Experimental Synth-Pop
Fullerton, California, USA

Pivot Clowj was one of two experimental synth-pop outfits comprised of southern Californians Jon Sonnenberg and Rob Gutschow. The duo described Pivot Clowj as its darker, more experimental side, while its other major project, House of Wires featured a similar, but somewhat more accessible, sound.

The outfit first released a cassette-based album, creatively titled The Fish Who Could Swallow the Sea, in 1994. Recorded with assistance from Claude S. of secular synth-pop outfit Anything Box, some tracks, including “Division” and “The Aging Faucet,” featured a fairly accessible, club-friendly sound comparable to Love Assembly or early Mad at the World, while the piano-driven “Mind on a String” and quirky “Clench” hinted at the downtempo, experimental direction that the band was headed in.

The duo recorded songs for several compilations and remixed tracks for early Flaming Fish Music bands Cybershadow and Red Sector One before finally releasing their second full-length album as Pivot Clowj, It's Not as if It Were the End of the World…That Was Yesterday, in late 1998. The album's style was much darker than its predecessor and combined the minimalist synth-pop made famous by Joy Electric with the experimental/noise of Blackhouse or Anaphylaxis to create a unique, post-modern sound. Tracks best representing this fusion included the robotic “Malfunction,” “Havoc Man,” “Me Minus You,” and the epic “Sense (Parts 1-3).” Perhaps the most experimental number was “Inside,” a spine-chilling collage of looped computerized vocals and dark ambient synths that sounds like the Borg doing synth-pop. “Only,” “Holy Water,” “Love in Vain,” and “Drowning in the X-Pool (Archive),” meanwhile, feature a slower, droning sound.

Sonnenberg and Gutschow appear to have retired Pivot Clowj a short time later and focused mainly on House of Wires before disbanding around 2001.

1994 Independent

Jon Sonnenberg - Drum programming, sequencing, synthesizers, processing, vocals
Robert Gutschow - Live synthesizers
John K. - Sampling assistant
Claude S. - Recording consultant

1. Your Majesty
2. Division
3. Mind on a String
4. Doubting
5. The Aging Faucet
6. Clench
7. Division (Remix 1)
8. 16 Days
9. Pendulum Fever
10. Mack & the Fisherman
11. Dreaming

1998 Flaming Fish Music (FFMCD017)

Jon Sonnenberg - Synthesizer, flute, vocals, electric piece of elastic, Monotron
Rob Gutschow - Synthesizer, real time effects, sampler

1. Only (3:54)
2. Holy Water (4:50)
3. Malfunction (3:15)
4. Havoc Man (4:34)
5. Me Minus You (3:42)
6. Fair Warning (3:04)
7. Love in Vain (6:11)
8. Inside (3:00)
9. Drifting (4:34)
10. Autonomy (Extended Remix) (8:10)
11. Doubting (Rob’s Remix) (2:56)
12. Sense (Parts 1–3) (8:44)
13. Drowning in the X-Pool (Archive) (2:32)
14. Mind on a String (live) (4:16)

• Pivot Clowj on BandCamp