Reynolds, Righton and Taylor-Davies formed the band in New Cross, London, United Kingdom, in 2005 Their debut single, "Gravity's Rainbow" was released on 29 March 2006 as a 500 copies limited 7-inch vinyl, decorated by the band themselves. Their first first EP, Xan Valleys, was released on 16 October 2006, and contained their first two singles alongside some remixes.
Following the release of numerous 7-inch singles on different independent record labels, as well as the success of previous singles "Magick" and "Golden Skans", the band released their debut album, Myths of the Near Future on 29 January 2007. The album won the 2007 Nationwide Mercury Prize.
After headlining their first tour (the 2007 NME Indie Rave Tour), as well as playing numerous festivals and headlining tours worldwide, the band started working on their follow-up album in October 2007.
HMV describes Klaxons as "acid-rave sci-fi punk-funk", a phrase lifted directly from Tim Chester's Radar feature in NME, while their MySpace page touts 'Psychedelic / Progressive / Pop'. However, they are one of the isolated acts being referred to as 'Nu Rave', a genre term coined by Angular Records founder Joe Daniel, who released the trio's first single. Though the band's sound is decidedly art rock, they draw upon some less common influences - notably the rave culture of the 1990s, which they appropriate and redefine in a post-modern fashion. Their influences are perhaps most represented in their covers of rave hits "The Bouncer" by Kicks Like a Mule and "Not Over Yet" by Grace. Both tracks have since been released by the band, the first as part of a double a-side with "Gravity's Rainbow" in March 2006 and the latter as a single on June 25, 2007 titled "It's Not Over Yet".
While the band are consistently hailed as the defining act of the sparsely-populated Nu Rave movement, Klaxons have worked to avoid being typecast as champions of the disputed genre that may or may not exist. Indeed, it is questionable whether or not the style referred to as "New Rave" is even appreciably different from the older genre dance-punk. Even so, Klaxons member Jamie Reynolds expressed no regrets at the dubious honor, saying that "...it's great that it started as an in-joke and became a minor youth subculture"
Klaxons recorded a song All Rights Reversed with Chemical Brothers on their album We Are The Night(2007).
Totem on the Timeline
Klaxons Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lady Diana and Mother Teresa
At Club 18-30, I met Julius Caesar
Lady Diana and Mother Teresa
Signs, you know I see them all the time
Time, it's just a fraction of a sign
Unwelcome foreign hands are very hard to find
And hangmen also die in Famagusta's hive
Cerebella sitting on the totem timeline
Unwelcome foreign hands are very hard to find
And hangmen also die in Famagusta's hive
At Club 18-30, I met Julius Caesar
Lady Diana and Mother Teresa
At Club 18-30, I met Julius Caesar
Lady Diana and Mother Teresa
Signs, you know I see them all the time
Time, it's just a fraction of a sign
Cerebella sitting on the totem timeline
Unwelcome foreign hands are very hard to find
And hangmen also die in Famagusta's hive
Cerebella sitting on the totem timeline
Unwelcome foreign hands are very hard to find
And hangmen also die in Famagusta's hive
Cerebella sitting on the totem timeline
Unwelcome foreign hands are very hard to find
And hangmen also die in Famagusta's hive
Cerebella sitting on the totem timeline
Unwelcome foreign hands are very hard to find
And hangmen also die in Famagusta's hive
The lyrics to Klaxons' song "Totem on the Timeline" are complex, and can be interpreted in a number of ways. At their core, the song seems to be about the power of symbols and the way they shape our perception of the world. The opening lines of the song, which reference figures like Julius Caesar, Lady Diana, and Mother Teresa, immediately suggest the idea of historical memory, and the way that certain people become symbols of the past. At the same time, the repetition of these names throughout the song almost suggests a kind of absurdity, as though the very act of invoking them in this context is somehow meaningless.
The refrain of the song, which repeats the lines "Cerebella sitting on the totem timeline / Unwelcome foreign hands are very hard to find / And hangmen also die in Famagusta's hive," is perhaps the most cryptic part of the song. It's possible that "Cerebella" is a reference to a part of the brain, which could suggest that the song is exploring the way that symbols shape our thinking. The reference to "unwelcome foreign hands" could be seen as a commentary on xenophobia or nationalism, while the mention of Famagusta, a city on the island of Cyprus that was heavily involved in the conflict between the Greek and Turkish communities, suggests a connection to political violence.
Overall, "Totem on the Timeline" is a dense and challenging piece of music that invites multiple interpretations. The song seems to be exploring a number of related themes, including memory, symbolism, violence, and the power of the past to shape our perception of the present.
Line by Line Meaning
At Club 18-30, I met Julius Caesar
I have encountered famous figures throughout history at a holiday resort for young adults.
Lady Diana and Mother Teresa
I encountered Lady Diana and Mother Teresa in this same location.
Signs, you know I see them all the time
I constantly observe symbolic indications of events or messages.
Time, it's just a fraction of a sign
Time is a small piece of a bigger picture that contributes to symbolic meanings.
Cerebella sitting on the totem timeline
The cerebellum, a part of the brain important for coordination and timing, is positioned on a line of symbols representing ancestry or history.
Unwelcome foreign hands are very hard to find
It is difficult to identify outsiders or those who do not belong in a particular context.
And hangmen also die in Famagusta's hive
Even those who are responsible for death and punishment can experience mortality and suffering in oppressive environments.
Cerebella sitting on the totem timeline
The cerebellum remains in the same symbolic location despite the passage of time.
Unwelcome foreign hands are very hard to find
The difficulty in identifying outsiders persists.
And hangmen also die in Famagusta's hive
The inescapable afflictions of Famagusta's hive affect everyone, even those who contribute to it.
At Club 18-30, I met Julius Caesar
The holiday resort continues to provide encounters with historical figures.
Lady Diana and Mother Teresa
The same applies to Lady Diana and Mother Teresa.
Signs, you know I see them all the time
The constant observation of symbolic indications remains a central theme.
Time, it's just a fraction of a sign
Time's status as a small piece of a larger symbolic picture persists.
Cerebella sitting on the totem timeline
The cerebellum's symbolic position remains constant.
Unwelcome foreign hands are very hard to find
The difficulty of identifying outsiders continues to be emphasized.
And hangmen also die in Famagusta's hive
The song ends on the same note of the inevitability of mortality and suffering under oppressive conditions.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JAMES NICHOLAS RIGHTON, JAMIE OLIVER JACK REYNOLDS, SIMON LEE CAMPBELL TAYLOR-DAVIES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@tamahmed5058
What a classic. This takes me back to being 13!
@gabrielwillames
the time when android phones didn't exist XD
@Nice-hd4my
gabrielwillames actually they did....
@sebastian_ghoxt
This song is fantastic
@marcastos
I just feel like moving!!! Great song
@eatyourbrain7
me faz sentir falta da minha pré-adolescência
@rr-vv7tw
até a mim.
ainda curto o som em 2023😅
@shoegazer303
In May 2019 still a Masterpiece.. ❤
@cabrerabaez1519
Klaxons é foda
@gabrielwillames
d+