Leæther Strip

Leæther Strip
Leather Strip live 2011
Background information
Origin	Denmark
Genres	Electro-industrial, EBM
Years active	1988–2001 2005–present
Labels	Zoth Ommog, Cleopatra Records, Metropolis Records, Bloodline Records, Alfa Matrix
Members	Claus Larsen

Leæther Strip is a Danish musical project founded on January 13, 1988 by Claus Larsen. Its influence has been most felt in the electronic body music and electro-industrial genres. Leæther Strip was one of the earliest and most prominent acts on Germany's now defunct Zoth Ommog record label. For distribution outside of Europe, the music has been licensed to the U.S. labels Cleopatra Records and Metropolis Records. After the demise of Zoth Ommog in 1999, Larsen signed to Bloodline Records, which only released a single before also going out of business. In 2005 Leæther Strip signed with the Belgian-based label Alfa Matrix. On June 3, 2011, Larsen announced his split from Alfa Matrix in order to self-release future material.

According to founder Claus Larsen, "Leæther Strip is, and always will be, only him." Larsen was born on November 13, 1967 in Aalborg, Denmark. He first released music under the name of Leæther Strip in 1989. However, his 1995 release G.A.W.M.U.S. (Getting Away With Murder U. S.) included two early demos from 1982 and 1984, with the latter forming the unknown beginning of the band according to an interview conducted with Claus Larsen. In 1991, Larsen created a side-project called Klute in which he also remained the sole member.

In 1994, Larsen changed the sound of Leæther Strip, with the release of a synthesized semi classical album. Conceived as a soundtrack to a fictional film, it was named Serenade for the Dead. The releases since then have reincorporated electronic dance elements, and have redefined Leæther Strip into what Larsen calls "symphonic electro".

Leæther Strip remained silent for several years after the release of the single Carry Me in 2000 and the official band website, which once contained a wealth of information regarding the project, was taken offline. In foreshadowing the return of his band, Larsen's remix of the band KiEw's song Graograman on the Diskette EP (2003) states at the beginning of the song, in a sing-song computer-generated voice, "Leæther Strip will return for more electronic mayhem". In an interview conducted late 2005, Larsen revealed that label issues, as well as personal concerns, caused the dormancy of the band during the 2000 - 2005 period.