SCHKEUDITZER KREUZ
Schkeuditzer Kreuz is Dystopian Electronica from the Blue Mountains in Australia - one human and some machines, making noise, in the face of it all. Live electro industrial crust punk created out of the wreck of the plague year twenty twenty and spiraling darker ever since. The human element of SK has been playing stringed instruments in punk bands since the days when the world had happiness and hope. Since the decline there has been a building of greater affinity with machines making the creation of SK inevitable.
"S.K. is that fantastic intersection between crust punk and hard industrial synth… This band is doing something way different for extreme genres, it’s also amazingly original and heavy as hell"
- Devil's Horns Zine
"...At what point in our lives to we agree to take part in the performance of human society? As SCHKEUDITZER KREUZ‘s beats rain down on me like hammers from the sky and the buzz and hum of “Ratchet”‘s melody interferes with my brain waves, I think about that point where I lost who I really was to the game of getting along with everyone else so I could grasp at feelings of being safe and cared for. To be honest, it wasn’t a game I was great at, but now I’m starting to understand that this doesn’t indicate some deep flaw in me."
“…listening to the chaotic sounds of industrial synth crust // d-beat raw synth punk multi-machinist SCHKEUDITZER KREUZ perfectly captures the disgust and fear I felt watching the country descend into yet another Libs vs Cons debate… On “Second Life,” he samples soundbites from the dizzying and disorienting media bullshit that follows a mass shooting, chanting “Another one dead / and another one fucking dies”!”
Joy is the single and a killer choice, and also a clear indicator of the mammoth progression/step up on this album, the samples, and the synth work/programming is just wild, robotically entrancing and so apocalyptic. Sometimes you just need an animated and gloomy electronic sledgehammer to your face; well at least I do.
“New South Wales-based artist Schkeuditzer Kreuz (alias Kieren Hills) unleashes a ferocious reworking of the track, combining dark, abrasive post-industrial influences with DIY punk. Difficult to pigeonhole musically, Kieren defines the Schkeuditzer Kreuz sound as “D-Beat Raw Synth Punk” – also the name of an EP from earlier in 2021. This cover is dissonant static, an eerie voice cutting through the din and scratches; a disembodied Big Brother.”
DOWNLOADS
If you close your eyes and stick your headphones on, you’re going to be afraid. If you read the lyric sheet, you’re probably going to feel disturbed too. Isolated And Alone is a heavy brooding self-abusing slab of darkness that seeps menacingly over an arid soundscape, enveloping all in its path.
MUSIC
No Life Left LP LP
Released on 25/08/2023
“Album of the year, believe it! Schkeuditzer Kreuz is the king… What an album, one for the ages, one for the savages, the dancey, the punks and the goths and anyone else that wants to join the party. But an intense, action-packed and tremendous album, and one that is one of this year’s best.”
Second Life: No Life Left Remixed
Released on 03/12/2023
Remixes from No Life Left by
Distruster (distrustergnt.bandcamp.com
Max Rael www.maxrael.net
Creassault creassault.bandcamp.com
Non-Bio non-bio.bandcamp.com
Crash-Scan crashscan.bandcamp.com
Isolated and Alone LP
Released on 14/12/2021
“Taking the politics and fury of d-beat and anarcho-punk, then blending them with treated vocals, harsh industrial synths and queasy dance-punk rhythms, Isolated And Alone is a terrifying yet enjoyable journey into the darkness of dehumanised, repressive society"
4ZZZ
Second EP
Released as 7" Vinyl
05/05/2021
“If Swedish and Japanese punks got stuck in a German aircraft carrier with a bunch of electronic equipment and pieces of metal to bash, it might end up like this”
Inner City Uprising
Give Me Nothing EP
Released 23/09/2020
It is punchy and doesn’t pull any punches about the state of society in general but then it just wouldn’t be punk if it didn’t have something to say. Should you ever get the chance to see Schkeuditzer Kreuz live, take it. The experience will blow your mind
Onyx Music Reviews
D-Beat Raw Synth Punk EP
Released 05/05/2021
“If Swedish and Japanese punks got stuck in a German aircraft carrier with a bunch of electronic equipment and pieces of metal to bash, it might end up like this”
Inner City Uprising
Reviews
“There’s nothing nice about Schkeuditzer Kreuz and that is the intention… If you close your eyes and stick your headphones on, you’re going to be afraid. If you read the lyric sheet, you’re probably going to feel disturbed too. Isolated And Alone is a heavy brooding self-abusing slab of darkness that seeps menacingly over an arid soundscape, enveloping all in its path… you are sucked into a blackened metallic world of pain, fear, genocidal awkwardness and vexation… There’s no signs of spring, no green shoots appearing through the cold ground. Schkeuditzer Kreuz is a bleak, deathly and desolate project.”
– Louder Than War (UK)
“Should you ever get the chance to see Schkeuditzer Kreuz live, take it. The experience will blow your mind.”
– Onyx Music Reviews (Australia)
“The album is a perfect example of how to make dark, menacing industrial music with gothic and d-beat hardcore elements. The music has real edge to it that makes it feel almost dangerous… If I had to pick a single word to describe the album it would be 'ominous'. It feels like the music you're hearing is preceding something terrible, something that is coming your way that cannot be stopped or avoided… Somehow despite making a release that comes across as being so harsh and abrasive, there is still plenty of catchy industrial rhythm flowing throughout the album… There is something for all types of industrial fan on this album. Whether you like fast paced high energy rhythmic tracks, dark ominous offerings or poundingly heavy/harsh tracks it’s all here.”
– Cave Dweller Music (USA)
“Taking the politics and fury of d-beat and anarcho-punk, then blending them with treated vocals, harsh industrial synths and queasy dance-punk rhythms, Isolated And Alone is a terrifying yet enjoyable journey into the darkness of dehumanised, repressive society. Imagine the drum machines from John Foxx’s icy electro classic Metamatic turned up to eleven, combining with the squalling electronics of Throbbing Gristle or early Cabaret Voltaire and you get some idea of the maelstrom that awaits. The musical outlet for crust/hardcore specialist Kieren Hills, Schkeuditzer Kreuz is electronic punk that details his industrial influences, allowing it to soundtrack post-Covid western society in a manner that reflects our sense of hopelessness and disorientation… It will never be mistaken for an easy listen – it’s challenging and even nightmarish – but Isolated And Alone sounds emotional and vital despite its synthetic elements.”
– 4ZZZ FM (Australia)
“Dust-dry, tough and extremely dirty... It is immediately evident that this is a reaction to the mental strain caused by the protracted lockdown in Australia. As if encouraged by nothing but hopelessness, this mixture of d-beat and synth-punk chugs stoically through unadorned, raw tracks that convey their fairly manageable variance as an expression of absolute sincerity…”
– Sonic Seducer Musikmagazin (Germany)
“New South Wales-based artist Schkeuditzer Kreuz (alias Kieren Hills) unleashes a ferocious reworking of [State Violence State Control], combining dark, abrasive post-industrial influences with DIY punk. Difficult to pigeonhole musically, Kieren defines the Schkeuditzer Kreuz sound as “D-Beat Raw Synth Punk” – also the name of an EP from earlier in 2021. This cover is dissonant static, an eerie voice cutting through the din and scratches; a disembodied Big Brother.”
– Post-punk.com (USA)
“Although he’s best known for playing punk, grind, hardcore (etc) with many bands while living around NZ, Australia, and Germany over the years, most notably Sydney hardcore band Dark Horse for the past decade… Schkeuditzer Kreuz is a much more industrial influenced project: dark, harsh, abrasive, and apocalyptic, addressing issues around mental ill-health, isolation and alienation, and Kieren’s general sense of despair at the current state of the world.”
– Underdog Fanzine (Germany)
“Australia continues to set the standard for extreme music, pretty much year after year. This one-man assault declares this premise perfectly… The album from start to end is a raging beast of a release… S.K. is that fantastic intersection between crust punk and hard industrial synth… This band is doing something way different for extreme genres, it’s also amazingly original and heavy as hell… an essential purchase.”
– Devil’s Horns Zine (Australia)
Contact
Schkeuditzer Kreuz music is created on the land of the Dharug and Gundungurra people