Kraus (also known as Pat Kraus, formerly known as Prince Kraus) is a New Zealand experimental musician and composer. The ''

New Zealand Listener The ''New Zealand Listener'' is a weekly New Zealand magazine that covers the political, cultural and literary life of New Zealand by featuring a variety of topics, including current events, politics, social issues, health, technology, arts, f ...

'' called him "a national treasure" and "one of the most quietly important and interesting people making music in New Zealand". His music crosses the boundaries of

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

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 ...

, no wave, space folk,

noise pop Noise pop is a subgenre of alternative and indie rock that developed in the mid-1980s in the United Kingdom and United States. It is defined by its mixture of dissonant noise or feedback with the songcraft more often found in pop music. Shoega ...

, punk rock and

martian Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. It became the most popular celestial object in fiction in the late 1800s as the Moon was evidently lifeless. At the time, the pred ...

stomp.

Work

Kraus has stated that he makes music for freaks, outsiders, losers and weirdos. Most of his music is released under a

Creative Commons license A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted "work".A "work" is any creative material made by a person. A painting, a graphic, a book, a song/lyrics ...

with a non-commercial clause, consistent with his

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

ideology. He is influenced by

medieval music Medieval music encompasses the sacred and secular music of Western Europe during the Middle Ages, from approximately the 6th to 15th centuries. It is the first and longest major era of Western classical music and followed by the Renaissance ...

renaissance music Renaissance music is traditionally understood to cover European music of the 15th and 16th centuries, later than the Renaissance era as it is understood in other disciplines. Rather than starting from the early 14th-century '' ars nova'', the Tr ...

traditional Japanese music Traditional Japanese music is the folk or traditional music of Japan. Japan's Ministry of Education classifies as a category separate from other traditional forms of music, such as (court music) or (Buddhist chanting), but most ethnomusicolog ...

psychedelic music Psychedelic music (sometimes called psychedelia) is a wide range of popular music styles and genres influenced by 1960s psychedelia, a subculture of people who used psychedelic drugs such as LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, mescaline, and cannabis to ...

and electronic music. Kraus's work has been compared to

Raymond Scott Raymond Scott (born Harry Warnow; September 10, 1908 – February 8, 1994) was an American composer, band leader, pianist, record producer, and inventor of electronic instruments. Though Scott never scored cartoon soundtracks, his music is ...

Norman Mclaren William Norman McLaren, LL. D. (11 April 1914 – 27 January 1987) was a Scottish Canadian animator, director and producer known for his work for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).Rosenthal, Alan. ''The new documentary in action: a caseb ...

Moondog Louis Thomas Hardin (May 26, 1916 – September 8, 1999), known professionally as Moondog, was an American composer, musician, performer, music theoretician, poet and inventor of musical instruments. Largely self-taught as a composer, his ...

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific out ...

Amps for Christ Amps For Christ is the current music project of Man Is the Bastard and Bastard Noise veteran and metal/noise pioneer Henry Barnes. The project is based out of Claremont, California. Concept Conceptually, Amps for Christ originated in 1996, whe ...

Joe Meek Robert George "Joe" Meek (5 April 1929 – 3 February 1967) was an English record producer, sound engineer and songwriter who pioneered space age and experimental pop music. He also assisted in the development of recording practices like over ...

the Shaggs The Shaggs were an American rock band formed in Fremont, New Hampshire, in 1965. The band was composed of the sisters Dorothy "Dot" Wiggin (vocals and lead guitar), Betty Wiggin (vocals and rhythm guitar), Helen Wiggin (drums) and, later, Rac ...

John Frusciante John Anthony Frusciante (; born March 5, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers across three stints since 1988. He has released 11 solo albums and 7 EPs, ranging in style from acoustic guitar to e ...

, Pumice,

Bruce Haack Bruce Clinton Haack (May 4, 1931 – September 26, 1988) was a Canadian musician and composer in the field of electronic music. Biography From Alberta to New York (1931-1963) Demonstrating an early ability for music, Bruce Haack is said to ha ...

Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese having been the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup ...

Flower Travellin' Band was a Japanese rock band that was formed in 1967. They were connected to Japan's counterculture movement and noted for their mixture of early heavy metal with psychedelic and progressive rock. They received wide acclaim from critics but fail ...

, Can,

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...

Goblin A goblin is a small, grotesque, monstrous creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearances depending on t ...

Throbbing Gristle Throbbing Gristle were an English music and visual arts group formed in 1975 in Kingston upon Hull by Genesis P-Orridge, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Peter Christopherson, and Chris Carter (British musician), Chris Carter. They are widely regarded as pi ...

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

The Residents The Residents are an American art collective and art rock band best known for their avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, ''Meet the Residents'' (1974), they have released over 60 albums, numerous music vi ...

Randy Holden Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolf, Randolph, as well as Bertrand and Andrew, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of the ...

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known Rock music, rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage ...

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

Jean Michel Jarre Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and new-age genres, and is known for organising outdoor spectacles featuring his music, accompanie ...

Peaking Lights Peaking Lights are a husband-and-wife music duo who met in San Francisco in 2006 and moved to Spring Green, Wisconsin in December 2007 where they lived until 2009. The couple then moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where they stayed until their return ...

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massach ...

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Marvin the Martian Marvin the Martian is an extraterrestrial character from Warner Bros.' ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' cartoons. He frequently appears as a villain in cartoons and video games, and wears a helmet and skirt. The character has been voice ...

Maureen Tucker Maureen Ann "Moe" Tucker (born August 26, 1944) is an American musician and singer-songwriter who was the drummer for the New York City-based rock band the Velvet Underground. After they disbanded in the early 1970s, she left the music industry ...

, Men's Recovery Project,

Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...

and

Royal Trux Royal Trux was an American alternative rock band active from 1987 to 2001, reuniting in 2015 but disbanded once again in 2019. It was founded by Neil Hagerty (vocals, guitar) and Jennifer Herrema (vocals). History While still a teenager, Hagerty ...

. Kraus started performing live in late 2013 with a revolving cast of supporting musicians, including Stefan Neville (of Pumice and the Five Satans), Angeline Chirnside (of Currer Bells and It Hurts), Claire Mahoney, Nell Thomas, Dan Beban, artist Bek Coogan, Reuben Derrick, Sean Norling, Alex Brown, Gary War, Marijn Verbiesen, composer and pianist Hermione Johnson, and the writer Maryann Savage. In 2014 Kraus was awarded the Audio Foundation Winter Residency. The name Kraus was partly inspired by

Dagmar Krause Dagmar Krause (born 4 June 1950) is a German singer, best known for her work with avant-rock groups including Slapp Happy, Henry Cow, and Art Bears. She is also noted for her coverage of songs by Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill and Hanns Eisler. Her ...

and

Inga Swenson Inga Swenson (born December 29, 1932) is an American actress and singer. She appeared in multiple Broadway productions and received two Tony nominations. She also spent seven years portraying Gretchen Kraus in the ABC comedy series '' Benson''. ...

's character on

Benson Benson may refer to: Animals *Benson (fish), largest common carp caught in Britain Places Geography Canada *Rural Municipality of Benson No. 35, Saskatchewan; rural municipality *Benson, Saskatchewan; hamlet United Kingdom * Benson, Oxfordshire ...

Other activities

Kraus was a founding member of the Futurians and has played in the Aesthetics and the Murdering Monsters. He currently records and performs in Pouffe (with Matt Plunkett of The Trendees), the Maltese Falcons (with Ducklingmonster Futurian of It Hurts, Stefan Neville of Pumice, and Sean O'Reilly of SF), Olympus (with Stefan Neville), Magic Mountain, The Gaze, and various ad-hoc improvised ensembles. He hosts a fortnightly radio show, and builds his own

synthesisers A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

and guitar pedals which are used by many New Zealand bands including It Hurts. He has been instrumental in setting up and curating the

Musical Electronics Library The Musical Electronics Library (or MEL) is a lending library of homemade electronic musical devices in Auckland and Wellington, New Zealand, and is a worldwide leader in the Scavengetronica movement. The library contains electrolytic capacitors, ...

and has been running synth-building workshops around New Zealand.

Discography

Solo albums

* ''Joy'' cassette (2002) * ''Prince Krauss'' CD (2003) * ''Emily'' CD (2003) * ''I Could Destroy You with a Single Thought'' CD / LP (2004) * ''Lamentations of an Ape'' CD / cassette (2005) * ''Red, Green and Blue'' CD (2006) * ''The Facts'' cassette (2007) * ''Harmony of the Squares Volume 1'' CD (2007) * ''Faster than the Speed of Time'' LP (2010) * ''Blank Mountain'' CD (2010) * ''Golden Treasury'' CD / cassette (2010) * ''Supreme Commander'' LP / cassette (2011) - released on "outer space wax" (vinyl with white specks) * ''14/10/12'' (2014) - recorded live in Kingsland for a

WFMU WFMU is a listener-supported, independent community radio station, licensed to East Orange, New Jersey. Since 1998 its studios and operating facilities have been headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. It broadcasts locally at 91.1 Mhz FM, in ...

broadcast. Featuring Maryann Savage and Stefan Neville. * ''Interior Castle'' cassette (2014) * ''Workers in Kontrol'' CD (2014) * ''Here Come the Recorders'' cassette (2015) * ''Mountain of the Moon'' cassette (2016) * ''Grip the Moon'' cassette (2017) * ''Pudding Island'' cassette (2019) * ''Valley of the Gourds'' cassette (2019) * ''A Golden Brain'' cassette (2020)

Solo singles

* ''Luxury and Mystery'' 7" (2010) * ''A Journey Through the First Dimension with Kraus'' 7" EP (2011) * ''141492'' 7" (2011) * ''Telstar'' 7"EP (2011) - features covers of "

Telstar Telstar is the name of various communications satellites. The first two Telstar satellites were experimental and nearly identical. Telstar 1 launched on top of a Thor-Delta rocket on July 10, 1962. It successfully relayed through space the fi ...

" by

the Tornados The Tornados (The Tornadoes in North America) were an English instrumental rock group of the 1960s that acted as backing group for many of record producer Joe Meek's productions and also for singer Billy Fury. They enjoyed several chart hits ...

, "

Space Truckin' "Space Truckin'" is a song by British hard rock band Deep Purple. It is the seventh and final track on the ''Machine Head'' album and its lyrics talk of space travel. Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore claims in '' Classic Albums: Deep Purple – The ...

" by

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

, and "

I Go to Sleep "I Go to Sleep" is a song written by Ray Davies, main songwriter for The Kinks, and first released by The Applejacks. It was never recorded by The Kinks, but Ray Davies's demo can be found in reissue bonus tracks of their second studio album ' ...

" by

Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main songwriter for the rock band the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother Dave on lead guitar and backing voca ...

. * ''Seven Nights in a Rogue's Bed'' 7" (2015) - split with

Kawabata Makoto Kawabata Makoto ( ) is a Japanese musician and founding member of the band Acid Mothers Temple. He was part of one line-up of Gong when Acid Mothers Temple and Gong briefly fused into one group. Band history Kawabata is chiefly famous for his l ...

Compilation appearances

* ''Arc Death'' cassette / CD (2001) * ''Animals'' 2CD (2004) * ''Sink or Swim'' cassette (2009) * ''Menhir'' double 7"EP (2009) * ''La Bamba'' LP (2009) * ''Dirt Beneath the Daydream'' CD (2009) - free with White Fungus and

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime film, crime drama Television show, television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The ...

magazines. * ''If you Wanna Rob a Bank, Own One: Credit Card Singles, 2009-2010'' CD (2010) * ''Realistic Pillow'' 7"EP (2013) * ''Deep & Meaningful Volume 1'' postcard album (2014) * ''You’re Not Invited: New Zealand’s Underground, 2010-2015'' triple-album (2015) * ''Deep & Meaningful Volume 2'' postcard album (2014) * ''Deep & Meaningful Volume 3'' postcard album (2015) * ''Psi-Solation'' (Celebrate Psi Phenomenon 2020)

Recordings with other bands

* ''Pretty Picture'' 7" - Murdering Monsters (2000) * ''Bitch'' 7"EP - CJA (2000) * ''12 Truck Drivin' Classics'' cassette - Murdering Monsters (2001) * ''Crown Sat. Nov. 11'' cassette - Murdering Monsters and the Aesthetics (2001) * ''Off'' CD - The Aesthetics (2001) * ''Blastov!'' - The Futurians (2002) * ''Untitled'' CD - Armpit and Kraus (2007) * ''Goldair'' CD - CJA and Kraus (2010) * ''Bold Mould'' LP - Olympus (2010) * ''Malll'' CD - Pouffe (2011) * ''The Maltese Falcons'' LP - The Maltese Falcons (2011) * ''Live at the Victoria Theatre'' 7"EP - Olympus (2011) * ''We Live in the Mind'' CD - Pouffe (2012) * ''I am Lost at Home'' CD - Pouffe (2016) * ''Caucus'' LP - Olumpus (2020)

References

External links

Official Kraus websiteKraus in the Free Music ArchiveKraus headquarters radio interview and performance
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kraus Living people New Zealand electronic musicians Dunedin Sound musicians Experimental musicians New Zealand composers Male composers New Zealand communists Science fiction music Year of birth missing (living people)