Moog’s Sonic Origins – The Haxan Cloak

Bobby Krlic approaches music and composition from a place of primal perception. Performing under the name The Haxan Cloak, Krlic crafts haunting soundscapes by harnessing the power of shifting air molecules into brooding, undulating waveshapes.

Shortly after co-producing Goldfrapp’s Silver Eye, the British synth mystic takes us into his Los Angeles home studio and weaves new aural patterns into a track called “Transposition #4”. During breaks on his balcony, he reflects on the sonic origins that have shaped his artistic identity, “the golden thing” that makes the goosebumps come, and the amniotic bliss of low frequency sounds. Watch the video for an intimate perspective on one synthesist’s roots and process.

“I set up the [synths] as such so one was Bass and then the other two were playing counterpoint melody lines. One sequence was seven notes, one was eight, and the Bass was a repeating seven-note pattern changing every four bars; I think this gave the piece comforting fluidity that was at the same time unpredictable.” Listen to “Transposition #4” in its entirety here.

Sonic Origins is a series that unearths the elements of artist identity. Watch the first installment, featuring Russell E. L. Butler, here.