The Hard Data has just published issue 11, and it is phenomenal. Exclusive interview with the father of hardcore techno, Marc Acardipane, aka The Mover. In his greatest interview since his 1995 feature in Alien Underground, The Mover reveals more than ever about his connection to 2017 and what it means. His early childhood, influences and thoughts for the future are revealed in greater detail than ever before in this once-in-a-lifetime exclusive.
For this special issue, Mike Hoppe, Planet Core Production’s main artist designed the cover. Additionally, Mindcontroller interviews hardcore techno’s next major star, Thorax! Finally, Deadly Buda Comix part 4 slams into print. In this issue a devastating revelation concerning Video’s past is revealed. Written by LA Weekly writer Joel Bevacqua, and drawn and inked by hardcore junglist M27, this is an issue you will want to save forever.
In two weeks time three colossal talents of the international breakcore scene will begin winding their way across the United States on a whirlwind tour that’s somehow been crammed into the shortest month of the year.
The HARD DATA caught up with end.user to get the low down on what you can expect when the combined chaos of these mischief makers touches down near you….
Monsters of MashUp Tour Dates:
featuring end.user, Shitmat, and Bong-Ra:
Feb. 16th – Star Theater - Portland, OR
Feb. 17th – Wire - Berwyn, IL
Feb. 18th – The Black Box - Denver, CO
Feb. 19th – Rathskeller Restaurant - Indianapolis, IN
Feb. 22nd – Churchill's Pub - Miami, FL
Feb. 24th – Zeba Bar - Washington, DC
Feb. 25th – ION Night Club - Philadelphia, PA
featuring only end.user and Shitmat:
Feb. 26th – AS220 - Providence, RI
Monsters of Mashup!
Monsters of MashUp is a pretty crazy line-up. You and Bong-Ra have been label mates for years at Ad Noiseam, but how did Shitmat get into the mix?
Jason and I met in person during 2004 while I was staying in Berlin after my first Ad Noiseam release came out. It was around the time that breakcore generally started to get a lot of attention in Europe. Jason introduced me to Henry (Shitmat) and he came up with the idea for the first Monsters of MashUp tour. We ended up doing 10 or 11 shows in 18 days all over Europe. It was hectic to say the least – but we survived
What sort of madness does this all-star breakcore tour plan to unleash?
Well I think we have 8 shows in 10 days. They are also pretty far apart from each other geographically, so I think we have a lot of early mornings / long flights. I’d like to say we’ll try to be responsible and not have too much fun, and get a ton of sleep to show up fresh at each gig – but knowing us I’m going to say bullshit. We’ll do what we can to throw down as hard as possible each night and make sure we make it to the next gig. Besides surviving, I think some ‘breakcore bingo’ hosted by Shitmat was on the schedule. Oh, I should mention that we have a handler traveling with us to make sure we are where we need to be on time, and there is an ‘Anvil’ type documentary being made about all of this. Someone must have lost a bet and will be traveling with us documenting all of it.
end.user – Enter to Exit
Tell us about the new album, Enter to Exit.
It took way too long to finish, but in a way that’s good. I almost released it ahead of time, and in all honesty it wasn’t ready. I took an extra year pretty much and ditched a couple of tracks while letting a few others find themselves. In the end it’s a bit melancholy compared to some stuff, maybe more in line with Calling the Vultures, but it was something I went through and put out there, so I’m really glad I’m happy with the final result. I don’t feel like I put something out there that I’m not 100% about. It’s full of emotions I’d say; the good with the bad.
Are there any plans to refine and release the tracks you ditched, or have those been abandoned?
One of them was a vocal track which stuck out a bit too much from the rest, so I’m planning on finishing that & having a couple of remixes from other artists for an EP. The other tracks that were leftover will either find homes on compilations or free downloads, I’m sure… although sometimes I revisit things months / a year later and see them in a totally new way. So we’ll see.
Your early releases on Sonic Terror have popped up on Bandcamp recently. How does it feel to revisit that material after more than a decade?
It’s weird in a way to listen to that stuff these days, mainly because back then I really worked so fast that I didn’t have time to think too much on any element that was going into a tune. It was just like ‘oh shit, this is happening now,’ meanwhile an entirely new thought was being introduced. Lots of chaos, lots of not-giving-a-fuck. I think the older any musician gets, they sort of consider what they’re doing *while* they’re doing it – as opposed to looking at it after the fact. Sometimes I hear these old tracks and I’m really shocked that I put some of these elements together and they worked out in the end. I’m sort of inspired by it, in a way. Stop thinking too much and just do what feels right.
How did the Sonic Terror crew initially come together?
Sonic Terror has gone through a few iterations. It started around ’99 in Indianapolis, a year or so after I started doing the end.user shows. I was living with a guy in Indy – Adam/DJ Incubus and we used ithe name mostly for live gigs. Then, when I moved back to Cincinnati I met up with Scott (Line47) and we started putting out vinyl pretty much straight away. We would sleeve the records ourselves, and we ran it out of our houses. It was very DIY but we just did it because we loved it. It’s been years since then and now Carl (N.L.I.C.) have decided to pick it back up again and offer an outlet to our friends & people who are making weird/noisy breakbeats.
For a while it seemed like Milwaukee was a sort of nucleus for the Midwest breakcore scene that revolved around barn parties and the Addict and Distort labels. In a lot of ways Sonic Terror heralded the emergence of the post-Barn era. Was there a scene for what you were doing, or was it just a community of like-minded producers that drew inspiration from one another?
I was always a fan of what was going on up in Milwaukee. When i was in Indy I went to a few parties, and was super into Drop Bass Netowrk (Ghetto Safari) & Addict stuff. I met a few people in those days, but it wasn’t until Doormouse started to come through Cincy and Scott & I would host those parties that I got to really know those guys and feel like there was any sort of connection. That shit got pretty crazy. I remember one weekend alone I had Dan Doormouse, Aaron Funk, Baseck, Otto Von Schirach, and Chris c64 staying at my house. It may have even been the same time Knifehandchop & Belladonnakillz were there. We sort of had this breakcore stronghold in northern Kentucky that was situated between a Waffle House and a drive through liquor store. What could go wrong?
What are your indispensable tools for production, and what can people expect from your current live set?
I write everything in Renoise. I use pieces of hardware when I’m around them, but always bounce it to audio and cut that up in Renoise. I’ve always loved trackers as long as i can remember, and I hate writing music in anything else, although sometimes I’m forced to (and I do use Ableton for live shows) I will always prefer writing in a tracker.
As far as my live shows are looking now, it seems to be a mix of really old tracks mashed up with unfinished pieces & remixes from more vocal based tracks over the years. It’s always hard to mix tracks that were made 10-15 years apart because of the differences in sound quality – but as long as it’s loud, there’s enough low end and the highs don’t pierce your brain, I’m a happy guy.
Sadistic is a hardcore artist, dj and organizer originally from Scotland. His recent releases are an interesting crossover between the psychedelic and more experimental flashcore aesthetics as well as more dancefloor friendly, yet underground, hardcore techno styles. He now lives in Thailand and has started organizing Darkside Thailand hardcore events in Bangkok. To report about these new musical developments and the latest expansion efforts of the hardcore scene to new areas, we’re here to bring you an interview with Sadistic!
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your history. How long have you been active in the core scene as a dj, musician and organizer?
Hi Hard Data crew. First of all, I wanna say thanks for getting in touch with the interview and for the awesome write up on my EP’s on CSR. I would say that is quite an accurate description.
I have been a bedroom dj since 13, but really it all started at the age of 18, when I was legally able to attend clubs and events. I started a small event in Glasgow with a friend called Odyssey, putting on a variety of music styles at the event. This lasted for about 3 years, and also led me to meet some of my closest associates in the hardcore scene. Meanwhile I was bursting to get into producing music since the age of about 16, but never knew how. Finally around the time of running these events I came across some music production software and that was the entry.
About 5 years ago I stopped making core for a while. I wanted to experiment with different tempos, rhythms, sounds, styles, vibes, methods of production etc, just generally things which I wouldn’t do when making hardcore music.
(If you wanna hear any of that you can check out our Disasters In Shado Magic album we released on Miike Teknoist‘s Zombfree label). But from doing that I actually developed a lot of new production techniques and ways to use my synthesizers, and that all contributed to my style and developing as an artist. So when I started writing hardcore tunes again, I was coming at it with a different approach than before, and incorporating in all these different things I was doing with that other music. The EP I made around then was 25 Minutes Of Sonic Power, and now we have the sequel, Another 30 Minutes Of Sonic Power. Sadistic @ Ordinary2016
What are your musical influences and what inspires you as a musician?
My synthesizers inspire me. I just like to jam and go with the flow and see where it takes me. Once I hear something I think I can work with, that’s where it begins. Once I feel inspired by the sounds then I can start to think about it seriously and how to turn it into a track.
Also when you listen to music as a dj you hear it differently than when you listen to music as a producer. When you’re a dj and playing tunes, you’re feeling the energy, listening to the main elements of the track, listening out for places you can mix and cut it up, thinking about what tunes work well with it, thinking about what will make people dance. But when you listen to music as a producer you listening deep into the sounds, how the track evolves, what emotions are in the tune, what story it tells. For me, I’m much more influenced by the latter. I always listen to people’s music from a producer point of view. I get inspired by the sounds or vibes in tunes that are nothing like the stuff I’m making. I’ll go through phases of listening to a lot of music and at times listening to only one thing. I often get obsessed by someone’s music and try to get everything they have done and listen to it over and over until I get bored of it. Usually I like the vibe of their music, the place it puts me in, the way it makes me feel, or fascinated by their music in some way. Over the years some of the people that have done that for me are Amon Tobin, Venetian Snares, Dj Hidden, Richard D James, Xploding Plastix, Rubberoom, The Opus, People Under The Stairs, MOG (Glasgow rapper), and obviously various producers, labels, djs within the hardcore scene.
Ultimately though I get inspired all the time by people who are just doing something unique or different and doing their own thing.
Your recent releases have a unique style similar to flashcore while at the same time being dancefloor friendly. What’s your opinion on the current state of atmospheric and psychedelic core music (with a lack of better umbrella term) and flashcore?
That’s true! And not a coincidence either! But that’s a tough question to be honest. I don’t really listen to so much music these days as I don’t have the time. I’m not anywhere near as collective as I used be and being able to seek out music and following scenes. I just don’t have the time these days to find or listen to more of it with working full time, studying for a degree in Astronomy, seeing my girlfriend and trying to make my own music. I love stuff when I hear it, but I can’t comment on the current state.
What brought you to Thailand?
I came to Thailand quite a few years ago to travel and about a year after going back home I came back here to live. I was just looking for something new really, but it’s worked out and I’ve settled here.
You have recently started organizing hardcore parties in Bangkok as Darkside Thailand. Tell us a bit about this concept. Have there been any local core events or core being included in lineups before this?
Over the last couple of years I have played at a few parties in Bangkok. They weren’t hardcore dedicated parties, but more so experimental electronic events. I played my hardcore and it was well received. So since there were no dedicated core events on in the City, I decided to fill that gap and put something on.
I spoke to my close friend Al Twisted who runs the original Darkside events in Scotland, which have been going on for 18 years now. He thought it was a great idea too and suggested that I could use his brand name and I decided to start the franchise Darkside Thailand.
How did the first Darkside Thailand party go in your opinion?
The first event was a success. We held our event at a club called JAM in Bangkok.
Each of the dj’s played great sets and the party people brought an awesome atmosphere. Even the club owners became part of the party. The club is quite small and compact, which is perfect for what we are trying to do. The underground scene in Bangkok is vibrant, but it’s a scene with underground music on a whole, rather than being a scene in hardcore. So events aren’t packing out hundreds to thousands of people. Events are still fairly small numbered. My only criticism about the event was doing it on a Thursday. I think weekends will be much more suitable nights for the events. That is what we’ll do in future.
What are the possibilities and challenges of organizing events in Thailand?
Events here remind me of what the gabber scene was like in Scotland 10 years ago, but still even smaller than that. Small events of like-minded people with an open-mind for good underground music. As for anyone anywhere in a position like that I think the possibilities are massive and exciting, but also will be very challenging and a struggle at times. But the people who stick it out will usually achieve their goals.
How has the music been received by the locals, expats and travellers?
At the moment we’ve only had one event as the first event was cancelled due to the passing of the king. It’s a bit early really to comment on that. All the events I’ve been at with the music I’ve played and other similar styles, including our event, has all been well received. It’s a totally open-minded crowd that attend most of these events.
In some Asian countries people seem to get their first touch of hardcore techno listening to j-core coming from Japan rather than the sounds from European scenes. Have you noticed if this is also a thing in Thailand or are there any other specific subgenres of core that you would say are more exposed locally or that resonate well on the dancefloors?
Sadistic playing @ No Answer 2017 in Chiang Mai
Bangkok has a passionate underground scene for music and art. At some events I have attended, I have noticed that people listen to the music also as a form of art. And the style that many Thai artists play reflects this. When some of these events are organised they are intended for people to stand and listen and watch the performance.
There is also a quite a popular drum and bass scene, which is totally different where people do dance. I have heard a few breakcore sets in Bangkok, which is the closest style to hardcore I’ve heard. Sometimes these events are put on either of the two, or they are mixed. But exposure to the hardcore techno music and events in the hardcore scene is greatly unheard or unfollowed. So hopefully we can get more of the open-minded people here excited about the hardcore techno scene.
Any local artists/dj’s you would recommend for the readers to check out?
Space360 is one of the organisers that let me play a bunch of times. He produces IDM and Breakcore, and organises many underground events in Thailand. Top Guy!!
What future plans do you have for Sadistic and Darkside Thailand?
I have some really exciting plans for Sadistic, but can’t really say anything about them yet as there still in early stages. I’m doing some collaboration’s at the moment too with some guys I’ve never worked with, and I plan to do more over the next year or two. I want to be more involved in the scene this way, and bringing my new flavour to the table.
For Darkside Thailand the plans at the moment are to have a steady string of events every few months and build up the event. It’s a small event and we don’t have the budget to pay for international artists, so it’s a group contribution at the moment I guess you could say. When people are planning trips to Thailand we can sort out a date with them to organise events. That way we can afford to make these events happen and give artists the chance to play in this wonderful country that has largely unheard the sounds of core. But in general we hope for bigger and better things for Darkside Thailand.
The midwest United States is, for many people, the birthplace of modern electronic music. The area has produced a long line of influential labels, DJs, and producers, as well as playing a key role in developing genres and shaping new directions for future generations to follow. A number of artists have left their mark over the years, but few have made an imprint on as many different strains of electronic music as Jason Snell; the shape-shifting musician who has made quality contributions to a wide range of styles via an ever-growing list of projects. His late-90s cassettes turned heads worldwide, and he soon found himself releasing material on a number of influential labels. From Hangars Liquides in France, Addict and Ghetto Safari in Milwaukee, Vinyl Communications in California. The visionary Detroit label LowRes even dedicated the Division 13 sublabel to his output. The Hard Data dives into the heart of darkness and brings you an in depth look at the man behind the monikers.
You’ve produced work under a number of different aliases over the years. At what point does a new project emerge? Do you discover, as material nears completion, that it stands apart from other work and deserves its own name, or do you enter into the creative process with fresh concept in mind and approach it differently from the outset?
It initially comes up as a need for new expression that I can’t comfortably produce under the Bombardier name. I’ve had the Bombardier moniker the longest (started around 1997) so each new project is in relation to that foundation. When I find myself working on new material I like but it doesn’t feel like a “Bombardier” song, I start considering other options. After having so many monikers in the late 90’s – Bombardier, 13th Hour, Kamphetamine, and Useless Generation – I was reluctant to start anything new again, particularly because in retrospect all that late 90’s material is very similar in tone and could have easily fallen under the Bombardier name. So for years I tried to expand the Bombardier umbrella rather than start new projects, but I’m constantly exploring and eventually ran out of runway.
The purpose of new names isn’t so much to distinguish my work for listeners but rather free me up to express what I need to express. The last few years I’ve wanted to explore more melodic, pretty ambient music and kept balking at pursuing it because it didn’t feel “Bombardier” enough. The Bombardier ambient sound is more atonal and dark and I felt restricted by that history and body of work. The result was The Space Where She Was, which was initially a song title about the strange phenomenon of when someone leaves or dies and their physical space, the room they lived in, the bed they slept in, the space they occupied in a community is now empty.
In contrast, my 5th of July band project was created as a fresh concept. I was auditioning different vocalist when I lived in the Bay Area and connected the most with Jessica Schoen. She grew up in Chicago and listened to the same industrial and goth bands I did in the 90’s. She liked the dark atmospheres and percussion of my Bombardier work and we both wanted to work on something down-tempo. I love working with her vocals and she’s incredibly tolerant of how much I manipulate them in the mix. I’ll often start with a simple backing track and she’ll sing lyrics that either of us have written. I usually then break the backing track into individual sounds, chop up her vocals and reverse them. I listen to the vocals and sounds and get a sense of its unique DNA, and build the song from scratch. Once we did our first show (January of 2016) the visual aesthetic came together – a sort of David Lynch meets Sleep No More. That led to a number of film shoots in the spring and the overall project is becoming more multimedia than just a band.
On the subject of the visual component, you do much of the graphic design for your releases. Is there a difference in how you approach creating moving images to accompany music and how you craft the elements that go into the package elements of a release? Does this process of matching images to sound differ greatly from providing soundtracks to film, where the images come before the audio?
There are two different directions. When I design album art, I know the music and look through my photos to find something that connects well with the sound of the song or album. When I work on films (whether scoring someone else’s film or shooting my own), the footage / image comes first and I then began to “hear” the corresponding sounds in my mind that fit. And the challenge then is getting my machines to make the sound I heard in my head. So with graphic design it goes sound to image, and with motion picture it goes image to sound.
An interesting aside as I’ve learned more about sound production and mastering – the process of adjusting levels, pan, or effects to move the musical elements in the sound field – is its incredible similarities to graphic design. Changing the alpha on a graphic element feels like changing the volume on a musical element, etc… They use a similar non-verbal part of my mind that moves from focusing on individual elements to the whole picture, back and forth, during the editing process.
You’ve moved around a lot, is environment something that has a distinct impact on your output?
It definitely does. There’s an inverse relationship between the amount of chaos in an environment and the amount of risk I’m willing to take creatively. When I moved to NY in 2000 I thought the activity of the city would inspire me creatively. However the opposite happened – I began to take less risks with my music. It’s only when I’m in quiet places that the loudest music comes out of my brain. When I left NY in 2009, my art and music had atrophied to the point where I thought I was just out of ideas. I moved to a quiet apartment in the Bay Area and slowly began to feel creative again. However that city-type of compression came back up as the tech boom hammered the Bay, and I started to lose focus again. I moved to LA and that helped, but as it is also becoming more expensive I know I won’t be here forever. I spend a good amount of time in Iowa where I have a comparable studio set up as my California one. Some of my best ideas have come out there. On the flip side, I need some exposure to great artists and new music to stay inspired, so I do this balance of spending some time in cities, seeing shows and jamming with other artists, and some time alone in the middle of nowhere making music.
Bombardier performing in NYC
Do you use different gear, or tailor your studio set-up for each individual project?
My Bombardier work has been heading in the direction of outboard gear again. I started with gear in 1995, a drum machine, and slowly built on that. I didn’t use software until about 2011 when a friend loaned me Maschine for a weekend and I liked what it could do. Using software has taught me a lot about sound production – EQ ranges, compression, effects – that I didn’t learn from my early gear because I just blasted the signals through distortion pedals and a 4-track. However making music just with software doesn’t fit my style. I like the erratic sounds of wires getting crossed and the hum of machines and pedals. It’s a more raw sound and fits the Bombardier style.
5th of July began software based and still is, although I’m experimenting with bringing in some sounds recorded from my modular of gear into it. Because of Jessica’s vocals, working in software makes it easier to arrange around them. It’s more delicate work and software helps with that precision.
And the melodic, lo-fi sound of The Space Where She Was is outboard gear. Even if I use a software synth, I route it through a chain of external pedals. Most recently I’ve been experimenting with an AI I programmed into my Refraktions iPhone app. I’ve been having it send generative sequences to my desktop synths (the Waldorf Blofeld, the Analog Four) and my modular kit to make its own songs. I set it up, tap the iPhone screen a few times, and let it create a composition while I turn knobs – essentially like having a robot band mate. That’s produced some really beautiful results – lo-fi melodies and drones that fits the project well.
You mention ‘generative sequences’ in relation to The Space Where She Was. That term was coined by Eno to describe the use of algorithms or processes to compose ambient music. This is fitting considering the ambient nature of the material, but also suggests an influence in terms of approach and structure. What are some of your biggest influences, and who are some of the artists you’ve been exposed to recently that you’ve found particularly inspiring?
I use the term “generative” in the same way Eno did – a composition run through a series of algorithms that generate new sequences. I’m pushing myself and the music by developing an artificial intelligence in my Refraktions app that can remember and respond to a musician’s initial choices before the algorithms are applied. The generative code in the app began as randomized selections of sounds and notes. Now the AI has a memory matrix that remembers the musician’s choices, stress-tests those choices against a randomized element, and produces a result that is new, yet favoring the instruments and notes the musician prefers. It’s a blend between existing trajectory and new input, which is how I experience life in general. My goal is to make this sequencer generate sequences and rhythms that are as organic and life-like as possible within a technological environment.
In terms of influences on this process and my ambient music in general, Mahr is the top of my list. She is a musician out of Madison whose music strikes a balance between dark and beautiful, complex and understandable, like a lucid hallucinogenic trip. Perhaps there is something about the Madison area, because I credit Ablecain as the biggest influence on the breakcore I’ve made.
Other influences include the abundance of performers I’ve been able to see in Los Angeles these last two years. Orphx’s modular set was the best performance I saw in 2016, followed closely by Richard Devine and his two coffin-sized modular racks. Also Autechre, Alessandro Cortini, and local artists from the LA modular scene like Bana Haffar and Baseck (who I’ve known now for 19 years – we used to trade breakcore cassette demos). Not a week goes by without several world-class electronic artists performing in Los Angeles. It’s an honor and privilege to be here right now.
How different is your live set-up from the studio you use for production?
I’ve experimented a lot with my live set up – playing off gear, Ableton, Traktor, modular, or any combination of them. When I’m traveling a lot, I usually have a Traktor X1 mapped to be a 4 channel mixer, with a live stream going into the D deck. That live stream could be a drum machine, synth, my app – just depends on the set and the sort of sound I’m going for. I experimented with Ableton for a while (and certainly will again) but gravitated towards Traktor so I could play full songs that have their progression built it. It also opened me up to mixing other artists songs into my sets, which was new for me because I started as a producer and not a DJ. So my production studio is often what I’m traveling with, but when I’m stationary, I have a set of hardware synths, pedals, Maschine controller, and Elektron boxes. Here’s a full list of gear that’s scattered between my 2 studios:
Maschine Studio Elektron Rytm and Analog 4 Moog Delay, Bass Murf, Drive, and chorus Electro Harmonix delay, flange, reverb, phaser Novation Bass Station, Bass Station II, Super Bass Station rack and drum station Waldorf Blofeld Roland JV-880, R8, MC-50 Boss SYB-3 synth filter, DD5 Delay, Metal Zone, and Hyper Fuzz
That last pedal, the Boss Hyper Fuzz, is the piece of gear I’ve had the longest and is a fundamental piece in all my favorite tracks. I started using it in 1993 with a guitar and amp, making feedback and learning how to get beautiful tones in noise. Later I started running 808 kicks (from the R8) and that began my hardcore and industrial catalog.
At Furthur you played a techno set on the Network 10 Venus stage on the Friday night, and then were called upon to take a Saturday night slot on the mainstage. You were able to perform a completely different style with no notice. How did that come about, and how much work goes into always being prepared to shift gears like that?
There were a lot of factors, but basically it boils down to something I heard in NYC years ago. Luck = preparation + opportunity. It’s sort of a Karate Kid thing, waxing the car and painting the fence over and over because it’s the next task in front of me then in all comes together in important moments like these.
The preparation element was being on tour that summer and playing about 15 shows before Furthur. They were DJ + live hybrid sets, each one being unique, something I did as a personal challenge. I was also pushing myself to move away from the safety of planned out sets and pick the first track of a set just seconds before I start. I’d try to launch off the moment, transitioning from the previous artist and reading the energy of the crowd. By the time of Furthur, I knew my gear, I knew my songs, and could enter and exit at any point. I was listening to Fixmer McCarthy’s last track and knew to pull up a techno track I did called “Pavement” that my friend Joey (Blush Response) had told me sounded like Nitzer Ebb. I knew my destination, which was to ramp things up to a hard set by Perc, and I was filling in for Lenny Dee, so each time I looked for a new track I simply thought, “harder.”
The other part was the opportunity, which came about through several tenuous, simultaneous threads. Even the night of the event, several random coincidences occurred (me watching the show from backstage, Perc being delayed at the airport, Joel not finding out that he was needed at 1am instead of 3am) but what is even more interesting to me were the threads that began more than a year and half before at a very small show in LA.
I had been booked to play a Thursday night in the outskirts of LA. I knew other people who had played this venue and liked it, but for whatever reason the turnout was really low. It was essentially artists performing for each other and about 5 other people. The venue was huge so it felt painfully empty. It was one of those nights where anyone could have bailed and no one would blame them. But my attitude is to do the best I can with whatever is in front of me so I enjoyed playing and listening to the sets on their big system, hung out with the other artists, and enjoyed the evening.
One of the other artists was JB (Zeller) from France. We hit it off and the next summer he booked several shows for us in Europe. In June, I played a hardcore set in Renne, posted it online, and that was heard by Maria 909 in New York. Later that summer, David (Cervello Elettronico) – who also was at the LA show – booked me to play at Nothing Changes in downtown New York. Maria showed up at that show, we hit it off, and a month later at Furthur she was key in advocating for me to play in Lenny Dee’s spot.
If I rewind the tape and think if I had bailed on that small LA show or had a bad attitude, would JB or David want to continue playing shows with me? Would I have been in Renne and Maria heard that recording, or met her in New York?
All of these elements combined to make that moment where Kurt asked me if I could play main stage with 5 minutes notice. Without hesitation I said yes and the rest was auto-pilot: Plug in the gear, get a sense of what to play immediately, and perform the best set I can play.
Do you see common elements that connect your entire body of work?
I think the common elements are darkness, hard-driven sounds, grief, and a sort melancholic beauty. That comes out in almost all my mediums – illustration, painting, film, and music. It can pendulate from hard techno to dark, beatless atmospheres. The Space Where She Was project is probably my biggest deviation from those themes because it moves into pretty, melodic sounds, although they are probably still on the dark side of the spectrum compared to most melodic music.
I think another element that comes out is that my body of work is uniquely me. Of course this or that element is going to overlap with my peers, but I don’t think people hear one of my tracks and say “oh that’s just like so and so.” I was talking to a friend in France who I did a remix for and he said “You’re an ovni in the industrial scene.” I asked what ovni was and he said “UFO,” meaning my sound is unique. I took that as the biggest compliment.
Over the years, I’ve heard many times that my music is too dark, too hard, too weird, too whatever. The benefit of that is I’ve developed an incredible amount of resilience and persistence. A few years ago I was in a slump and wondered if I should stop making music. I thought it through and wondered, “well, what else would I do?” and realized I’m built this way. I have to create. It’s not up to me. I wouldn’t be happy being a Wall Street broker or project manager or full-time dad. I find my equilibrium through creating. So I do it regardless of whether it’s going to land well with others or not. It’s emotional survival for me. There are times where it connects with a lot of people and times it doesn’t, and during the down times it becomes about what the music does for me, not others, that gives me persistence and meaning. It’s cynical, and usually with experimental music at some point it goes from being “weird” to most people to becoming “visionary.” It’s a validating feeling, but not something I need to count on to keep going.
Dedicated to the harder sound of electronic dance music.
