To Live Vicariously’, the sixth album by Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat, is Stef Heeren’sdefinitive goodbye to the drone folk of before. From now on, industrial synths and mechanical drums will spark in his music; as if The Soft Moon, Virgin Prunes and Throbbing Gristle jointly put together a Fad Gadget song.‘To Live Vicariously’ is a love triangle between post-punk, industrial and darkwave.
It’s an album, halfway between heaven and hell; that mesmerizes and is catchy, sounds warm and cold at the same time. ‘All tracks originated in the dark caverns of my mind’, Heeren smiles. ‘The result is dark, but Kwinten (Mordijck, synths) and Koen(Gisen, producer) made sure that the music would not sound too obscure. The end result should still be accessible for the listener.’
K.T.A.O.A.B.C is no longer a solo project; it’s a full-blown band. ‘I still decide on the final sound of the music, but the other band members can now provide input and influence my choices as well. And surrounded by these excellent musicians, I can just see the band growing.’ Stef Heeren and Kwinten Mordijck drew the first sketches of ‘To Live Vicariously’, Matthias Debusschere (bass, synth) and Jonathan Callens (drums) assisted in bringing colour to the tracks. ‘What’s more, it’s because of the band that the songs sound contemporary and not like a bad 80s copy.’ says Heeren. When Heeren unleashes his demons, cold sweat will spontaneously run across your back. ‘To Live Vicariously’ changes gear every ten seconds, it’s full of treacherous explosions and is by far the most punky album K.T.A.O.A.B.C. has ever made. He smirks: ‘My roots are in the punk scene. This album feels like coming home.’ ‘The fact that legendary anarchist punk band Crass is one of my major influences, reveals a lot about the content of these songs. When Koen, our producer, heard the title track for the first time, he yelled: ‘It’s like a revolution!’ That’s exactly the feeling we want to bring about in our listeners. ‘To Live Vicariously’ is an uprising in sound, but the music is both critical of society and hopeful in equal measure.’
Synths as sharp they could cut glass, drums that go for your head, your heart and your legs: ‘To Live Vicariously’ is an album that stays with you for hours. ‘The more people appreciate the music, the better. But I realise that it will never become mainstream.’ Stef concludes. And that’s OK. Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat has been a part of the underground scene for ten years now, and it’s still thriving.
