Xwayxway, Key's fifth solo album, will be released February 19th on Artoffact Records. "This album may be my most personal," says Key. On "Anger Is an Acid," Sneaker Pimps founder Chris Corner, also known as IAMX, lends his stunning vocals. Key states: "It was a collaboration that came from first just being friends. I had written the 'Anger' arrangement and sent it to Chris on a whim. I think it was over a year and a half later, he just one day said, 'Oh, I finished the idea you sent.' When I listened I was really blown away, of course."
As co-founder of Skinny Puppy, cEvin Key is renowned worldwide for his contributions to industrial music. Through Skinny Puppy, solo work, and numerous other projects, Key has dozens of releases to his name, spanning almost 40 years, and bears a reputation as one of the leaders who has shaped the genre.
A 2019 Pitchfork article on industrial music states: "Vancouver’s Skinny Puppy are the germinal group of 1980s industrial music, a revolutionary band that pushed the limits of their voices, bodies, and instruments in ways that are still fruitful 40 years later. Their sound came from two gems of 1970s UK underground, new wave synth pop and industrial experimentalism, and offered forth a string of jagged, lo-fi groovy singles that dominated alternative ’80s dance floors. Skinny Puppy also delivered to the masses two iconic musician/performers, cEvin Key and Nivek Ogre, whose powerful, shocking stage shows would define industrial of the decade."
The upcoming new album is named for Xwayxway (anglicized as "Whoi Whoi"), an indigenous village located in what is now Stanley Park in Key's hometown of Vancouver. Key discusses the meaning: "Growing up in Vancouver, Canada, we were many times in our lives taken to Stanley Park... I was surprised to hear only recently of a 3,000 year old village which stood on the spot of Lumbermen’s Arch, its history erased. This instantly explained the many enigmatic sensations, profound feelings, and visions I've had in the park. I truly believe this is something we should have been taught in schools so people would recognize the park sits on Salish land which to this day has never been ceded... I dedicate this album to the spirits of Xwayxway."
In addition to IAMX, the album includes guests such as Edward KaSpel (The Legendary Pink Dots), Otto von Schirach, and Tuvan throat singer Soriah. With such voices adding color, the album cruises through cinematic, industrial-techno soundscapes of Key's creation, ranging from the cold and ominous, to the soaring and ecstatic.
• All tracks written and produced by cEvin Key
• Recorded at Subconscious Studios, Vancouver, Canada
• Mixed by Greg Reely (tracks 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10), Omar Torres (track 4), cEvin Key (tracks 5, 8, 11, 12)
• Mastered by Greg Reely
Tracklist:
1) Thirteen
2) Night Flower (ft. Edward KaSpel)
3) Anger Is an Acid (ft. IAMX)
4) Orange Dragonfly
5) Thunderbird
6) Dark Trail (ft. IAMX)
7) Tomahawk (ft. Traz Damji)
8) Kullakan (ft. Soriah)
9) Watching You (ft. Edward KaSpel)
10) Sorry, I'm Going to Think Positive
11) Third Eye (ft. Otto von Schirach)
12) Resonance
Musical guests (a.k.a. The Electronic Subconscious Orchestra):
Edward KaSpel - vocals (tracks 2, 9)
IAMX - vocals, electronics (tracks 3, 6)
Traz Damji - electronics (track 7)
Soriah - vocals (track 8)
Otto von Schirach - vocals (track 11)
Dre Robinson - drum machine (tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11)
Guilherme Pires - electronics (tracks 1, 5)
Omar Torres - electronics (track 4)
Eric In Quantum - electronics (track 1)
cEvin Key solo discography:
Music for Cats (1998)
The Ghost of Each Room (2001)
The Dragon Experience (2003)
Brap and Forth Vol. 8 (2018)
Xwayxway (2021)
Skinny Puppy discography:
Remission (1984)
Bites (1985)
Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse (1986)
Cleanse Fold and Manipulate (1987)
VIVIsectVI (1988)
Rabies (1989)
Too Dark Park (1990)
Last Rights (1992)
The Process (1996)
The Greater Wrong of the Right (2004)
Mythmaker (2007)
HanDover (2011)
Weapon (2013)
Stream "Anger Is an Acid," and pre-order the album, here:
Stream on Spotify here.
