Onto the mortuary slab

Dead Body Collection is a Serbian based project who make autopsy, operation and extreme medical themed unforgiving Harsh Noise Wall. The project is a one man project and features Aleksandar Nenad, whose also in power electronics meets weird noise duo [C. T. D.] . Though Dead Body Collection has only been in existence since August 2009 Alex has so far racked-up nine releases. Alex kindly agreed to give me an interview via email.

m[m] What record or track first got you interested in making noise and in particular HNW?
Alex There's no particular record or track, which got me into making noise. Often I would sit at the local railroad station, stare and listened to trains go by, then I got the idea to record the trains. Dr. Mukawaraya and I went there with a dictaphone and recorded the trains sounds. After that we 'played' with the sound with different programs and that's how our first song came to life. We continued to record different sounds, or create them, change them and make songs out of that.
The first noise records I heard was Merzbow's Hard Lovin' Man, Venereology, 1930.
I got interested in HNW when Neven Smrznik got me into that genre. My beginning is connected with Vomir, Incapacitants (not really HNW, but they had great influence on me), Werewolf Jerusalem, and of course Smrznik.

m[m] You talk about recording sounds at your local railway station and other field recorded matter- have you ever thought of making tracks with untreated field recordings in Musique concrète or sound art form?
Alex I had some ideas for doing this, but I still haven't realised any of them yet. Currently I am committed to making HNW with Dead Body Collection, so I don't think about it.

m[m] Tell us a bit about how your first project [C. T. D.] came about and how did you meet the projects other member Dr. Mukawaraya Useitamuro?
Alex I met Muki aka Dr. Mukawaraya Useitamuro long ago on some chartroom. I saw that he liked Funeral doom (at that time, no one listened to it here) and I started a conversation with him, and we found out we have a lot in common. I wrote about the beginning of [C. T. D.] in the first question.

m[m] As you’ve collaborated with Dr. Mukawaraya Useitamuro in [C. T. D.].- are there any other artists you’d like to work with?
Alex Yes! As [C. T. D.] we’ve collaborated with the following: RUBBISH, Kenji Siratori, Animal Machine and Pornhouse.
As Dead Body Collection is still haven't collaborated with anyone. Hope I will do it in future.
I would like to work with any artist who shares our / my vision of noise.
I also do power electronics project as Order Of The Violence.  The idea of Order Of The Violence is that I do music and contact some artist that I like / respect to add vocals, lyrics and maybe some sound. So far I’ve got , a finished track Mourmansk150 and Wertham are working on a track at present. Grunt denied my call and I, am waiting for an answer from other artists.

m[m] Can you tell us a bit more about you PE project & is it just you?
Alex The project was first called Abortion Clinic and it consisted of Me, doing the music, and another guy who was supposed to write lyrics and sing. I’d done all the music and sent it to him to do his part, but he never did it. I don’t know the real reason why he didn't do it because he didn't answer my e-mails or sms messages. He is still working with his  own band.  I don't want to mention him or his band, because he does not deserve it. Avoid him!
Because the music was good, but too empty to stay without vocals, then I though I’d call other power electronics artists to be a part of it, then I renamed the project Order Of The Violence. The rest I said in the last question.

m[m] Why and how did you decide to form Dead Body Collection? And what influenced for the name?
Alex With [C. T. D.] I slowly started to make more and more HNW, and that was not the concept of [C. T. D.], so I decided to continue to work under the name Dead Body Collection.
The name Dead Body Collection somehow came out from my head under the influence of  Atrax Morgue. Marco was obsessed with corpses and somehow I thought of a body collection, and I believe I had knifed the name “Dead Body Love” in my head, which I listened to from time to time. Maybe I even blended Dead Body Love with Body Collector, which I also love, into one, anyway Marco Corbelli is the one to blame :)

m[m] How do you personal feel your work varies between [C. T. D.] & Dead Body Collection? And do you use different set-ups in each project?
Alex [C. T. D.] is experimental harsh noise, which means we do what we want, under that name. harsh noise, junk noise, death industrial, brooding dark ambient...
Dead Body Collection is HNW and nothing else. Just Brutal Sadistic Harsh Noise Wall !!
Yes, I use different set ups. For [C. T. D.] we use almost everything, a lot of pedals, junk metal, contact microphones, glass, wires, samples...
For Dead Body Collection I use minimal set up, with a sound source prepared in advance.

m[m] How often do you record ‘Walls’ and  do release everything you record?
Alex In the beginning I would connect a radio on a distortion peddle, and make songs that way. I would find appropriate static, set up the potentiometers on the pedals, and just let it  record. On some works I used a kitchen mixer, on which I taped a contact microphone that was connected to one distortion peddle, and then the distortion peddle to the computer, which recorded it. On the later Dead Body Collection works, I  would grind a large piece of glass against concrete, record it on a tape, and use that as a sound source, on which I would add a few distortions and an equalizer.
No, I record something’s that I'm not pleased with, so I deleted them. I don't keep the tracks I don't like.

m[m] Dead Body Collection are clearly influenced by the macabre & horror- can you tell us in particular what books, movies or true crime cases have influenced certain recordings?
Alex Actually, everything comes out from my head (regarding DBC). Greatest inspiration to me are hospitals and operations. There is nothing more disgusting than the smell of a operating room. Anatomy and diseases are also a great inspiration, and some sick sex too... Lots of blood, guts, torture, etc.
As for the movies, I am a big fan of old horror movies from the period before '90. I like black & white movies especially, thrillers like Se7en, Resurrection, Bone Collector and movies based on true crime.
I don't read books a lot, but I read comics! I like comics and I'm a collector.
Yes! True crime is a great inspiration, but for now I only use as an influence for [C. T. D.]. One 3" cdr is dedicated to Ted Bundy. His case was awesome! For me the most interesting is Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo aka Butcher Of Rostov. I’v Just read about him. He was incredible in the most sick ways. Also Zodiac was great because police  never arrested him. He will stay an  enigma forever.

m[m] What  type of comics do you collect?
Alex Mostly I collect comics on my maternal language, that is the ones that have been released after 1992 in Serbia and before that in Yugoslavia. I like reading Alan Ford, Dylan Dog, and all kinds of horror comics besides the ones with vampires. I don't like vampires.

m[m] What do you think triggered your interest in medical stuff in general?
Alex I have no idea. Though...I think that I was impressed by the atmosphere of a hospital, the tools and the thought that people are being cut in there...

m[m] Have you ever used any medical or autopsy tools or items for sound sources?
Alex For now, no, because I can't acquire them, but I am working on it.

m[m] I’ve seen pictures of you performing live with [C. T. D.]- do you hope to play live with Dead Body Collection and if so what set-up would you have i.e. would you have ghoulish and macabre projections behind you or wear a mask or disguise?
Alex Yes, I will play live as Dead Body Collection, the set up will be two distortion peddles, an equaliser, and the  sound source will be from a damaged tape from a walkman on which I recorded the sound of glass grinding. I will wear black clothes and a white mask, and perform without any emotion, and for the end I will cut the main cable with an axe, and that will be that!

m[m] What’s the Serbian Noise and experimental scene like?
Alex One of the first things I heard from the Ex- Yugoslavian region is SCH, and they had a sound like early SWANS. Later on I discovered Sat Stoicizmo, who sounded more like some harsh industrial. Sat Stoicizmo is no longer active, and SCH sounds like some electro dance project now
Let me mention some bands/projects from Ex- Yugoslavia: Laibach (well known industrial from Slovenia, their old works are great), Klopka Za Pionira ( awesome experimental noise rock from Serbia), Ana Never (great experimental post-rock), Smrznik (HNW from Sarajevo), Mrtvaja (HNW from Sarajevo), Idlness Distribution (experimental noise from Smrznik and his wife), Clockwise Terror (experimental noise from Sarajevo), Erekta (weird noise from Belgrade), THIRD I (industrial / noise / ambient from Niš/Serbia), Gigant (HNW project of Erekta guy), [C. T. D.] (my primary harsh noise project) and some more....

 

m[m] What’s next for Dead Body Collection release wise & do you plan any change in your sound on future releases?
Alex Some of the next releases are: Dead Body Collection / Vomir split tape on Coffin Crawl, Néant Gris 3" cdr on Anarchofreaksproduction, I'm Nothing 3" cdr on Corrosive Art (in Semptember or earlier), Vaginal Anomalies 4 cdrs box set on AbsenceTapes, Dead Body Collection / Placenta Lyposuction split tape on Narolepsia (in the beginning of Autumn), Those Tiny Eyes Were Beautiful And...Dead tape on Thurgid Animal, Dead Body Collection / Svartvit split tape and Stockings Bloody Stockings both on Scorze and for end of summer / autumn Dead Body Part tape box (5 or 6 tapes) with t-shirt on HarshFuckedForLifeRecords.

Alex As for the future of DBC sound- from time to time, I buy new pedals and record in some different ways, so that is the only thing that can change the sound, but it will always be Brutal Harsh Noise Wall !!

m[m] What’s the most disturbing film or image you’ve ever come across…and are there some subjects you wouldn’t cover?
Alex When I was young, I was scared by a scene in Hellraiser II when Dr. Philip Channard gives a knife to a patient who thinks he has insects all over himself, and he stars cutting himself and screaming, but now that scene is really no longer shocking. I must admit that nothing disgusts me anymore; I’ve become fascinated with the things the human race is disgusted with.

 

m[m] Can you tell us a bit about the Vaginal Anomalies 4 cdrs box set on AbsenceTapes? Will it be disk long ‘walls’ or made up of shorter pieces & is it all new work?
Alex Yes! One disc - one long track. One long track -one child vaginal anomaly. Complete duration is 5 hours. Yes, all the work is new. I used two different set ups for those 4 tracks.
Regarding the package, the discs will be packed into 5'' reel to reel  tape box, with a sticker on top, and every cdr will have it's own artwork in polysleeve bags.
About the theme of this release:
Cloacal anomalies (first disc) encompass a wide array of complicated defects that occur during development of the female foetus during pregnancy. In cloacal anomalies, the reproductive, gastrointestinal and urinary tracts merge to drain out of one common channel instead of three separate openings. But if the point where they come together is low, a child has no visible anus (the duct through which faeces exit the body), even though the remaining anatomy appears normal. In these patients, urinary tract obstructions are unusual because the tract typically opens into a wide common channel that drains freely.

Congenital Vaginal Obstructions (second disc): Female infants are normally born with a thin membrane (hymen) that surrounds the vaginal opening. In rare instances, a congenital vaginal blockage occurs that results in the absence of an external vaginal opening. The most common reason for this medical abnormality is an imperforate hymen - a layer of connective tissue that forms the hymen has no opening and thus the vaginal opening remains covered. Less commonly, obstruction is due to a high transverse septum. A high transverse septum is usually due to incomplete canalization of the vagina during development.

Vaginal Fusion and Duplication (third disc): Much of the female reproductive system is derived from two structures, known as mullerian ducts - a pair of embryonic ducts that evolve into the fallopian tubes, uterus and vagina in females. They come together during the ninth week of pregnancy. If this process is prevented or interrupted, "fusion" or "duplication" anomalies occur. In uterus didelphys, for instance, the patient has two each of a uterus, cervix and vagina. While one vagina is obstructed, the other remains unblocked and the external sex organs appear normal. In uterus duplex bicollis, the patient again has two each of a uterus and cervix, but only one vagina. In bicornate uterus, the patient has two uteruses fused with one cervix and one vagina.

Urogenital Sinus (fourth disc): A urogenital sinus anomaly is a defect present at birth in which the vagina and urethra open into a common channel, rather than separately. There are two general types of urogenital sinus anomalies. In a low confluence urogenital sinus anomaly, the common channel is short, the urethral opening is close to its normal location and the vagina is almost normal in length. In a high confluence urogenital sinus anomaly, the common channel is long, the urethral opening is internal and the vagina is quite short. This type is sometimes associated with an anus that is located too far forward.

m[m] With the Vaginal Anomalies 4 cdr box set you seem to have done a lot of (disturbing) research on your subject. - do you read a lot of medical or autopsy books?
Alex Yes! I read a lot (on the internet mostly) about different human physical and psychiatric disorders and diseases, and then I found out about child vaginal anomalies, which I thought were a really interesting as a theme for HNW because, I think, some people will get sick when they find out what those anomalies really are

m[m] What's going to be the theme of Dead Body Parts (5 or 6 tapes)?
Alex As the title says, the theme will be about parts of dead bodies. One song - one body part - one tape side. Some of the pieces / songs are: spleen, lung, liver, eye, uterus...

m[m] Have decided what sound source you'll use for each body part yet?
Alex Dead body parts was recorded in September - November last year. I used mostly radio static as a sound source and some field recordings I made in August 2008.

m[m] What are the field recordings used on Dead Body Parts (5 or 6 tapes)?
Alex Sounds of trains, buses, some kinds of engines and some motor tools. That's all buried in a wall of sound on Dead Body Parts.

m[m]  Have you got any more large works planned like Vaginal Anomalies 4 cdrs box and if so do you have any ideas of themes planed out yet?
Alex I have some more concepts and ideas for the box in my head, but that will not be realised soon. Vaginal Anomalies (4 cdrs) and Dead Body Parts (5 or 6 tapes). I think it's enough boxes for this year.

m[m] What’s the most ghoulish or disturbing item you own?
Alex  Organ(s) in my (dead) body.

 

Thanks to Alex for his time & effort with the interview and supplying the great pictures of his self and his set-up. Dead Body Collections blog can be found here