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Boar
Boar is a hard-hitting yet creative HNW project from Dubuque Iowa USA- the project appeared on the scene in mid 2009, and since then have released a consistent cannon of great work. The man behind the project is Alex Nowacki, who also now runs the great Breaching Static label. Alex kindly agreed to doing an email interview with M[M]
Mz.412 / Skullflower / Iron Fist of the Sun – Gara
The four hundred or so people who slowly fill up this North London venue are there thanks to a resilience and dedication that has seen Cold Spring come of age, outliving many of their contemporaries over a time when physical formats have become an endangered species. Since 1990 they have been steadily releasing dark materials, or as they put it, “extreme media”, and tonight celebrates the impressive milestone of 21 years by showcasing three acts on a roster that continues to expand with both carefully curated reissues from stalwarts of the post-industrial/noise scenes and those new, previously unsigned artists they’ve inspired.
Bördel Noïr
Bördel Noïr produce some of most dark, damned and death encrusted Harsh Noise wall ever made. The project is highly secretive and originates somewhere in western France. Below is a very rare email interview with project…and keeping in with the projects need to remain anonymous there simply know as BN, for of course Bördel Noïr
William Bennett & Reinhold Friedl
Last year saw Whitehouse’s William Bennett collaborate with avant-grade and noisy German chamber orchestra Zeitkratzer, to create new and violent modern classical versions of past Whitehouse tracks. These tracks appeared on Zeitkratzer own label under the title of “Whitehouse Electronics”, and it proved to be one of the most rewarding and consistent release put out thus far by the Zeitkratzer collective, it was also one of the highlights of 2010. Both William Bennett(WB) and Reinhold Friedl (RF) (the main arranger and composers of the Zeitkratzer collective) kindly agreed to give M[M] an email interview.
Phase II
Phase II are a late 70’s to early 80’s American based progressive-folk band that have recently reformed. Their sound is a very distinctive and often quirky mixture of folk, prog, pop and 70’s synth scaping. The projects two central members Mark Andrews and Nicholas Tesluk kindly agreed to a give M[M] an interview via email
Fabrizio De Bon
Italian Fabrizio De Bon runs the prolific and creative package bound noise label Toxic Industries, he was one of the main minds behind Europe’s first HNW "Staring at Wall" festival which took place in Venice last year. He’s also the mind behind noise project Fukte whose sound shifts from Harsh noise, to HNW, to industlized noise and beyond. Fabrizio kindly agreed to give us a email interview.
Best of 2010
2010 has been another splendid year for many great and highly rewarding releases, below you’ll find lists of releases that made 2010 special for our writers. And in keeping with our sites remit they span a large and varied selection of different musical & sonic genres.
Solar Emissions
Glasgow’s Black Sun have been prowling the interstices between hardcore, industrial and metal since 1998 when Russell McEwan (R.MCE), then drummer with indie-rockers Macrocosmica, got the urge to record his own darker strain of song. The resulting album, Fleshmarket, was made on a PC using self-sampling loops with the assistance of guitarist Kevin Hare (KH) who also shares vocal duties. Soon afterwards Graeme Leggate (GL) was recruited on bass to form a lean squad equipped to take their heavy, brooding sound on the road. Since then, the trio have recorded a further five albums together and continue to play regularly across Europe. In addition to their dedicated honing and evolving of their powerful performances on stage and on disk, McEwan collaborates with fellow Glaswegian Kylie Minoise as Atomized, while the band recently diversified into a tribal, performance-based faction (Black Sun Drum Corps), as well as collaborating with Jarboe and Oxbow’s Eugene S Robinson (ESR) who kindly chips in during this interview.
Vomir,Flithy Turd and The Rita
Brought together below you’ll find a review of the London Vomir/ Flithy Turd/ The Rita show that took place on the 19th of November 2010 at the Grosvenor( reviewed by Roger Batty & Duncan Simpson). And a tour diary of the Vomir mini uk tour by the man himself!
Cristiano Renzoni
Milan Italy based Cristiano Renzoni runs the excellent and mainly vinyl based HNW & harsh noise label Urashima. He’s also the mind behind the always creative HNW project Alo Girl, as well as been one part of An Innocent Young Throat-Cutter( the other part been the infamous and highly prolific Richard Ramirez). After much hassling & pestering on my part, Cristiano kindly agreed to give M[M] this rare interview which took place via email.
![Scala, Kings Cross, London [02 December 2010 ATP]](/images/migrated/6/6666.jpg)
Shrinebuilder / Wolves In The Throne Room
The Scala stage was well prepared for Washington’s black metallers, Wolves in the Throne Room (WITTR), with an altar built in the centre of the stage carrying candles and a metallic bowl from which incense burned while surrounded by branches of what appeared to be a Christmas tree. This seasonal offering helped prepare the room as the three band members positioned themselves in front of their respective illustrated drape – stage left saw guitarist Nathan Weaver poised in front of an owl, his brother Aaron sat behind his drumkit centre stage in front of, appropriately enough, a wolf, while bassist Ross Sewage had his back to what looked like a squirrel - hopefully this allocation of forest critters didn’t cause any arguments (“I don’t want to be the squirrel, I was the squirrel last time!”).
Jana Winderen
It’s from the oceans that all life on the earth sprang forth, and it’s to the oceans that Jana Winderen is drawn back time and again, tirelessly. Her fascination isn’t part of her art; it is the art, and that utter dedication comes through the recordings of hers that have come my way (Heated and Energy Field, both excellent). Here’s questions and answers gleaned from a short email interview I conducted with Jana earlier this year.
Sean E. Matzus
Sean E. Matzus is a key figure in the Texas Harsh Noise Wall and experimental scene in genreal; he’s part of Richard Ramirez’s harsh noise collective Black Leather Jesus, he also works along side Richard in his HNW project Last Rape and junk noise project priest in Shit (with Richard & BLJ’s Vance Osborne). He is involved in more drone & elctro-acostic projects too like The Secret Geography(solo project) and In The Land Of Archers( with Vance Osborne). Sean kindly took time out of his busy schedule to give M[M] an email interview.
Various HNW Artists
Staring At Wall was the first European HNW fest to ever take place, and it happened in a small ex-church in the back streets of Venice on the 30th of October 2010. Sadly no members of M[M] staff were able to make the show, so instead we managed to get two ‘on the ground reports’ from firstly Nicola Vinciguerra( of HNW Terminal Erection, Power electronics project Fecalove & often more surreal/ horror filled noise collective of Splinter vs. Stalin) and secondly Alessio Mininel( of HNW projects TFT & Fragile). Also you’ll find pictures through-out the piece from Gregory Henrion(HNW project Å)- thanks to everyone for their great work!!
Gregory Henrion
Å is a the brutal, dark and unforgiving HNW project of Frenchman Gregory Henrion, he also runs the excellent and highly prolific HNW label AnarchoFreaksProduction(he’s put out 15 releases since the label started in June of this year). Greg kindly agreed to give me an email interview.
The Absent Present Resonates
"The spectral rumour now resonates, it invades everything: the spirit of the "sublime" and the spirit of "nostalgia" cross all borders" Derrida, J. Specters of Marx pg169
TenHornedBeast
TenHornedBeast is a British project that boils up a distinctive & grim mixture of: Black ambience, doom, dark sound tracking elements, ritual and military percussion touches. The projects all the work of Christopher Walton who was in the now defunct ocultic dark ambient, neo-classical & ritual percussion project Endvra. TenHornedBeast have so far released three albums: The Sacred Truth from 2007, My Horns Are A Flame To Draw Down The Truth from 2009 and Hunts & Wars from early this year ( reviews of all three can be here at M[M] ). After making Hunts & Wars our album of the month for October, we felt it about time track down Chris and see what makes TenHornedBeast tick, what follows is the result of an email interview.
Absence Tapes
The mysterious and secretive Californian based tape label & HNW collective Absence Tapes appeared from seemingly nowhere in early 2010. And since then they’ve released twenty plus releases from their direct collective, and from the wider HNW scene with releases ands splits from the likes of :Vomir, Foul, Gomeisa, Unearthed, Placenta Lyposuction and others. I managed to track down the two shadowy figures behind the label/ collective, who simple liked to be know as “S” and “J”, for an email interview.
TFT
Italian HNW project TFT take a very different, stripped and often futuristic sounding sonic path from many of the acts under the Harsh Noise Wall banner. The projects all the work of Alessio Mininel who lives in the Gorizia area of Italy . Alessio kindly agreed to give M[M] an interview via email
Little Annie
Many fans of Little Annie were first beguiled by her unique vocal style and the wit and wisdom of her words through disparate entry points - since 1981 she has been regularly championed by many artists treading the left hand path, from the Crass and On-U Sound collectives through Current 93, Nurse With Wound and Coil to COH and Larsen. And, once arrived most choose to remain, turned on to her recordings and performances that can bear little relation musically to that of her collaborations, but retain a charm and power that reaches beyond musical form. More recently, her work with fellow New Yorker, Paul Wallfisch, a classically-trained pianist who has a equally distinguished list of collaborators (including Love & Rockets, Kid Congo Powers, Stiv Bators and Johnny Hallyday), has seen the release of two critically-acclaimed albums including the triumphant ‘Genderful’, along with a regular sell out performances. Little Annie kindly answered our questions on the eve of a European tour, this time collaborating with Baby Dee in support of Marc Almond, giving insights into her many incarnations, aspirations and inspirations musical and otherwise…
Noma
Since 2004, John Cromar has released music under the name of Noma, primarily on the Kovorox Sound label. John's music as Noma is a breath of fresh air - texturally rich, free of ego, completely removed from musical convention and yet somehow always engaging. He skirts along the borders of the ambient, avant garde and noise genres, among others. He was kind enough to give me detailed, lengthy answers to 15 questions via an email interview that shed quite a bit of light on his idiosyncratic methods of composition.
Gomeisa
Canadian based Gomeisa is one of the most creative, thought provoking and respected names in today’s Harsh Noise Wall scene. The projects all the work of Winnipeg based Cole Peters whose racked up an impressive 14 releases with the project since it started in 2009. Cole kindly agreed to give M[M] interview via email.
Unearthed
Uneathed is one of the more respected & know British HNW projects to appear in the last year or so. The project very horror themed and ghoulish in it’s take on ‘wall making’, and it’s all the work of Brixton based Robert M who also in the more sinister ‘n’ caustic drone project Corpse Candle. Robert kindly agreed to give M[M] a email interview.
Various HNW Artists
The EYES BEHIND THE WALL festival of Harsh Noise Wall music occurred on August 13th and 14th in Houston, Texas. Occurring in a warehouse named Super Happy Fun Land, the burning heat of the Texas summer was felt in abundance, accompanying the Harsh Walls of Noise with harsh walls of dry and assaulting heat.