Biography
Claude S., who co-founded Anything Box, channels his darker impulses via the Diary. Whereas Anything Box pursues dancefloors through the lighthearted synth pop associated with Erasure and early Depeche Mode, the Diary conjures the spectral presence of gothic-rock luminaries such as Joy Division, the Cure, and Bauhaus. Forsaking Anything Box’s affinity for buoyant keyboards and buoyant tunes, the Diary channels resentment and emotional distress through brooding guitars paired with more measured, inward rhythms.
After Anything Box completed its 1993 tour, Claude S. began issuing material as the Diary. He handled every instrument himself on Page One, which appeared on Orangewerks—the imprint run by Anything Box—in 1995. That bleak, melancholy record differs from Anything Box’s earlier catalog in every respect except Claude S.’s coy vocals. Although the Diary’s reading of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart” marks a clear stylistic break from Claude S.’s prior work, the track nevertheless reaches back to Anything Box’s history: the band itself recorded the same song for a 1988 demo tape.
Page One never matched the audience response earned by Anything Box releases; it drew only Claude S.’s most devoted listeners and remained too somber for radio rotation or broader acceptance. Anything Box later adopted production approaches traceable to the Diary on its 1997 album Elektrodelica.
After Anything Box completed its 1993 tour, Claude S. began issuing material as the Diary. He handled every instrument himself on Page One, which appeared on Orangewerks—the imprint run by Anything Box—in 1995. That bleak, melancholy record differs from Anything Box’s earlier catalog in every respect except Claude S.’s coy vocals. Although the Diary’s reading of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart” marks a clear stylistic break from Claude S.’s prior work, the track nevertheless reaches back to Anything Box’s history: the band itself recorded the same song for a 1988 demo tape.
Page One never matched the audience response earned by Anything Box releases; it drew only Claude S.’s most devoted listeners and remained too somber for radio rotation or broader acceptance. Anything Box later adopted production approaches traceable to the Diary on its 1997 album Elektrodelica.
Albums
Singles
