Leæther Strip

Leæther Strip is a Danish musical project founded on 13 January 1988 by Claus Larsen. Its influence has been most felt in the electronic body music and electro-industrial genres. Leæther Strip was one of the earliest and most prominent acts on Germany's now defunct Zoth Ommog record label. For distribution outside of Europe, the music has been licensed to the U.S. labels Cleopatra Records and Metropolis Records. After the demise of Zoth Ommog in 1999, Larsen signed to Bloodline Records, which only released a single before also going out of business. In 2005, Leæther Strip signed with the Belgian-based label Alfa Matrix. On 3 June 2011 Larsen announced his split from Alfa Matrix in order to self-release future material.
History
According to founder Claus Larsen, "Leæther Strip is, and always will be, only him." Larsen was born on 13 November 1967 in Aalborg. He first released music under the name of Leæther Strip in 1989. However, his 1995 release G.A.W.M.U.S. (Getting Away With Murder U. S.) included two early demos from 1982 and 1984, with the latter forming the unknown beginning of the band according to an interview conducted with Claus Larsen. In 1991, Larsen created a side-project called Klute in which he also remained the sole member.
In 1994, Larsen changed the sound of Leæther Strip, with the release of a synthesized semi classical album. Conceived as a soundtrack to a fictional film, it was named Serenade for the Dead. The releases since then have reincorporated electronic dance elements, and have redefined Leæther Strip into what Larsen calls "symphonic electro".
Leæther Strip remained silent for several years after the release of the single Carry Me in 2000 and the official band website, which once contained a wealth of information regarding the project, was taken offline. In foreshadowing the return of his band, Larsen's remix of the band KiEw's song Graograman on the Diskette EP (2003) states at the beginning of the song, in a sing-song computer-generated voice, "Leæther Strip will return for more electronic mayhem". In an interview conducted late 2005, Larsen revealed that label issues, as well as personal concerns, caused the dormancy of the band during the 2000–2005 period.
28 October 2005 marked the official return of Leæther Strip with the EP release Suicide Bombers on the Alfa Matrix label. Claus Larsen opened a blog to inform fans of his current activities and progress on the project. A string of releases followed including the 2-CD album After the Devastation, and the 2006 EP releases Walking on Volcanos and Fætish. Also in 2006, Claus Larsen released a free song via his MySpace page, a remix of Frank Tovey taught me things. The song was subsequently downloaded over 10,000 times.
On 13 April, 2007, Leæther Strip released the album The Giant Minutes to the Dawn. It was made available in several editions, including a special limited edition box-set which includes the band's first DVD release. According to various reviewers, the album constituted the "true" return of the band to classic Leæther Strip form.
In a post to his MySpace blog made in late November 2008, Larsen announced his intention to develop a live show for a small run of exclusive engagements in 2009. Two shows took place in Denmark in April 2009, and Leaether Strip has been confirmed to perform at the Power Strip Festival in the USA and the Amphi Festival in Germany during Summer 2009.
Via a video teaser on YouTube Claus Larsen announced that the first Leaether Strip album, The Pleasure of Penetration, would be re-released as a remastered double CD set on 13 November 2007, Claus Larsen's birthday, under the title Retention n°1. The release is part of an ongoing box series through which Claus Larsen will re-release his complete back-catalogue via the Belgian label Alfa Matrix. Each re-release will have both the fully remastered version of the original album on disc 1 and on the second disc, a totally re-written and reinterpretation of some selected songs from the original album by Leaether Strip himself re-recorded with current technologies. The original track-list on disc 1 has been extended to 15 tracks with the addition of early 12" tracks and other rarities of the period.
Larsen's lyrics for Leaether Strip are often frank and direct, sometimes to the point of being hostile. Political songs include the anti-Nazi song "AEighty AEight" which contains the chorus "You are not human / You are not soldiers" as well as the song "Suicide Bombers" (On the Suicide Bombers EP) with its chorus question, "Who told you to die that way?" More frequently, Larsen explores his own personal issues in the same open fashion, resulting in many tracks that are simultaneously aggressive and introspective.
Larsen's husband and band companion, Kurt Grünewaldt Hansen, died on September 28, 2020, after a battle with cancer, aged 75.
Discography
Albums
1990 – The Pleasure of Penetration
1990 – Science for the Satanic Citizen
1992 – Solitary Confinement
1993 – Underneath the Laughter
1994 – Serenade for the Dead
1995 – Legacy of Hate and Lust
1996 – The Rebirth of Agony
1997 – Self-Inflicted
2005 – After the Devastation (2 CD)
2007 – The Giant Minutes to the Dawn
2008 – Civil Disobedience (2 CD)
2009 – Ængelmaker (2 CD)
2009 – Yes I'm Limited V (2 CD)
2009 – Hærværk
2010 – Seasons Change – I Don't
2010 – Mental Slavery (2 CD)
2011 – Untold Stories – The Melancholic Sessions
2013 – Serenade for the Dead II
2014 – Æscapism
2014 – Æppreciation
2016 – Spaectator
2018 – World Molæster
EP/single releases
1989 – Japanese Bodies – 12"S
1990 – Aspects of Aggression – EP CD
1991 – Object V – EP CD
1994 – Positive Depression – EP CD
1995 – Material – EP CD
1997 – Anal Cabaret: A Tribute to Soft Cell – EP CD
2000 – Carry Me – CDS – #38 DAC Top 100 Singles of 2000
2005 – Suicide Bombers – EP CD – #1 DAC Singles chart
2006 – Walking on Volcanos – EP CD – #8 DAC Singles chart
2006 – Fætish – EP CD – #3 DAC Singles chart
2008 – When Blood Runs Dark – Digital-only EP
2008 – Diægnosis – Digital-only EP
2008 – Living on Video – Single (Cleopatra Records)
2012 – Object ÆP
2012 – In Broken Homes / Paranoia nr. 13
2016 – Pleasure Boys – Single (Cleopatra Records)
Compilations
1992 – Penetrate the Satanic Citizen
1993 – Fit for Flogging
1995 – Double or Nothing (2 CD)
1995 – Getting Away With Murder: Murders from 1982 to 1995
1996 – Best of Leæther Strip
1997 – Retrospective
2005 – Satanic Reasons: The Very Best Of (2 CD)
Limited releases
1992 – Yes, I'm Limited – EP CD
1996 – Yes, I'm Limited Vol. II – #29 CMJ RPM Chart
1998 – Yes, I'm Limited Vol. III (2 CD) – #15 CMJ RPM Chart
2005 – Æftershock – CDS (available only with the After the Devastation limited box edition)
2006 – Hælloween – EP CD (available only with the Fætish limited box edition)
2007 – The Hourglass – EP CD (available only with The Giant Minutes to the Dawn limited box edition)
2008 – One Nine Eight Two – CDS (available only with the Civil Disobedience limited box edition)
2009 – Yes, I'm Limited Vol. IV – EP CD (available only with the Ængelmaker limited box edition)
DVD releases
2007 – Watch – DVD NSTC region 0 (available only with the limited box edition The Giant Minutes to the Dawn)
Other releases
1997 – "X-Files Theme" (arrangement of Mark Snow) on Sci-Fi Cafe (Hypnotic – CLP 0097-2)
1999 – Serenade for the Dead (re-mastered) (2 CD)
2006 – After the Devastation (Limited 3 CD Special Bag Edition)
Limited edition of the double album includes: After The Devastation" Limited Edition 3-CD Box Set, "Evacuate Or Die", Double Sided Printed T-Shirt, Poster and Deluxe Bag, Matri-X-traX Chapter I and some postcards
2006 – Fætish (Limited 2 CD Box)
Limited to 2000 copies including "Hælloween" 5-track EP, some special fetish goodies (condom, button, postcards) and a booklet full of Leæther Strip fans fetish artwork.
2007 – The Giant Minutes to the Dawn (2 CD+DVD fan boxset)
Limited edition including "The Hourglass" EP, "Watch" DVD, the "Trust your instinct" T-shirt and some fan goodies
2007 – Retention no.1 (2CD)
Reedition of first album The Pleasure of Penetration (re-mastered) + The Pleasure of Reproduction which includes 2007 re-recordings of first album.
2008 – Retention no.2 (2CD)
Reedition of second album Science for the Satanic Citizen and EP Object V (re-mastered) + Science for the Satanic Spawn which includes 2008 re-recordings of both aforementioned releases.
2011 – Louis Guidone – Meet Your Maker – LGCD06 – Guest Vocalist
2013 – Vaylon – Primus (Digital Album Mastering)
2013 – Vaylon – A Part Of Me (Remix & Mastering)
2014 – Vaylon – Primus VIP Edition (CD Mastering)
2014 – Vaylon – Magnum Opus (Digital Album Mastering)
2014 – Vaylon – Magnum Opus – VIP Edition Part One (CD Mastering)
2014 – Vaylon – Magnum Opus – VIP Edition Part Two (CD Mastering)
2014 – Vaylon – Everything Glows (Digital EP Mastering)
Side projects
Klutæ – electro-industrial side-project, formerly known as Klute
Influenced
Cenobita
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft
Dunkelwerk
Fad Gadget
Hocico
Psychopomps
Suicide Commando
Wumpscut
See also
List of electro-industrial bands
References
External links
Strip Material – Fan Site : Strip Material | Leæther Strip / Klutæ / Sequential Access / Am Tierpark fan site
Official Label webpage at Alfa Matrix
Leæther Strip at MySpace
Discography of Leæther Strip at Discogs
[ Discography of Leæther Strip] at AMG
Interview at Chain D.L.K.
LIVE IN PARIS : Videodrom II – LEATHER STRIP
Electro-industrial music groups
Electronic body music groups
Danish industrial music groups
Danish musical groups
LGBT-themed musical groups
Danish LGBT musicians
Musical groups established in 1988
Metropolis Records artists
Re-Constriction Records artists
Zoth Ommog Records artists
Cleopatra Records artists