With an avant-garde mood blending styles of industrial, gothic, metal, and darkwave, Circle of Dust is one of the ancestors of the modern day electronic/organic fusion.
New York native and musical mastermind Scott Albert (a.k.a. Klay Scott, Klayton) began composing rock music toward the end of the 80's, but his sound suddenly changed when a college roommate acquired a keyboard and sequencer. "The minute I saw and heard it work, I realized the countless possibilities this technology would create for me," Klay says. After some experimentation with gear of his own, Klay began to work with this new synthesized sound. "It wasn’t until I started really writing songs that I realized some important missing pieces," he explains. "I had forsaken organic instruments in place of more synthetic sounds for a time and I eventually concluded that I needed to find the right balance between the two."
And thus, Circle of Dust was born.
After signing a deal with a soon-to-be-defunct label called R.E.X. Music in 1991, Circle of Dust debuted with a full length self-titled album in 1992. However, Klay hates this album--mainly because of the quality of production and mixing.
Later in 1992, an album entitled "Mindwarp" was released under the pseudonym Brainchild. A year later in 1993, a remix album was released entitled "Metamorphosis" which included remixes of songs from Brainchild, Living Sacrifice, and Circle of Dust.
A few years later in 1994, the "Mindwarp" album was re-released under the Circle of Dust name, and was called, appropriately, "Brainchild."
The next Circle of Dust album appeared in 1995. This was only after legal problems were cleared up with R.E.X., as it was facing bankruptcy at the time (from which it finally collapsed). The album released was actually a newly mixed re-release of the debut self-titled album--minus three tracks ("Exploration," "Technological Disguise," and "Senseless Abandon"), but containing four new ones ("Onenemy," "Self Inflict," "Parasite," and "Bed of Nails"). Klay explains in the liner notes:
"Seven of the songs on this album originally appeared in different forms on the first Circle of Dust release in 1992. Due to more factors than I'd care to name, I wasn't satisfied with that first release. Some two-plus years later I was given the opportunity to rework and re-record the songs I thought were still relevant. These, along with a few new songs, comprise what I consider to be my first album.
Confused? So am I.
Scott"
After a three-year hiatus, Klay announced the final chapter in the saga of Circle of Dust which put it to rest forever. Released in March of 1998 on Flying Tart Records, "Disengage" captures sounds ranging from heavy synths perfectly melded with aggressive guitar, to mysterious ambient/darkwave soundscapes. Undoubtably the best and most diverse work to date, it is a masterpiece of industrial-metal music. Distinctly heard are Klay's combined skills as a musician, producer, mixer, and programmer. Combining an eclectic blend of musical elements to complement impressive vocal melodies, Circle of Dust has turned the world of electronic and metal music upside-down and inside-out.
With his impressive array of talents, Klay has emanated to other artistic outlets, as well. He did all of the artwork for "Disengage," as well as the graphics and design for the Circle of Dust website. Musically, his side-projects include Argyle Park (in which he used the pseudonyms Deathwish and Dred), a more experimental industrial project created by lyricist and singer Buka. His second side-project was Angeldust, another industrial-metal collaboration with magician Criss Angel. In addition, he produced, mixed, and remixed for bands including Klank, Chatterbox, Prong, and Living Sacrifice.
Recently, Klay has created a new project called Celldweller (a name he used as a producer), which focuses more on organic instrumentation (guitars, etc.) while still incorporating synthetic elements Klay is famous for. "...If I didn’t see Celldweller being any different from Circle of Dust, then I should have just continued with Circle. Initially, it was an exciting prospect to 'start over' with a new venture because this allows me to break away from all the stigmas of any of my previous works. What I did with Circle of Dust was ok at the time, but I couldn't see continuing within the genre or style Circle had been lumped into. Musically I am in a different place..." Full mp3s are available via mp3.com.
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