There’s something to the sound of Clan of Xymox that sticks with you the first time you hear it. That occasion might have been on MTV when the network decided to try to whet the public appetite with “Obsession” back in the late ’80s, or Vanderbilt student radio station 91 Rock’s devotion to the singles from 1989’s Twist of Shadows and 1991’s Phoenix. The moment could just as easily have been in “Last Scene,” the 1986 episode Paul Verhoeven directed for HBO’s neon noir series The Hitchhiker. There’s a mystery that leads to a nightclub, wherein you hear “Stranger” from Xymox’s self-titled first album. Even in the then-standard mono TV mix, the bass booms, and every aspect of the song — the cold swoop of the synth hook, the classical guitars, the enigmatic vocal — feels like a rift in the very fabric of space and time. This transmission from Planet Netherlands resonates across multiple levels, and it’s in that complex blend of sounds that one can trace the history of the Xymox project.
Treasured by the goth, darkwave, EBM (for the unfamiliar, that’s “electronic body music”), college radio and industrial communities, Clan of Xymox has weathered the vicissitudes of lineup shifts, radio whims and the collapse of the organized music industry. They remain to tell the tale, celebrating their 40th anniversary as a band this year. In advance of Clan of Xymox’s upcoming show at Eastside Bowl on Sunday, singer-guitarist Ronny Moorings — the only original member in the current lineup — spoke with the Scene. Also, check out a playlist of some of Xymox's finest work.
What’s the song you love playing live the most?
“A Day,” because it has been a cult club hit for a long time, and all our fans know this one inside-out.
From a purely technological perspective, is it easier to tour now? You’re able to store more sounds and sequences in smaller amounts of equipment than in the 1980s.
Yes, indeed. I remember the times that we had to ship over a container with live gear. That was my entire studio, with all the synths, keyboards, sequencers — and of course the guitars and everything else. Now you can do a lot with a MIDI keyboard and have all the keyboards as plug-ins in your MacBook. So much easier, indeed!
Adam Wingard’s 2014 film The Guest features several of your songs, to marvelous effect. When you see a film that uses one of your songs, how do you process the tension between approving a song for a film license and when you finally see how it’s used therein?
I love it when a film director thinks our music is suitable for a movie. Most of the time I get to see a snippet of the movie where it is used and the story line. So far I had never any trouble with the use of our music, and I certainly appreciate it as it is a welcome attention to the band as well.
As someone who’s had a CD of Phoenix for quite a few years, I have always wondered how exactly “Wild Thing” ended up in “Phoenix of My Heart.” It’s a remarkable feint that feels organic and perfect.
Yes — when I wrote the song, I noticed the chords in the end were perfect to include in this outro. I didn’t plan it, but it came spontaneously in the studio.
It still works, and it still feels liberatory and sneaky. What’s your preferred instrument for composing?
Keyboard and guitar. Most of the time I start with the keyboard and some basic programming before I grab a guitar.
How do you feel about remixing, both the act of and the art of doing so?
As long as there are not too many remixes, I am fine with it. It is fun to toy with someone else’s song and create something out of it. It’s a good way to trade remixes. Often I ask an artist to do a remix for me, and in return I make one for them.
How did the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic affect your preparations for this tour? I’m still in awe that you’re playing Nashville. If someone had told me back when “Obsession” was all over edgier local radio that we’d get the chance to see you here, I’d have doubted their sanity.
Here in Europe there is no talk about the “pandemic” or “COVID” anymore. Life is normal for quite some time now, luckily, and we do what we do with our lives as always. We have to still catch up with the postponed tours from this period, so a lot of dates are more cramped together, which we would normally not do. I hope in the U.S.A. also life is back to normal, and we can enjoy again touring in the States. We had to wait two years in order to come back again. But better late than never.
