life’s hard-knocks-themed walling

The rather controversial named Whore’s Breath is the wall-noise project of  Cincinnati’s David Hilshorst. It started in 2021, and to date, it has coming on for one hundred and fifty releases to its name. The project’s work moves between set/ old school, shifting & active, or texturally experimental- with it being one of the more consistent/interesting projects on the walled noise scene.  David Kindly agreed to give us an email interview.

M[m]: Please talk a little bit about how & when you got into the more extreme side of sound?

David Well, it depends on what you mean by "extreme." I started playing drums in a band with some high school friends around the age of 15. I had already been listening to metal years prior to that so as far as that side of extreme, I would say around 12 maybe, 13. That band eventually morphed into a Touch and Go/Am Rep type band years later. As far as noise and experimental music, it would be around 2002 A friend of mine that I was working with hipped me to things like Phillip Jeck, Double Leopards, John Weise, Emil Beaulieau, Fennesz, etc. That friend and I eventually started hosting noise shows after hours at the restaurant where we worked at.

 

M[m] Were there any particular tracks or releases that inspired you to start making your own walled noise?

David Yes. It was when Covid first hit that I discovered Vomir's Claustration and The Rita's A Thousand Dead Gods. Those releases stirred something inside of me, particularly the former. I've always loved constant repetition as well as feedback and static. I like the idea of just pounding the listener with heavy, harsh sound. I would say discovering those 2 releases led me down a rabbit hole to other artists like Sado Rituals, Crepuscular Entity, Monolithic Torment, Dosis Letalis, The Ebony Tower, Black Matter Phantasm, etc. All these acts have provided some type of inspiration.

 

M[m] When did the Whore’s Breath project come about?, and please talk a little bit about the project's name/ how you selected it?

 David Yeah, the name is, for some, a complete turn off and I have had quite a few folks not want to work with me. A few have come around but some have not. It's ok, I respect their decision.

Many years ago, my wife would jokingly call/tell me that I was a whore due to my somewhat promiscuous ways in my late teens and very early twenties. I just thought that since the project was going to be about my life experiences, etc. I would add "breath" to it as it was kind of like me breathing, so to speak. Plus, it just sounded nasty, and gross. I had the name for a while and was just waiting to use it.

The name has to do with me and myself only. It has nothing to do with anyone else.

 

M[m] Is Whore’s Breath your first sonic venture?, and if not what was your first project?

David No, not at all. My first sonic adventure was DW Confidential. It was an experimental noise project I started around 2002. I released a few very limited releases. You can find my first release on the Stemms Audio page. It has a bit of an ambient vibe to it. Smeared Make-Up was my first release from WB that wasn't on the Stemms label. It was my first real wall.

 

M[m] How many releases appeared under the DW Confidential banner? And aside from the release you mentioned are there any other releases online that we can hear?

David I believe it’s 4 or 5, my memory is bad. No, the only one you can hear online is The Society Files, which is on Stemms. There is a video of me opening for Tim Kaiser at the Cincinnati Arts Center on Vimeo. 

I hope to put more DW Confidential upon the page in the future.

 

M[m]: I first became aware of Whore’s Breath with its 2021 release Smeared Makeup. I was intrigued by its smeared on male/ female face lipstick cover, and by the glumly constricting & numbing ‘wall’ within. Could discuss this release a bit, talking about what you feel its themes where?

David The title came from someone I had seen at the store whose make up was smeared on their face. As far as a theme for it, it was just an experience/interesting thing to me. Yeah, it was just make up but maybe, there was something more going on, you know? It just makes you wonder.

 

M[m]: according to Discogs the project has just over thirty releases to its name- but I’m sure you’ve released more than that- how many Whore’s Breath releases are there to date? And what to see as say five or so of your favourite releases from the project, including an explanation for your choices?

David  Roger, so far there have been a total of 145 Whore's Breath releases, which includes 22 splits and 14 compilations.

b. Wow. This is going to be a rough one.

1) Days in a Daze (Basement Corner Emissions, digital release)

I was going through a lot of personal problems around this time and poured my heart and soul into this. The textures, the mood, the title...I was out of it mentally but put all my negative thoughts and self-loathing into this album. I took my time and used what I believe to be one of my biggest strengths when it comes to composing, which is subtlety. I think all of the tracks have a nice even flow to them and I am happy about how this turned out.

2) Root Themselves in the Power of Place/Trepidation (tie) (Basement Corner Emissions, digital releases)

These two recent releases are when I started working with a loop pedal and microphones. I wanted to try something different than "linear" wall making (linear being what I refer to as making walls with only pedals) and decided to give it a try.  Now, that's all I want to do.

Actually, I had tried this about eight months earlier but gave up and decided to come back to it at a later time. Also, Trepidation was reviewed about 12 times before I decided to release it, more more, over the span of a month or so.

3) Distress Story I- (Stemms Audio, digital release)

Static textures. I wanted this album to be a slow moving texture. Once again, I was dealing with a lot around the time this was recorded. I felt lost within myself and these textures really helped me through. I find composing wall noise helps me in so many ways, to relax, to release anger and frustrations, etc. 

4) Aftermath-(HNW net label, digital release) Just recently released, another textured wall and I think one of my best walls, maybe eve I had my wife's help with this one, albeit indirectly.  I'm really proud of this one and the wonderful HNW net label was a no-brainer for the release.

5) Wet Slate-(Stemms Audio, digital release) This track came about from my love of Black Matter Phantasm and The Ebony Tower. I was trying to create something in between those two artists' sounds. This is what came from it. Sounds nothing like either. (laughs) I think it's a very good recording from this period of time.

I think if I sat down and reviewed my releases that this list would be much different. These are the ones that popped in my head.

 

M[m]:  A fair few of your releases appear on your own label Stemms Audio- please talk a little bit about when this label came about?

David  Stemms came about around the same time/in conjunction with WB.I figured I was going to need a way to release my material and thought I might as well start a label. I figured too, eventually, I would want to put out other artists.

It was much easier to put out music in this digital age and reach more people. In the 90's it was a pain to get your music out there.

I had a little label years ago but that was just solely to release DW confidential stuff. 

 

 

M[m]: What’s your present set-up, and how has this changed/varied since you started? Do have any bits of kit you are still using from when you first started?

David Tascam DP 008 EX digital recorder 

Digitech RP6

TC Electronics Ditto

Boss DS1 Distortion

Sondery Metal

Boss OD30 Overdrive

Biyang Baby Boom Time Machine Delay

Joyo Voodoo Octave JF12

Caline 10 Band EQ

Behringer NR300 Noise Reducer

Electro Harmonix Bass Big Muff

Joyo Pocket Metal JF35

Ibanez Tube Screamer

CoolMusic Reverberry

Koogo Holy War Heavy Metal Distortion

Pulmomate Nebulizer (only used twice)

Joyo JF-07 Classic Flanger 

Electro Harmonix Bassballs

Joyo JF17 Extreme Metal

Caline CP 61 Phaser

Mackie mixer

Boss BE 5M Multiple Effects

DeltaLab DGFX1 Multiple Effects

Sony Mini Disc player

Various microphones, including contact mics and a texture mic (Abrasive Industries), brushes, chains, aluminum cans, various plastics, springs, radios, old toys, etc.

When I started WB I was using an Alesis Ineko (I miss my baby, R.I.P), the Boss Distortion, the Overdrive, the big muff, and the Digitech with a Behringer mixer. The items from the start of WB were leftover from DW Confidential.

 

 

M[m]:  Please talk a little bit about your creation of work- how often do you record, do you release everything you record, and what’s the normal location/ situation for recording?

David  I do not release everything I record, I wouldn't want to. I have a very thorough vetting process for tracks. I review tracks 6-8 times before I decide it is good enough to release. I need to hear it on different speakers, in a different format. I throw away probably 8-9 out of every ten things I record. I'm just really picky and I need to "feel" it. Yeah, I've spent two to three hours recording only to throw it all out. Countless times. If I can't find the sound I'm looking for after about 45 minutes or so, I just walk away. Put on a record. Review a different track that I recorded the day before. Try again tomorrow. No reason to force anything.

But if I get on a roll, I don't let up. There are times that the roll may last an hour, maybe days. I just go with the flow.

I record in my basement studio/man cave. I record mostly at night, after I get home from work and get settled, eat.

Rarely do I listen back the night I record something. I want to come back a day later with fresh ears to be able to listen to how I feel I need to.

 

I don’t do overdubs, most things are made on the fly, improvised. I may go in with an idea and decide while recording if it will be a set wall or a wall that changes.

 

Also, concerning the above, there is rarely any post-production. I release 98% of tracks as is.

 

M[m]: You seemingly release a good/ even balance of different types of ‘walls’ be they set/ old school, shifting & active, or texturally experimental.  Is this deliberate, or do they just come out that way?

David It is 100 percent deliberate. I do not want to remain stagnant. It's good to push boundaries and create new ones. I'm sure some of the HNW purists hate me (laughs). I like all flavors of wall noise and enjoy creating all flavors. It's fun too, to try to recreate someone's sound (which is all but impossible in the wall noise genre) and find new ways of doing things and new sounds. New sounds, new processes. Other times, I might just diddle around to see what comes out and what I might find. Most times, I have a purpose.

 

M[m]: Please talk a little bit about the themes behind  Whore’s Breath releases? And how do you feel these have developed/ changed since you started?

David I believe I may have mentioned it earlier but, my theme is my life and my life experiences, plus some health issues, too. I really couldn't think of anything better and anything I knew more about but my life. I mean, I'm not into stockings or gory horror or anything like that so I went with what I know. Believe me, I like those acts and their music and imagery but that's just not my thing. I'm not sure exactly what my thing is. I think I have enough interesting things to choose

 

M[m]: I believe you played once or twice as Whore’s Breath- please talk a little bit about these performances/ your set-up live?

David I've played three times as of now. The first two didn't go very well as far as, you know, it's really rough when folks cancel and especially when they don't show up at all. I had no problem with RJ cancelling, that was legit. But the other act, to not call or text or not show up at all after I gave you another shot....is unacceptable. They will never be asked to play again by me, I know that. 

The last show though, was really good. It did not go as plan as far as my set, I had some technical difficulties. I still was able to pull off a decent set.

my set up switches show to show. The first two were linear, the recent one was with a mic(tech difficulties) plus pedals and a loop pedal.

M[m]: Is there much of a noise or walled noise scene in Cincinnat?

David Not like it was years ago but, there is a noise scene. Walled noise, there is no scene. I believe my friend Tim (who creates wall but very sporadically and doesn’t play out)and myself are pretty much it.

There are a couple of places that do noise shows but it’s not a regular thing.

But it does seem the scene is coming back a bit. Shows aren’t plentiful, as I mentioned but, I played with Mike Hancock recently, and he’s back playing live. Jon Lorensz just did a solo set recently, Iovae is playing out. Grow Horns is playing. There are a few others but there are no wall shows. I hope to try and change that.

 

 

M[m]: Aside from walled noise/ noise what other genres do you listen to?

David  I listen to most genres. I really enjoy 60's soul (Otis Redding is my all-time favorite artist), metal (glam, black, death, thrash, etc.), old country (Nelson, Jennings, Puckett, Miller, Haggard, Cline, etc.), black gospel (1920-40's era), hip hop (was really into hip hop in the late 90's), a little R&B, jazz (no swing, mainly free and be bop-it's going into fall it's jazz time!), some dub, indie/alternative (once again, 90's), punk, IDM, minimal techno, the list goes on but I won't bore your readers.

I just don't like soulless music. I I can get into top 40 stuff if I can feel it's legit. If it feels fake, I'll hate it. Music is everything to me. Seriously. I wouldn't be David Hilshorst without it.

 

Thanks to David for his time & effort with the interview. Drop by here to check David's label Stemms  Audio  https://stemmstapes.bandcamp.com/