Matthew Sims, commonly known by his stage name Mount Sims (or Mt. Sims), is a

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

-based American DJ, performance artist, and producer. A native of

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, Sims began his career in the local music scene. Sims was involved in several groups, the most notable of which was Citizen King, an

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band famous for their 1999 hit " Better Days (And the Bottom Drops Out)", which reached #25 on the US

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

chart. However, Citizen King disbanded by 2002 for undisclosed reasons. Around the same time, Sims relocated to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where he continued his music career as a solo artist. Starting Mount Sims as an electronic music act, later releases have also shown influences from post-punk, new wave, and dark wave. Sims is almost exclusively responsible for every aspect of his music, providing vocals, instrumentation, and production. He was originally supported by three dancers, one of whom was the dancer/choreographer Ryan Heffington. The last incarnation, Mt. Sims, was a three-piece band that included Rand Twigg on bass and Andre Lange on drums. His first album, '' UltraSex'', released through International DeeJay Gigolo Records in Europe and Emperor Norton Records in the US, was released to good reviews. It was influenced by German and British new wave bands, funk, and electronica. It was a concept album that focused on the themes of technology and sexuality. The album contains the tracks "How We Do" and "Rational Behaviour". Mount Sims' second album, ''Wild Light'' (released in 2005 on International DeeJay Gigolo Records), is a much darker album than the previous release. Its themes are death and information. Major musical influences are dark wave and

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

David J David John Haskins (born 24 April 1957, Northampton, Northamptonshire, England), better known as David J, is a British alternative rock musician, producer, and writer. He is the bassist for the gothic rock band Bauhaus (band), Bauhaus and for ...

of Bauhaus played bass on some of Wild Light's songs.

Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. Roger Joseph Manning Jr. (born May 27, 1966) is an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the bands Jellyfish (band), Jellyfish, the Moog Cookbook, Imperial Drag, and The Lickerish Quartet. He has also spent several years a ...

was responsible for some of the synth production. It contains the songs "No Yellow Lines," "Lights On," and "Restless," a single featured in Amped 3. Mount Sims is responsible for

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

's remixes of her song " Nobody Knows Me", from her 2003 album '' American Life'', in which he was noted to time-compress a speech by

Charles Manson Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934 – November 19, 2017) was an American criminal, cult leader, and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Some cult members committed a Manson ...

in order to construct different electronic drums, which he then placed in the remix. In addition, Mount Sims' song "Torn Into" was featured in the film Lost in Translation. Mt. Sims' third album, ''Happily Ever After'' (2008/Hungry Eye Records), continues on the influences of the previous release with its themes focusing on obsession, isolation, horror, and madness. It was produced by Thomas Stern of Crime & the City Solution and features guest appearances by Jessie Evans (formerly of Subtonix, Autonervous, and The Vanishing), Toby Dammit ( Swans, The Residents, and

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), and Bryan Black (Motor). The album artwork was created by Peter Wu with layout by Dez of Crossover. In 2008, he joined the band The Silures, which was founded by Vitalic and Linda Lamb in 2002. In 2009, he quit the group. In 2010, he collaborated with The Knife and

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on the electronic opera Tomorrow, In a Year. It is based on

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

's ''

On the Origin of Species ''On the Origin of Species'' (or, more completely, ''On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life'')The book's full original title was ''On the Origin of Species by M ...

'' and was released as a studio album. It was also in 2010 that he collaborated with

Warp Records Warp Records is a British independent record label that specialises in Electronic music, electronic, indie rock and experimental music. It was founded in Sheffield in 1989 by Steve Beckett, Robert Mitchell and Robert Gordon. It has released recor ...

artist Leila for her album U&I, of which he contributed his voice to her electronic compositions.

Discography

;Solo * '' UltraSex'' ( International DeeJay Gigolo Records) (2002) * ''Wild Light'' (International DeeJay Gigolo Records) (2005) * ''A Grave EP'' (Hungry Eye Records) (2009) * ''Happily Ever After'' (Hungry Eye Records) (2009) * ''Happily Ever After...Again'' (Hungry Eye Records) (2010) * '' Tomorrow, In a Year'' (with The Knife and

) ( Rabid Records) (2010) ;Appears on * The Hacker - "Traces", from the album '' Rêves Mécaniques'' (2004) Retrieved 2010-07-17. *Leila - U&I (2012) ;With Citizen King * Brown Bag LP (1995) *Count The Days (1996) *Sydney Hih (1997) * Mobile Estates (1999)

References

General references

* *

External links

Mt. Sims myspace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mount Sims American electronic musicians American expatriates in Germany American male composers Electroclash Living people Record producers from Wisconsin Year of birth missing (living people)