It's all surveys Nordic Combined imaginary, it's nordic skiing gathers all fantasy and it's all conjecture. That was the goal -- not to have something that you could see or hear or touch or smell. "When we started, the British pop charts were filled with American R&B and British bands singing about the reality of living in the U. K. ," Reynolds said. "And for us that held no interest whatsoever, because we don't feel like we want to represent our country, and we don't find music that talks about an experience that you can have walking down the street in an everyday situation very exciting. . "We just wanted to challenge the everyday dull, boring pop music that was out there at the time, and it worked. "It sure worked in England, where the Klaxons (from the Greek word meaning "to shriek") have become a big seller and major media presence in the nine months since their debut album, "Myths of the Near Future," came out. They'd actually made some noise even before signing with Polydor Records (in the U. S. they're on Geffen, which released the album here in March), generating attention with the independent singles they released not long after forming in late 2005. Guitarist Simon Taylor was studying art at Nottingham Trent University when he met Reynolds, and when they brought in singer-keyboardist James Righton, a friend of Taylor's, the chemistry clicked and the Klaxons were quickly in gear. They hit a high last month when the collection was awarded the Nationwide Mercury Prize.

The prestigious award, designed to recognize the best British album of the previous year, was widely expected to go to something much more real -- most likely Amy Winehouse, for her intensely personal R&B, or maybe a second time to last year's winner the Arctic Monkeys, for their documentary-like songs about living the U. K. So score one for fantasy nordic combined skiing Nordic Combined - wikipedia . And despite all their irreverent rhetoric, the Klaxons said they were genuinely touched by the acknowledgment. "We definitely set out to be a well-liked band," said Reynolds, 27 kikkan randall . "I've always been surrounded by people who have the hopes and dreams of being a successful band, and they play in bands for years and end up playing the same old circuits. "You watch people's dreams come and go and you watch people's hearts come and go, and that wasn't the situation we wanted to find ourselves in, spending our time running around hoping that everything was going to work out nordic biathlon . We wanted it immediately. "Disappearing actReynolds was phoning in his thoughts from the Denver airport recently, a few days after he dropped out of a Los Angeles interview with the band during its recent U. S tour nordic ski club . The Klaxons, like many other Brit sensations before them, are facing the uphill challenge of translating adoration at home to enthusiasm in the States. "Myths of the Near Future" has won over 30,000 converts in the U. S. , according to the Nielsen SoundScan sales monitoring service, leaving the group with room for commercial growth Nordic Combined . As the four musicians walked through the backstage catacombs at the Music Box Fonda on the afternoon of their concert there, Reynolds suddenly made a sharp left into a dark dressing room and collapsed on a couch. Taylor and Righton joked awkwardly about their slumbering leader as they and drummer Steffan Halperin continued on toward the Hollywood theater's second-floor patio. They quipped about psychotic episodes, but Reynolds' indisposition could be attributed to some heavy partying and jamming the night before. And you have to factor in the effects of the broken leg he suffered in July when he leaped off the stage during a performance in France Nordic Combined - wikipedia . You might not guess it from the sleek sound and catchy melodies of "Myths of the Near Future," but the Klaxons' live show is one of the most fearsomely aggressive in rock, with a genuine air of danger and unpredictability. Nordic Combined tickets "It seems you're kind of instigating this circus and it almost gets to a fever point where you wouldn't even need to be there to carry on the feeling," said the short-haired, athletic-looking Righton, 24 .