The Kleptones
London, England, United Kingdom | SELF
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The Kleptones – Uptime / Downtime [download page]
it might sound weird but this is a FACT
one of 2010's best and most important mashup projects is OUT NOW
knowing the release habbit of the mighty Kleptones
we might have to wait another 3-4 years for a new album
SO THIS IS A MUST HAVE FOLKS!!!
make sure to check out the Uptime / Downtime wiki page
where the fans are trying to complete the mashup puzzle
by identifying the elements of each mashup of the double album
here is our pick to make you move
The Kleptones – Can’t be Paranoid [mp3]
Garbage – Paranoid
Diana Ross – Upside Down
Genesis – I Can’t Dance - AudioPornCentral
If you're one of those who snobbishly declared that mash-ups are dead, you've probably been listening to the wrong ones. Seriously speaking, with folks like The Kleptones, that whole bastard pop scene is very much alive. And kicking I must say, for their latest double album release is a mash-up tour de force. Until something better comes along, I'd even dare to say that Uptime / Downtime raised the bar so high that I'm eager to see how it can be topped.
In the same vein (if not, greater) as 2 Many DJs' (aka Soulwax) seminal As Heard On Radio Soulwax Part 2, this album sees The Kleptones create some of the most fabulous combination in mash-up history. First part Uptime features a load of rocking & pumping madness that will leave you dancing & headbanging in sheer delight, while the second part Downtime offers a more chilled & introspective listening experience. Sample-spotters will also have a field day trying to make out the tunes being used, for this is more than just mere A+B mixing. The fact that the weaving in & out of tunes is so effortlessly executed it's almost psychedelic.
Like how we'd all try to figure out the secrets behind a magician's tricks, I too wondered how this is all achieved. But like what a wise man once said, you don't need to know how an air-con works in order to enjoy it. So just listen to this with an open mind & let yourself in to the world of The Kleptones. And trust me, it will be one heaven of a ride. - Rate Your Music
The Kleptones are fronted by Eric Kleptone, a DJ from the United Kingdom. They produce internet-only bastard pop albums. Typically, they mix rock/R&B instrumentals with hip-hop, rock and pop vocals, alongside cut-up spoken-word samples from a wide range of film, radio and television sources.
Their first release was the eclectic EP “Never Trust Originality” in 2002. This was followed in 2004 with “Yoshimi Battles The Hip-Hop Robots”, which blended the Flaming Lips music with rap vocals from hip-hop stars past and present.
Later that year they released what has now become their landmark release, “A Night At The Hip-Hopera”. Again using hip-hop vocals, this time The Kleptones mixed them with the music of Queen, and peppered the combination with a mix of film and spoken-word samples, critiquing the current state of the music industry. The album won the band legions of fans, a flurry of press activity and a legal threat from Disney, who, through Hollywood Records, own Queen’s catalogue in the USA.
The band entered 2005 by releasing “From Detroit To J.A.”, an album length mix created for James Hyman’s “The Rinse” show on XFM in London. Soon after, it was announced they were to be awarded the 2005 Webby Award as “Artist of the Year”, by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, who declared the band to have “achieved new critical heights” and to be “true internet renegades”. The band travelled to New York to collect the award at a ceremony in June of that year. - Last.fm
Discography
"Shits & Giggles"
"Live'r Than You'll Ever Be"
"From Detroit To J.A."
"Yoshimi Battles The Hip-Hop Robots"
"Uptime / Downtime"
"24 Hours"
"A Night At The Hip-Hopera"
"Never Trust Originality"
Photos
Bio
Mash-ups, Remix Culture, Bastard Pop, 21st-century audio collage, call it what you want, The Kleptones represent the vanguard of the next wave of music sampling. Copyright laws dictate that their work-to-date cannot be made legally available, so The Kleptones looked to the World Wide Web and released their work for free online, notching up over a million album downloads to date, from both their own site and mirror websites set up by enthusiastic fans.
The band hit their mark in early 2004 with "Yoshimi Battles The Hip-Hop Robots", which blended the hugely successful Flaming Lips album with rap vocals from hip-hop stars past and present. The feedback they received encouraged them to develop their sound, and later that year they released what has now become their landmark release, "A Night At The Hip-Hopera". Again using hip-hop vocals, this time The Kleptones mixed them with the music of Queen, and peppered the combination with a mix of film and spoken-word samples, critiquing and mocking the current state of the music industry. The album won the band legions of fans, a flurry of press activity and a legal threat from Disney, who, through Hollywood Records, own Queen's catalogue in the USA.
The band entered 2005 by releasing "From Detroit To J.A.", an album length mix created for XFM in London. Soon after, it was announced they were to be awarded the Webby Award for Artist Of The Year (joining other winners such as Gorillaz, Trent Reznor and The Beastie Boys) by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, who declared the band to have "achieved new critical heights" and to be "true internet renegades". The band travelled to New York to collect the award in person at a spectacular ceremony in June of that year.
In April 2006 they released a series of online EPs heralding the arrival of their next release - the double album "24 Hours", their most ambitious release to date, and one that has been universally hailed as "The first true mash-up concept album". The next two years saw the band touring far and wide, developing their live show to include performance artists, live cameras and video mixing documented on the Liver Than Youll Ever Be Album, which featured their 2007 set at Bestival in the Isle Of Wight.
Their 2008 US visit also saw them entering the world of public debate, as Eric from the band discussed the current state of online music and the right-to-sample head to head with David Munns, then Vice-chairman of EMI Music, as part of the OReilly Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco.
After a seemingly-quiet 2009, the band roared back to life, releasing their long awaited fifth album, Uptime/Downtime, at the stroke of midnight on 01/01/10. The double album has drawn plaudits from far and wide, and is being hailed as their best-to-date.
Following this, they debuted their new Audio/Visual show at Cargo in London in April, and spent the rest of the year touring the show and DJing across Europe, America and Brazil, pausing only to drop another album in August; the self-styled B-sides collection Shits & Giggles, comprising of new and previously unreleased tracks from across their career.
The band are currently planning their next album for a late 2011 release, but have a few other surprises to drop before then, and will be taking the Audio/Visual show on the road in Europe and America again this summer to debut some of their new material Watch out!
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