The Operation Is About To Begin

Over the years the French wall noise underground has produced more than a few projects with interesting themes/ concepts, behind their ‘walls’. One of the lesser known/ publicise of these is Alès based Occlusion. Since 2015 the project has slowly but surely released sixty releases via their bandcamp. The project’s theme is medical operations- with each release utilizing a picture of a real operation. Their sound has always been effective, and at times subtly creative. I tracked down David the man behind the project for his first-ever interview. With big thanks to Juilan Skrobek for help with the translation!

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

David: I like to believe that it came from the monochrome Amstrad 464 that read tapes. I liked the idea that these sounds were only understood by the computer, it fascinated me, the fact that sounds have a meaning... a meaning which allows me to play... like with faxes... knowing that this existed, I wanted to reverse those sounds to see what it would give, so I recorded the sound of a fax of a drawing and mixed it... anyway... as a teen , I started recording bass riffs or sounds that I liked on a dictaphone, it was absolutely not regular, much less a thoughtful artistic work, just so as not to forget. Sometimes I re-recorded over it, sometimes I kept track of the recording time so as not to over-dub… I kept at this for a long time, and after getting kicked out of the fine arts school in 2001, I started using the CD format to exhibit fragments... This idea of sound space, linked to time constraints and the selection of moments or textures like a painter or sculptor, it is still essential to my work today, I'm just more knowledgeable and focused than in 2001.

M[m]: What first attracted you to the wall noise genre? Was there any one particular track/ album/ project that got you wanting to make your own work ?

David: It was the non-HNW projects, but not that far from wall, which led me to the HNW. Merzbow obviously, but also Chop Shop (the Oxide album for example) or the Haters' performance at LUFF in 2009. One of my teachers, Tjeerd Alkema, had recorded a vinyl by recording the movement of a steel tube on the ground for side A and the same tube on the ceiling for side B to record this notion of space. It had an important impact on me.

When people started talking to me about the HNW movement, I came across a video of Vomir performing at LUFF in 2013. There was something in it that went beyond performing on stage. I also listened to Dead Ballerina, Richard Ramirez or Sloth. I wanted to try and see what would come out of it. I needed some feedback, so I created a Bandcamp page. After a while I started to see HNW as a sonic representation of a memento mori, a modern vanity...

 

M[m]: How when/ did you start Occlusion? And is it your first project?

David: On bandcamp, the 1st album is dated January 2015… I must have started tinkering with wall a little bit before that.

 

M[m]: Please talk about how you selected the project's name? And what it means to you?

David: It was a dark joke in relation to Chier and Vomir... Perhaps it sounds more obvious in French.

 

M[m]: All of your work is focused around medical operations/ procedures- what made you settle on this theme, and why do you find it so fascinating?

David: Medical imagery is related to the idea of seeing behind the mechanisms, in opposition to the appearances. I also use it because if I have a certain disgust at seeing this kind of images but that's what we are like inside and there is a fascination in seeing it… With each album on bandcamp, I search for an image to use on the internet...

M[m]: Going from your Bandcamp page the project has been active since 2015. How has the project changed/ developed since you first started?

David: It has changed, nourished by a lot of things that gradually, which are gradually grafted onto it.

 

M[m]: What is your current set-up, and how has it changed/ developed since you first started?

David: I started with Audacity as a white noise generator plus a line of effects. From time to time I use piezos and microphones in my surroundings. I also use conversions to raw data as a source.

I also added phased frequencies to the mix, something I use a lot in another project/laboratory called Mr. Viande. With this one, I combine walls in order to hear the interactions. I try to make everything clear-cut in the mix.

 

M[m]: Each of your releases features a rather gross / gore picture of an operation- where do you get these from?

David: From the internet, and it's more and more difficult to find them because of the new algorithms. It forces you to make up new keywords in your searches.

 

M[m]: Going from your bandcamp you’ve put out sixty of so releases since you started digital- what appeals to you about this format?

David: It’s a good way to archive my work, to see it pile up, left for free… Even if it’s really not a good thing on the ecological point...

 

M[m]: In 2016 you started using numbers instead of titles- why was this?

David: Because I still put too much ego and expectations in the name instead of the work... I later changed with the process put forward or dates.

 

M[m]: Going from Discogs you’ve only put out two physical release on the very much missed French noise label Required Rate of Return. Was it only these two?

David: That went for sale, yes. I remain honoured by the fact that RRRR offered me my first release and I also wanted to release the tape of one of the collaborations we do from time to time with Julien Skrobek... Otherwise it's been only released on digital labels like HNW Netlabel (who wrote a beautiful text about my work in a Facebook post) or Earthwalker. I self-produce some physical objects that I give like business cards to relatives or acquaintances, but I don't list them on Discogs. I don't even list my other projects for that matter...

 

M[m]: Please select five of your favourite releases so far- talk a little about each a little ?

David: Gerontophage: Because it's done with a signal and a line of distortions, the old-fashioned way.

Carcerophagia: Because it’s a video signal imported by Audacity as a raw file… and it remains raw, a bit of a ready-made, usually it's only the duration that changes.

Isolation: Because it was self-released on tape with a metal case kept closed by a strap. They were recycled tapes painted in white and the booklet was blackened all over with a pencil. The right track is white noise while the left one is silent, hence the title.

51: Because it uses the hiss of a blank tape, still in this idea of readymade and archiving. I find it poetic; it makes me think of Chop Shop...

54: 2-2-22: Because I forced myself to create and release something on palindrome dates.

 

M[m]: What’s next for Occlusion?

David: I think I'll keep up with my work with wall juxtapositions and frequency selections for a little while (Putting together 3 or 4 walls and ensuring that they all can be heard in the mix for instance). Uh... Julien Skrobek introduced me to works by Cory Strand: Tetsuo and Mutations (Noise version)... These two pieces haunt me... I'm starting to look for ays to transform classical music (probably on tape) and turn it into HNW, using lines of effects, mainly distortions and octavers. I'm starting to think this could turn out to be relevant and non-sterile.

M[m]: You talk about recording the sound of fax machines- do any of these early recordings exist? And with what other tech did you record?

David: No, I have never been able to properly record one of my drawings in fax language, it will remain an anecdote... In terms of techniques, I am always looking for sound materials or textures, the way a painter like Antonio Tapès does. Anyway, I like to think so. With Mr. Viande, I use fragments of old productions as a signature by rearranging them using CTRL+C / CTRL+V. This way I make micro-sound events and turn them into a magma. I also use hexadecimal with Hex edit, I take an empty wav file and put something in it, like an internet page of a press article so I can obtain a nice sine wave that I use in a live context... I also use ''wide'' phasing which can get rid of certain frequencies. I circuit-bend motors or instruments. I have been writing a lot of conceptual scores in the style of Fluxus (thanks to Alvin Lucier and his ''109'' book). For example: I remove all the letters other than A,B,C,D,E,F,G from a text. However, the scores are intended for real musicians and a real interpretation. I am in contact with Vincent Capes from Anima / Thodol, who could play these scores... So, here's the type of techniques that I can use (from the top of my head). I'm having fun... I really like the fact that you ''play'' music like you ''play'' as a child, I really associate the two things...

 

M[m]: Over the years there have been quite a few wall noise projects, and labels coming out of France. Why do you think this is?

David: It's good news.

 

M[m]: Unlike a lot of wall noise makers you don’t really publicize your work on the Facebook forums/ similar. Why is this?

David: I don't know, I rarely post, just a little... I don't know what to answer.

 

M[m]: Have you ever thought of playing live with Occlusion ? And if so how would you envisage a live show?

David: I've already played live as Occlusion live with an MPC. It was a rather short wall that was made of piled-up and combined layers. The sound was rather massive, that was nice. I thought about using a cardioid microphone, turning it to a wall or a window and add a line of effects. I haven't abandoned the idea, it's just that it hasn't materialized yet.

Thanks to David for his time and effort with the interview. Drop by here to check out Occlusion Wall Noise https://occlusion1.bandcamp.com/music