Over its four-decade career, Clan Of Xymox has become one of the most influential groups in the darkwave, goth, and Post-Punk scenes. Formed in Amsterdam in 1984. They were one of the mainstays of the acclaimed 4AD label and revered for their signature melancholic sound that was recognized by British radio icon, John Peel. The Darkwave Pioneers are ever-evolving and shedding light on the world around them.
2024 saw Clan Of Xymox release their 18th studio album entitled ‘Exodus’ along with an EP ‘X-Odus’ via Metropolis Records. Looking back on the bands’ most current releases, ‘Spider on the Wall’, ‘Brave New World’, ‘Big Brother’, ‘Limbo’, and now ‘Exodus’, every album seems to be a time capsule and/or a personal reflection of the current state-of-affairs. ‘Exodus’ is a continuation of this idea and dives into a darker side of what’s going on in the world today.
Ronny Moorings, the band’s founder and main singer/songwriter took some time for Torched to talk about the new album ‘Exodus’ and EP ‘X=Odus’, his thoughts on using A.I. musically and the interpretation of ‘Suffer’, off the EP ‘X-Odus’, along with Mojca Zugna’s deep impact and contributions over the years.. and more!
The precursor to the new album ‘Exodus’, Clan of Xymox released the digital single “X-Odus” with the B-Side “Suffer.” Both songs were celebrated with remixes by Traitrs, The Bellwether Syndicate, Curse Mackey, SINE, Jesus Complex, Principe Valiente and an extra project of Johann van Staal / Ronny Moorings with an A.I. Interpretation of the track “Suffer.” What is your reaction to the A.I. interpretation of the track “Suffer”?
Well, I got to the idea to do something with A.I. as it is an unknown territory musically for me. My friend Johann van Staal already experimented a lot with A.I. and prompts music and lyrics with certain programmes. He is not a musician but a banker and doesn’t know how to write music, not even a single note 😉 . This made it all the more interesting with what he was releasing under his own name and getting listeners on Spotify with it.
Since I wanted to have remixes I asked him if he could prompt his A.I. program for a remix. The results I didn’t like too much, but there were some interesting ideas lurking somewhere in the ghost of his machine.
I asked Johann to send me several files and I compiled a remix out of it. It was more laborious as I imagined and so A.I. has still much to learn, but I know it will be there soon on higher levels, even as we speak most likely.
What is your feeling on the remixes?
I LOVE all the remixes. They are such good quality and some remixes sound even better than the original. That is always the beauty of remixes. You let the track go and someone else interprets in another way or builds on the idea. All artists involved are seasoned craftsmen and women. I don’t think A.I can reach this type of level but never say never.
You have a Spotify account where you like to post playlists for people to listen to. What are a few of your current favorite bands?
Well, absolutely. There are tons of bands I like. Just look at the lists and you’ll find all current acts I like 🙂
Dark Wave : https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4cUAB8xGgtzJ6Zhc3NhZwy
Dark Wave / Gothic https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3EDZbxtpFEH18bhTSSadV2
Looking back on the bands most current releases, ‘Spider on the Wall’, ‘Brave New World’, ‘Big Brother’, ‘Limbo’, and now ‘Exodus’, every album seems to be a time capsule and / or a personal reflection of the current state-of-affairs. Is ‘Exodus’ a continuation of this idea?
Yes you can say that. It started right after the album Limbo when Russia invaded the Ukraine in the Donbas and tried to invade Kiew. I was shocked by this brutal show of force and the images coming into our homes about all the atrocities committed. I wrote at that time the song “ Save Our Souls “ (SOS) and wanted to raise the issue and help the victims. We just had a tour in the Ukraine in September 2021 in Kiew, Kharkiv and Odessa. All cities which were under fire by the Russians. So naturally I was shocked. Thinking about all the people we met being bombarded. Such horror. It felt unreal that this kind of brutality could happen this close to our home. So the album started to develop with these kind of images in mind. Also my genuine fear of a world at war. Everyone seems to be calling for blood. This world has truly lost its balance.
What was your inspiration behind ‘Exodus’?
Seeing so many people flee on a daily basis, being victims of states, armies, invading powers, megalomaniacs, dictators, populists. The ones being poor and vulnurable, having no choice but to flee. Wanting and hoping for peace but ending up in refugee camps when they are “lucky”. The whole world seems to be on the move lately. People hoping for a better future somewhere else and trying with whatever means they have to reach their goal. Thousands of people die in the process. That was the main inspiration behind X-Odus & Exodus because you cannot ignore what is going on and it affects everyones life. If you want it or not. The music just describes these feelings and my angst. I have no solutions for these problems in the lyrics and also all is not that direct. It has to remain poetic in my view.
Can you go into a few details on your creative process?
X-Odus came about when I was rehearsing the live songs and often I just doodle with my instruments inbetween breaks. I played the riff of X-Odus and felt immediately I needed to do something with it. I stopped rehearsing and started to record the ideas coming with this riff. The song was written in a few hours , lyric and all. With fleeing people in my mind.
In a previous interview, you mentioned that you like to “feel the atmosphere” before coming up with the lyrics for a song. Can you go into detail on this process?
Most of the time I start with the instrumentation of a new to be song, get some chords together and create an atmosphere or vibe to carry on writing in a direction off a song. The lyrics I get most of the time by being inspired by the music. Certain notes trigger certain emotions, at least that’s the way it works with me. The tempo will rule the further composition.
What was your inspiration behind the song ‘The Afterglow’?
The most beautiful thing we can have in our life and that is being intimate. That’s what the song is about, but also about the fact that maybe you should tell your loved one that each day is important to you being together. There’s a little pun in the lyrics as afterglow can also be interpreted as the period after the A bomb. Even the more reason to tell your loved one you found a home 😉
Mojca Zugna has had a deep impact on the band over the years. What has some of her greatest contributions been?
She started selling merchandise on our USA tour in 1991 on the Phoenix tour. When we moved from London to Amsterdam in the mid 90’s she started to play live keyboards with Clan Of Xymox. We did a short tour in the Netherlands . After that she said she liked playing the bass guitar better so she became the bassist in our band for the live shows since then.
She always made the artwork for Xymox and Clan Of Xymox from 1990. Her very first artwork was ” Metamorphosis ” when it was still an art to make things by hand. With Headclouds she started in the UK with the Apple and could create digitally. From there on she designs all on her computer. So she has now quite a catalogue of artwork behind her. I love her style, vision and interpretation of my music. The way she translates these feeling into visuals is a great accomplishment. She still loves to make artwork but also went seriously into photography which is noticeable on our latest artwork for Exodus and the single. When I write and record music I always ask her opinion because I value her taste in music. I also asked her to sing sometimes on a track but she will never sing it live as it is not her thing wanting to be in the limelight like that. She rather plays the bass she says.
What was your inspiration behind the single and video for ‘X-Odus’? (directed by Zoe Kavanagh)
I worked with Zoe already on several tracks like “ Loneliness” “She “Lovers“ and “Vixen In Disguise“. I love her style and since it was a while I asked her to make me a video it seemed the right track for her to do something with. She interpreted the track X-Odus as the board game. That is why it’s action-packed. This song you can interpret in several ways so this was also a fresh outlook on things.
If you could step into a time machine and go back to the origins of Clan Of Xymox, are there any obstacles or challenges that you would change that you feel hindered your growth as a band?
I don’t feel hindered by anything, would not change a single thing. I am very happy with what I achieved and my freedom to do still the thing I love the most : Creating and playing music.
Is there anything that I may have missed that you would like to share? Thank you for taking the time for Torched!
We are having our second leg of our USA /CND tour . Here are the dates
Sun, Sept 29 – Chicago IL @ Cold Waves Festival at The Metro
Tue, Oct 1 – Toronto ON @ Ground Control
Wed, Oct 2 – Montreal QC @ Cafe Campus
Thu, Oct 3 – Boston MA @ Middle East Downstairs
Fri, Oct 4 – Philadelphia PA @ Underground Arts
Sat, Oct 5 – Baltimore MD @ Ottobar
Sun, Oct 6 – Brooklyn NY @ Xanadu
We are really looking forward to this!
Best wishes,
Ronny Moorings
For tickets and tour information please go HERE.
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