In Praise Of Walled Noise & The Female Form

Appearing early on in 2022 Worship, has been one of the more consistent, at times creative projects to appear from the walled-noise scene in recent memory. To date, it has just over forty releases to its name- these take in both stand-alone releases and splits. All of Worship’s work is themed around the celebration of the female form, with their release featuring often arty nude pictures of women throughout the ages- though these are never smutty or sleazy- purely celebrate the beauty, shape, power, and grace of womankind. It also stands as one of the most mysterious projects on the scene- with no one knowing who is behind it, or where they are from. I reached out via email for this rare interview with Worship

M[m]: When did you start getting into the more extreme sound side of things?

W I always gravitated towards music (and things) other than 'popular, happy or normal' ever since I can remember. I felt something stir inside me much more from hearing the sounds that emanated from the darker sides of life, compared to the annoying, crass, sterile, weak sounds that get pushed into the masses' ears.

M[m]: What was your first experience with walled noise?

W I had heard little bits and pieces from the early 2000s, and whilst I liked it and understood it, it did not really grab me too much. I preferred traditional dark ambient, the noisy noise of Merzbow, Masonna and the like, black metal and maybe the trad goth bands of the 80s and 90s.

M[m]: And was there a certain release or track that made you want to start creating your own ‘walls’?

W Following on from that, I suppose I am only relatively new to 'the scene' and getting much out of the sound.

At the start of 2021, I listened more to all the known artists like Scarlet Diva, The Rita, Cory Aideen's projects (RIP to an inspiration), Vomir, and then a lot of the netlabels I was discovering were releasing more of it, and so the more varied takes on the idea that was surfacing gave it more of an appeal to me.

Also, you hear things differently at different times of your life, age and experience-wise.

I have been lucky to release albums on labels that really shaped my knowledge of this sound then: Basement Corner, Gates Of Hypnos, Cultuscopy, Death To Dynamics, Misanthropic Vendetta (plus also Inner Demons), and then other artists like godNOISEgod, The Night Porter, Morbid Beauty ('Mahameru' was a real eyeopener, in that it was possible to make huge wall tracks of even more than an hour and keep them moving even if just excruciatingly slowly all the way through).

M[m]: Please tell us a little bit about how and when WORSHIP first came about? And is it your first project?

W It is not my first project but one I have done the most with. I have dabbled in playing with bands and making my own sounds in the past, but I had a very long break from it prior to the WORSHIP birth in March 2022 due to a pretty unusual work 'career' for a couple of decades.

I still have this unusual reality, but wanted to make time for making wall noise.

It is like meditation for me, so it is actually very helpful in dealing with what I do for a job.

M[m]: You’ve decided to be completely anonymous with WORSHIP - not even mentioning where in the world you are located. What appeals to you with anonymity?

W It is part necessity with what I do, as I travel around a lot going 'off grid' for periods of time and being anonymous in that world too, so it just is not really feasible for it to be something with a face.

I think it would detract from what the project is about anyway.

The sound vibrations and the exquisite visions are made to exist really deep inside your mind and body, without distraction, to give yourself up to them in order to get the most out of them.

M[m]: All of WORSHIP’s releases feature often arty nude pictures of women- with the theme of celebrating female beauty. Please discuss how you decided on this as a key theme for the project?

W Whilst I like a lot of extreme music, I am not a fan of the explicit covers, and hardcore porn does not appeal to me all that much either.

My preference leans more towards erotic, sensual, slow, hypnotic, trance-inducing, deeper feelings, just actually sexy, which most record artwork is not.

I have had a few comments from other female listeners saying that they really feel something from the sounds and the imagery, which is definitely what I was hoping for.

It is not there for the male gaze only, and I did not want to just be another noise musician who is attempting to shock with crude or brutal images.

I think that is incredibly juvenile and damaging to the cause of seeing beauty and equality in all femininity.

I think it is possible to celebrate the intoxicating hypnosis of female forms of all kinds, in a way that gets your heart and minds firmly racing, and your body aching, yes, but without it being just perverted, obscene, violent.

I also like the juxtaposition of it being an extreme sound (even though to those who understand it, it is not necessarily that extreme) but with beautiful art presenting it to you.

M[m]: How do you go about selecting an image for each release- do you first select a picture and then create the ‘wall’, or create the wall first?

W It is a combination of both. I have collected folders of images I would like to use at some time, and then when I make the recordings, sometimes the image comes to mind that would work with it.

Other times, the sound conjures up some specific feelings or 'feminine style' in my mind, so then I would try to find suitable images to represent that.

It is the same with the videos and photo galleries that are in a lot of the releases.

I am very particular about what I use, despite there being a wide variety of styles and eras on show.

There has to be something special, about the look, the pose, the composition of the photo itself, the expression and the eyes.

M[m]: You select pictures of women throughout the ages- do you think there was key/ pinnacle decade/ period for female form photographs?

W Every era has its moments of course. I initially started with releases using Alfred Cheney Johnston and Ziegfield Follies girls from the 1920s, which have a very nice combination of elegant style, tease and naughtiness given the time, but I think that's when things started to change in a good direction for Women's Movements and acceptance generally.

It is pathetic that it should even have to be debated that there should be equal rights, and especially now 100 years later.

Whilst it is not perfect, it is definitely much improved and constantly that improvement continues around the world.

Between that time and now, each decade has led to more strides forward, to now where there is a strength in being a woman, a beautiful strength, and there should be no shame in showing this strength, be it clothed or naked if that's what the desire is to do.

M[m]: Please you could discuss your set-up for WORSHIP - and does it change/alter from release to release?

W Due to moving around all the time, I now only have a minimal set-up when it comes to pedals; distortion, delay, chorus, pitch shifter, mic and laptop.

About a quarter of the releases so far have been predominantly made using those, the rest with laptops and various software, and some sounds are made from the (NSFW) videos that are in the downloads.

M[m]: WORSHIP work is often creatively crafted- with you often putting an original twist on wall creation. How often do you record, and how much do you keep/ release?

W Thank you for the comments thereof 'creatively crafted' and 'an original twist'. This is something I wanted to achieve. Partly to prove what I was saying before about wall releases not having to rely on death, violence, rape imagery or degradation to be extreme, intense or harsh.

This can be achieved even with, for example, a beautiful girl sitting with fruit in a basket or flowers in her hair on a Summer's day. Why not?

Also because I do think it is possible to do more within the vague confines of the sound and how much it can wrap around and engulf you.

Because of the work commitments, I maybe get three or four really proper opportunities per month to make recordings, but it can vary, as I sometimes have to go away for longer or unknown periods of time at very short notice.

I initially prepared a lot of releases before opening the Bandcamp page, so that I could keep on releasing even if I only got online for a few minutes per day, so I hope to be able to continue doing things that way.

I tend to keep most of what is made, since it as much about the initial process of finding the right interesting tone to begin with. Once that has been found, it then becomes about deciding whether to keep it as a 'no change' wall, or add more layers on top and playing further with frequencies and dynamics, which I am quicker at doing than the initial part.

I like exploring how different it is possible to make sounds be from a beginning source.

M[m]: Thus far the project has put out coming on for forty releases- taking in both stand-alone and splits. What do you see as say five of your favourite stand-alone releases and why?

W It is hard to select specific releases really, since, despite quite a lot of output in a short time (March to October 2022, it's actually 69 releases), I am really hypnotized by all of them at the time, which is when I know that they are good enough to put onto Bandcamp.

However, in making deeper thought about this question, and looking back through the releases, I would choose the following:

- SNOW ANGEL (I want to share this quote from a review on Bandcamp: 'This is one of the best harsh noise wall albums I have heard. The textures produce a tension and emotion far beyond the normal blasts of noise one gets from other projects')

- YANA (110 minutes that covers both harsh walls and almost nice ambience)

- MONUMENT (This has some of my heaviest sounds I believe)

- WHIRR (The sound of 'Purr' makes me tingle below).

- AUMONT (This, JUNE2 and PAMELA all feature more samples from film and other music to give it more depth than just walls or drones)

M[m]: Following on from the last question- please select five of your splits.

W Again it is very difficult to select, since talking with other people about what they do is always illuminating and helpful, so I value all of them for different reasons.

I had initially thought WORSHIP was going to be very insular, especially due to the anonymity of the project and my own reality, and I expected to only really do the stand-alone releases.

I will mostly be doing things that way from now as it suits my existence more, but there are a few artists I would love to split with, such as Prayer Rope, Alessandra Zerbinati, Scarlet Diva, The Rita.

If I have to select, then maybe I would go with the ones that made it to physical as well, because it is quite exciting to see things take shape into real-life forms; so, godNOISEgod1 and 2, James Nathan Powell, Applez91, Augurio Drama.

Another one would be the Morbid Beauty split, because of what I mentioned previously about their work being a game-changer for me and he gave me some help with software and production too.

M[m]: Thus far you’ve only released digital releases- would you like to release physical releases down the line? And if so do you have any favourite formats you’d like to release on?

W As mentioned in the previous answer, some of the releases have made it to physical, I just personally cannot make physical releases or receive any for personal collection or selling online, but I do not have a problem with the artists or labels making anything to sell.

If it means more people will potentially hear WORSHIP, then, that is only a good thing.

M[m]: What’s next for WORSHIP release-wise?

W I will hopefully be able to continue making a few releases each month, and would like to do more with the 'subscriber' option on Bandcamp.

To anyone reading this and following what I have been doing, if I disappear without a release for a while, please know it is just work and life-related.

I just do my best when I get the chance.

The intention is to continue broadening the diverse spectrum of femininity represented on the covers and with the extra items that come with the releases.

I know there are more ways to make this even more of a positive and stunning project, aesthetically, thematically and representationally.

It needed a little time to develop, for me to understand more about what it is, and for me also to learn about how to produce the sounds I would like to.

I feel it is all going in the correct direction.

I thank you so much for asking these questions, giving me the opportunity to speak up about the representation of women in noise and in music generally, and also for the wonderful words written by you in reviews on the site. You do amazing things for me and everyone included in these pages.

Much love and respect.

W.

https://worshiphnw.bandcamp.com

https://www.instagram.com/worshiphnw