Klute
A rebel with a cause, Klute is truly unique artist and continues to be creative force in drum and bass after well over a decade in the scene. After the success of his fifth full-length artist LP ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ in 2007 and the following trail-blazing global tour, taking in dates from Bristol to Beijing, and from Sydney to Seoul, Klute has now begun working on album number six, due out on Commercial Suicide in mid 2009. Despite his long-standing in the scene, Klute still has something fresh to offer.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, the musical career of Tom Withers began way before the sounds of drum and bass or even hardcore had first emerged. As Tommy Stupid he fronted skate punk outfit The Stupids and took the band on tours of Europe, the USA and Australia during the late 1980s before venturing into electronic music and starting his own solo career. From acid house and techno he made a natural progression into rave and then hardcore before playing his first gigs as a drum and bass DJ around 1996. Throughout his career, he’s always been happy to let his rebel roots show and has never been afraid to buck the trend. His ability to combine a multitude of influences in his music, from techno to thrash to dub, with punk attitude is Klute’s trademark.
Klute’s early forays into jungle brought several outings on the seminal Certificate 18 label and a relationship grew that resulted in the release of his first artist album, ‘Casual Bodies’ in 1998. He went on to release a further album ‘Fear of People’ on Certificate 18 in 2000 before seeking a new home following the demise of the label. Initially fearing that no-one else would want to release his music, at time when the scene seemed to dominated by soundalikes and trend followers, Klute went his own and set up his own imprint.
Klute kicked off Commercial Suicide with the genre-defying classic ‘Tranceformat’ in 2001 and set the tone for the label that has since come to be held in the highest regard. Releases from the likes of Calibre, Digital, Spirit, Hive and Juju raised the label’s profile and helped build a reputation for varied output across the specturm of drum and bass, testing both musical boundaries and the dancefloor. In 2006 Klute showed his faith in two of the scene’s most promising artists, Amit and SKC, by putting out their debut artist albums and for 2007 had a busy schedule packed with releases from artists including Insight and Break.
Mixing heart-stopping melodies with relentless beats, Klute has developed a sound that is very much his own and one that appeals to a broad audience. Tracks from his recent back catalogue range from the uplifting ‘Rosemary’ on Metalheadz Platinum in 2005, to the blissfully intense ‘We’re all Dying’ on Soul:r in 2006. More recently in 2007, Klute’s debut for Friction’s Shogun Audio label ‘Revolution/Most People are Dicks’ showed his love of Detroit techno and reminded us he knows only too well how to work the dancefloor. His latest LP, ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes,’ gives the fullest representation of his sound yet, however, taking the listener through a spectrum of styles. From the sinister and brooding bass heavy opener, ‘174 BPM,’ to the sublime and soothing sounds of ‘Our Leader,’ Klute has crafted an album where every track sounds unique yet all sound unmistakebly like Klute.
Klute kicks off 2008 with a busy dj diary and new single on Commercial Suicide titled 'Helloween' / 'Electric Circus'.
Equally at home whether playing at a Metalheadz night or mixing liquid styles with the Soul:r camp, Klute always brings a fresh and varied selection with the same high energy levels as his productions are known for. Never one to be pigeonholed, Klute’s sets cross styles as well as challenge boundaries and always please the dancefloor. So far this year he’s played gigs all over the UK and Europe as well as tours in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia to include Japan, Korea, China, and even Vladivostok and has shown no signs of stopping yet.
commercialsuicide.org | press section | back
A rebel with a cause, Klute is truly unique artist and continues to be creative force in drum and bass after well over a decade in the scene. After the success of his fifth full-length artist LP ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ in 2007 and the following trail-blazing global tour, taking in dates from Bristol to Beijing, and from Sydney to Seoul, Klute has now begun working on album number six, due out on Commercial Suicide in mid 2009. Despite his long-standing in the scene, Klute still has something fresh to offer.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, the musical career of Tom Withers began way before the sounds of drum and bass or even hardcore had first emerged. As Tommy Stupid he fronted skate punk outfit The Stupids and took the band on tours of Europe, the USA and Australia during the late 1980s before venturing into electronic music and starting his own solo career. From acid house and techno he made a natural progression into rave and then hardcore before playing his first gigs as a drum and bass DJ around 1996. Throughout his career, he’s always been happy to let his rebel roots show and has never been afraid to buck the trend. His ability to combine a multitude of influences in his music, from techno to thrash to dub, with punk attitude is Klute’s trademark.
Klute’s early forays into jungle brought several outings on the seminal Certificate 18 label and a relationship grew that resulted in the release of his first artist album, ‘Casual Bodies’ in 1998. He went on to release a further album ‘Fear of People’ on Certificate 18 in 2000 before seeking a new home following the demise of the label. Initially fearing that no-one else would want to release his music, at time when the scene seemed to dominated by soundalikes and trend followers, Klute went his own and set up his own imprint.
Klute kicked off Commercial Suicide with the genre-defying classic ‘Tranceformat’ in 2001 and set the tone for the label that has since come to be held in the highest regard. Releases from the likes of Calibre, Digital, Spirit, Hive and Juju raised the label’s profile and helped build a reputation for varied output across the specturm of drum and bass, testing both musical boundaries and the dancefloor. In 2006 Klute showed his faith in two of the scene’s most promising artists, Amit and SKC, by putting out their debut artist albums and for 2007 had a busy schedule packed with releases from artists including Insight and Break.
Mixing heart-stopping melodies with relentless beats, Klute has developed a sound that is very much his own and one that appeals to a broad audience. Tracks from his recent back catalogue range from the uplifting ‘Rosemary’ on Metalheadz Platinum in 2005, to the blissfully intense ‘We’re all Dying’ on Soul:r in 2006. More recently in 2007, Klute’s debut for Friction’s Shogun Audio label ‘Revolution/Most People are Dicks’ showed his love of Detroit techno and reminded us he knows only too well how to work the dancefloor. His latest LP, ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes,’ gives the fullest representation of his sound yet, however, taking the listener through a spectrum of styles. From the sinister and brooding bass heavy opener, ‘174 BPM,’ to the sublime and soothing sounds of ‘Our Leader,’ Klute has crafted an album where every track sounds unique yet all sound unmistakebly like Klute.
Klute kicks off 2008 with a busy dj diary and new single on Commercial Suicide titled 'Helloween' / 'Electric Circus'.
Equally at home whether playing at a Metalheadz night or mixing liquid styles with the Soul:r camp, Klute always brings a fresh and varied selection with the same high energy levels as his productions are known for. Never one to be pigeonholed, Klute’s sets cross styles as well as challenge boundaries and always please the dancefloor. So far this year he’s played gigs all over the UK and Europe as well as tours in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia to include Japan, Korea, China, and even Vladivostok and has shown no signs of stopping yet.
commercialsuicide.org | press section | back