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Joe Sherlock
Oregon-based Joe Sherlock is one of the more distinctive of modern low-budget genre directors- his work blends sci-fi and horror tropes, with wacky and often surreal sensibilities. His films blend in elements of weird humour, repeated in film references, extremely low-grade effects, well-proportioned and tattooed women, oh and mayonnaise. Since the late 1990’s he has helmed twenty-five films, and counting- moving from early SOV videos, onto digital filmed features. I tracked down Joe for an email interview- where we discuss his influences, his films, and the future
Sdug Bsngal
Sdug Bsngal are a Swedish two-piece that offer-up a jarringly and unnervingly mix of elegant piano playing, black metal, ambience, blunt PE/noise elements, and emotional-if-wonky moody music. The pair recently had their self-released debut album reissued by Stockholm-based Ominous Recordings as a C80 – and I think it’s fair to say it’s one of the most bizarre/unbalancing releases I’ve heard in some time – and we get all manner of strange, odd, noisy and wonderful fare through our doors. I track down the project’s two members simply known as R. & J. for an E-mail interview – discussing all that Sdug Bsngal is, their debut album, and the future of the project.
The Night Porter & Slowgurn project/ Death To Dyna
The walled noise scene, within the UK, is sadly rather small, but it’s certainly growing. And one of the key figures in this growth is Hertfordshire-based Tom Wilson- he’s behind the projects The Night Porter & Slowgurn, but also set up in December 2021 digital wall noise label Death To Dynamics- which to date has released nearing sixty titles. I tracked down Tom for an email interview- discussing his influences, his projects, and Death To Dynamics
The Worse Album In The World Ever Series
One of the more entertaining, yet still informed and critically balanced music review series on YouTube at present is The Worse Album In The World Ever. Started in 2018 by Garrett of Cactus Malpractice, with so far twenty-five episodes under its belt- the series has seen all manner of wonderfully, wacky, and strange fare covered. Going from releases from more known cult fare likes of The Residents, Captain Beefheart, Lou Reed, Nurse With Wound, Ween. And lesser-known odd-ness like all-female outsider guitar band The Shaggs, the shrill and off-tempo renditions of popular songs by Mrs Miller, and the skewed country/ rock ‘n’ roll of Hasil Adkin. We tracked down Garrett for an email interview- discussing his influences, the series, and what’s coming next for him.
Noir On Powerhouse Films
Peopled by glamorously elegant- yet- tricky femme fatales, flawed heroes, and shadowy yet cunning criminal bosses- noir is one of the most atmospherically intriguing and moodily iconic of all film genres. In recent years, the genre has seen something of a major revival, and one of the labels leading this revival has been UK’s Powerhouse Films. Over the last two years, they have released a series of Blu Ray Boxset’s focusing on the noir out-put of Columbia studios during the 1940’s and 1950’s. Each, of the four to date, box sets have featured six films, with a classy and crisp remastered print for each picture, a broad selection of extras, including informative and engaging commentary tracks, and bulky, fact/ stills packed inlay books. Due out late June of this year is the companies fifth Columbia noir boxset, and this focuses on the most iconic and known actors of the original noir cycle Humphrey Bogart. I caught up with John Morrissey Powerhouses co-owner/ director for an email interview regarding the boxsets and all things noir.
Schloss Tegal
Existing since the late 1980’s Schloss Tegal is an incredibly important and influential project, within both the dark ambient and industrial scenes. It takes its unusual name from a hospital castle near Berlin, which served as a psychiatric clinic treating soldiers with art and music therapy during WWII. So far they have released sixteen releases, taking in nine full-lengths, and a selection of splits & EPs. Schloss Tegal sound is a mix of cold & brooding industrial structuring, dark ambience, and an often fairly heavy use of samples and field recording elements. Eight Tower Records have recently reissued the project's 1991 debut Musick From Madness on CD, so it seemed like a prime time to interview the project's one and only member Richard Schneider- with the email interview focusing on the project's early days, and of course their debut album.
The Residents
In 2022 The Residents, those great American Avant pop act/ dark culture sonic satirists are celebrating their 50th anniversary. There are a few things planned to mark this very impressive milestone, first of these is the release of A Sight For Sore Eyes Vol 1- a three hundred and fifty-six-page coffee table book from Melodic Virtue, which is a visual feast focusing on the projects the first decade or so- that saw them release of classic albums such as The Third Reich ‘n’ Roll, Duck Stab, Eskimo, and The Commercial album. I caught up with Homer Flynn- the project's key graphic designer, spokesman & manager, to chat about 50 years of The Residents, the new book, and much more
Dave Phillips
I would hope that this introduction is unnecessary, but for nearly 35 years Dave Phillips has carved out a space of his own within noise and experimental music, with a huge body of work, recorded and live. This work has gathered together a variety of recognisable strands, including psycho-acoustic cut-ups, field recordings, visceral live aktions, and noise, with all centring a rigorous investigation into the existential, the ecological, and their intersection. Whilst this might sound dry, academic, or bloodless, Phillips’ work is anything but, revelling in the primordial noise of life and marshalling insect buzzes and human burps in meticulously crafted recordings and performances that hang suspended in an ecstatic tension between beauty and ugliness. His work is never an easy or light experience, but always stimulating, rewarding, and memorable. I have yet to hear any release that is mediocre or ‘phoned in’, which is a rare feat in such a prolific discography, so I am pleased to report that Dave graciously indulged my increasingly wayward questions…
Glemt
I think it’s fair to say that black metal as a sub-genre is one of the more prolific and popular forms of metal. Here at M[m] we must get a least ten or so albums from within this genre for review each month, and sadly more often than these releases just re-treading the same old cliches and tropes in a rather stale and bland manner- with little or no creativity, flare, or grim passion. From time to time we do get through an album that darkly glints in the sea of black metal mediocrity- and one such album was last years Eclipsing Through The Womb Of Twilight And Dementia. The album appeared on Lithuania's Inferna Profundus Records as either a 180-gram vinyl or digital download- and after a few EP’s, demos and splits this was Glemt first full length. And this makes it all the more impressive, as it’s a wonderful unpredictable and darkly deranged release that shifts between clamouring ‘n’ wonky mid-paced BM, crude speeding chaos, and creepily grim to darkly lumbering atmospherics. After being so impressed/ taken by the album, I just had to track down who was behind the project- and below you’ll find my email interview with the projects one and only member Orobas, who is based near London in the UK.
Best Of 2021
This year we’ve celebrated our 20th anniversary of existence, and as always with our best of year lists, we’ve selected a wide array of music, sound and film- which has always been the prime focus of M[m].
Koobaatoo Asparagus
For over a decade now Koobaatoo Asparagus has been active in both walled noise and harsh noise scenes. Behind the project is San Diego based Michael Scott- and in total the highly prolific sonic venture has released four hundred plus releases. I tracked down Michael for an email interview focusing largely on the walled noise side of the project's output.
Anti-Worlds Releasing
Starting out in early 2020 Anti-Worlds Releasing is a UK based film label, who from the off wanted to be one of the more daring and unpredictable genre labels around. With their output moving from the arty slacker drama/comedy/ horror of Relaxer. Onto the vapid-to-troubling gangster film Holiday, through to dealing- with-a-loss drama/ BDSM themed jet-black romantic comedy of Dogs Don’t Wear Pants, onto Penny Slinger: Out of the Shadows- a documentary charting the life of the largely forgotten modern artist who utilized sexualized and darkly surreal imagery. We tracked down Andy Starke, one of the main minds behind this label that constantly likes to surprise and challenge its audience, for a rare interview.
Himukalt
Himukalt is a female-fronted,necro-fed and often uneasily psychosexual venture that blends elements of old school industrial, noise, and searing ‘n’ unsettling electronica. Behind the project is Nevada based Ester Kärkkäinen, and in the last year or so the project's popularity,within and beyond, the noise scene has grown in leaps ‘n’ bounds. With many reissues of early releases from the project appearing on labels such as Cold Spring and Helen Scarsdale Agency, with new releases appearing on the likes of Tesco Organisation, Malignant Records, and Total Black. We tracked down Ester for an email interview- discussing the projects past, present and future.
SRS Cinema
Since the early 90’s SRS Cinema has been releasing all manner of underground horror, be it gory SOV, general z-budget horror, or low-fi creature features. They started off releasing VHS, but in more recent years have gone on to put out films in both DVD and Blu Ray formats. I first became aware of the company due to their releasing of classic ’80s / 90’s SOV fare from the likes of the Polonia Brother and Tim Ritter- since becoming a big fan of pretty much all they put out. I decided to track the main man behind SRS Ron Bonk, who as well as running the company is a film producer, and directed a few SOV classics himself. Below you’ll find an email with Ron, discussing all things SRS, and his own involvement in making/ producing low budget horror.
Tine Surel Lange
One of the more creative and distinctive sound-art/ manipulated field records to appear in recent times was this year’s Works For Listening 1-10. Released by the always worthy Sofa Music, the album sits somewhere between atmospherically manipulated field recordings and electro-acoustic texturing- be it alien, ambient or slightly manic. And most surprising of all, it was the debut album of young Norwegian composer and sound artists Tine Surel Lange. I tracked down Tine for an email interview, discussing her wonderful debut, her love of sound, and much more
theNightproduct
One of the more chillingly atmospheric textured/ walled noise projects to appear in the last 10 or so years is theNightproduct. Behind it is respected US noise artists Sean E. Ramirez-Matzus, solo -Thewhitehorse, A Week Of Kindness, Red Hook, and projects with his husband Richard Ramirez Black Leather Jesus and Last Rape. theNightproduct has been active since 2012, only releasing 6 releases thus far- but it’s very much quality over quantity, with all of it’s back catalogue been up to a very high standard and damn creepy to boot too!. Sean kindly agreed to give me an interview from his home in rural Pennsylvania
Martyn Bates / Kodax Strophes interview
Active since the late 1970s, Martyn Bates is one of the more distinctively creative figures to appear from the British post-industrial/ experimental scene of the period. He’s most known as one half of Eyeless In Gaza- who blended off-kilter English pop, post-punk, new wave, and more. He’s been sonically active pretty much constantly throughout the last 40 plus years, and his most recent venture is Kodax Strophes- which nods back/ connects with his early sonic dabblings of the ’70s. The project has just recently put out its debut release It Doesn't Matter Where It's Solstice When You’re In The Room on Klanggalerie, and it’s a wonderful unbalancing record that mixes ambience, psychedelic electronica, field recordings, and general experimental texturing. I tracked down Martyn for an email interview.
David Gregory
One of the most prolific, versatile, compellingly distinct, and at points artily creative directors to appearing from euro-exploitation was Jess Franco. Between the 1950s and the 2010’s, he directed over 200 films- with these running the gamut of genre cinema-going from black and white gothic horror, exotic horror, Women In Prison films, surreal and dread tinged softcore, jungle adventures, Zombie films, cannibal pictures, and slashers. In recent years many Franco films have received reissues- one of the more extra focused and classy reissues of Franco’s work has been Severin, to date they released nineteen of his films, with more planned this year. We tracked down one of Severin’s co-owners David Gregory(who has also interviewed Jess many times) to discuss the labels Franco releases.
Root Cellar, Monolithic Torment, & Submachine Gun
Cory Adieen is an American trans-gender noisemaker, who has been creating some of the more impressive and entrancing walled noise I’ve heard in some time. Cory is behind projects such as Root Cellar, Monolithic Torment, and Submachine Gun. She kindly agreed to give M[m] an email interview.
Patrick Picard
Recently released via Arrow Video The Bloodhound stands as one of the more classy, distinctive, and subtle uneasy psychological thrillers to appear in some years. The films based loosely on Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher. It focusing in on Jean-Paul Luret(Joe Adler)- an awkward, rich & glum twenty-something man, who lives with his largely unseen sister, in a glass, wood & grey blinded secluded large house. He’s visited by his school friend Francis (Liam Aiken) - who is equally awkward, though slightly more devious. The film slow, but surely unfolds blending together creepy awkwardness & lulling unease. It nods back to grim and troubled thriller/ horror films of the 1970s, with a side order of early 2000’s awkward geek-ness- which is what makes the whole thing so distinct. Most impressively this is the debut feature from LA-based Patrick Picard- who wrote and directed the film. After been most taken by The Bloodhound we arranged an email interview with Patrick, and below you'll find said interview- where he discusses not only his chilling debut film, but art and music- both his own & others.
Dosis Letalis
Dosis Letalis stands as one of the more respected & known projects of the second wave of walled noise. Since forming, just over five years ago, Dosis Letalis has put out over one hundred and fifty releases, with the projects sound moving between more straight ’n’ intense wall-craft, and more experimental fare. Behind the project is Serbian born Nemanja Nikolić, who moved from his homeland to France a few years back. I caught up with Nemanja for an email interview, and below you’ll find a lengthy and far-reaching interview discussing Dosis Letalis five-year existence, the project's set-up, many collaborations he's been involved with, and much more.
Shatraug
One of the most respected & prolific names in Finnish black metal is guitarist & songwriter Shatraug. He has been highly active in the scene since the early 1990’s- in 1993 he formed Horna, which quickly became one of the Connor stone bands of the Finnish BM scene. Then in 1999, he formed Sargeist- first as a solo project, then later as a band which for a time featured members of fellow long-running BM band Behexen- with the project creating a distinctive blend of grim & darkly harmonic elements. As well as these two key projects he’s linked to a few others too such as Mortualia, Striges, Finnentum, Gand, Hoath, Necroslut & Sinisterite. I caught up with Shatraug for an email chat- discussing his influences, the recent 10th album from Horna Kuoleman Kirjo, last years surprise first full-length release from Striges Verum Veterum, and the future.
Mark Polonia
When one thinks of gore-bound, yet creative Short-On- Video films of the 1980’s & 1990’s- the first two names that come to mind are Mark and John Polonia. During the 80's/90's these Wellsboro, Pennsylvania twins created a selection of low-budget classics such as Splatter Farm, Feeders, Church Of The Dammed, Hallucinations & How to Slay a Vampire. The pair carried on making films into the mid- 2000’s- then in 2008 John sadly passed away at the too-young age of thirty-nine. Since then Mark has carried on creating work- with to date sixty-two directing credits to his name, along with thirty-seven acting & sixty-five editing credits to his name. Mark kindly agreed to give us an email interview- discussing the classic SOV films, as well as later his more recent work.
Danny Hyde
Last year, shortly after the vinyl release of Contemplating Nothingness, the critically acclaimed third album from Electric Sewer Age. I was lucky enough to chat with musician/producer and general all-round sonic wizard Danny Hyde about his amazing career in music. We discussed his special working relationship with Peter ‘Sleazy’ Christopherson and his part in the amazing body of work Peter and Jhonn Balance (Coil) left behind when they passed. We also talked about Trent Reznor, the future, retirement, motorcycle accidents and Armenian Dudek players among other things.