Cleric x Kmyle

Manchester, England

Beneath the Tangled Web of Lies

AmbientElectronic

Behind the Music

I have a fascination with people’s desire to disrupt and disregard standard norms, and the underlying motivations behind their actions. As an artist, I always strive to make music that’s a rebellious response to popular culture, and I find myself most inspired by other acts of defiance, which is why the chapter “The Rusty Kingdom” connected with me the most while reading The Outlaw Ocean. The idea of establishing a country in the middle of the sea deeply intrigued me, and was a source of inspiration for one of my tracks. 

My collaborators and I tried to convey the full arc of the chapter — building from the excitement and adrenaline of seeing your own ideas realized through the creation of your own country. At the same time, we allowed the music to flow and twist into a darker ambience, juxtaposing elements of trust and deception in the sound of the music.  As producers, we wanted to focus on the soundscapes telling the story, while certain key changes created a tone and set the scene.

In a way The Outlaw Ocean is a form of written rebellion as well — it’s a book that delves into some really important topics that are often neglected by mainstream media. This kind of factual, yet engaging writing is extremely important for the education of the reader. I hope people experience the book and are able to broaden their knowledge and are pushed to advocate for the topics Ian sheds light on.

Cleric x Kmyle
About Cleric x Kmyle

The mysterious Mancunian, known as Cleric, has been active within the music scene since early 2012. His full schedule has included multiple bookings at Berghain, Awakenings, Possession, MMA, Fabric and many more high profile venues and festivals worldwide. The U.K. producer’s creative output has been most prolific with an extensive amount of releases on labels such as Arts, Soma and Figure, but now tends to concentrate on his own imprint, Clergy, which has hosted the likes of Dax J, James Ruskin, Kwartz and Cleric himself. Celebrated for his high tempo groove and solid kick drums, Cleric describes his music as a means to translate energy to others. In 2019, we saw Jorden tour his first live set with bookings across many festivals, including Voltage, Luft Und Liebe, ADE and Instytut festival. Now, taking a short break from this project, he will be looking to tour a completely new live set from October 2020 onwards.

Winner of the 2021 Scripps Howard Award for Excellence in Innovation in Journalism

The Journalism behind the Music

All music in this project is based on The Outlaw Ocean, a New York Times Best-Selling book by Ian Urbina that chronicles lawlessness at sea around the world. This reporting touches on a diversity of abuses ranging from illegal and overfishing, arms trafficking at sea, human slavery, gun running, intentional dumping, murder of stowaways, thievery of ships and other topics.

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