Cevin Key

cEvin Key (born Kevin William Crompton, February 13, 1961) is a Canadian musician and founding member of the industrial music band Skinny Puppy. In addition to his work with Skinny Puppy, Key has had several side projects, including Doubting Thomas, Cyberaktif, and Hilt. He was also at one point a drummer and song-writer for synthpop group, Images in Vogue. After Skinny Puppy disbanded in 1995, Key's main project was electronic noise group Download, as well as some solo releases. He also embarked on a side project with Phil Western, PlatEAU, and continued his project Tear Garden with the assistance of the Legendary Pink Dots for new material released in the mid-to-late '90s. These post 1995 projects continue to this day. Key is the sole owner and operator of Subconscious Communications, "a California-based records label, musician collective, remix team, 32-track digital studio and analogue synthesizer collection".

Much of 2001-3 was spent on his own solo material, Music For Cats, The Ghost Of Each Room and The Dragon Experience, as well as an undertaking of an exclusive subscription-only music service entitled the From the Vault series—seven CDs of previously unreleased material from his various projects (Skinny Puppy, Download, Tear Garden, PlatEAU, and Hilt) Key also served as a drummer on ohGr's 2001 tour.

2004 brought about the reformation of Skinny Puppy for a new album, The Greater Wrong Of the Right, and they embarked on a worldwide tour that carried on into 2005. Work began underway for their next LP, Mythmaker, shortly thereafter, and was released in 2007.

Key worked on another From the Vault series for 2007–2008, before embarking on yet another Skinny Puppy tour. The releases included new, unreleased and re-released work by Download, Doubting Thomas, PlatEAU, Tear Garden, Hilt, and Skinny Puppy.

2009 saw Key working on new Skinny Puppy and also on several new albums by his existing side projects, as well as the creation of several new projects. Key collaborated with long-time friend and engineer Ken 'Hiwatt' Marshall on a project entitled Scaremeister, which focuses on "mini-scores" for television, movies and video games. Key also 'translated' through MIDI the musical works of a mythical, time-traveling creature known only as Bananasloth. Key is set to release the Beyond the Vault series of albums through Subconscious Communications, featuring several of his own side-projects as well as albums from new artists and friends he has come to admire in recent years. cEvin also went on a series of Download/platEAU-based DJ sets across America as well as Japan. In 2009, Key embarked upon the Skinny Puppy In Solvent See tour across the US. In 2010 a return to Japan for solo works as well as a full European Tour for Skinny Puppy for In Solvent See of which a live album was recorded for Metropolis records. 2011 Brought the release of the long awaited 14th studio album by Skinny Puppy, Handover. The fall of 2011, cevin began a new project for subconscious by going into Euro rack synthesizer manufacturing, starting with a rare license of an Oscillator and LFO from a defunct company called Plan B, Key redesigned the modules to be built by machine. Moving forward into 2012, Key is now working on new material for Skinny Puppy with eyes on a Tour for Handover and new ideas, as well as a new Download album, with planned live shows in 2012 in Russia and other countries.