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The Rita
The Rita is one of the most well known, respected & recognizable names in the Harsh Noise scene. The project was started by Canadian based Sam Mckinlay in 1996 & since then he has released over sixty releases & becoming one of the most talked about & each release anticipated artists in the scene in general. Sam was kind enough to give me an email interview(please note-this is my second interview with Sam for M[M] my first interview from 2007 can be found here)
Andee Connors
Andee Connors runs San Francisco based muilti -genre label tUMULt he’s also joint owner (with Allan Horrocks) of possible the most well know & respected experimental record shop & mail order business in the world Aquarius Records. Andee kindly took time out from his busy Schedule to answer a few questions via email.
Vomir
Vomir (Frenchman Romain 'Roro' Perrot) is one of the most un-compromising & respected artists with in the Harsh Noise Wall scene. Since the projects start in 2006 he has released near on forty release(with some of theses been multiple tape or CDR sets). Romaine kindly agreed to give me an email interview.
ONO
Seeing this band live, it's like they change the lighting in a room without any kind of special effects. It's less a performance and more an exhibition of raw, soulful splendor, unmiterated by any gimmickry, appeasement, or fake bad boy attitudes. A wall of sound and song will delineate into an instrumental industrial ballad; organ, guitar, lap steel, electric drill, and sheet metal will interlace, sparks will fly, and just when you might think there may not have been a plan, a ghostly sort of crooning that could fit into a David Lynch movie might emerge from out of the fog, and you will find that you've just seen a triumphant epic sewn together in front of your very eyes, yet no secrets have been revealed. An experience like this had drawn me further to this group, and spurred me to find out more. On a brisk but sunny Sunday afternoon in November (09), at lead singer travis's marvelous home on the south side of Chicago, I was fortunate enough to be blessed by their hospitality and gather some information during a wholesome feast much like the one described in this Roctober article, on one of the days that they regularly meet for rehearsal.
Best of 2009
2009 has been a challenging, difficult & often stressful year for us at here M[M]; what with the site being hacked in the middle of year, a bad server crash towards the end of the year & a change of ownership in the summertime. But through it all our passion for music & sound of all forms has never dulled or wavered; & really sonically 2009 has been another great, great year. So please find bellow the pick of the best of the best from 09 from our writers & if your interested in joining our reviewing team or want to send something in for review consideration please contact us at questions=at=musiquemachine=dot=com
Bull of Heaven
This is a version of an interview originally published at musiquemachine.com on December 7th before a server crash. This version surely predates the finished one, but it is here for posterity.
Hans Grusel, Wilt, Locrian, Bruce Lamont, Irene Mo
This article was posted at musiquemachine.com for the last 7 days of October 2009 only, with 6 minutes of audio shared by each artist.
Childe Bride
(Originally published in late October)During this time of year, people originally wore elaborate adornments to ward off demons, took stock of food for the winter. Now maybe they buy more non-perishables and go across that same grocery store for a costume. Around Halloween, I think about paganism or occultism and how relevant it is for people to take part as mystics, since that is the imagery that comes up around this time. Even in the most rural areas there is a super store down the road. I think that the word "ritual", as defined by the dictionary, has lost a lot of meaning. Sitting together in front of the television with family or checking one's horoscope on the internet can be a ritual. Being a midwesterner all of my life, I've been west a couple times. I've looked at the unchanging, forgotten desert and found it hard to imagine people living around there making electronic music, for instance. Still, I feel like there are rare people intrinsically finding a way to approach an urban or concrete environment in a manner that is otherworldly, whether you want to call it spiritual or not. That said, I consider it incredibly fortunate and timely that I was able to do the interview that I did, via email no less.
B.J Nilsen & Stilluppsteypa
The three way collaboration between B.J Nilsen(Benny Jonas Nilsen) & Stilluppsteypa ( Helgi Thorsson, Sigtryggur Berg Sigmarsson) has created some of the more distinctive, odd and `you don`t quite what expect next` drone & unhinged ambient music in recent years. Since their formation as a creative three pronged force in 2005 they have released a trilogy of drink related albums(Vikinga Brennivin, Drykkjuvisur Ohljodanna & Passing Out) & this year saw them releasing the wonderful Man From Deep River which saw them move away from the drink related theme & concept of the first three albums to create an album that swam new creative waters both sonically & theme wise. Both Benny & Sigtryggur were kind enough to give me email interview.
Merzbow
Merzbow (Masami Akita) really needs no introduction, he’s one the most know & respected noise artists in the world, having created a huge body of varied work taking in 300 plus release since the project inception in 1979 starting as a full sonic entity in 1980. 2009 sees him creating one of the largest projects of his career (second after the huge 50 disk set the Merzbox) in the form of the 13 volume Japanese bird series on important records. To celebrate this Masami has been kind enough agreed to give me a rare interview- his second with myself & here at M(m).
Formication
British Dark & psychedelic electronica duo Formication boil up a mind altering sound that sits somewhere between Coil & Autechre. Since their first officially release in the form of 06 Icons of a new religion the projects sound has come on in leaps and bounds to create a more disturbing and more distict sound that has acuminated in last years splendid & brain frying album Ghosts (Omnia Exeunt in Mysterium). Both Alec & Kingsley kind agreed to give me an email interview.
Elegi
Elegi are one of the most effective purveyors of the Classical meets electroinca genre that has appeared over the last few years. So far the project has released two sea influenced and atmospheric albums in the form of 2007’s Sistereis & the recently released Varde. The creative mind behind the project is Norwegian Tommy Jansen- who kindly agreed to give me an interview via email.
The Paper Chase
The Paper Chase’s distinctive sound flirts between indie rock/ punk, prog, dark pop and grim cinematic leanings-been all toped off with pitch black, clever and often sneering lyrical content. They’ve just brought out the 4th album of their ten year career entitled Someday This Could All Be Yours Vol 1 and it finds each song dealing with a different disaster. John Congleton the projects singer and songwriter kindly agreed to give me an email interview.
Keeril Makan
'Visceral’ is a term often used in reviews of Keeril Makan’s Tzadik release In Sound (2008). Indeed, the music from this young American composer seems to come from a deep source inside, and covers many different styles and emotions, while at the same time sounding fresh and original. An e-mail conversation resulted in the interview below, in which I asked the composer about his other work, inspiration and future recordings.
Best of 2008
Another year passed (yes, it's really over so we're sure all releases of 2008 can be included) and we at musique[machine] happily list our favourites of 2008!
Justin Bennett
British born but now Netherlands based sound artist Justin Bennett's work wonderfully blurs the line between sound art and music. This year he releshed his excellent Wildlife album (reviewed here) which is based around using sound elements and field recordings from zoological & Botanic gardens around Europe. Justin Kindly took time out of his busy schedule to answer a few email questions.
Gnaw Their Tongues
Gnaw Their Tongues depraved, gruelling and often terrifying sound is a mixture of doom, murderous Avant-garde, black Metal, drone and noise. Having vomited it’s self on to the underground only a few years ago the project has built impressive near on 20 releasers thus far. The project music and disturbing imagery is all made by Nethlands based Maurice De Jong aka Mories who kindly agreed to give me an email interview.
Taylor Deupree
Taylor Deupree is a highly talented & original electronic artist who in recent years has been blurring electronic & organic innstrmentsion together in a very compelling manner, he’s also set up and runs the superb electronic/ acoustic label 12k and it’s more experimental sister label Line. Taylor kindly took time out from his busy schedule to answer some questions via email.
Moss
Moss bobed to the surface of the Doom underground back in 2005 with their lovecraft and ocultic influenced debut album Cthonic Rites, which stills stands as one of the most punishing, hopeless, heavy and suffocating examples of the genre. They’ve just unleashed their second album Sub Templum, which keeps the unforgiving riff crawls and suffocating atmosphere in place but adds in more atmosphere and new sonic elements to their dark brew. Vocalist Olly Pearson kindly gave me an email interview.
Have A Nice Life
Have A Nice Life create an original/distinctive sound that's a mix 80’s synth pop, Goth electronics, doom, ambient, cold folk, Industrial and Shoegaze indie. Their wonderful debut album Deathconsciousness is one of my highlights of this year, Dan one of the minds behind Have a nice Life kindly agreed to give me an interview via email
Sole
Sole is one of the most outspoken and political/social aware of the anticon collective & his most recent release with The Skyrider band has seen him using more conventional song structure with an array of real instrumentation along with non rap and harmony based vocals, which all makes for an highly original and creative listening experience, that’s certainly one of the top ten records by the Anticon collective/ label thus far. Sole kindly agreed to give me an interview via email
Striborg
Striborg is one of the most controversial and prolific figures in Black Metal scene today often hated and misunderstood by mainly straighter laced metal heads but celebrated and praised in more experimental metal and experimental music circles in general. Striborg's one and only member is Tasmania, Sin Nanna & at his most inventive he takes black metal down new dark and heady corridors, using lo-fi and noisy elements as a composition tools and atmosphere maker, often weaving bizarre and creative elements through out his song grim trails. So after reviewing some of his more recent works and highly enjoy them I felt it’d be interesting to look back to his blacked past with a primer, but firstly you’ll find a brief interview with Ron W Veltkamp joint owner of Dutch label Displeased records who are now Striborg's primarily label releasing all new works as well as reissues.
Terry Edwards and James Johnston
There are very few albums that are as disturbing, gut wrenching and macabrely compelling as I was Dora Suarez, Originally released in 1993 it has just a received a well disserved reissued on Sartorial records. It brings together the considerable sonic talents of Terry Edwards and James Johnston's (both from Uk band Gallon Drunk) with gritty and disturbing uk Crime writer Derek Raymond who reads segments of his most disturbing and gory serial Killer novel I was Dora Suarez over the top of Edwards & Johnston’s murky, dark and at times beautiful sound tapestry that weavers together blacked drones, grim ‘n’ smoky jazz tones, darkened rock elements ect. Terry and James Kindly agreed to give me an email interview about I was Dora Suarez.
TheTangent
The Tangent are a prog rock band through and through showing nods towards the great prog masters such as Yes, Rush, King Crimson, etc, yet they’ve also twisted their own identity and modern edger’s into their sound such as electronica and other rewarding genre twists ‘n’ turns too. Early on this year the band brought out their superb forth album Not as good as the book, main songwriter, vocalist and keyboard player Andy Tillison kindly agreed to give MM an email interview.