Saturday, October 22, 2016

Snowbeasts: Polar Predators

Since 2014, Dark Ambient/Electronic Industrial act Snowbeasts (comprised of Robert Galbraith & Elizabeth Virosa) have been hell-bent on creating Arctic soundscapes for their namesakes to roam.

Their debut record caught the attention of French Electronic label M-Tronic Records and that year were invited to appear on the label’s 10th anniversary compilation

5 Releases later, the Rhode Island based duo returned to M-Tronic last September with album
‘+ -’ which you can listen to below and read my thoughts on after this interview. 

I met up with Rob and Elizabeth to discuss their beginnings, the new album, and find out what the beasts are on the hunt for next...



DMD: First of all, how did you come up with the name Snowbeasts?

Elizabeth: Rob came up with the name. We had a particularly rough and long winter. I think that is why he chose the name since we felt like Snowbeasts.


DMD: How did you both meet?

Elizabeth: We met through a mutual friend in NYC. I was trying to get back into sound art or music at the time and heard that Rob had put a studio together and was looking to collaborate with other musicians.


DMD: What did you work on together musically before Snowbeasts?

Rob: Our other project, Pattern Behavior, pre-dates Snowbeasts by about a year and a half or so.  We have four EPs and a full length out under that name. We will be doing more under that name in the upcoming year. We also record under the name Mon(o)taur  with our friend David Dodson which was started around the same time. Before that I was doing stuff under the names Logiq (with Matt Crofoot of Informatik), Codec, & Raab Codec.


DMD: Snowbeasts began in 2014, how much has changed these past 2 years?

Rob: A ton has changed for us both personally and musically since 2014. It started out as a solo project with a focus on using modular synths to create soundscapes. Over the last couple of years we have added and developed more percussive elements and also use Elizabeth’s processed vocals more prominently. We have also been starting to play more live shows.


DMD: For both of you, what records had a big effect on you throughout your childhood and teens?

Rob: For me, my musical discovery took place around the time I was 15 or so. The Cure's Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss, New Order's Substance, and Depeche Mode's Music for the Masse & Violator all were in heavy rotation. My tastes shifted a bit more industrial as I discovered college radio.

Elizabeth: I listened to whatever records or albums my older brothers were listening to when I was a child, mostly classic rock or whatever was on MTV. Suburban 80’s music. I started going to local shows in Boston when I was around 16. First punk or hardcore shows at places like the Rat, then raves and later in college I discovered more industrial music. I was really into NIN the downward spiral as a teen. I think that was my gateway album into discovering more electronic and experimental music. That and I ended up taking sound art classes while in college.

Snowbeasts live at the Park Church Co-op,
Brooklyn. 
Photo credit: Stella Perish


DMD: Tell me about Component Recordings, are there any exciting new releases coming out this year?

Rob: I started Component in 1999 as a vehicle for putting out my own music. It is something that ballooned very fast after putting together the Integral Components comp.  In Component’s original run I put out music by Mochipet, Dryft, Proem, Xyn, Somatic Responses and a bunch more.  I ended up closing down the first incarnation of the label in 2005 due to changes in the industry and associated financial issues. 

After taking a very long break, I decided to bring things back in 2013 and have built up a new roster over the last few years. We have a core group of great artists who are continually sending me new tracks to put out: Witch Eyes, Alpturer, Cathode Ray Tube, Maduro, Solypsis, & Production Unit Xero. The next couple releases from Component are going to be Cathode Ray Tube's 'Famous Monsters & Solypsis's "Smoke Signals".


DMD: What is the electronic/ambient live scene like in Rhode Island?

Elizabeth: I enjoy the scene here. Providence is kind of more known for its noise and metal scene but it has a good mix of other genres and artists. Some shows will mix genres together but it somehow works. There are a fair amount of spaces to play at for a smaller city. There is almost always something happening.


DMD: What is your live and recording setup?

Rob: We approach live and studio with different mindsets. In the studio, everything from the modular, any external instruments and Elizabeth's voice all get recorded into Ableton and are pretty heavily synced up. Our live setup is pretty organic and improvisational. 
We typically start with a few basic sequences on the modular and then build up a bunch of layers from there. Along with my modular, Elizabeth has a pedal board with a pitch shifter, looper and reverb for her vocal stuff. We try to do something a bit different each time with the live stuff and keep it interesting.


DMD: Apart from music, what else inspires you both to create? 

Rob: For me, I take a lot of inspiration from film. I am a huge horror & sci-fi fan especially of stuff from the late 60’s to early 80’s.  Nature also is a big influence as well as emotions.

Elizabeth: Generally the news, emotions, nature, the city and sometimes visual art.


DMD: Who are your favourite artists on M-tronic?

Rob: Mlada Fronta is really awesome! I also really dig the the new albums from Kuta and Mnemonic.


DMD: Do you have any plans to add lyrics to Elizabeth’s singing or will they remain vocalised?

Elizabeth: We go back and forth on that. We tend to have the vocals in Pattern Behavior be more distinct. But in general we are more interested in capturing a mood or atmosphere than telling a story.


DMD: Is there a meaning behind the album title (+ -)?

Rob: + - is about duality. It is about the struggle that we all have inside of us between positive instincts and self defeating behaviours.  From a musical standpoint, it is a contrast between the beautiful and the harsh.


DMD: How would you both compare the new album to the Snowbeasts’ back catalogue?     
            
Rob: I would say it is a progression from what we were doing on our last album Instincts. We wanted to explore the directions we laid out on that album and push them out further. I would say that if you compared it to our debut or Ice & Shadow they would seem like quite a departure but if you listen to all the albums back to back a path can be found.


DMD: You guys used a de-tuned Autoharp on the track ‘Midnight’  did you use any other new instruments too? 

Rob: Other than the autoharp we used an EBow on Elizabeth's guitar for some of the textures on 'Tangled Wires'. For this release, our primary instrument was an Elektron Analog Keys. We just picked this up while we were starting the new album and it is all over it. 
My modular rig took a bit of a backseat on + - but we did use a ton of the Basilimus Iteratus from Noise Engineering for the drum sounds.


DMD: Any plans for CD and Vinyl releases in the future?

Rob: There is some talk about that but nothing set in stone.  Right now we are just focusing our energies on writing music and performing.  We would both love to see a Snowbeasts release on Vinyl in the future but in the meantime digital allows us the freedom to do what we want.


DMD: When you guys aren’t writing music or performing how do you spend your time?

Elizabeth: Aside from working as a software developer, I try to travel as much as I can, go to shows and play with our cats. 

Rob: I work full time as an engineer and that takes up a good portion of my waking hours. What is left after that and working on music goes in to running the label, going to shows and watching movies.


DMD: What does the rest of 2016 hold for Snowbeasts?

Elizabeth: We have some remixes planned for a few artists, a collaboration track with Displacer to complete, and possibly some live shows coming up.


DMD: Anybody you want to give a shout out to?

Rob: M-Tronic for releasing + -, everyone who supported the Component releases, DJ Deftly D for his support over the years and all the artists who we have played with and have remixed our music.


My thoughts on + -

First track ‘Disruption’ pauses to take in the view of the vast icy landscape that is ‘+ -.’ Sinister looped strings riding distorted beats with snare cracks resembling falling chunks of ice smashing on the ground set the tone. Elizabeth’s unearthly voice seems to stretch out to the horizon of this imaginary cold world.

‘Phantom Limb’ is a bit more Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross flavoured, a thickened clicky drum pulse, an oozing bass line and a trembling synth pattern all help bring out the sci-fi/horror vibe too.
Third track ‘Secrets’ picks up the pace and threatens to kick into full on dance club tempo but instead pulls back, filling the space with metallic bounces and chants that resemble some kind of esoteric ritual. 

Meanwhile during the more cautionary tones of ‘Bridges to Nowhere’ night has fallen and the beautiful sub-zero scenery now becomes a less inviting place, which leads into my favourite track ‘Midnight.’ 

This is where the eerie-ness on the record reaches fever pitch, a heavy echoing percussive effect kicks the track off and the more distorted beats return this time with cymbal crashes sound off like gun-fire. In between all this lurks a scraping sound interchanged with ghostly tapping.

On the shortest track ‘Empathy Gap’ things get a little more chilled out rather than spine-chilling, Elizabeth’s powerful voice illuminates the glacial earth like the rising sun but it doesn't stay positive for long, and transforms into a sonic breeze that hints of more malevolence to come.

The marching beat and driving feel of ‘The Sky Cracks Open’ replicate an animal colony traversing through dangerous predator ridden territory, while ‘Tangled Wires’ features metallic synths married with guitar drones that evolve into a keyboard melody that wouldn’t feel out of place on a Porcupine Tree record.

Ending track ‘Selfless’ made me envision someone slowly climbing a snow covered mountain, creeping synths build as they get higher and the air thins, a stacked vocal ostinato and locked synth pattern signify them stopping to admire the view before the track fades out. 

In conclusion, the 6th Snowbeasts record delivers a numbing shot of cold energy that will have you reaching for the thermostat, the duo sound 100% focused on grabbing the listener and taking them to another dimension, leaving them wanting to re-experience that journey again and again.

It also helps that this time round they haven’t over indulged on track lengths (‘Selfless’ being the album’s longest at 6:20). ‘+ -’ is a record that I would recommend to anyone from the Witch House crowd, Industrial listeners and fans of the darker side of Ambient/Electronic music. 

Wrap up warm folks, because Snowbeasts are here to stay.

8/10

Photo credit: mind on photography

You can also listen to a Snowbeasts ‘best of’ release assembled by the duo here




Monday, October 17, 2016

Building Castles out of Matchsticks: A Sense of Wander

Ever since forming solo project 'Building Castles out of Matchsticks' in the Winter of 2000, Canadian experimental musician Anne Sulikowski has been writing music that refuses to sit quietly in the music genre filing cabinet.

Achieving the enviable position of having her music appear on the popular TV show CSI (which is actually rather fitting since her full-time work is in forensic psychiatry) these days Anne divides her time between radio show ‘The Infinite Echo’ where she dishes out an eclectic mix to the morning commuters, as well documenting regular off-grid wanderings set to her tracks on YouTube. 

Reflecting Anne's love of adventure, the music of Building Castles out of Matchsticks offers an extraordinary audio prescription for the modern day escapist.



DMD: Please give me the epic story behind Building Castles out of Matchsticks 

Anne Sulikowski: I sort of wish I could begin this story by saying that one day I was coming home from school and I found an old chest packed with vintage guitar pedals inside a tree trunk that was actually an entrance to a secret underground city, with the leaves of the trees itself whispering for me to go inside. 

Or maybe I could tell the story of a girl who built an arc so big to take at least 300 cool people all the way up north to find the entrance leading deep within the hollow earth, where apparently there is a secret city where everyone is good. Or better yet the story when I was woken from a deep sleep by shadow people, whom, not only could see through walls, but through time, through space, through you.....

The real story is I was barely out of high school, lost as most were that age. I wasn’t very popular at school because I always floated to the stranger side of all things, including music, films, political outlooks, fashion, conversations. I had a wildly vivid imagination and many things would bore me, leaving me spending significant time alone. 

I played in a few bands and wanted to do something solo, didn't have any money, or gear or really didn't really know where I could have started, hence the name "building castles out of matchsticks" a friend said that to me once, as I was trying to get all my shit together. He said, “don't worry, with that kind of imagination, you could build castles out of matchsticks!" I thought it was such a cute phrase, but with deep meanings. I decided to start recording under that name.


DMD: What artists/bands initially inspired you to produce the sounds you are now making? 

AS: I have always been all over the place musically, even back then. I can vividly remember exactly what I was listening to though on heavy rotation when I first started recorded music. My room was always filled with sounds of Sonic Youth, Oval, Stereolab and American Analog set. 

Not to mention all the recordings my friends were doing, involving lots of knobs and dials....I was doing a radio show at the time (and still am) so I was always listening to so much music......its actually really difficult to state what inspired me initially....but I feel it was the actual people around me that inspired me most with their art.


DMD: What 10 albums do you always come back to?

AS: Flying Saucer Attack - New Lands
Casino versus Japan - Whole numbers play the basics
Oval - O
Broadcast and the Focus Group - Investigate witch cults of the radio age
Do Make Say Think - & yet & yet
Gary Numan /Tubeway Army - Replicas
Nudge - cached
Loscil - Submers
Atlas Sound - Parallax
Modern English - After the Snow



DMD: What is the Ontario experimental music scene like?

AS: Since I work full time in forensic psychiatry, most of the time I have left I spend recording, creating and wandering. I used to play live often but music is such a personal experience for me I actually get more out of the music process itself, so I focus more on presenting it as an aftermath for those interested.

I could list hundreds of talented and innovative artists around here, but the same can be said for any area really.  Although I am quite extroverted at the same time I am also extremely introverted in the sense that showcasing myself and how I do my music process live is somewhat of a lower priority than showing the results I come up with.


DMD: What instruments did you learn growing up? 

AS: Growing up I spent quite some time singing in choirs, so I guess voice would have been the focus? In grade school I did train to use a recorder, which I hated but actually used in some tracks years later. 

I played a piano at my grandmothers house the wrong way, and a long time ago my father bought me a Casio keyboard that came with a song book which I grew sick of playing, so I would rearrange the existing songs and play then in strange arrangements, even backwards. The first real instrument I bought was a JP8000 when I was 19 years old. I can read music now, but never write music in any formal way. 


DMD: What is your recording set-up? 

AS: I experiment often with my recording setup and my music process. Things are never the same from day to day in my studio. I'm always changing things and trying new ideas and new ways to get new sounds or to arrange the sounds preexisting in my head together somehow. 

Lately, I have been recording a long series of drones and improvised ambient sounds with guitar and various pedal chains and either using those as foundations to build tracks upon or simply sampling segments from those drone recordings and looping them into a sequenced program, lets say, like fruit loops.

I do not rely on soft synths or samples which I find limiting and hard to work with, making my music process really easy. I'm mostly doing multi-tracking with me playing instruments (guitar and keys) and real time processing with pedals using freeware like audacity. Then I use the sounds I created and build from there. Layering in subtle ways is how I create my recordings. I also use secrets. Lots of secrets. :)




DMD: How did you come to get your music featured in CSI?

AS: Out of the blue they contacted me on myspace. They said they have "hired people just looking online for music to use for the show" and added "your work is perfect". Even though I had never seen the show (been TV free since I was 19!) 

I agreed to let them use my music as it was not only financially rewarding but an amazing way to build my resume, for future work for me. They used my music for some creepy parts.....it was a really cool experience to be involved in.

I have also sold works to the Ontario life network for a few episodes of their documentary series "Descending". One was called "ghosts of the pacific" where my music played while divers explored fallen war ships at the bottom of the ocean. Super cool to say the least. I really want to do more music for Films or TV in the future. 

 


DMD: How many guitars, amplifiers & pedals do you own and which are your favourites?

AS: I literally have so much gear it makes people sick. Rather than fuelling peoples "gear envy" (don’t worry I have it too) I will focus on the main gear I’ve been using lately in my current set up. I have so many pedals I could open a little shop, but I won’t, because they are mine and I actually love them.  

Pedals frequently used: Earthquaker devices Arpanoid, EHX Pog2, Boss Harmonist, Boss DD20, Red Panda Particle, EHX Cathedral, TC Electronic Trinity 2 Reverb, Boss Terra echo, Boss Multi Overtone, EHX Pitchfork, Boss RV3, EHX Superego, Boss DD3, EHX Memory Boy, Boss Feedback booster, Boss Slicer, EHX Flanger Hoax, Korg Kaoss pad, EHX switchblade. Sometimes I use a looper too. I desperately need a volume pedal.

Guitars: Fender Jazzmaster, Fender American Stratocaster & Epiphone Orange 

Synthesizers: Moog MG - 1, two Roland JP8000s, Roland JX3P with controller, casio keyboards. 

Anne's pedal hoard



DMD: Apart from music, where else do you find inspiration?

AS: Most of my inspiration comes from thought disorder, ideas of reference, circumstantial thinking, driving around for hours on end looking for for anything abandoned, my daydreams and of course my wildly vivid imagination. 




DMD: What about your music would you say has changed since you released Window Pain 12 years ago?

AS: Let me tell you how much can happen in the span of 12 years. I could honestly go on and on and on. and on. I had amazing times, and really really terrible times, times so terrible that it forced me even to leave recording music for a couple of years altogether. 

I survived my father dying which changed my life forever, he had cancer and it was honestly surreal to see his body give up against his wishes. I also survived a horrific relationship with someone who ended up being very very dark, and this darkness made him really really sick. 

Things have changed for me now and I live the life I always wanted, and I am surrounded by people who are supportive, real and good.  What has changed musically is the tone of my music, going from songs of remembering tormented times to newer times like now, times when I can focus on themes within myself and things I imagine rather than painfully expressing awful things that have happened and were happening to me. I am so much stronger now, both as a person and a musician. 

I am not questioning things I record like I did when I was recording 12 years ago when it wasn't "the best of times". I dived into my personal life here as my music if a direct reflection of my experience. Now my songs are recorded with ease and I cover themes I want to cover, rather than recording as a mere coping tool. I am so much happier these days. A more tangible answer could be that the last two years I have introduced guitar as one of my main sources of my ambient sounds. Guitar with dozens of pedals. 😊


DMD: What made you feel the need to document these abandoned places? Would you encourage more DIY musicians to do the same since the golden age of MTV has been replaced by YouTube?

AS: I love taking photos, lots of them, and I've been addicted to taking photos for years now. I'm quite bipolar with a camera, it seems as though I'm drawn to either things forgotten, abandoned, decayed or ruined to that which is natural, untouched and places barely walked upon by man. It only made sense to also make videos, as the music I record is quite open to interpretation, making it a perfect medium to add a visual element to it, especially one that moves and tells some sort of story. 

Having said that, the video design I arrange is also quite open to interpretation, as I very much enjoy the concept of an abstract story line, allowing the viewer to adapt whatever emotion the imagery to presents to them, paired with the music. 

It is actually a wonderful age to live in, having things like YouTube, making the creative process easily shared without making sure it has a commercial quality to it. It allows for a lot of "real art" to occur, without all the corporate obstacles associated with things like MTV etc...


DMD: Please tell us about your radio show

AS: My radio show is called the Infinite Echo and it's a mix of experimental and electric music focusing on the obscure, the ambient, new and other forgotten genres. Mostly it's the sounds of robots all singing to themselves. It airs here in Hamilton, Ontario every Friday morning from 8 to 9 am on 93.3 FM and can be streamed from cfmu.mcmaster.ca 



DMD: What do we need to look out for in the future from you and your various projects? 

AS: I have quite a bit on my plate right now which I am pleased to say! The past year I have been heavily focused on music with all my spare time. An EP I have completed, called "magical thinking" is being currently released with Paper Plus Sound Records.

I have upcoming EP’s (many on cassette) in the works for release this year and early next year with the following labels: Zero Sum Recordings, Big Pharma Records, Orb Tapes, Grey Matter, and Assembly Field with my "dickhop" ep. Most of these are in the works and have not yet been finalized. 

I have also just recently been featured on godhatesgodrecords compilation Anti fOrm 2 and Assembly fields V/A Compilation 4. My track "I have been to the bottom of the ocean" which is to be released on the Drone 8 compilation on Paper plus sound records.  

Paracelsian Productions recently released their amazing three disc 30 artists compilation called "Cybernetic Ecosystems" which includes my track "Oscillating forest". I have two vinyl releases scheduled: A Vinyl split with Casino versus Japan (Erik Kowalski) and a split with Horizonte-de-sucesos (Marco Roberti, who is also occasional composer at dead voices on air) in Summer 2017. 

I’m also doing more collaborative works with announcements coming soon. I am also planning on continuing video works for my music as well as for video works for musical friends.  I am planning also on starting an online site devoted to my obsession of photographing abandoned places called "recreational trespassing" with my good friend Sonja Bernhard.


DMD: Lastly, is there anybody you want to give a shout out to?

AS: Hello everyone and thank you for listening xo


You can listen to the excellent Paracelsian Productions compilation here  
(Anne's track appears on part 2) 
and you can read an interview with PP founder Steven Beaumont here

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Daniel Cornejo: The Grey Man

"So much of who we are as people is built up by these sounds and imagery we take in...we want to help build people who enjoy our sounds into the fullest person they can be."

In order to keep extinction at bay, the underground music scene has a constant need for extremely dedicated & focussed individuals prepared to invest a lot of their time, money, blood, sweat and tears into releasing music with almost no financial gain to be had down the road.

Thankfully we have people like Daniel Cornejo, a passionate youth hailing from Santa Barbara, California whose hard efforts with record label Grey Matter Productions have paid off. In less than a year, GMP has established their name as one of the most formidable in the scene. 

With tapes flying off the GMP bandcamp shelves, Daniel has been putting out a range of mind blowing releases, some of the newest have been: ‘Agyptiaká’ by Doom Jazz quartet Shambhala, a live session by Death Industrialists Destruktionsanstalt, ‘I Hurt Because I Must’ from Harsh Noise maker Misery Ritual and 'Neath The Cerulean Abyss...’ by Dark Ambient/Soundtrack artist Noctilucant. 

Cornejo also plays guitar in his band Pale Hands who have been touring almost non-stop up and down the west coast. Not only content for band life and being head of a label, so far he has put out 3 tapes of his ANW/HNW project hermit (listen to hermit’s debut release below) as well as occasionally teaming up with his cousin for their Ambient Noise duo Unborn Insekt. 

I caught up with Daniel to find out about his early influences, the future of GMP and what it truly means to be 100% DIY…


DMD: Growing up, what artists/bands made you want to play music?

Daniel Cornejo: That’s a little difficult for me to recall honestly haha. I remember being into a lot of artists unknowingly that probably inspired my subconscious. My parents would play different types of music all the time, and on top of that my older brother and sister would play even more different artists so I was always influenced by that whether I was aware of it or not (all of my family plays music as well). 

The very first artists I think about fondly are bands like Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and AC/DC. Iron Maiden is just perfect in pretty much every way and everyone knows it. In my first "band" I wanted to cover Black Sabbath and when I got my first guitar I got an SG because I wanted to be Angus Young haha. 

When I was in 5th grade though, I got my brother's old iPod and that changed everything. At that point for me it was Green Day, Avenged Sevenfold and As I Lay Dying haha. I really discovered music through my brother and he was into all of the "screamo" and metalcore at that time so that was my introduction to it. And of course the classic heavy metal records.


DMD: How did Grey Matter Productions get started? What is the label’s ethos?

DC: I remember the day specifically. My cousin Sebastian and I had been hanging out with each other non stop the whole past year and a half and had really just been building each other up, musically/spiritually/mentally/whatever, but we had never made music together. It kind of reached a culmination point I guess.

I was at work and for whatever reason I felt extremely inspired to release music as a label. I get in these modes where I'm extremely enveloped and involved in an idea and it becomes so much a part of me. I was in one of those modes and so I texted Sebastian just going off, letting loose all the ideas in my head and it totally snowballed. 

I got home and we created it that night. I forget the exact date, but I know it was in February - which is perfect because late February is my birthday and early March is his birthday and for us we were at a peak of creativity. It started as a way to release our music and really push us to constantly be creating. 

We didn't think people would want to release with us initially, but we wanted the label to be serious and real so the idea was that we would have to each come up with albums to release under different pseudonyms at least once a month. 

While we could probably do that for a bit, that's pretty intensive and luckily for some reason the label kind of took off in its own way. Massive thank you to Liam of Shurayuki-Hime, Nemanja Nikolic of Dosis Letalis and Patrick Flynn of Olm for being our first real releases and for some reason wanting to work with a couple of random losers. 

Those 3 releases mean a lot to me. Not only because each release is beautiful in its own way, but all of those people are fantastic people as well. Sorry this is such a long answer. 
The ethos behind Grey Matter is fairly simple. We want to release sounds that affect and inspire us so that maybe we can affect and inspire others the way our favorite artists have inspired us. The intention of the label is to spread all of the facets of life that we're interested in through art. 

So much of who we are as people is built up by these sounds and imagery we take in, whether it be from just listening to music we enjoy or deliberately seeking out the extremities in art. We want to help build people who enjoy our sounds into the fullest person they can be. Regardless of all the "dark", "brutal" or "evil" concepts our releases deal with, our intention is not dark or evil. 

Maybe brutal, haha. But what I'm getting at is in the name - GREY MATTER. Not black, nor white. Not dark, nor light. A balance of the two. Because whatever you believe, dark and light are just terms that mean nothing. What makes it "dark" or "light" is the intention you put behind your art. Same goes for every action we make daily.





DMD: As a guitarist who are your main influences? 

DC: Honestly, I’m not sure. I have many influences, but I don't necessarily think of it that way. I get inspired by the music, not the guitarist, or even what the guitarist is doing. I hope I don't sound like a dick, I just am actually not sure. 

I even looked through all of my music trying to find something, but no luck.. If I had to make a decision, I guess I'd say Jef Whitehead of Leviathan, just because he's without a doubt one of my favorite artists overall (music, tattoos, paintings, etc), and he creates some extremely complex and beautiful sounds with his guitar.


DMD: Is guitar your only instrument? Do you play any other instruments? 

DC: I play guitar, bass guitar, a little bit of piano, and I'm okay with a synthesizer! I also play distortion pedals and noise boxes real nice though!


DMD: When was your first encounter of noise/HNW etc and what attracted you to it? 

DC: My first introduction to noise was in junior high now that I think about it. My sister's boyfriend at the time was a part of a local noise group called something I honestly forget, but he gave me a couple of tapes and a cd of his project. I remember having friends over and being stoked to show them the cd because of how bizarre it was to me. 

The album name was perfect and I still wanna re-use it but probably never will - Sensory Deprivation Techniques. I also remember going and seeing a live noise show with them around that time. I had no idea noise would become such a big part of my life. 

With that said, my TRUE introduction was via a drone blog I followed called dronemuzak haha. 
The guy who ran the blog had a noise blog as well (obviously called noisemuzak for those interested) and he reblogged a post of an advertisement for Vomir. All it was was a black background with VOMIR HNW in bold letters and below it "No Dynamics, No Change, No Development, No Ideas." 

I had no idea what it was so I immediately looked it up because the design was minimalistic, but I could tell the purpose was very heavy/grandiose, which is something I'm always drawn to in art. 

I listened to a few of his sounds and made my first wall that night - The Slow & Inevitable Heat Death Of The Universe, which is a serious title, but I took it from a Cards Against Humanity playing card haha. By the way (shameless plug), I'm continuing that wall series so be on the lookout for parts 3 and 4 coming soon through Endless Landscapes Of Decay (another fantastic label).


DMD: What’s currently going on with your Progressive Power Violence band Pale Hands right about now? 

DC: Progressive Power Violence? Wow, that's a wild term but I'm not opposed! Well after our recent CA tour with Stoic (who unfortunately had to drop because their van broke down), our drummer and vocalist both moved down to LA (my cousin and I both live a couple hours north of LA. My cousin plays bass and I play guitar.) so we haven't practiced in a bit but we have about 6 new songs that we're pretty excited about and are currently figuring out how to record them. 

All of the Pale Hands albums so far have been recorded or mixed by myself and our drummer so chances are, we'll do it that way again. Because it's cheap and easy, but also because there's always a DIY ethic behind what we do. If we can do it ourselves why wouldn't we? All of our tours have been set up via our drummer, our old bass player had the van we toured in (I drove my jeep on this last tour), we recorded our sounds and - hell, we even WROTE THE MUSIC! 

That last one was a joke, because obviously we did that, I was just trying to knock myself down a bit I guess because I started to sound egotistical in my head. Anyway, we want to record our new songs and will likely release them as a couple of splits. 



DMD: Do you know who the Pale Hands splits are going to be with?

DC: We’re unsure of who we're going to do the splits with. A few bands have been talked about but nothing very concrete. We were supposed to do a split with a hardcore band called Akira from Portland, OR a while back so we might still do that.


DMD: For hermit, what is your recording set up? 

DC: Well, hermit is an interesting concept. hermit is who I am and so all of my ideas and sounds and influences are a part of it. Not necessarily on every album, but that's always been my idea behind it. So for the past noise releases I've done, it's just been pedals. Distortion, delay, loop, reverb, and a pitch shifter.

That ran through a broken 8 track to a working 4 track. I run through the 8 track because it has a solid set of EQ controls that can completely shift the sound. Sometimes I'll run through all that and through the 4 track into my audio interface if what I want is more complex and I'm gonna need to mess with the sound in post more. For other albums I'm working on but haven't released, it's changed though. 

I have a black metal split I'm supposed to release soon with Moloch of Depressive Illusions Records as hermit and the setup for that was a Korg Poly-800 Mk II (an 80's synthesizer that has some pretty great dungeon synth vibes), my guitar through a practice amp (KVLT) and an electric drum set. 

Go check out Depressive Illusions if you haven't before. Amazing label and distro webstore that was actually one of the first black metal labels I found when I was first delving into that world. There's a lot more coming from hermit though and I'm not even sure what yet.

I just recently got a Moog and a Pittsburgh Modular desktop synthesizer, because I've been extremely into acid house and techno lately, but knew it would also work perfect for where I want to go with hermit and for any noise ideas I might have.


DMD: Do you have any live noise shows planned for hermit? 

DC: No hermit live shows yet. If there ever are any, ideally I wouldn't be there haha. But realistically, there will probably be a few shows. At the moment what I want to do is have a wall of amps with me behind it making the sounds in a pitch black setting. 

It's not about me or what I do or how I do it. Listen and feel the sounds and you can understand the purpose behind what I do. The experience I want people to have is discomfort and uncertainty. Not because of how intense the show is or anything like that (Misery Ritual comes to mind) but because I don't want what I do to be something they've experienced before. 

As for the sounds I'd make.. I'm not sure - it'd vary show by show because as I said, hermit is every facet of my musical tastes. At the moment, I imagine it as a blend of harsh noise, synthesizer sounds (think the main theme for The Thing or the intro sounds in The Shining), and multiple voice samples and drum samples to keep things moving a bit. Really inspired by what The Haxan Cloak is doing live though.


DMD: Any other projects of yours we should know about? 

DC: Occultus is a Black Metal project I'm hoping to release on Grey Matter soon. UNBORN INSEKT is obviously my collaboration project with my cousin (who's primary project is INSEKTOID). Lots of other projects going on but nothing solid yet - just some sounds.


DMD: Since GMP is primarily a tape label currently do you have any plans to expand into vinyl or CD?

DC: Yes! The hermit/Moloch split album I mentioned earlier should be a vinyl release. Also working with Pale Hands' old bass player who has a band called Trash that we made tapes for and we're trying to get that pressed as well. That's all we have planned at the moment, but now that that door is open in my mind, I'm sure there will be more. 

As for CD, that might happen someday (I assume it will), but personally I've never been a big fan of that format. No disrespect to anyone who enjoys them, as the physical format of music can be extremely personal and important to some, but it was never in the intentions of the label to work with CDs.

Something I'd like to stress here is the 100% DIY ethic behind the label.  Trust me, you don't have to be DIY to get respect from me, but sometimes I wonder how many "DIY" labels use massive companies to produce t shirts, stickers, or whatever it may be. I never want someone to think of Grey Matter like that. 

We made an extensive discography release for Sword Suicide a while back and I hand cut and glued every single box for that box set and my cousin, myself and the Pale Hands vocalist all made the patches for it ourselves as well at 4am the day before the release! I like that and I like memories like that and that's why I use the term 100% DIY rather than just DIY. 

I bring it up with this question because I've deliberated in my mind a bit about how "100% DIY" it is to have another company press your vinyl for you. Yes, I'd still be funding it but in a sense, the magic of what I love about dubbing tapes and cutting each cover by hand would be lost.

That said, I've been able to find a couple of companies that hold the DIY ethic and one that even has a massive arm in the noise world, so my qualms about pressing vinyl have dissipated a bit. I think I'm also thinking into it too much haha.


DMD: What equipment do you use for dubbing the tapes? Also what is your personal favorite physical format?

DC: I have a Telex Copyette and a Technics tape player/recorder that I use together. The Technics records the masters and the Telex duplicates the master into 3 separate tapes at a time. Although I just had some issues with it and so now it only does 2 tapes at a time but that's still good enough for me.

By the way - this setup was only about 250 dollars total and I bought both the Telex and Technics off of eBay. If anyone reading this is toying with the idea of starting a tape label, I think it is absolutely the way to go if you're doing everything DIY. 

With that said, my favorite format is vinyl. It probably has a lot to do with the size of the album artwork haha and not so much with the supposed "better quality" that vinyl can give you. Most of the time people don't realize that the records they're buying are pressed from digital masters just the same, so it's not necessarily "better quality" the way most people think about it. But regardless, it's a hell of a fun format to collect, so I get why it's gotten popular again.


DMD: How did Tomhet getting his tapes onto GMP happen? Did he contact you or was it vice versa?

DC: Tomhet actually contacted us which is kind of bizarre to think about haha! He was supposed to release Nightmares In Damask with another label, but unfortunately they couldn't fund it at the time which is how he ended up coming to us. 

We hadn't really done a black metal release before that so I'm not sure why he contacted us in particular, but it was perfect because I've been trying to expand the palette of Grey Matter as much as possible and Black Metal is probably my favorite style of music.


DMD: On that note, what are your favourite Black Metal albums?

DC: Haha I'm kind of excited to answer this one, because I'm a nerd. In no particular order - Aske EP by Burzum, Panzerfaust by Darkthrone (The unholy trinity as well, but that's a given) Bergtatt and Nattens Madrigal by Ulver, Verrater by Leviathan, self-titled album by Lurker Of Chalice, and the self-titled album by Paysage d'Hiver (but also Das Tor and Die Festung because it's hard to choose).

Triumph.Genocide.Antichrist & Superion.Command.Destroy by Revenge, Two Hunters by Wolves In The Throne Room (Malevolent Grain EP is beautiful as well), Il Était une Forêt by Gris, Defective Epitaph by Xasthur (again its hard to choose.. honorable mentions for Nightmares At Dawn, Subliminal Genocide and Telepathic With The Deceased), Phantom by Lustre because I'm not trve kvlt, and if we're gettin' wild then anything and everything from Gnaw Their Tongues. 

I also consider some of The Body's work to involve black metal and they're great artists so I'm just gonna sneak in I Shall Die Here by them on this list. It's not really black metal at all but the feeling I get from that album reminds me of black metal sometimes. Not sure if this is a good list or not, but it's what I often find myself listening to the most.


DMD: Apart from music, what else inspires you? 

DC: Life. Obviously, I mean life in the sense of what we all go through day to day and the chaos that takes us wherever it is we end up, but what I really mean is life at its most basic form. Nature. What really does it for me is trees, the sun and the moon. 

So this is also kind of a cop out answer because by saying life I can also say I'm inspired by all art because the experience of art is a part of life. To answer your question in a less vague and douchey way, films are extremely important to me. As are all visual aesthetics of course, but that's more my cousin's thing.


DMD:  Any more exciting releases from GMP this year that we should be aware of? 

DC: All of them hopefully! Haha we have some cool things coming soon - some powerfully charged noise/powerviolence from the mind behind Lilith. Some post black metal from the man behind Mademoiselle Bistouri. Some black metal from Moloch. A great industrial electronic album from the guy behind N0123NOISE and honestly too many more to mention haha.


DMD: As 2016 is almost at an end, which noise/HNW releases this year did you really enjoy?

DC: I really enjoyed seeing the HNW compilation come together, thanks to James Shearman and the
HNW Netlabel. Since we talked about him already, I might as well mention his other netlabel SSN Technologies, which has seen some awesome releases (SOMA by ADD.ICT and Destination by Gesis come to mind). Dosis Letalis and Lilith have also had releases through that label. 

The Climate Refugees was good to hear come together as well, thanks to Altar Of Waste. Some of my favorite wall-makers collaborating not just to make walls, but with the intention of spreading awareness of natural and societal decay? Yeah, that was probably one of my favorite releases of the year. 

The latest BoneMagic release from Cruel/Corrupt Recordings was pretty heavy. Oh, and I can't compliment Building Castles Out Of Matchsticks' work enough. Haven't worked with her yet, but if/when it happens, I'll be stoked!


DMD: Have you got any advice for any people out there wanting to set up labels of their own?

DC: Hm..My answer to this could be pretty long so I'm going to limit myself to 3 things:

1) If you're going to do anything like this and take it seriously, do it because you love doing it over any other reason: and if you don't love music or sharing people's music, then I don't know how to help you haha.

2) If you don't like people in any  sense and don't enjoy interacting with unique human beings on at least one or two levels then this probably won't be for you. The sounds you'll be releasing are someone else's deep thoughts or emotions or whatever, but the point is that it's something important to them and you're endorsing that.

You have to like and know those people at some level as well and aside from that aspect; if you're a one or two man show, then think of all the people you're going to have to connect with to listen to your releases, share or promote your releases, etc.

3) Keep this one basic - In this day and age what i think is most important (aside from having a decent flow of income, unfortunately) is to be good on social media. So much music is listened to and so many connections are made via the internet now. Everything is done online. Your music scenes are as present online as they are in real life - Sometimes even more prevalent online.

If you can't reach your audience via the internet these days, it's going to make it nearly impossible for you to reach half or more of the people you can and should be reaching.

*KEEP IN MIND* I'm really bad at practicing what I preach sometimes (particularly in reference to social media).


DMD: Is there anyone you want to give a shout out to?

DC: YOU! You're the man, Ed. Thank you so much for being interested in the nonsense I have to say and thinking other people will be interested as well. It really means a lot to me. Shout out to Kyle Ferguson of Misery Ritual, that guy's on another level and I'm stoked to work with him more and hopefully help him progress in the future somehow.

Nemanja Nikolic again, for being someone I feel I can relate to and for always 110% supporting every artist and label he enjoys. Patrick Flynn of Olm needs a shout out because his music is some of the most beautiful I've had the privilege of releasing - sorry we haven't talked lately, man! Haha. 

Liam McGeorge is a pretty awesome human being as well and I have to say thank you to him for being our first real release and for putting in all the hard work I know he does for our scene. James Shearman is also the man, but I think everyone knows that. Never spoken to Cory Strand of Altar Of Waste to be honest, but I'd like to give him a shout out because that label is DENSE. In every sense of the word. 

I'd also like to thank anyone that's released with the label before and anyone who's contacted us for a release, regardless of whether it's worked out or not. Thank you to my family and my brothers - you know who you are. There are too many things and too many people to be grateful for, so I'm going to cut this short and end with this: The biggest thank you of all to anyone who's ever listened. That's all that this is for. 


The most recent aural sizzler to come through Grey Matter Productions is by Red Forest Project,
a collaborative effort between Serbia's Dosis Letalis/Relicuum and Arizona's Go as DeatH. Self-classifying the project 'nuclear disaster noise' RFP's debut cassette is entitled 'Kyshtym Disaster' after one of the most serious nuclear accidents in history. In just under half an hour, both artists cook up an eerie post-explosion atmosphere where the air is thickly contaminated by the nuclear fallout. Intrigued? Have a listen here

GMP also have a future release planned with Seattle HNW behemoth Condo Horro called "Besieging Edith Macefield" which is currently nearing its final stages, so be on the lookout for that one!

You can also read 2 reviews of one man Black Metal project Tomhet here