Some books have a profound impact on my life and work, and have been inspirational for many different reasons. This article is the first in a “Bookspiration” series of articles where I’ll be exploring some of these books and sharing why they are important to me. With each of these books I have felt somehow changed after reading them, as if I’ve integrated them and updated my operating system, providing a more evolved colour and shape to the world I sense around me.
And this first book really is a wonderful one to get us started.
In the late 1980s and early 90s, The KLF (aka The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, the JAMS, the Timelords, etc. etc.) burst onto the music scene with a fusion of electronic music, rave culture and anarchic performance art. Born in 1976, I was at the perfect age to experience their rise. I loved just about everything about The KLF and am old enough to remember Chill Out Rooms at Raves where some of their earlier more ambient pieces were played.
When they released The White Room, including “3 a.m. Eternal” and “Justified & Ancient”, while great, this was the start of the end for The KLF. They had never intended to become so successful, and had reluctantly become a part of the establishment that they had sought to subvert. They ended up hugely disrupting The Brit Awards in 1992 (find the video on YouTube) and went on to burn 1 million pounds in an effort to somehow eradicate that success.
But The KLF was way more than just a band; they were a cultural force that defied the norms of the music industry, culminating in their infamous decision to burn their money. After this, they declared a 23-year moratorium, vanishing from the public eye in a move that made them “The most successful band you’ve never heard of”.
The Discovery
My friend and DJ partner Rich (listen to our conversation here) bought me KLF: Chaos, Magic, and the Band Who Burned a Million Pounds as a birthday gift in 2015. Knowing my interest in music as well as unconventional creativity and philosophy, he got it just about right. A year later, in 2016, I had the chance to see John Higgs speak at The Good Life Experience about his next book Stranger Than We Can Imagine, which is a unique take on the movements of culture throughout the 20th century and has also been a big inspiration for me.
The Book
The book is more than just a recount of The KLF’s rise and fall; it’s an exploration of the strange and deliberately chaotic world they created. Higgs delves into the band’s philosophy, their use of chaos and discord as creative tools, and the deeper meanings behind their actions. The book covers their radical art practices, the deletion of their entire music catalogue and the decision to burn a million pounds as a protest against the commercialisation of art.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the book is its discussion of discordianism and its long lineage before The KLF. Discordianism is a religion that worships Eris, the Greek goddess of chaos and discord. As with all other discordian concepts, the religion is both real and a parody at the same time. Higgs explores how discordian principles and history influenced The KLF, intertwining their story within the broader context and its connections to various other infamous creatives. This includes figures like Robert Anton Wilson, Alan Moore, William Burroughs, Aleister Crowly, Carl Jung - all people who I already have more than a passing interest in. The book explores how these ideas of chaos, counterculture and subversive art impacted The KLF’s approach to music and life.
It also talks about their 23-year moratorium, during which they disappeared from the public eye, only to re-emerge in 2017 with new projects, continuing their legacy of defying expectations. The moratorium itself started in true discordian style with a contract written on the side of a car which was then pushed over the edge of a cliff.
The Inspiration
What I found most compelling about KLF was how it reconnected me with the band’s spirit and commitment to creativity on their own terms. I really enjoyed exploring what came before The KLF, how they have carried the torch in the discordian movement but were not the first and will definitely not be the last to carry it.
Higgs’ analysis transforms the KLF’s seemingly absurd actions into profound statements about art, commerce and existence. His writing style in this book also enjoys a good level of chaos itself, jumping between timelines and allowing creative tangents that only make sense later on as the pieces come together.
The band’s story reminds us of how true creativity often requires rejecting conventional wisdom and embracing the unpredictable. Some of the best projects I have ever worked on are those where typical methods simply don’t get you to the solution.
The Take Out
Investigating The KLF’s use of chaos as a creative force has given me more confidence, language and frames of reference for when it feels like its time for risk taking, or trusting in the unknown. I am better able to explain why something feels ‘right’ even when I don’t yet have the rationale locked in. The KLF’s commitment to their ideals, regardless of the consequences, serves as a powerful reminder that innovation often requires stepping outside the boundaries of what’s safe and predictable.
It also reminds us that doing this halfway will never be enough.
Conclusion
The KLF’s story remains a testament to the power of creative anarchy and its lasting influence on both culture and individuals like myself. Arguably, large parts of today’s creative world are missing this chaos, with work too refined, too consistent, following too many rules, trying to appeal to too many people… I feel incredibly fortunate to work with a lot of different people who enjoy a healthy dose of chaos in their daily lives.
Written by Russell
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