Episode 1: Skye Klein (HALO, Terminal Sound System)

In this, the debut episode of Fatal Strategies, I talk to Skye Klein, the multi-instrumentalist behind Terminal Sound System and A Beautiful Machine (among other solo projects) as well as one-half of the long-defunct Relapse Records industrial/sludge/noise duo HALO.

Here, we talk about the evolution of his music over the past 25 years and how this has coincided with changes in technology—from 4-tracks to digital audio workstations, and from the days of MP3.com (and self-released CDRs) to the current “Bandcamp era.” We also talk about some of the thematic influences on the more recent Terminal Sound System—“this combination of spirituality, futurism, and New Age-ness [that’s] all very futurist and optimistic and looking towards a shiny future which somehow got corrupted at some point.”

LINKS

• antisound.net (Skye Klein’s website, with links to his various projects and related social media pages, etc.)

• Bandcamp links: HALO (also here) | Terminal Sound System | A Beautiful Machine

• 2013 interview with Skye Klein at Bass Vulgaris (archived)

• Another interview, this one from 2020 and focusing on A Beautiful Machine

• My 2003 interview with Justin Broadrick (referred to in the episode)

MUSIC CREDITS

All tracks by Terminal Sound System:

• “Whine”

• “Gridlike”

• “Clip Incident”

• “Mi Clatter”

• “To the Sun”

• “Stat”

• “Oceans”