The Kleptones
| The Kleptones | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Brighton, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Experimental, mashup |
| Years active | 2002 – present |
| Website |
Kleptones |
| Members | Eric Kleptone |
The Kleptones are a one-man English electronic music group 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).
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.
Discography
Albums
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 |
|
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 |
|
Singles
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Madonna Is a Breeder" | 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 |
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
- ↑ Doctorow, Cory (9 May 2006). "Kleptones join Swarm of Angels film project". Boing Boing. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
