IAMX turns a Corner at Complex

“It’s going to be a different show each night,” says IAMX (pronounced “I Am X”) frontman Chris Corner, speaking about the four Sunday evening performances at Complex in Glendale that are scheduled to begin Oct. 5. These will be IAMX’s first local shows since they sold out the Henry Fonda Theatre in May 2013.

Corner — who sings, writes, and plays guitar, synthesizer and keyboards — certainly has plenty of material to draw from. After recording three albums as a founding member of English trip-hop outfit the Sneaker Pimps, Corner created IAMX and has self-produced five albums of dark, romantic electro-pop: “Kiss & Swallow” (2004), “The Alternative” (2006), “Kingdom of Welcome Addictions” (2009), “Volatile Times” (2011) and “The Unified Field” (2013).

He also designs IAMX’s stage productions and costumes, and directs their videos. “I was a workaholic,” says Corner. “But I wasn’t aware of it until my body told me that, when I developed chronic insomnia and had what you’d call a nervous breakdown due to stress and insomnia last year. But I’m healing, and I’m happy to talk about it and be open about it. Everybody should be. It’s important.”

This forced IAMX to cancel their tour, and the shows at Complex will mark Corner’s first live performances in more than a year. “I’m also going to be doing something I’ve never done before,” Corner continues. “I’m going to focus on singing and playing some guitar, while using loop pedals. [IAMX member] Janine Gezang will be doing some backing vocals and playing keyboards. And there’ll be different guests each night.

“I love playing live with a full band and production because it gets intense and wild and it takes me to some psychologically unpredictable places. But this new, intimate set-up is an exercise in self-control. I’m trying to do something simple, but hint at the electronic nature. I’m going to play some songs that are quite emotionally charged, but with restraint and control, which will hopefully please people to a certain degree. I’m going to be reworking older material and playing things people like. They’re popular for a reason.”

This new presentation is a logical step in Corner’s sonic journey: “The first IAMX album was electronic because the songs were meant for the Sneaker Pimps, but the band dissolved and I had no money, so I had to make it in my bedroom.

“The more ‘organic’ — guitars, keyboards — elements became more integrated as I explored different genres,” Corner continues. “And playing live opened my ears to more rock-band music because I wanted to bring the power of a live performance to the records.”

Although IAMX’s first U.S. chart success came when “The Unified Field” single hit No. 23 in Billboard — and No. 8 on the Dance charts — in 2012, they’ve always had seriously dedicated fans, who raised enough money to make the entire “The United Field” album through crowd-funding in less than an hour.

“That was a seminal moment,” says Corner. “When I realized that the fans were committed, but also conscientious. By giving money when they don’t need to ‘cause they could just take the music, they understood they were actually keeping it alive. It gave me faith in the music industry again, because I think fans in the indie scene — as opposed to the big commercial scene — will be more willing to invest more in these projects.”

In fact, IAMX eventually received 800% more money than they originally asked for, which they used to create videos and fund the subsequent tour. This was partially because IAMX offered some unusual incentives — such as Corner’s offer to direct videos for four different artists — to donate. “Three of them were from L.A.,” says Corner. “Dorian Gray, who’s a solo artist; Debut, which is a collective; and Eleri, who’s a female solo artist. The other was a New York band called Ghostfeeder — but that became just an editing job — because we had to do all the rest in L.A.

“The visual side of things has always been part of my songwriting process,” Corner continues. “I grew up loving films before I got into music. Then I realized how a movie’s score can influence, and intensify, your emotional response to a film. I often come up with an image, and try to imagine what kind of musical atmosphere would I create for it that would paint an emotional picture. I sit down with a guitar or piano, immerse myself in that atmosphere, and finish the song.

“That sort of emotional free rein carried over into creating the stage presentation and the costumes, which is all very D.I.Y. — it’s not like Katy Perry, where there’s a designer for this and a stylist for that. And it’s why I started to direct our videos. The first one was in 2011 for ‘Ghosts of Utopia’ with Janine, naked under those veils. I wanted to reference the situation in the Mideast, without being heavy-handed.”

A pair of more recent videos will look familiar to Southern Californians. “We did ‘Come Home’ when we were on holiday two years ago,” Corner explains, “using locations like Bronson Canyon and the Batcave. I loved the contradiction of showing all that nature — with the Hollywood sign in the background.

“And we did ‘I Come With Knives’ in Joshua Tree. I love that place. There’s nowhere like it, so lunar and surreal. It made me feel about as spiritual as I could get.”

Aside from their own videos, IAMX’s music also appears in a variety of movies, video games, and commercials. “It’s always a bit awkward,” says Corner. “The best was when ‘Nightlife’ was used in the trailer for ‘We Are The Night’ [a 2010 German movie about three gorgeous female vampires] ‘cause it was sexy and titillating.

“The worst was when the Sneaker Pimps’ ‘6 Underground’ was used in a Heineken ad that was directed by [famous filmmaker] Wim Wenders. He had a guy riding a bike on a tightrope. I don’t know what that was about.”

Speaking of alcoholic beverages, IAMX also sells their own brand of wine from their German website. “I’ve always been a wineoholic,” say Corner. “And seven years ago — not long after I moved to Berlin — one of our managers was a German lord, whose family had been making wine for 600 years. So we put IAMX labels on a red wine made from German Sankt Laurent grapes and a white wine made from Riesling.”

While Corner still maintains a home in Berlin — in an old industrial building that he converted into a combination living, recording and rehearsal space — he and Janine have been living in L.A. since January. “I’d been coming to L.A. on-and-off for years,” says Corner, “and like many people, I had a love/hate relationship with the city. Mostly because I was touring, and stressed out from dealing with record company B.S. and all the plastic people.

“I never saw the real side until we came here on holiday. So when our last tour ended in L.A. a year ago, before I took my break, I decided to live and work here. I absolutely love it.”

Who: IAMX

Where: Complex, 806 East Colorado Blvd., Glendale.

When: Every Sunday in October: Oct. 5, 12, 19 and 26. Doors at 5 p.m., Show starts at 7 p.m.

Tickets: $20; 21 and over.

More info: (323) 642-7519, https://www.complexla.com.

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DON WALLER is a Los Angeles music journalist and Marquee contributor.