Leather Strip

Leæther Strip's aggressive, mostly electronic industrial recordings -- for Zoth Ommog Records in Germany and Cleopatra in the States -- are the work of one Claus Larsen (b. Nov. 13, 1967), a resident of Aalborn, Denmark. After playing in several metal bands during the '80s, he began recording as Leæther Strip in 1989 with the "Japanese Bodies" single, released on Zoth Ommog. Larsen issued two albums the following year -- The Pleasure of Penetration and Body Rapture -- in addition to an EP and another single. He was also busy in 1991, releasing the album Technopolis 2 and the EP Object V. After 1992's Technopolis 3, Leæther Strip's material gained a wider release in Europe through the Semaphore label, beginning with that year's Solitary Confinement. Larsen's first American release appeared in 1993, when Cargo released the best of his early recordings as Penetrate the Satanic Citizen. That same year, he recorded Cyberworld (for the Danish label Hardest) and signed to Cleopatra for a permanent American deal. Leæther Strip's first album for Cleopatra, Fit for Flogging, also appeared in 1993. His third album of new material that year was the German Zoth in Your Mind, and Larsen finished the incredibly prolific year with Underneath the Laughter -- released by both Zoth Ommog and Cleopatra. The following year, 1994, was a comparably relaxing one, as Larsen released only Melt (for the Finnish Cyberware label) and Serenade for the Dead. Leæther Strip's 1995 albums included one each for Zoth Ommog (Positive Depression) and Cleopatra (Legacy of Hate and Lust). As if his release schedule wasn't dizzying enough, Larsen also finds the time to record as Klute.