting History". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (18 January 2018). "Rewriting History". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (22 January 2007). "Hectic City 6 – Leaving Here". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (28 May 2007). "Hectic City 7 – May Daze". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (31 December 2008). "Hectic City 8a – Best of 2008 mixes". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (1 January 2009). "Hectic City 8b – We have the machine ready fi dem…". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (4 January 2009). "Hectic City 8c – La blouse piscine". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (6 January 2009). "Hectic City 8d – My boss has the imagination of a gnat". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (7 January 2009). "Hectic City 8e – Burned In A Feathering Pyre". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (12 August 2009). "Hectic City 9 – Rough & Ready On The Plinth". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (1 November 2010). "Hectic City 10 – Once Upon A Time In The Seventies". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (8 November 2010). "Hectic City 11 – Moombahtronica!". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (21 November 2010). "Hectic City 12 – No Wrong Show". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (28 February 2012). "Hectic City 13 – Walking Under Ladders". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (5 May 2012). "Hectic City 14 – M3B: Mega three-hour mix". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (28 June 2012). "Hectic City 15 – Paths To Graceland". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (27 March 2016). "Hectic City 16 – Lucem Diem". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (30 July 2016). "Hectic City 17 – Tenebris Noctis". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (28 January 2018). "New EP "Count-In (1234)" and TWO new Hectic City mixes for YOU!". Kleptones mailing list. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (28 January 2018). "New EP "Count-In (1234)" and TWO new Hectic City mixes for YOU!". Kleptones mailing list. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (28 January 2018). "An upcoming release announcement for you". Kleptones mailing list. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (28 January 2018). "Incoming mixtape announcement". Kleptones mailing list. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (28 January 2018). "Venonta mixtape-anonco!". Kleptones mailing list. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ↑ The Kleptones (28 January 2018). "Mixtape advenientis denuntiatio". Kleptones mailing list. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
External links
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