The Haxan Cloak

Bobby Krlic (born 1985), known by his stage name The Haxan Cloak, is a British composer, artist, music producer and musician. Over the past decade, Bobby Krlic has created music under The Haxan Cloak, releasing two full-length albums (2011’s "The Haxan Cloak" and 2013’s "Excavation").
As a producer, Krlic has worked with artists including Björk, Father John Misty, Khalid, Troye Sivan, Goldfrapp, serpentwithfeet, The Body, and noise-rock band HEALTH. As a composer, Bobby’s credits include "Midsommar" directed by Ari Aster, Michael Mann’s "Blackhat" (in collaboration with Oscar-winning composer Atticus Ross), Rockstar Games’ "Red Dead Redemption 2" (in collaboration with Swans) and major network television shows "Snowpiercer", (TNT) and "Reprisal" (Hulu).
Early life and education.
Krlic was born and raised in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. He is of Serbian descent. He studied music and visual arts at the University of Brighton.
Music career.
The Haxan Cloak releases.
Bobby Krlic’s first release as The Haxan Cloak was the "Observatory" E.P., landing as a cassette via Aurora Borealis on Halloween 2010. A year later, Krlic recorded his first album, "The Haxan Cloak", in his parents' shed using strings, mics and a laptop, playing every instrument himself. The second LP, "Excavation", was released in 2013, and has a more electronic feel, using samples and heavy bass, along with distorted field recordings made by Krlic.
In 2012, The Haxan Cloak released a limited edition, one track, 27-minute live recording, "The Men Parted the Sea to Devour the Water", as a part of Southern Records' Latitudes series.
Production credits.
In 2014, Krlic teamed up with American sludge metal band The Body to produce their 2014 album "I Shall Die Here". In the same year he produced "Victim by" noise rock band HEALTH. Krlic also collaborated with Björk as a co-producer on her album "Vulnicura", released in January 2015. Since then, he produced serpentwithfeet’s E.P. "Blisters", contributed numerous tracks to Goldfrapp’s album "Silver Eye", "Heaven" by Khalid from his "Free Spirit" LP, "Animal" by Troye Sivan, and Father John Misty’s track "Fallin’ Rain". in addition to co-producing "To S. / To R." released in 2020 via Subpop.
Scoring work.
Krlic was invited by Oscar-winning score composer Atticus Ross to work with him on Michael Mann's film "Blackhat" released in 2015. In 2016, Krlic continued his work with Ross, co-scoring "Triple 9", directed by John Hillcoat, and the soundtrack to "Almost Holy", a documentary directed by Steve Hoover. In 2019, Krlic scored Ari Aster’s sophomore feature horror film Midsommar for which Krlic won Best Original Score at the 2020 Ivor Novello Awards. Within television, Krlic has scored a number of major network shows including TNT’s "Snowpiercer" and Angel of Darkness, Hulu’s Reprisal and Netflix’s Seven Seconds. In 2020 he collaborated with Swans on a Halloween Pass of Red Dead Redemption 2 by Rockstar Games.
Touring.
In 2014, The Haxan Cloak toured the United States visiting Washington, DC, New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. He performed at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple along with Robert Henke and his music and light show, "Lumière", and in Los Angeles with Pharmakon. The New York Times called The Haxan Cloak's set "amorphous, ominous and immersive, a transcendent plunge into darkness and overwhelming pressure". The Haxan Cloak performed a solo show at Manchester International Festival in 2017. Bobby Krlic also joined Björk on her "Vulnicura" tour in the U.S (including The Governor’s Ball in New York) and Europe.
Music style.
Krlic's music is almost entirely instrumental, and is often described as dark, carefully constructed, textured and atmospheric, with heavy bass and elements of drone metal. Of his albums, Krlic has said, "The first record was about a person's decline towards death, so this one's about the journey he takes afterwards." The name Haxan Cloak derives from the Swedish "häxan", meaning "the witch".
"Excavation" was rated a 9 out of 10 by Spin, and an 8.7 out of 10 by Pitchfork, who also named it the 29th-best album of 2013. Rolling Stone named it the 16th-best dance album of 2013.
"Midsommar" received wide critical praise including a 9/10 from The Line of Best Fit, ranked 2 in Insider’s Top 20 Best Movie and TV Soundtracks of The Decade, and critic Glenn Kenny of the New York Times stating that “The remarkable music score by Bobby Krlic aka The Haxan Cloak is also a major contributor to the uncanny feeling the movie creates. Top Stuff."
Awards.
2020 Midsommar — Winner, Best Original Soundtrack – Ivor Novello Awards
2019 Midsommar – Nominee, Breakthrough Composer of the Year – International Film Music Critics Association
Personal life.
Krlic moved from London to Los Angeles in 2015. As of 2016, he resides in the Silver Lake area.