The Kleptones
The Kleptones are a one-man English electronic music act fronted by music producer and DJ Eric Kleptone. They are best known for their Internet-exclusive mashup albums. Typically, Eric Kleptone mixes rock/R&B instrumentals with rap and hip-hop vocals in a style that is "fun... and often surprising".[1] Both his name and the group's name are parodies of the famous guitarist Eric Clapton, and a play on the fact that he is a "klepto of tones" (that is, he "steals" others' music).
The Kleptones | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Brighton, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Experimental, mashup |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Website | Kleptones.com |
| Members | Eric Kleptone |
History
The group's first release was a mix of Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots by The Flaming Lips with hip-hop/rap vocals and various soundbites from television programs and movies entitled Yoshimi Battles the Hip-Hop Robots.
A Night at the Hip-Hopera was the group's breakthrough and most highly acclaimed album, fusing Queen's rock music with rap vocals and many soundbites from movies and other sources. On 8 November 2004, Waxy, the main site that was mirroring A Night at the Hip-Hopera, received a cease and desist notice from the Walt Disney Company for illegal sampling of songs by Queen, similar to the banning of DJ Danger Mouse's The Grey Album.[2]
From Detroit to J.A. was created originally for the radio program The Rinse on XFM, and was originally broadcast on 23 January 2005. Subsequently, it was released as an internet-only album, which fused R&B instrumentals with pop, rap, and R&B vocals.
In mid-2005, Eric Kleptone was awarded the Webby Award for Artist of the Year by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, who stated he had "taken the art of mash-up to a new level" and become "a global sensation".[3]
In 2006, the group released 24 Hours, a double length album. The release of 24 Hours was preceded by three EP length releases, EP1, EP2 and EP3. Each EP was available for download for a limited time—EP2 replaced EP1, and in turn was replaced by EP3. EP3 itself was removed when 24 Hours was released.
In May 2006, the Creative Commons-licensed film project A Swarm of Angels announced the Kleptones as soundtrack producers.[4]
In late 2006, Eric Kleptone was invited to speak at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, as half of "The Pirate and the Suit", a head-to-head discussion with EMI Music vice-Chairman David Munns.
On 7 December 2006, Eric Kleptone posted a podcast, titled Hectic City on the Kleptones' blog, stating that the intention is to make it a weekly release. The podcast contains mash-ups by the Kleptones, and other artists.
In early 2008 the group released Live'r Than You'll Ever Be - Bestival 2007, a live album containing a recording of their show at Bestival, in the Isle of Wight, on Saturday 8 September 2007.
On 1 January 2010, Uptime / Downtime was released. One preview of the album, the track "Voodoo Sabotage" was released on the Kleptones blog a few weeks prior to release. Later that year, on 9 August 2010, a collection of B-sides and tracks that didn't make it onto an album, Shits & Giggles was released.
On 28 January 2018 a new EP, "COUNT-IN (1234)" was released.[5] On 25 April 2018, The Kleptones announced via their mailing list that a new album would be released later in the year and preceded by four mixtapes.[6] On 18 October 2018, the first of these albums, OV, was released through their mailing list after an experimental release, in which random subscribers received tracks from the album and were asked to compile the album together, was unsuccessful. The second part, LO, was released through the mailing list on 11 February 2019, after a similar experimental release. The third part, ER, was released 18 February 2020; the experimental release system was bypassed and the final album was sent directly to subscribers.
Discography
Remix albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Yoshimi Battles the Hip-Hop Robots |
|
| A Night at the Hip Hopera |
|
| From Detroit to J.A. |
|
| 24 Hours |
|
| Uptime / Downtime |
|
| Shits & Giggles |
|
| OV |
|
| LO |
|
| ER |
|
Live albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Live'r Than You'll Ever Be - Bestival 2007 |
|
Extended plays
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Never Trust Originality |
|
| EP1 |
|
| EP2 |
|
| EP3 |
|
| COUNT-IN (1234) |
|
Singles
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Madonna Is a Breeder"/"Material Cannon" | 2002 | Non-album singles |
| "Bling Crosby" | 2003 | |
| "Bo Rhap" | 2004 | |
| "Careless or Dead" (Bootie version) | 2006 | 24 Hours |
| "Jump You Fucker" | 2010 | Non-album single |
Mixtapes
| Title | Mixtape details |
|---|---|
| HC01 - Funk Hop & Electro Rock[7] |
|
| HC02 - A String Quartet Tribute To The Kleptones[8] |
|
| HC03a - Best Of 2006 Part 1 "Hip-Hop Started In Ipswich"[9] |
|
| HC03b - Best Of 2006 Part 2 "Sounds For The Festive Vortex"[10] |
|
| HC03c - Best Of 2006 Part 3 "If There's A Glitch, You're An Ostrich"[11] |
|
| HC04 - Live At Wired Magazine Second Life Office Launch Party[12] |
|
| HC05 - Live At Glastonbury 2010[13] |
|
| HC06 - Leaving Here[14] |
|
| HC07 - May Daze[15] |
|
| HC08a - Best Of 2008 part 1 "Songs For Magic Feet"[16] |
|
| HC08b - Best Of 2008 part 2 "We have the machine ready fi dem"[17] |
|
| HC08c - Best Of 2008 part 3 "La Blouse Piscine"[18] |
|
| HC08d - Best Of 2008 part 4 "My boss has the imagination of a gnat"[19] |
|
| HC08e - Best Of 2008 part 5 "Burned In A Feathering Pyre"[20] |
|
| HC09 - Rough And Ready On The Plinth[21] |
|
| HC10 - Once Upon A Time In The Seventies[22] |
|
| HC11 - Moombahtronica[23] |
|
| HC12 - No Wrong Show[24] |
|
| HC13 - Walking Under Ladders[25] |
|
| HC14a - M3B part 1 "A Massage From The Swedish Prime Minister"[26] |
|
| HC14b - M3B part 2 "Stop That, It's Silly…" |
|
| HC14c - M3B part 3 "I'm Sorry, I'm Going To Have To Shoot You" |
|
| HC15 - Paths To Graceland[27] |
|
| HC16 - Lucem Diem[28] |
|
| HC17 - Tenebris Noctis[29] |
|
| HC18 - Absolute Elsewhere[30] |
|
| HC19 - Tightening Up[31] |
|
| HC20 - Azimuth Divider[32] |
|
| HC21 - Liquid Oxygen[33] |
|
| HC22 - Electromagnetic Radiation[34] |
|
| HC23 - Occipital Vapour[35] |
|
References
- "New stuff from The Kleptones". Wired. 25 March 2006.
- Baio, Andy (17 November 2004). "Disney Suppressing the Kleptones". waxy.org. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
- Webby Special Achievement Awards Archived 3 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- Doctorow, Cory (9 May 2006). "Kleptones join Swarm of Angels film project". Boing Boing. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
- The Kleptones (28 January 2018). "New EP "Count-In (1234)" and TWO new Hectic City mixes for YOU!". Kleptones mailing list. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (25 April 2018). "Announcement of upcoming releases". Kleptones mailing list. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (7 December 2006). "Hectic City mixtape 1". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (17 December 2006). "Hectic City mixtape 2". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (23 December 2006). "Hectic City 3a – Hip-Hop Started In Ipswich". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (30 December 2006). "Hectic City 3b – Sounds for the Festive Vortex". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (7 January 2007). "Hectic City 3c – If there's a glitch, you're an ostrich". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (18 January 2018). "Rewriting History". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (18 January 2018). "Rewriting History". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (22 January 2007). "Hectic City 6 – Leaving Here". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (28 May 2007). "Hectic City 7 – May Daze". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (31 December 2008). "Hectic City 8a – Best of 2008 mixes". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (1 January 2009). "Hectic City 8b – We have the machine ready fi dem…". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (4 January 2009). "Hectic City 8c – La blouse piscine". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (6 January 2009). "Hectic City 8d – My boss has the imagination of a gnat". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (7 January 2009). "Hectic City 8e – Burned In A Feathering Pyre". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (12 August 2009). "Hectic City 9 – Rough & Ready On The Plinth". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (1 November 2010). "Hectic City 10 – Once Upon A Time In The Seventies". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (8 November 2010). "Hectic City 11 – Moombahtronica!". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (21 November 2010). "Hectic City 12 – No Wrong Show". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (28 February 2012). "Hectic City 13 – Walking Under Ladders". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (5 May 2012). "Hectic City 14 – M3B: Mega three-hour mix". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (28 June 2012). "Hectic City 15 – Paths To Graceland". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (27 March 2016). "Hectic City 16 – Lucem Diem". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (30 July 2016). "Hectic City 17 – Tenebris Noctis". Hectic City blog. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (28 January 2018). "New EP "Count-In (1234)" and TWO new Hectic City mixes for YOU!". Kleptones mailing list. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (28 January 2018). "New EP "Count-In (1234)" and TWO new Hectic City mixes for YOU!". Kleptones mailing list. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (28 January 2018). "An upcoming release announcement for you". Kleptones mailing list. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (28 January 2018). "Incoming mixtape announcement". Kleptones mailing list. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (28 January 2018). "Venonta mixtape-anonco!". Kleptones mailing list. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- The Kleptones (28 January 2018). "Mixtape advenientis denuntiatio". Kleptones mailing list. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
