Klimt 1918 is an

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band from

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy. Founded in 1999 by brothers Marco and Paolo Soellner, the band is named for

Gustav Klimt Gustav Klimt (July 14, 1862 – February 6, 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. Klimt is noted for his paintings, murals, sketches, and other objets d'art. Klimt's prim ...

and the date of his death in 1918. The musical style is a melancholic alternative rock with influences from other genres.

Biography

Klimt 1918 was started in 1999 by brothers Marco and Paolo Soellner, after the split of their former band, Another Day (a

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

act). Marco's newly discovered love for bands like

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...

and

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after attend ...

, led him to incorporate new influences in his songwriting. The next year, after completing the line-up with bass player Davide Pesola and lead guitarist Francesco Tumbarello, the band released its first effort, '' Secession Makes Post-Modern Music'', which was recorded by Novembre's drummer, Giuseppe Orlando, a close friend of the band. The demo received good reviews from specialized press and caught the attention of My Kingdom Music, a newborn Italian independent label, with which the band signed a deal for two releases. Their debut full-length, ''

Undressed Momento ''Undressed Momento'' is the first full-length album by Italian alternative rock band Klimt 1918. It was released in 2003 on My Kingdom Music. It features a more experimental sound than their previous effort, Secession Makes Post-Modern Music, ...

'', came out in 2003; during the recording sessions,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

player Francesco Tumbarello left the band, being replaced by

Alessandro Pace Alessandro Pace (born May 20, 1977), better known by his stage name Alex Vega, is an Italian musician and part-time DJ. Founder of the musical project The Foreshadowing, he was previously associated with the bands Dope Stars Inc. and Klimt 1918 ...

, a well-known name in

's underground metal scene and a long-time friend of the band. ''Undressed Momento'' marked an evolution in Klimt 1918's sound, which became more melodic and emotional, losing part of its

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

heritage; the album received critical praise from reviewers all over Europe, and reached the first place in

Orkus ''Orkus'' is a monthly German music and culture magazine published by the Zoomia Media Group. Despite its subtitle ("Gothic - romantic - industrial - electro") and its web tagline ("Das Magazin fur Dark Rock-Electro-Gothic Rock-Dark Metal & More"), ...

' Top Chart. One year later, the band signed a new contract with

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

cult label,

Prophecy Productions Prophecy Productions is an international record label, founded in Germany by Martin Koller in 1996. It proclaims promoting "transcendental ..captivating music".

, and began working on a new full-length. ''

Dopoguerra ''Dopoguerra'' (''Post-war'') is the second full-length album by Italian alternative rock band Klimt 1918. It was released in 2005 on the German label, Prophecy Productions, which gave the band exposure outside their home country. Compared to the ...

'' was released in 2005 and featured a more mature and personal sound; the album was once again praised by both critics and press, and was supported by a European tour, the first for the band. The band said the album "was recorded during the hot summer 2004, with sound man/producer Giuseppe Orlando. The one-month session was long and difficult, but worked out better than anyone could have hoped."Klimt 1918 Myspace
/ref> Between September and October 2006, guitarist

left the band and was replaced by Francesco Conte, who made his live debut with the band on 21 October at

Prophecy Productions Prophecy Productions is an international record label, founded in Germany by Martin Koller in 1996. It proclaims promoting "transcendental ..captivating music".

' 10 years festival. The long-delayed follow-up to ''

'', called ''

Just In Case We'll Never Meet Again (Soundtrack For The Cassette Generation) ''Just in case we'll never meet again (soundtrack for the cassette generation)'' is an album by Italian rock band Klimt 1918, released in June 2008. It takes a further step forward in forging Klimt 1918's unique signature sound, leaving completel ...

'', was first released in Germany on 20 June 2008, being subsequently released worldwide on 23 June and in the U.S. on 24 June. In April 2009 the band released its first

videoclip Video clips refer to mostly short videos, most of the time called memes, which are short videos of silly jokes and funny clips, most of the time coming from movies or any entertainment videos such as YouTube. The term is also used more loosely to ...

Ghost Of A Tape Listener A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

, followed by a vinyl release of

and a

EP featuring a previously unreleased track, "Blackeberg 1981". In December 2016, a double album called Sentimentale Jugend was released. The first single of this album is "Comandante".

Style

Klimt 1918's sound can be described as

with roots in

avant-garde metal Avant-garde metal (also known as avant-metal, experimental metal, and experimental) is a subgenre of heavy metal music loosely defined by use of experimentation and innovative, avant-garde elements, including non-standard and unconventional soun ...

, featuring consistent

darkwave Dark wave (also typeset as darkwave) is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics and have been perceived as be ...

and

post-rock Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...

influences. The resulting blend is a melodic and melancholic

-based rock, combining thick

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...

-like rhythm-guitar riffs with

-esque atmospheres. Their recent output has consistently shifted towards

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

, featuring more emphasis on shoegaze and post-rock traits while abandoning entirely their former

influences.

Name

The name "Klimt 1918" is a reference to

and his year of death, 1918, which also saw the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. According to Marco Soellner, Klimt 1918's music features the same qualities of de-contextualization,

secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...

and

post-modernism Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or Rhetorical modes, mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by philosophical skepticism, skepticis ...

found in

Klimt Gustav Klimt (July 14, 1862 – February 6, 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. Klimt is noted for his paintings, murals, sketches, and other objets d'art. Klimt's prim ...

's art. Year 1918 itself, in Marco's words, represents the definitive collapse of "

belle epoque Belle may refer to: * Belle (''Beauty and the Beast'') * Belle (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Belle (surname), a list of people Brands and enterprises * Belle Air, a former airline with headquarters in Tirana, Albania ...

" values and a full transition to 20th century. The name may also be a tribute to

, which was originally named "Bauhaus 1919".

Members

Marco Soellner Marco may refer to: People * Marco (given name), people with the given name Marco * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Tomás Marco (born 1942), Spanish co ...

- vocals, guitar *

Francesco Conte Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation), sever ...

- guitar * Davide Pesola - bass * Paolo Soellner - drums

Former members

* Francesco Tumbarello - guitar (2000–2002) *

- guitar (2002–2006)

Discography

* '' Secession Makes Post-Modern Music'' (self-produced demo, 2000) * ''

'' (My Kingdom Music, 2003) * ''

'' (Prophecy, 2005) * ''

Just in case we'll never meet again (soundtrack for the cassette generation) ''Just in case we'll never meet again (soundtrack for the cassette generation)'' is an album by Italian rock band Klimt 1918, released in June 2008. It takes a further step forward in forging Klimt 1918's unique signature sound, leaving completel ...

'' (Prophecy, June 2008) * '' Sentimentale Jugend'' (Prophecy, December 2016)

Notes

Sources

Marco Soellner's interview for Ver Sacrum webzine (Italian)Klimt 1918 at Sputnikmusic.com

External links

Klimt 1918 Official Website (English)Klimt 1918 Fansite (Italian)MySpace Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klimt 1918 Italian post-rock groups Musical groups from Rome