Klimt 1918 is an

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media *Independent media, media free of influence by government or corporate interests *Indie art, fine arts made by artists independent of commer ...

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 from

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Italy. Founded in 1999 by brothers Marco and Paolo Soellner, the band is named for

Gustav Klimt Gustav Klimt (14 July 1862 – 6 February 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter and a founding member of the Vienna Secession movement. His work helped define the Art Nouveau style in Europe. Klimt is known for his paintings, murals, sket ...

and the date of his death in 1918. The musical style is a melancholic alternative rock with influences from other genres.

Biography

Klimt 1918 was started in 1999 by brothers Marco and Paolo Soellner, after the split of their former band, Another Day (a

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

act). Marco's newly discovered love for bands like

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...

and

Joy Division Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...

, led him to incorporate new influences in his songwriting. The next year, after completing the line-up with bass player Davide Pesola and lead guitarist Francesco Tumbarello, the band released its first effort, '' Secession Makes Post-Modern Music'', which was recorded by

Novembre Novembre (French and Italian for 'November') may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Novembre" (song), by Giusy Ferreri, 2008 * Novembre (band), an Italian heavy metal band * ''Novembre'' (film), a 2022 French film also titled as ''November'' P ...

's drummer, Giuseppe Orlando, a close friend of the band. The demo received good reviews from specialized press and caught the attention of My Kingdom Music, a newborn Italian independent label, with which the band signed a deal for two releases. Their debut full-length, ''

Undressed Momento Klimt 1918 is an indie rock, indie/alternative rock band from Rome, Italy. Founded in 1999 by brothers Marco and Paolo Soellner, the band is named for Gustav Klimt and the date of his death in 1918. The musical style is a melancholic alternative ...

'', came out in 2003; during the recording sessions,

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

player Francesco Tumbarello left the band, being replaced by

Alessandro Pace Alessandro Pace (born 20 May 1977), better known by his stage name Alex Vega, is an Italian musician and part-time DJ. Founder of the musical project The Foreshadowing, he was previously associated with the bands Dope Stars Inc. and Klimt 191 ...

, a well-known name in

's underground metal scene and a long-time friend of the band. ''Undressed Momento'' marked an evolution in Klimt 1918's sound, which became more melodic and emotional, losing part of its

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

heritage; the album received critical praise from reviewers all over Europe, and reached the first place in

Orkus ''Orkus'' is a monthly German music and culture magazine published by the Zoomia Media Group. Despite its subtitle ("Gothic - romantic - industrial - electro") and its web tagline ("Das Magazin fur Dark Rock-Electro-Gothic Rock-Dark Metal & More"), ...

' Top Chart. One year later, the band signed a new contract with

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

cult label,

Prophecy Productions Prophecy Productions is an international record label, founded in Germany by Martin Koller in 1996. It proclaims promoting "transcendental ..captivating music".

, and began working on a new full-length. ''

Dopoguerra ''Dopoguerra'' (''Post-war'') is the second full-length album by Italian alternative rock band Klimt 1918. It was released in 2005 on the German label, Prophecy Productions, which gave the band exposure outside their home country. Compared to the ...

'' was released in 2005 and featured a more mature and personal sound; the album was once again praised by both critics and press, and was supported by a European tour, the first for the band. The band said the album "was recorded during the hot summer 2004, with sound man/producer Giuseppe Orlando. The one-month session was long and difficult, but worked out better than anyone could have hoped."Klimt 1918 Myspace
/ref> Between September and October 2006, guitarist

left the band and was replaced by Francesco Conte, who made his live debut with the band on 21 October at

Prophecy Productions Prophecy Productions is an international record label, founded in Germany by Martin Koller in 1996. It proclaims promoting "transcendental ..captivating music".

' 10 years festival. The long-delayed follow-up to ''

'', called ''

Just In Case We'll Never Meet Again (Soundtrack For The Cassette Generation) #REDIRECT Just in Case We'll Never Meet Again (Soundtrack for the Cassette Generation) {{R from other capitalisation ...

'', was first released in Germany on 20 June 2008, being subsequently released worldwide on 23 June and in the U.S. on 24 June. In April 2009 the band released its first

videoclip A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to promote the sale of mu ...

Ghost Of A Tape Listener In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

, followed by a vinyl release of

Just In Case We'll Never Meet Again (Soundtrack For The Cassette Generation) #REDIRECT Just in Case We'll Never Meet Again (Soundtrack for the Cassette Generation) {{R from other capitalisation ...

and a

EP featuring a previously unreleased track, "Blackeberg 1981". In December 2016, a double album called Sentimentale Jugend was released. The first single of this album is "Comandante".

Style

Klimt 1918's sound can be described as

with roots in

avant-garde metal Avant-garde metal (also known as avant-metal, experimental metal, art metal and experimetal) is a subgenre of heavy metal music loosely defined by use of experimentation and innovative, avant-garde music, avant-garde elements, including non-stan ...

, featuring consistent

darkwave Dark wave, or darkwave, is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics and have been perceived as being dark, ro ...

and

post-rock Post-rock is a subgenre of experimental rock that emphasizes Texture (music), texture, atmosphere, and non-traditional song structures over conventional rock techniques. Post-rock artists often combine rock instrumentation and rock stylings wit ...

influences. The resulting blend is a melodic and melancholic

-based rock, combining thick

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...

-like rhythm-guitar riffs with

-esque atmospheres. Their recent output has consistently shifted towards

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

, featuring more emphasis on shoegaze and post-rock traits while abandoning entirely their former

influences.

Name

The name "Klimt 1918" is a reference to

and his year of death, 1918, which also saw the end of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. According to Marco Soellner, Klimt 1918's music features the same qualities of de-contextualization,

secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

and

post-modernism Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting the wor ...

found in

Klimt Gustav Klimt (14 July 1862 – 6 February 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter and a founding member of the Vienna Secession movement. His work helped define the Art Nouveau style in Europe. Klimt is known for his paintings, murals, sketc ...

's art. Year 1918 itself, in Marco's words, represents the definitive collapse of "

belle epoque Belle may refer to: People and fictional characters * Belle (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Belle (surname), a list of people * Southern belle, a stock character representing a young woman of the American South's upp ...

" values and a full transition to 20th century. The name may also be a tribute to

, which was originally named "Bauhaus 1919".

Members

* Marco Soellner - vocals, guitar * Francesco Conte - guitar * Davide Pesola - bass * Paolo Soellner - drums

Former members

* Francesco Tumbarello - guitar (2000–2002) *

- guitar (2002–2006)

Discography

* '' Secession Makes Post-Modern Music'' (self-produced demo, 2000) * ''

'' (My Kingdom Music, 2003) * ''

'' (Prophecy, 2005) * ''

Just in case we'll never meet again (soundtrack for the cassette generation) #REDIRECT Just in Case We'll Never Meet Again (Soundtrack for the Cassette Generation) {{R from other capitalisation ...

'' (Prophecy, June 2008) * '' Sentimentale Jugend'' (Prophecy, December 2016)

Notes

Sources

Marco Soellner's interview for Ver Sacrum webzine (Italian)Klimt 1918 at Sputnikmusic.com

External links

Klimt 1918 Official Website (English)Klimt 1918 Fansite (Italian)MySpace Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klimt 1918 Italian post-rock groups Musical groups from Rome