Bobby Krlic (born 20 December 1985), known by his stage name The Haxan Cloak, is a British composer, artist, music producer and musician. He has released two full-length albums (2011's ''The Haxan Cloak'' and 2013's ''

Excavation Excavation may refer to: * Archaeological excavation * Excavation (medicine) * ''Excavation'' (The Haxan Cloak album), 2013 * ''Excavation'' (Ben Monder album), 2000 * ''Excavation'' (novel), a 2000 novel by James Rollins * '' Excavation: A Mem ...

''). As a producer, Krlic has worked with artists including

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

Father John Misty Joshua Michael Tillman (born May 3, 1981), better known by his stage name Father John Misty, is an American musician. He is known for his satirical lyrics and eccentric performance style. Tillman began his career in Seattle in the early 2000s. O ...

Khalid Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal". It also appears as a surname.

Troye Sivan Troye Sivan Mellet ( ; born 5 June 1995) is an Australian singer-songwriter and actor. After gaining popularity as a singer on YouTube and in Australian talent competitions, Sivan signed with Universal Music Australia, EMI Australia in 2013 and ...

Goldfrapp Goldfrapp were an English electronic music duo from London, formed in 1999. The duo consisted of Alison Goldfrapp (vocals, synthesiser) and Will Gregory (synthesiser). Despite favourable reviews and a short-listing for the Mercury Prize, thei ...

serpentwithfeet Jonathan Josiah Wise (born July 9, 1988), known professionally as serpentwithfeet, is an R&B singer based in Brooklyn, New York City. Wise signed with the English record label Tri Angle (record label), Tri Angle to release his debut extended pl ...

and The Body. He has also composed several

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

s, credited under his real name, including

Ari Aster Ari Aster (born July 15, 1986) is an American filmmaker. After garnering initial recognition for the short film '' The Strange Thing About the Johnsons'' (2011), he became best known for writing and directing the feature films '' Hereditary'' (2 ...

's films ''

Midsommar ''Midsommar'' is a 2019 folk horror film written and directed by Ari Aster. It stars Florence Pugh and Jack Reynor as an American couple who are drawn into a violent cult in rural Sweden. Supporting actors include William Jackson Harper, Vi ...

'', ''

Beau Is Afraid ''Beau Is Afraid'' is a 2023 American surrealist tragicomedy film written, directed, and co-produced by Ari Aster. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix as the title character, and also includes a supporting cast consisting of Patti LuPone, Nathan Lan ...

'' and ''

Eddington Eddington or Edington may refer to: People *Eddington Varmah, Liberian politician *Eddington (surname), people with the surname Places Australia * Eddington, Victoria United Kingdom * Eddington, Berkshire * Eddington, Cambridge * Eddi ...

'', and the television series ''

Beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

'', ''Snowpiercer'', ''Angel of Darkness'' and ''

Reprisal A reprisal is a limited and deliberate violation of international law to punish another sovereign state that has already broken them. Since the 1977 Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions (AP 1), reprisals in the laws of war are extremel ...

''.

Early life and education

Krlic was born and raised in

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, England.Larry Fitzmaurice
“Rising: The Haxan Cloak,”

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

, 21 February 2013. He is of

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

descent. He studied music and visual arts at the

University of Brighton The University of Brighton is a public university based in Brighton on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achieved university status in 1992. T ...

.Nick Johnstone
“Interview: The Haxan Cloak,”
'' The Stool Pigeon'', 8 January 2013.

Music career

The Haxan Cloak releases

Krlic's first release as The Haxan Cloak was the ''Observatory'' E.P., landing as a cassette via Aurora Borealis on Halloween 2010. A year later, Krlic recorded his first album, ''The Haxan Cloak'', in his parents' shed using strings, mics and a laptop, playing every instrument himself. The second LP, ''

'', was released in 2013, and has a more electronic feel, using samples and heavy bass, along with distorted field recordings made by Krlic. In 2012, The Haxan Cloak released a limited edition, one track, 27-minute live recording, ''The Men Parted the Sea to Devour the Water'', as a part of

Southern Records Founded 1992 by John Loder, Southern Records is an independent record label (Loder also ran the recording facility Southern Studios). It is based in London and until 2008 had offices in the United States, France and Berlin. The label is clos ...

' Latitudes series. Krlic has also released remixes of songs by other artists under The Haxan Cloak, including

Foals A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foal is ...

and

Production credits

In 2014, Krlic teamed up with American sludge metal band The Body to produce their 2014 album ''I Shall Die Here''. In the same year he produced ''Victim'' by noise rock band

HEALTH Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

. Krlic also collaborated with

as a co-producer on her album ''

Vulnicura ''Vulnicura'' is the eighth studio album by Icelandic musician and singer Björk. It was produced by Björk, Arca and The Haxan Cloak, and released on 20 January 2015 by One Little Indian Records. Björk said the album expresses her feelings bef ...

'', released in January 2015. Since then, he has produced

's E.P. ''Blisters'',

's 2017 album ''

Silver Eye ''Silver Eye'' is the seventh and final studio album by English electronic music duo Goldfrapp, released on 31 March 2017 by Mute Records. The album's first single, "Anymore (Goldfrapp song), Anymore", was released to digital music retailers on 23 ...

'', ''Heaven'' by

Khalid Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal". It also appears as a surname.

from 2019's ''Free Spirit'', and by

's 2018 single ''

Animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...

.'' He also produced

's cover of ''Fallin' Rain''. and co-produced his 2020 singles ''To S. / To R''.

Scoring work

Krlic was invited by Academy Award-winning film composer

Atticus Ross Atticus Matthew Cowper Ross (born 16 January 1968) is an English musician, composer, record producer, and audio engineer. He is best known for his work with American musician Trent Reznor, with whom he first worked on the musical project Tapewo ...

to work with him on

Michael Mann Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American film director, screenwriter, author and producer, best known for his stylized crime dramas. He has received a BAFTA Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards as well as nominations for four ...

's film ''

Blackhat A black hat (black hat hacker or blackhat) is a computer hacker who violates laws or ethical standards for nefarious purposes, such as cybercrime, cyberwarfare, or malice. These acts can range from piracy to identity theft. A black hat is often r ...

'', which was released in 2015. In 2016, Krlic continued his work with Ross, co-scoring ''

Triple 9 ''Triple 9'' is a 2016 American heist action thriller film directed by John Hillcoat and written by Matt Cook. The film stars an ensemble cast featuring Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Anthony Mackie, Aaron Paul, Clifton Collins Jr., Norman R ...

'', directed by

John Hillcoat John Hillcoat (born 14 August 1961) is an Australian film director, screenwriter, and music video director. His early work includes the 1988 prison film '' Ghosts... of the Civil Dead'', as well as music videos for bands such as Siouxsie and t ...

, and the soundtrack to ''Almost Holy'', a documentary directed by Steve Hoover. In 2019, Krlic scored

's second feature horror film ''

'', for which Krlic won Best Original Score at the 2020

Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

. He also scored Ari Aster's following film ''

''. Within television, Krlic has scored a number of major network shows including TNT's ''

Snowpiercer ''Snowpiercer'' () is a 2013 Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic action thriller film based on the French climate fiction graphic novel ''Le Transperceneige'' by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand and Jean-Marc Rochette. The f ...

'' and ''Angel of Darkness'', Hulu's ''Reprisal'' Apple's ''

Invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory (country subdivision), territory controlled by another similar entity, ...

'', and

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

's ''

'' and ''Seven Seconds''. In 2020 he collaborated with

Swans Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometim ...

on a Halloween Pass of ''

Red Dead Redemption 2 ''Red Dead Redemption 2'' is a 2018 action-adventure game developed and published by Rockstar Games. The game is the third entry in the ''Red Dead'' series and a prequel to the 2010 game ''Red Dead Redemption''. The story is set in a fictiona ...

'' by

Rockstar Games Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, using the assets Take-Two had previously acquired from BMG Interactive. Foun ...

. In 2021 he scored

Playstation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

5's debut release ''

Returnal ''Returnal'' is a 2021 third-person shooter game developed by Housemarque and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5. A port to Windows developed by Climax Studios was released on 15 February 2023. It follows Selene Va ...

''.

Touring

In 2014, The Haxan Cloak toured the United States visiting Washington, DC, New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. He performed at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple along with

Robert Henke Robert B. Henke (born 1969) is a German computer music artist working in the fields of audiovisual installation, music and performance. He was born in Munich, Germany, and lives in Berlin. Coming from an engineering background, Henke is fascinat ...

and his music and light show, ''Lumière'', and in Los Angeles with Pharmakon.

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

called The Haxan Cloak's set "amorphous, ominous and immersive, a transcendent plunge into darkness and overwhelming pressure". The Haxan Cloak performed a solo show at

Manchester International Festival The Manchester International Festival is a biennial international arts festival, with a specific focus on original new work, held in the English city of Manchester and run by Factory International. The festival is a biennial event, first takin ...

in 2017. Bobby Krlic also joined

on her ''Vulnicura'' tour in the U.S (including The Governor's Ball in New York) and Europe.

Musical style

Krlic's music is almost entirely instrumental, and is often described as dark, carefully constructed, textured and atmospheric, with heavy bass and elements of drone metal. Of his albums, Krlic has said, "The first record was about a person's decline towards death, so this one's about the journey he takes afterwards." The name Haxan Cloak derives from the Swedish "häxan", meaning "the witch". ''Excavation'' was rated a 9 out of 10 by Spin, and an 8.7 out of 10 by Pitchfork, who also named it the 29th-best album of 2013. ''Rolling Stone'' named it the 16th-best dance album of 2013. ''Midsommar'' received wide critical praise including a 9/10 from ''The Line of Best Fit'', ranked 2 in Insider's Top 20 Best Movie and TV Soundtracks of The Decade, and critic Glenn Kenny of ''The New York Times'' stating that “The remarkable music score by Bobby Krlic aka The Haxan Cloak is also a major contributor to the uncanny feeling the movie creates. Top Stuff."

Awards

*2019: ''

'' – Nominee, Breakthrough Composer of the Year – International Film Music Critics Association *2020: ''Midsommar'' — Winner, Best Original Soundtrack –

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

: ''Returnal'' – Winner, Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition –

D.I.C.E. Awards The D.I.C.E. Awards (formerly the Interactive Achievement Awards) is an annual awards show in the video game industry, and commonly referred to as the video game equivalent of the Academy Awards. The awards are arranged by the Academy of Inter ...

: ''Returnal'' – Winner, Best Music –

BAFTA Games Awards The BAFTA Games Awards or British Academy Games Awards are an annual British awards ceremony honouring "outstanding creative achievement" in the video game industry. First presented in 2004 following the restructuring of the BAFTA Interactive En ...

*2022: ''Returnal'' - Nominee, Best Original Video Game Score -

Personal life

Krlic moved from London to Los Angeles in 2015. As of 2016, he resides in the Silver Lake area.

Discography

Albums

Extended plays and Singles

Film soundtracks

Television and video game soundtracks

Songwriting and production credits

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Haxan Cloak, The 1985 births Living people 21st-century English composers 21st-century English male musicians Alumni of the University of Brighton Dark ambient musicians English electronic musicians English emigrants to the United States English film score composers English male film score composers English male television composers English people of Serbian descent English record producers English television composers English video game composers Musicians from Wakefield