IAMX is the solo music project of Chris Korner, founded by him in 2004. At that time, Chris was already known as the founder and member of the British trip-hop group of the 90s. (based in Reading) Sneaker Pimps, which disbanded shortly after IAMX was formed.
Interestingly, the name "I am X" is associated with the name of the first Sneaker Pimps album "Becoming X": according to Chris, by the time he created his own project, he had gone through a long stage of "becoming" and turned into "X", i.e. into something that can change just like the value of a variable in an equation.
How IAMX started
This stage began at Korner in childhood. The musician claims that his uncle had a great influence on his formation as a creative person, introducing him to the world of musical underground when Chris was only six or seven years old. Uncle not only let him listen to music, but also taught him to perceive the deep meaning of each song, its subtext. Even then, Korner realized that he wanted to become an independent artist and began the path to creating his own project.
IAMX got its start in the UK, but since 2006 it has been based in Berlin, and since 2014 in Los Angeles. In an interview, Chris explains moving as something necessary for self-development and creativity: getting new sensations and cultural experiences brings him inspiration. It is very important for him to feel that he does not stand still.
At the moment, IAMX has eight albums, entirely written and produced (except for the fifth, which was produced by Jim Abiss, famous for his work with the Arctic Monkeys) by Korner himself.
They are distinguished by a wide variety of both musical genres (from industrial to dark cabaret) and the themes of texts (from texts about love, death and addiction to criticism of politics, religion and society as a whole), however, such features as expressiveness and eccentricity slip in each song. Integral to the musical part of the project are lighting effects, bright visuals, outrageous costumes and scenery, as well as Chris' artistry and provocative image.
According to Chris, IAMX has never been, and never will be, focused on becoming a major label, as he is repelled by the idea of investing a large sum of money into a project to "impose" the listener. The artist is convinced that mass character does not mean quality, quite the contrary.
"To me, major labels and music are like crap like McDonald's and food." Although it is difficult for musicians to avoid commercial topics, it is worth it, because, according to Korner, this way they remain independent, and their work remains sincere, free and uncompromising.
Glory Time IAMX
So, IAMX's debut album "Kiss and Swallow" was published in Europe immediately after the creation of the project, in 2004. It included a lot of audio compositions prepared for the fifth, unfinished Sneaker Pimps album.
In support of the album, Korner embarked on an extensive tour of Europe and the United States. The countries visited also included Russia (only Moscow). During this tour, the live line-up of IAMX changed several times.
The second, already full-fledged, album "The Alternative" was released 2 years later, in 2006. In the USA, like "Kiss and Swallow", it was released in 2008.
The IAMX live line-up on the second album tour was already solid, with Janine Gebauer/since 2009 Gesang/ (keyboards, bass and backing vocals), Dean Rosenzweig (guitar) and Tom Marsh (drums) forming it.
This line-up remained unchanged until 2010, when Alberto Alvarez (guitar, backing vocals) and, for only six months, John Harper (drums) took over from Rosenzweig and Marsh.
The latter was replaced by a MAX drum machine programmed by Korner. In 2011, Caroline Weber (drums) joined the project, and in 2012, Richard Ankers (drums) and Sammy Doll (keyboards, bass guitar, backing vocals).
Since 2014, the lineup has been as follows: Jeanine Guezang (keyboards, backing vocals, bass guitar), Sammy Doll (keyboards, bass guitar, backing vocals) and John Siren (drums).
Subsequent albums continued to be released every two or three years: Kingdom of Welcome Addition in 2009, Volatile Times in 2011, The Unified Field in 2013.
After moving to the USA, in 2015, the sixth album, Metanoia, was recorded. It is notable for the fact that four tracks from it were featured on the ABC series How to Get Away with Murder. The audience liked them so much that the creators of the series used IAMX songs in the future.
For example, in the fourth season of How to Get Away with Murder, the track "Mile Deep Hollow" from the eighth album, released in 2018, Alive In New Light, is played. In this example, it should be noted that the episode with this track aired in November 2017, and the track itself aired in January of the following year.
The seventh album "Unfall" was released in September 2017, just a few months before the publication of "Alive In New Light". By such a short interval between the release of two full-length albums, one can judge the veracity of Korner's words in an interview: the artist claims that he cannot just sit still without studying or inventing anything, since his mind is hyperactive.
Chris Korner's Health Issues
In an interview, Chris shared his psychological problems that he had to go through before creating the eighth album with a symbolic title. For three or four years, Korner "overcame the crisis" - he struggled with burnout and depression, which, among other things, influenced his work.
The artist claims that at first it seemed to him that this condition would soon pass, and he would be able to cope with mental problems on his own, but after a while he realized that in the treatment of the "mind", as well as in the treatment of the body, one must rely on medicine and doctors. The first step in such a situation is to seek help and arm yourself with patience.
Korner notes that he is glad to gain experience in overcoming depression, and that this is almost “the best thing that can happen to an artist”, because thanks to such a test, he had a reassessment of values, new attitudes appeared, the desire to create was in full swing.
