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KMFDM Hyena: new album, tour and merchandising.

ANNOUNCING THE NEW ALBUM! KMFDM “HYËNA”!!!­­
­­­KMFDM has forged its own singular path over the course of 38+ years, continuously refining and redefining the parameters of modern music, while also never missing the opportunity to address the social and political zeitgeist in brazen, belligerent, and boisterous fashion. HYËNA marks the 22nd studio album from the Ultra Heavy Beat, and what title could be more appropriate as the band laughs mockingly at the frayed and frantic state of world affairs? Driven by the vicious and virulent vocal onslaught of founder Sascha “Käpt’n K” Konietzko and Lucia Cifarelli, the aural and angular guitar wizardry of Andee Blacksugar, and the forceful percussive thrust of Andy Selway, HYËNA blasts through the speakers with the force of a napalm airstrike. From the hip-thrusting rock & roll swagger of “BLACK HOLE,” the in-your-face industrial/rock of “LIQUOR FISH & CIGARETTES,” and the funky hip-hop overtones of “ROCK’N’ROLL MONSTER,” to the punky thrash metal fury of “BLINDFACE,” the sardonic blackgrass whimsy of “DELUDED DESPERATE DANGEROUS & DUMB,” and the irresistibly danceable electro of “HYËNA” – KMFDM remains as vital as ever, never afraid to assimilate any musical style, all the while keeping the lyrical talons sharpened and poised to strike against any and all injustice.  Several members of the KMFDM family return to leave their indelible marks on HYËNA, like guitarist Jules Hodgson, rapper Andrew “Ocelot” Lindsley, and Bruce Breckenfeld on the Hammond B3. On top of that, Sissy Misfit appears to add a decidedly venomous digital hardcore flavor to “ALL WRONG – BUT ALRIGHT,” leaving Kumar Bent to close us out with the familiar yet fresh dub take on a KMFDM classic on “IN DUB WE TRUST.” HYËNA is a maniacal laugh in the face of maniacs who assume control, desperately trying to convince you that what you see, what you hear, what you read is not real – don’t you believe it! Nearly four decades on, KMFDM continues to keep it real for you as HYËNA proves to be among the group’s leanest and meanest efforts, feeding fuel to the fury!­­
HYËNA MEDIA AND MERCH AVAILABLE NOW! 

BRUTE! artwork for the Massive Attack/Mad Professor remix album

My illustration for the band has been gestating since I first signed on for the project over 5 years ago in which time several obstacles had to be overcome before its release. However, the band re-contacted me to renew communication after they invited me to see their show in Prague last year and the artwork proper began in earnest.
I suggested in my initial briefing with the band’s Robert Del Naja that a Jack Kirby-style cover would suit the nature of the release and I came up with a number of concepts before the idea of a super-powered Mad Professor blasting away at a horde of giant insects (referencing the Colorado beetle cover on the cover of their 1998 Mezzanine album) struck a chord and was completed in a couple of weeks.

Album available here: https://massiveattack.lnk.to/MadProfVinyl

KMFDM – PARADISE: Sketches and final art.

Final artwork. Inked by hand and colored in Adobe Illustrator

For the their new album, Paradise, KMFDM supremo, Sasha Konietsko, wanted an artwork that would inspire hope in a world torn apart by tribal rivalries and hatred. As both of us are family men, it seemed appropriate to create an image that would illustrate our state of mind concerning the future of our children and immediately this post-apocalyptic scene popped into my head. Hold them close, teach them well and maybe their generation can accomplish that which we did not.

Sketch one based on an idea by Sascha Konietsko. I originally saw it as a Mad Max-meets-Social Realism propaganda piece but, as the backstory to the scenario grew in my mind, I could see it becoming something more meaningful.

Secondary sketch. Still with the message of hope I wished to create fresh in my mind, I replaced the corny heroism for a quieter dynamic and tried to capture the relationship between father and daughter.

Third sketch. I decided to use a reverse symmetrical angle of the father and daughter to indicate the connection between this scenario and my earlier artwork for KMFDM’s Salvation album in which a young warrior rescues an unconscious woman from the ruins of a destroyed city.

In this initial pencil sketch, the main character had a bow, a knife and a pistol. These were all subsequently removed when Sascha and I agreed that they should be entering the future without weapons.

One of a series of alternative colour and background combinations. The sky in this version was considered too busy and replaced in the final illustration by a huge sun.

This image from the album, Salvation, ties in with the one from the Paradise cover in that the woman the young warrior rescues from the ruined city is the mother of his daughter in the new illustration

NEW!! KMFDM album, Hell Yeah!, drops.

There’s a back story to the image I created for KMFDM’s latest album, Hell Yeah!
Back in 1994, I’d just moved into a new house in West London, renting a studio nearby as a workshop. No sooner had I acquired the keys when I got a call from KMFDM supremo, Sascha Konietsko, who informed me that he had to have the artwork for the band’s new album, asap. I barely had time to assemble my desk before starting the process of creating the image.
Unleashing the hack within me, I copied my face and hand reflected in a shaving mirror, adding the buildings behind almost as an afterthought. Despite the amount of fine detailing, I finished the picture well within my deadline.

Rather than mail it ahead of time, I decided to dwell a while on what I’d drawn, subsequently realising how powerful yet negative the image was. So, using another layer, I drew a cable within reach of the falling man’s hand, offering him a way out (if he chose to take it).

Over the years, it has become one of the images I’ve become most known for. I’ve been approached by people and told that the illustration made them stop and contemplate their lives  before attempting suicide. Somehow, I’d accidentally created a piece of art that spoke to people in a way I’d never consciously considered during its creation.

Fast forward to 2016 and the news that KMFDM, once again, required a new BRUTE! cover.  As I’d just launched the Tweak app, my time had been spent spent absorbing related articles and videos while how our lives are being shaped by smart phone technology was a recurring topic.  During a phone call to Sascha, the idea of updating the Glory cover to address the  concept occurred to me and, over the next few days, I embellished the initial idea into a story of sorts.

I think it’s one of my best.