Who? Sometime member of The Sneaker Pimps, now better known as IAMX. Englishman who moved to Berlin.
Why? While arguably a popular musician, Chris Corner represents a kind of dark integrity and craft not often found on the pop scene. Of course, it is an image like any other, and all images are about perception to a degree, but as a listener, you can't shake off the idea that Corner puts his money where his mouth is. It helps that he creates really fine tunes as well, simultaneously bombastic, seductive and pathos-laden as well as intimate and political. Truly, as William Blake said, the path of excess leads to the tower of wisdom. If I'm looking for an emotionally cathartic experience, Corner is very often one of the voices I'm drawn to.
What resonates with me? I discovered IAMX in 2009, and it was with me the entire time of my brief period I traveled back and forth to the UK, actually not very far from where he was born. Corner's utmost fragility in all his brutality, his hope couched in cynicism, resonate with me most strongly.
Best bit? Hard to choose. I would say it's a toss-up between the hopeless love anthem 'Mercy' and the breakdown confessional 'I am terrified'.
Why? While arguably a popular musician, Chris Corner represents a kind of dark integrity and craft not often found on the pop scene. Of course, it is an image like any other, and all images are about perception to a degree, but as a listener, you can't shake off the idea that Corner puts his money where his mouth is. It helps that he creates really fine tunes as well, simultaneously bombastic, seductive and pathos-laden as well as intimate and political. Truly, as William Blake said, the path of excess leads to the tower of wisdom. If I'm looking for an emotionally cathartic experience, Corner is very often one of the voices I'm drawn to.
What resonates with me? I discovered IAMX in 2009, and it was with me the entire time of my brief period I traveled back and forth to the UK, actually not very far from where he was born. Corner's utmost fragility in all his brutality, his hope couched in cynicism, resonate with me most strongly.
Best bit? Hard to choose. I would say it's a toss-up between the hopeless love anthem 'Mercy' and the breakdown confessional 'I am terrified'.
Next up: Mark Rosewater, Head Designer of 'Magic: the Gathering'.
