About Cult With No Name

'Post-punk electronic balladeers' Cult With No Name, comprise the East London duo of Erik Stein and Jon Boux. Having been the first international signing to LA label Trakwerx in 2007 (founded by Jackson Del Rey of Californian punk legends Savage Republic), CWNN's first two studio albums - 'Paper Wraps Rock' and 'Careful What You Wish For' - have been met with considerable critical acclaim. Leading UK music journalist Mick Mercer proclaimed the band his discovery of 2007 (with both albums sitting in his subsequent annual top ten lists), Blaine L. Reininger of genre-transcending legends Tuxedomoon collaborated on their second album, Don Letts spun tracks on BBC6, and Brett Anderson (Suede) asked CWNN to open for him at the launch of his album 'Slow Attack'. Having provided the music for two blacker than black comedies at the Edinburgh Festival ('Moz and the Meal' and 'Bored Stiff'), it's fitting that Cult With No Name then turned their attention to cinema for their first DVD release, 'Lightwerx: The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari'. Cult With No Name's compulsive and compelling soundtrack extends their ability to instantly create evocative moods over 51 breathtaking minutes, on a journey that takes in mystical ambience, nerve-shredding distortion, popular and unpopular song, electronica, and vast, futurist soundscapes. In the fall of 2010, CWNN returned with their 4th studio album, 'Adrenalin'. From the haunting piano-led croon of 'This time (or any other)', to the grandiose choral washes of 'Make a list!', to the thundering faux-discaux of 'The All Dead Burlesque Show', 'Adrenalin' is simply a breathtakingly original song cycle. Building on their considerable achievements to date, and deftly hinting at everyone from Scott Walker to Sparks to Tuxedomoon (sometimes across a single song), CWNN have presented an album that's as much of interest for its lyrical wordplay as its musical dexterity. In 2012, Cult With No Name returned with their fifth and undoubtedly strongest album to date. 'Above as Below' showcases the duo at their lightest, darkest, most melodic, sardonic, nonchalant, bon vivant, serious and humorous. 14 tracks that span everything from pure synth-pop ('What's Certain'), to sweeping piano-led chanson ('Maitre D-Day'), swirling trip-hop ('Hope is Existence'), Black-American spirituals ('Shake Hands with the Devil'), and stark spoken word ('Losing my Elan'). 'Above as Below' has an illustrious supporting cast, including extensive contributions from Kelli Ali (Sneaker Pimps), Luc van Lieshout and Bruce Geduldig (Tuxedomoon), John Ellis (Stranglers, Peter Gabriel, Peter Hammill), and Meg Maryatt (17 Pygmies). Packaged in a deluxe fold-out letter-pressed sleeve, designed by world-renowned graphic designer Jonathan Barnbrook (David Bowie and Damien Hirst), Above as Below not only represents the pinnacle of CWNN's achievements, but stands alone as an innovative, addictive and enduring song-cycle. The band have continued to collaborate with Kelli Ali for her forthcoming solo album, 'Band of Angels'. In addition to their studio albums, the band have appeared on several compilations and have frequently collaborated with minimal techno artist Doudou Malicious. Erik Stein has also acted in several short films made by electronic music pioneer John Foxx as well as the 2011 short film 'Sonus', produced by Ridley Scott Associates. The band were nominated for the Exposure Music Awards in 2011, and have been commissioned by the likes of Olympus UK. ::www.cultwithnoname.com::