Dosis Letalis: Serbian Static

“Anyone can buy a few pedals and create some wall of noise, but will it be good? 

Will it have quality? Will it be possible to sink, enjoy and get lost in it? 

To make good HNW you must love it and understand it...you can't fake it, 

because it will be absolutely hearable in your work.”

Lurking amongst the new wave (or the new bricks in the wall rather) of noise wall artists, with a truly staggering amount of side projects and collaborations under his belt is Serbia's Nemanja Nikolić. Quite a well known noise wall architect on the scene, he's been dishing out plenty of crushing harsh noise walls and crackling ambient noise walls as Dosis Letalis since October last year.

I caught up with Nemanja to discuss his musical roots, the state of Serbian noise plus his HNW/noise artists and label recommendations for 2016.

Listen below to 'Crackling worship' part of his Crackling series
and don't forget to check out Crackling Curse,Madness and Terror as well!

DMD: First of all, what is the meaning behind the name Dosis Letalis?

NN: Hahahahaha, the name has no deep meaning or whatever, it came to my mind after playing my noise stuff to my friends (who don't listen to noise) and they called it lethal dose, so I just used the Latin words for that.

DMD: Growing up, what music did you listen to?

NN: I can clearly remember the day when I discovered music I like. I was in my teens and one day I got bored and turned on an old radio I had, where I just started searching for stations, I remember changing many stations (even then I despised commercial mainstream music), before bumping into the one where some metal was playing, I immediately fell in love with that louder sound.

So, as you can guess, it was the most popular metal bands at first: Iron Maiden, Metallica, Pantera, Sepultura, Slayer….a little later I heard The Sisters Of Mercy, and loved their darker sound, and discovered bands like Katatonia and My Dying Bride.

DMD: Tell me about your journey from a beginner musician up to today with Dosis Letalis. 

NN: I am no musician, and don't play any instruments. My first exposure to making any kind of sounds was when I hung out with my friend who was making psy-trance for fun. We tried making tracks together, but every time I tried, I ended up messing up the track and creating something dark, twisted and noisy. 

After that I kept experimenting alone and after a while I was making some weird mixture of dubstep, industrial and noise. A couple of years before I started making HNW I was creating dark ambient and drone which I still do, but not so much. 

While we’re at it, the debut from my drone project Dosis Feralis was released not so long ago, on Zero Sum Recordings, a young ambient label run by Mr. Ben Hudgins (the mastermind behind Bonechurch, Melinoe and Abstract Audio Systems) he also runs another very good label called Endless Landscapes Of Decay, which is one of my favorites, all the releases on there are really good and definitely worth checking out!

DMD: When was your first exposure to Noise and HNW?

NN: My first exposure to noise was when I went to Belgrade to study, it was 2007/2008, and at university I met Alexandar Nenad. Back then he was just starting his harsh noise project [CTD]. 

He gave me my first power electronics and noise disks. I was really struck by the power of those sounds. I hung out a lot with him that first year, but after I left that first university, we lost touch.

Years passed and after finishing (another) university, I returned to my hometown, (this is the period when I was making dark ambient, but also when I started making noise again) and it was a similar situation like the first time I discovered music I like, only this time I had internet, I remembered Alex and I typed Creation Through Destruction into Google listened to it, and really liked it. 

But, that same day I discovered something else, his HNW project the mighty Dead Body Collection! And I was like wow! Holy shit, I didn't know that noise this loud ever existed. 

That was the first HNW project I ever heard, and I really liked the brutality and uncompromising relentlessness of it, plus I was stunned by the number of releases he had (over 200), which was an insane amount for me to understand at the time. 

After that I discovered other acts on bandcamp/youtube, explored the genre further and fell in love with it.

After some time, I started making HNW. I remember sending my first tracks to Alex, (god, they were awful!) but he was like: this is great, this is real HNW! 

Hahaha, so, many thanks to him for encouraging me to continue with it, as well as introducing me to James Killick (person behind amazing Love Katy, Small Hours,... and cult label Sweet Solitude, now Vagary Records) who released my first album ever, Cryptanalysis, on his net label, Maniacal Laugh.

After that I opened my first Facebook account (I guess I had to, even though I despised it, I still do) and started meeting some really nice and good people, noise people are (most of them) a really great and positive bunch, which kinda surprised me at the time.

The Enigma Code themed Dosis Letalis debut released back in October 2015

DMD: Apart from Noise, do you have another favourite style of music to listen to?

NN: I am quite diverse in my music taste, favorites are post rock/metal, funeral doom, dsbm, stoner, industrial, ambient, (both dark and light), hip-hop, trip-hop, jazz, reggae/dub/ska, old school drum 'n' bass, dub-step, good quality psy-trance, etno and world music and certain classical composers, I also enjoy various spiritual, ritualistic and sacred music, I specially love works of early polyphonic composers (Léonin, Pérotin), but I listen to this music strictly from a musical perspective, I am not religious in any way. 

DMD: What is the experimental/noise music scene like in Serbia and what other forms of extreme to normal music are most popular over there?

NN: There are not many people is Serbia doing noise, I know about 10, maybe a few more people doing this, my favorite projects are Dordje Miladinovic's Raven and Srdjan Eftomovski's Nundata/Fecal Vomit, but I also like Filip's Lucy Jane Garcia and WeAreAllSlaves, Nenad's Third I, Milos's Antitalent, Daniel's vernacvlaar destrvction, Antonio's Nekro Batica, I already mentioned Alex's Creation Through Destruction and (now ex) Dead Body collection, but his new project recently came out and it’s some really good space themed experimental music called Kosmodrom! 

Considering this, a Serbian Noise compilation came out not so long ago on Jes Boli Ga Kurac Records, so most of these projects are on that. Noise/experimental gigs are rare here, and with little projects like this I’m not sure you can call this a scene, but again, maybe I'm not the best person to answer this.

As for other music, well it's same as in any country I guess, we have different sub cultures, the most popular ''music'' here is total shit, it’s called turbo-folk, (yeah, the name says it all), and some commercial pop, but apart from that, there are normal people who listen to rock, metal, punk, reggae, ambient and quality electronic music…

DMD: What are your Desert Island Disks?

NN: Here is something for every mood, and these are all classics, nothing rare or unknown.

Leonard Cohen - Songs Of Love and Hate

The Velvet Underground - Peel Slowly And See…

Nick Cave - Let Love In

Block Out - San Koji Srećan Sanjaš Sam

Evoken - in Solitery Ruin

Earth - The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull

Thy Light - Suici.De.pression

Amenra - Mass III

If These Trees Could Talk - If These Trees Could Talk

Miles Davis - Porgy And Bess

Augustus Pablo - King Tubby meets Rockers Uptown

Deep Forest - Comparsa

Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back

Kammerheit - Starwheel

Kode 9 & Spaceape - Memories Of The Future

Frozen Ghost - Out Of The Mouth

DMD: What movies have changed your life and the way you look at the world?

NN: I never watched movies strong enough to change my life or my look at the world, I wonder if that's even possible (at least for me).

DMD: What gear do you use for recording?

NN: Well, I started as digital only, my first albums were made only with PC, over time I started buying pedals, for now I have only a few but digital processing is still an important part of my wall craft, and unlike many noise artists I don't consider that unholy. I work with what I have got, and I won't let the lack of means separate me from my passion, I guess we’d better say obsession!

There are a lot of analog fascists out there, but there are also people like me, who don't care how the wall is done, as long as it's done good, and who only separate walls/noise as good or bad, of course, there is a difference in taste, which is specially subjective in noise, but I think any real wall noise-maker can recognise when HNW is done with true passion, love and soul, and when something is done just to be done, as some form of pointless expression, or as result of boredom or inability to make something else for the ‘'wrong reasons'' as my friend Joseph from the ever amazing Black Matter Phantasm  once said. 

There are ignorant people in both music and noise world, who don't appreciate HNW, and who think everyone can do it, and sure, anyone can buy a few pedals and create some wall of noise, but will it be good? Will it have quality? Will it be possible to sink, enjoy and get lost in it? To make good HNW you must love it and understand it... you can't fake it, because it will be absolutely hearable in your work.

Every one of my tracks have been made with huge passion, different emotions were, with a lot of effort, channeled into the walls, and I can guarantee this is the same for all of my favorite projects. 

Just check out Lorencoz's projects Nascitari, Mare Di Dirac, Nach (his collab with another, equally genius HNW practitioner Clive Henry), and all will be clear, you can't have that kind of sound without strong efforts. 

The amount of time these people spend experimenting and crafting those amazing, textured walls is admirable, and more then hearable, and if someone can't hear the difference between that and ''white noise through 2 pedals'' (like someone once said), they should avoid this beautiful genre, cos this isn't for everyone.

Anyways in time, I will have much more gear, but considering Serbian salaries, and my tape orders, that process is going slowly...

DMD: Please explain the difference between Dosis Letalis and Relicuum.

NN: There is a huge difference, both in themes and sound. Dosis Letalis's walls are fuelled by my anger and despair from social injustice in the world, and it's usually HNW, ANW or quiet crackling walls, but however experimental they may be, they are still within the boundaries of HNW.

With Relicuum, I wanted to explore sound outside of the usual boundaries of HNW, with additional sounds incorporated inside of walls, it's something I named Atmospheric Wall Noise, (yeah I know it's all wall noise, but I like creating my own sub-genres, I don't see why it bothers some people, it's for my soul only so haters can fuck off!).

This brings me to the subject of themes in HNW, and they are absolutely unnecessary, HNW is a contemplative meditative genre, and you can use it to delve inside and get lost in it. It can be used as background sound or you can carefully listen to it, and enjoy the textures as they fill your soul with pleasure while your ears melt.

DMD: Please talk us through your many side projects and any we are still yet to hear?

NN: Oh, I have many side projects, Dosis Feralis (drone/dark ambient), N.I.H.L. (harsh noise), Cure For Sanity (noisebient drone), Hybrida Atrox (where I work on hybridisation of Grindcore and HNW, appropriately named Grindwall), Recreational Toxicity (under this alias I experiment with combining EDM such as techno and psy-trance with HNW, these are walls you can dance to, I kid you not!)... 

Besides that, I have many collaborative projects, all of which are very dear to me, but my favorites are Naughty Angel Raptures [with Charlotte Thevenin, one of the best persons I ever met, she is the lady behind my favorite HNW project Naughty], and The Climate Refugees [a collab with 2 noise veterans and extraordinary gentlemen Peter Keller and Ben Rehling, who I have had the pleasure to call friends and their HNW projects Condo Horro and See Through Buildings are at the TOP of my favorites. 

Debut releases from both N.A.R. and T.C.R. have been released through the mighty Altar Of Waste, amazing, highly influential and without any question my favorite label run by the extraordinary Cory Strand.

I also have Debris [really powerful project with massive and loud walls, with Casper from Uitgeschakeld], Totenfeldt [creepy ambient/drone/ANW/noise project with Jott from How I Met Lauren], Red Forest Project [nuclear disaster themed ambient/noise project with John from Go As Death], Cineris [ANW project with Zachary from NO123NOISE], Castrati Lair [with Rush Falknor].

I have also collaborated with Sergey Pakhomov [from Train Cemetery, and the head of a young, but very promising new label called Reason Art] and Ivan Sandakov [the label head of the influential Wall Noise Action], and something very special to me was a split with Left Hand Of God, ANW side project of Per Najbjerg Odderskov, the man behind some great projects such as Destruktionsanstalt and Lidane Livering. 

Also I had the pleasure to work with Jason Campbell, it was a collaboration between his magnificent SSTGFLS J222557+601148 and my Relicuum [I think a few tapes are still available from Grey Matter Productions]

A collab with Alessandro from Ropes on Reason Art was released a few days ago on Reason Art, and also, very dear to me, a collaboration between Cory Strand's Eugene Critchley and mine Dosis Letalis appropriately named Critchley Letalis, was released last month on AOW (I am very proud of this, we picked a good theme and the walls came out great, taking the best from both of our projects). 

I'm also lucky to collaborate with 2 wonderful artists from the UK,  Clive Henry and James Shearman! our Architectonicum project sounds both wicked and weird at the same time,
and I've also been working with that old mush Clive Henry on our own project.

Many other collabs are planned, I'm especially looking forward to one with my dear friend Monica Sanchez [Tissa M.], and one massive collab between Big Hole, Ebony Tower, She Walks Crooked, Willowbrook and Dosis Letalis Plus Joseph Szymykowiak and me are planning something very special...

And of course, speaking of collaborations I must mention the mightiest and the wickedest collective in the whole universe, The Insect Worship Collective! This is a group of very talented people where we work together on diffferent noise and drone tracks, members of some of the best projects are here:

Phantasm Nocturnes, Curses, Black Sheet Servitude, See Through Buildings, ruiner., Contraktor, Go As Death, Separatist, Endless Chasm, Lynch Project, Von Cogwell, Bonechurch, Frodolese, Alexander Adams, Ispopod.... Being a member of this great collective really enriched my skills, and I made many good friends there. All Hail The Hive!

DMD: You have appeared on a number of labels, which would you say are your favourites? 

NN: Another hard question. Because I love all the labels I have worked with, and every single label head there is a great person. Favorites, well, Craneal Fracture Records will always have a special place in my heart, considering that the first Dosis Letalis physical release was on there, Jose Murcia is the best person ever, really positive and easy to work with, so many thanks to him, sending hugs to Spain! 

Big Pharma Records is the place where I released my Injustitae double CD, and the CD 1 was my first ANW release, but most importantly it was the time when I decided to cover social themes, and to shape all my pain and sorry from all the injustice in the world into my walls, Benjamin Joseph is a rad guy to work with, and be sure to check out his mighty project Contraktor.

Grey Matter Productions is most certainly in my favorites, this is still a young label, but it has great releases, and a good mix of various sounds. One big salute to my brother Daniel Cornejo, for being so damn cool, he is one hell of a guy, and GMP is on a good way to becoming a cult label!

There is a young label from Russia called Reason Art, run by another amazing guy, Sergey Pakhomov (I already mentioned his project Train Cemetery) and this label is also on a very good path, the releases there are excellent, and I had that honor, my very first release there was Mass Media by Dosis Letalis.  

I have spoken a little about Avocado Tapes, and this is going to be great label for sure, every single release on there is stunning! I'm so happy to be chosen for their next batch of tapes. 

Dancing Shadows is another young label run by Cameron Socha (he has an interesting wall noise project called Crypt Of The Cobra), and every release there is solid. A really prospective label. 

I must also mention two labels from France, Rapture Records and Hallucination Tapes, both with wickedly good releases, and all these young labels I named so far are on a really good way to becoming important parts of the scene, and it makes me very happy so see them grow in the most positive way!

I talked about newer labels, but what about those who have been at work a little longer? There is no doubt, my favorites are:

The almighty, and my favorite, Altar Of Waste! Releases there are beyond excellent, and really beautiful, Cory Strand puts a lot of effort into the AOW tapes and CD's, every cover of every release is well designed, usually by him, and he has a good ear for noise so only the best of the best is released on AOW.

Another beautiful label is Jan Warkne's Geraeuschmanufaktur! Alongside AOW that label is on top of my favorites, releases there are also magnificent looking but most importantly really good, this is an experimental label to be admired, and I'm honoured that Jan released the debut of my harsh noise project N.I.H.L.

Lurker Bias is a label with a very diverse catalog, and solid releases, it's in my favorites for good reason. Some of the releases from the new Neon Walls series are still available, so pick it up while you can. 

Ominous Recordings is one of the longest running underground noise labels I know, 11 fucking years, and some of my wickedest walls i've done were released there on tape (Dosis Letalis - Soulless Reign) 

Check out also The Level Of Vulnerability, label from Hungary, the latest Dosis Letalis cassette tape entitled The Distortion Of Reality was released there, and there are a lot of other tapes available from them too.

There are many other labels that totally deserve a mention (I haven't worked with them yet): Cascading Fragments, Monorail Trespassing, Palinopsia, Needle And Knife, Lost Light Records, Trashfuck Records, Required Rate Of Return, Orb Tapes, Archivio Audio Anonimo,...)

Be sure to check out the catalogs of all these wonderful labels, the people running them work hard to bring us new releases, and they need our support, so if you are in a decent financial situation please order some tapes/CDs!

DMD: Compared to Cryptanalysis and your other early work, the latest output from DL is more focused on Ambient Noise Wall, was this a conscious decision or you wanted to just experiment and move your sound forward?

NN: Both, I guess. I try to keep things diverse, and I like to experiment a lot, which can lead to many different, sometimes weird sounds/walls. While I admire the consistency of someone’s sound I always search for different noises.

DMD: Please tell us all your favorite releases from this year and why you enjoyed them?

NN: I have heard so many great releases this year, this is very good and an important year for the HNW scene, which I think is really blossoming. Many good projects have appeared, some from older noise makers, some from newcomers. I will mention my favorite projects and their exceptional albums here, which are all highly recommended.

I already mentioned Lorenzo Abattoir's Nascitari, and his albums on Process and on Lost light are masterpieces of the genre. And both Mare Di Dirach's Fumes (on Dusktone) and Nach's debut (on Reason Art Records) are excellent, true HNW experimentalism!

Naughty is my favorite project, and her album My King, released on Altar Of Waste is perfection in every sense! While everything from Naughty is really good, that one is just perfect! I'm in love with that deep bass, and since I heard it, I listen to one of those tracks every day! Most definitely in top of my favorites for this year!

Next one is Condo Horro, god I love this project! Perfect sound for my ears! I recommend this project for everyone to hear, it quickly became one of the best in the scene! 

Same as with Naughty, Nascitari, STB, everything I heard from this project is fucking amazing, but the one released on Big Pharma Records, named Wall Out Those Who Have No Walls, its fucking terrifying.

Perfect blend of HN and HNW, really loud and massive. Apart from excellent sound, this project is very dear to me because it covers social themes, so I don't feel so lonely on the road of socially charged walls.

If you prefer something quieter, check out another goody from Peter Keller, his ANW project Unser Verhängnis.

See Through Buildings - Another one of my favorite projects, Ben's noise make my brain melt! Awesome and loud and constantly good! While the tracks on his bandcamp can variate (many experiments shared on there), the albums made for labels are superb! 

My favorites are I'll Waive The Cover Charge on Lost Light Records, and Manually Enter The Codes on Subsidiary Walls, a HNW sublabel of Big Pharma Records, and I recently acquired There Used To Be Water Here from Fall Into Void Recs, and it's really solid!

Both Ben and Pete have been doing noise for years, Jenifer Wolski and Bacillus are even named as forerunners of HNW!

Sumbru - While Gesis was really good (check out Mobile on Dancing Shadows), Sumbru is beyond excellent. Julien Skrobek is on top of his game, and the walls from Afterlife Signals (on Grey Matter) are one of the best I ever heard.

Black Matter Phantasm - This project is a real HNW experience, long meditative walls, perfect for contemplating. Joseph S. is one of those persons who truly understands what HNW is, and is really passionate about it, and one of the people I admire most. 

Again, everything on his bandcamp is great, but most pleasant for my ears is definitely Marche De L'absence. You should also check out his other projects, HNW project G. J. Schaefer, harsh noise Public Morbidity and very well done ambient/drone compositions under his own name.

Shurayuki-hime - Ah, this project. Really, really good, I fucking love it! 

The person behind the wonderful (now defunct) D.S.W.A.C.V, Liam McGeorge, brought us this amazing and delightful project. From all of his opus, the most dear to me is his AOW album, Sho Ga Nai, it’s crackling experimentation similar to my own, which I didn't dare to release until I heard Sho Ga Nai, I guess I didn't think anyone would be interested in hearing this minimal crackling stuff. 

So many thanks to my him, this album encouraged me to continue with my own crackling studies, and to take it further. Definitely another worth checking out is What the Summer Rain Knows under his alias Yume Hayashi, on his new really sweet label Avocado Tapes (he also runs the great Tera Anitq), its really good stuff! Hails to Liam, the sounds of his projects are always the bringers of joy!

Uitgeschakeld - Casper van der Veen is, besides being one of the best noise people, the mind behind this mighty project. The walls he makes are long, loud, massive and unrelentless. While he isn't as productive as I would like him to be, every release is solid and of a good quality.

I have had the pleasure of listening to his Four Stages Of Enlightenment (released not long ago on AOW, and already sold out), and it’s superb! Casper is another HNW enthusiast, who really gets this genre, and deeply enjoys good HNW releases. Be sure to listen to his contribution to the new neon wall series by Lurker Bias, it's top notch!

SSTGFLS J222557+601148 - Jason Campbell is another HNW practitioner, very profilic, and while his projects Wallmaster, Ultimo Mondo Cannibale, UDFj-39546284,… are all really good and interesting, his space themed SSTGFLS J222557+601148 is superb!

One of the best walls I ever heard came from this project, I can't find the words to describe how much I love it, that's why you should visit Jason's bandcamp, there are enough walls there to keep you busy for months! 

I'm not sure I can choose which release from SSTGFLS J222557+601148 is my favorite, since all of them are so damn good, maybe Einstein Cross, but also Static Incantations from UDFj-39546284 should be checked out!

Ivan Skandakov is a crazy prolific monster, he probably put out about like 100 albums this year only hahahahaha. And from many albums I heard this year from his projects Sleep Column, Revelation Of The Dead Girl, Brain Barricade, Cathedral Of Plague, Elephant Graveyard, etc, the most pleasant for my ears was Wall Blossoming by Brain Barricade, released digitally on Nihil Worship, a sort of netlabel for all his projects. 

Volhnn - While the Chier is really good, and constantly solid, Volhnn is more then amazing! I love everything on that bandcamp, not sure which one to chose as my favorite, Extinction process IV maybe.

Big Hole - Everybody loves Big Hole because it's so fucking good! Just listen to The Recurring Dream released on the marvellous Dancing Shadows label.

Kosmodrom - This is a project born from the ashes of Dead Body Collection, and I'm really glad Alex decided to do something new and experimental. You should order Destination Moon from wonderful Geraeuschmanufaktur before it’s too late.

Eugene Critchley - This project is bleak as fuck! Pessimistic walls to cry to! Cory Strand is really talented, just check out his drone works under his own name, beautiful! While I usually prefer textured HNW/ANW, I like the bleakness of Eugene Critchley a lot! My favorite is Pessimism Totale - a double cassette recently released through AOW.

Train Cemetery - This project comes to us from the man behind the lovely Reason Art Records, Sergey Pakhomov. Really good and experimental sounding walls, check out the album Murum released on his label, it's amazing! But works under his own name are also excellent, Another Autumn Day and Coal, long walls perfect for meditation!

ruiner. - another interesting project from Cali. My little bro, Logan Threedouble (ex-Monological Terrorist) brings us an album called The Only Promise Given Is Death, released digitally on Big Pharma Records and physically on Altar Of Waste, bleak and full of sorrow, this comes highly recommended.

VVST had only 2 digital releases so far, but it's really good, and quickly became one of my favorite projects, both albums are perfect!

Rien - This is a side project from Johan Strömvall Hammarstedt (the head of tincredible Ominous Recordings) focused on minimal sound with minimal gear. Russian Tape recently released on Reason Art is just beautiful! Also worth checking out is his main HNW project Gamiani!   

I also must mention some of my noise, PE (non-HNW) favorites this year:

Misery Ritual - I Hurt Because I Must (an amazing project from my man Kyle Ferguson, I hope to see this project live one day) 

Brent Gunn - Submissive Aggressor (a really mighty harsh noise track!)

Deflowered Cunt x Contraktor collab properly named Deflowered Cuntraktor! (really wicked sound, these brothers don't joke around!), check out Deflowered Cunt's Grindwall tracks, really good!

Armor Breach - Molt of the Scolopendra (psychedelic experimentation and tape manipulation from the mind behind Curses, and Radiant Abyss Laboratories Austin Visser) this was released on Lurker Bias, I think there are still a few copies available.

Black Sheet Servitude / Phantasm Nocturnes split tape (if you know these projects, and you should, you know what to expect).

[SSN Technologist - Crackle studies. I am very glad that more people started focusing on crackling walls, and James Shearman is doing it really well! This 9 hours of crackling study is a great example of it!

Another example of crackling walls, or static minimalism as Liam McGeorge calls it, is the new batch of Avocado Tapes, primarily focused on that. I am honoured to be a part of it, my favourite there is Volume 3, by Yume Hayashi and James Shearman! Superb Cracklings!

Vomir - Transmission Pour Clarimonde is one of the best Vomir tracks I have heard in a while, it's really good work, and the tapes comes in special packaging, I am glad I snagged this one from Hallucination tapes.

DMD: Apart from Tapes and CD releases, do you have any plans to expand into vinyl down the road?

NN: Tapes are without a doubt my favorite release format! As for vinyl, well I can't say I have plans for it, considering they are more expensive than Cassettes and CD, so not many noise/HNW labels are making them, but yes of course who doesn't want to release on vinyl?! So if I ever get an opportunity to do this, I would gladly do it.


DMD: What does the rest of 2016 and next year hold for DL?

NN: Many things, aside from the collaborative projects I spoke about, there will be more from Dosis Letalis, Relicuum, N.I.H.L and Dosis Feralis albums out, and more collaborations with very special people.

Most of all, I am looking forward to Dosis Letalis release on Neurowalls, a new political HNW label run by the tireless Julien Skrobek, as well as a DL release on his Hallucination Tapes, and I am hyped about a double c40 tape coming out in early 2017 on AOW, it's an album called 'Lessons in Ruthlessness, themed around House of Cards, one of my (and Cory's) favourite TV shows.

DMD: Have you done any live noise shows?

NN: Finally, a question I can answer quickly: nope.

DMD: Anyone else you want to give a shout out to?

NN: You don't think I gave enough shout outs?! Hahahaha, only one more, to you Ed, keep up the good work you are doing with this blog, it's really great, plus your choice of artists for the interviews is very impressive, and I feel honoured that I got this chance.

Dosis Letalis bandcamp 1

N.I.H.L bandcamp

Nemanja Nikolic Soundcloud


Netlabel links:

Altar of Waste

Archivio Audio Anonimo

Avocado Tapes

Big Pharma Records

Cascading Fragments

Craneal Fracture Records

Dancing Shadows Tapes

DSWACV (RIP)

Dusktone

Fall into Void Recs

Geraeuschmanufaktur

Grey Matter Productions

Hallucination Tapes

Jes Boli Ga Kurac

The Level of Vulnerability

Lost Light Records

Lurker Bias

Machine Tribe recordings

Maniacal Laugh

Monorail Trespassing

Needle And Knife

Neurowalls

Ominous Recordings

Orb Tapes


Palinopsia

Rapture Records

Reason Art

Required Rate Of Return 

Subsidiary HNW

Sweet Solitude (RIP)

Trashfuck Records

Vagary Records


Want to read about more HNW? Check out these interviews with

VINCENT CERASO: KIRA (including a review of his album Modernism Tragedy)

BEN REHLING: SEE THROUGH BUILDINGS

JAMES SHEARMAN: A RAJA'S MESH MEN

Noctilucant: Apocalypse Now

Introducing Joseph Mlodik, the 35 year old mastermind behind Dark Ambient/Soundtrack behemoth Noctilucant. After 13 years at the helm of blog Lunar Hypnosis, Joseph decided he'd had enough of writing about music and stepped down from his role in order to have more free time in which to create music he enjoyed.

In September 2015,  the debut of his project Noctilucant ‘Back To The Mud’ the first in a series of apocalypse themed concept albums was released, sending shockwaves throughout the Dark Ambient community.  Almost a year later saw the follow up 'Oblivion To You All which has also been received very well.

You can listen to the album below and read my thoughts on it after this interview....

DMD: What is the meaning behind the name Noctilucant and how did you came by this name?

Joseph Mlodik: Noctilucant is a made up word, which is derived from the words Nocturnal and Applicant. You could almost view the meaning as someone who applies to the night.  Although it hasn’t been revealed in the storyline within the albums just yet, Noctilucant or “The Noctilucant” is a character, a sort of post-apocalyptic vigilante you could say.  My goal is to have him make his first appearance at the end of the next album in a rather dramatic and intense piece.   

DMD: Growing up, what artists/bands left a real mark on you?

JM: So many I wouldn’t honestly know where to start.  I would however say that I discovered “my own” music and tastes around the age of 10 or 11. It all started with stuff that was popular at the time, bands such as; Guns ’N’ Roses, Metallica, Megadeth, AC/DC, Slayer, etc… early 90’s we’re talking here.  

My parents had mostly raised me on oldies from the 50’s and 60’s, intermingled with stuff from the 70’s and ongoing 80’s.  So, I guess this was a step of sorts towards more extreme if not weird territory, but alas I ended up spending a lot of time in the 90’s listening to shitty radio and alternative rock like Nirvana, STP, and Bush.  

It wasn’t until the late 90’s/early 00’s and the internet sensation that I discovered the underground music scene, which still to this day is among the best times of my life. The amount of music, culture and ideas I took in at this time was a complete sensory overload.  

I knew I had stumbled across something I had been longing to be a part of for a very, very long time. I had found my place, I guess you could say.  After that anything and everything normal and common in everyday life (music, sports, religion, typical ways of thinking/acting) seemed odd and more or less stupid to me.  

I should also mention that growing up I was also always very fond of the scores found in video games, and an early hobby of mine was recording that music from the TV in our basement by sticking a cheap tape deck next to it and hitting record. 

Again, by the time I had internet I was able to order the Japanese import CDs of all of these soundtracks I adored so much. I truly do miss those days.  Back then I was literally buying stuff from mail orders a couple times a month and was always so excited to get home and see what amazing new music was laying in an envelope on my parents front porch.     

Anyway, looking back to those really early years probably the band that eventually influenced me the most were Pink Floyd. The synthesizers in Pink Floyd’s ‘Welcome to the Machine’ are amongst some of the coolest I’ve ever heard, and as a child listening to this at night totally creeped me, but I knew way back then that I wanted to make music with synthesizers some day in some form.  

DMD: Before Noctilucant, what kind of music were you making/bands were you playing in? and with what instruments?

JM: Absolutely nothing, although the dream was always sort of hanging there.  I had literally wanted to do something musical for well over a decade before Noctilucant, but due to some personal inner struggles I never grabbed life by the balls and went for it.  That is until a few years ago when a friend was moving to Greenland and selling 90% of his possessions. 

One of those items happened to be a very well kept synthesizer, which he offered to me for $200 (he had originally paid $600+ for it).  I couldn’t pass it by.  I immediately began experimenting with ideas, but it wasn’t until a bit later that I had a proper PC to record my ideas and finally start assembling the ideas into songs.  

DMD: What originally inspired you to start making Dark Ambient/Soundtrack?

JM: It was basically just a long running passion for the genre. I first heard Dark Ambient music way back in 1999, and I can’t explain why, but it really clicked with me. It spoke to me in a way no other music had spoke to me, as if it reached deep down inside my soul and coalesced everything together. 

I’m sure my already established love for Video Game music was a factor in my appreciation too, but obviously dark ambient is an entirely different and often darker beast. It was something I used when reading, writing, relaxing, sleeping, driving late at night, etc.  It was a part of me. I was also always very fond of this genre, because not many folks understood it.  That was important!  

It’s still the one genre of music that hasn’t been tainted and made commercial.  Anyway, I knew soon as I heard this music that someday I wanted to create it. I never felt that way about any other music or art form other than DA.  Of course, it took a lot longer than expected, but I’m glad I waited, because it gave me a chance to grow and mature both inside and out. 

If I had started a project ten years ago it probably would have been a very simple dark droning cavernous bullshit project, whereas, with Noctilucant I feel at least, I’ve created a much more interesting and detailed project.

DMD: There are a lot of apocalyptic themes in Noctilucant’s music, is this something you think about often? What are your thoughts about humanity’s future?

JM: I figured this question would eventually come up.  Just for the record, I’m not an armageddon prepper, survivalist or conspiracy theorist that’s terrified that the government's going to knock on my door one day looking to take my guns and toss me in some concentration camp. No.  

Nevertheless, I have read some pretty scary things in the news lately relating to nuclear war or at least World War 3, and it gets you thinking about things. The government in the United States is painfully corrupt, and I do believe that the powers that be, would without question sell this country to save their own ass.  

Everyone has a price, and anyone that thinks our so called government cares about us is just a joke. I’d like to think that humanity has a peaceful future, but unfortunately money, religion and power dominate most of their minds and it will eventually be our downfall.  It could be something entirely different though.  

We’re constantly killing off species of vital insects and other animals.  We live in a fragile ecosystem and it might only take the destruction of one species before all is lost. There’s also the upcoming election with Clinton and Trump, two corrupt, awful, repulsive, evil human beings, and we’re suppose to choose one of them?!  

No matter if Russia suddenly bombs us or civil war breaks out here in the states, the future isn’t a very optimistic one. Will it be a post apocalyptic situation when the dust settles… only time can tell.      

That aside, the post apocalyptic themes in my music are just an expansion of my creativity and my desire to tell a story under a different medium.  It’s influenced by cinema, literature and other post apocalyptic music makers.

DMD: Could you please tell me about your recording gear and how you get your sound?

JM: It’s nothing too special.  Literally just a PC with my synthesizer and microphones hooked up.  I record all of the field recordings via my cell phone, although I’d like to get proper recording equipment for that soon so they come out a bit more clear and detailed.

DMD: Recently 'neath the cerulean abyss' came out on cassette through Grey Matter Productions, how did this come about? Any plans for more physical releases in the future?

JM: Grey Matter got in contact with me first, which was a pleasant surprise because I had considered releasing these two songs the exact same way.  I'm pleased with the release and I'm thrilled to have more of my music available in a physical medium.  

I had considered releasing the latest album, Oblivion to you all, in CD format, but when I started pricing everything together it was simply too much for me to afford.

I'm super proud of that album and it’s my hope that someday a label picks it up for a CD release, but that could be years from now.  Meanwhile, I don't personally have any plans to release anything on my own as digital seems to truly be the format my fans prefer.

DMD: Any plans to take Noctilucant out on the road or will it stay as a studio only project?

JM: At this point I’m about 99% sure Noctilucant will stay a studio project.  Speaking only for myself, Dark Ambient is very introspective music, which I use in a lot of ways.  It requires you to pay attention and lose yourself for a while.  It takes you places, it invigorates the mind, it’s an experience all in itself.  So much of that is lost in the concert.  

Tranquillity is suddenly replaced with drunk dickbags who are talking while you’re playing and completely not paying attention to what’s going on around them or onstage for that matter.  To me playing live would be nothing but a burden.  

Even more so because there are no other dark ambient artists around here to gig with, and I’d end up opening for black metal bands, and I absolutely don’t want anything to do with that scene or be connected to it. 

The other problem is that my tunes are very multi layered.  I’d need multiple synthesizers onstage and multiple people to play each part. It could work, but I honestly don’t want to go through the trouble, because it simply wouldn’t be worth it.

DMD: Please give me your desert island disks

JM: I’m going to keep the theme of Dark Ambient here and just list my favorite DA albums… in no particular order, mind you.

Atrium Carceri - Seishinbyouin

Northaunt - The Ominous Silence

Inanna - Day ov Torment

Sabled Sun - 2146

Halo Manash - Syoma

Verhoren - Death is Safe

Mortiis - Keiser av en dimenensjon ukjent

Svartsinn - Traces of Nothingness

Nothing - The Grey Subaudible

I’m probably forgetting something, I know I am, but my mind is betraying me at the moment.  So, accept this as my list for now.

DMD: What is the music scene like in Wisconsin?

JM: Lots of black metal, death metal, doom metal, grindcore, noise and normal alternative whatever rock bands, I guess.  A few years ago it really felt like the underground scene around here was getting good, but then some of the bands and people involved went onto other projects and new adventures in life and I lost touch of things. The most interesting bands currently going are: Cannabinol Synapse, Conqueror Worm, Khazaddum, Temper, Magma Dragon, Hadak Ura, Devil Met Contention and Asatta.

DMD: You painted the artwork for both ‘..Cerulean Abyss’ and ‘Buried Alive..’ which came first, the album art or the music? Have you always been a painter? Is it a passion or just a hobby?

JM: The paintings came first, and after completing the music I just felt they fit each of those songs.  I had not seen a lot of dark ambient artists using abstract paintings as their cover artwork, so I figured I’d go and change that.  When I was in high school painting and drawing were fun for me, and a serious passion, but basically after that I completely gave up on it. 

It wasn’t until a few years ago that I tried doing it again, unfortunately when you don’t use a skill for over a decade you lose it.  I still get a canvas out here and there and paint, but it’s usually only when I really have nothing else to do.

'Neath The Cerulean Abyss

Buried Alive in Mud

DMD: What does the rest of this year and 2017 hold for Noctilucant?

JM: I want to complete the final single in my 3-part lengthy single series.  This last one will again be about 30 minutes long and I’m trying to create a post apocalyptic world on a cold foggy day.  I’m not using a painting this time around, but rather a photograph I took in 2008 as the cover artwork. 

I’d like to release this by the end of November as most of the music is done, but I just need to fill in more details at this point.  That aside, a few film makers have recently contacted me about using my music or even creating entirely new music for their projects.  

I’d also like to say that I’ve started work on my next full-length album, but I think what I’ve created so far will probably make its way into the single, the films, or even this briefly discussed split album with a project from Russia.  

DMD: Do you have a release date for the final single yet?

JM: No exact release date for that final single, but hopefully sometime in November if all goes well.

DMD:  Apart from music, what else inspires you?

JM: I find a lot of solace in nature and it’s definitely always been an inspiration.  Anytime I can get away from the noisy city and my routine day-to-day existence is a pleasure. Other than that, my girlfriend, friends, family, life’s ups and downs are always going to be inspiring.

DMD: ’Oblivion to You All’ features a few spoken passages, when did you get the idea to include these and how did you come into contact with these people?

JM: It started on the Back to the Mud album actually.  I wanted my music to be as cinematic as possible, but not overdoing it.  Originally, I was going to go down the common path and collect samples from movies, but when I realised I could do better than that I went for more. All of the text for these speeches I wrote myself, nothing is stolen from movies, poems, etc, but in some cases was inspired by such. 

For example, the skit on ‘The Deep Dead Hour’ was inspired by a movie called PontyPool, whereas in ‘Introspective Dissolution’ it came to me after watching a post apocalyptic documentary on YouTube.  The three guest vocalists on ‘Oblivion…’ are all people that I’ve known for a while.  

Kara is my girlfriend, Steve is an old friend from high school who showed interest after I asked for help on my Facebook page, and Michael is a dark ambient enthusiast and zine writer from Maryland who I became good friends with after the release of Back to the Mud.  Since Oblivion to you all’s release a few others have shown interest, and I’m really excited to work with them in the future.

DMD: When you are composing, do things tend to happen in a certain order? 

JM:  Not really.  My music is so multi layered that it’s a little here and a little there kind of thing.  Sometimes I even take parts that I wrote a year ago and fit them into new songs.  

A friend who once had a dark ambient project told me that it’s important to always save anything and every little detail you record, because you never know where it will work later on.  

It might not make sense in the current piece you’re working on, but there’s always possibilities for later.  I really took that advice to heart. Honestly, often when I have a specific idea in mind how I want something to sound I fail.  

Sometimes I think these songs write themselves, because it’s usually when I’m just being casual and having fun that I write my best work.  I do however always add the spoken parts or field recordings last.            

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

JM: Thanks to everyone that's either listened, purchased, or supported this project in some way.  I never imagined anyone would really care about my music, but its been quite the opposite and I'm eternally grateful to everyone that's taken notice thus far.  Extra special thanks to my guest musicians, and those that I plan to work with in the near future.

My thoughts on Oblivion To You All

Musically, Oblivion To You All picks up where 'Back to the Mud' left off, but as the opening monologue of track one 'Introspective Dissolution' explains, the album is actually set 3 months after the apocalypse has happened. 

Oblivion… contains an almost ever present cold, doom laden drone that varies in degrees of intensity. The added field recordings and spoken word passages help channel the storyline through the music but aren’t relied upon that frequently, leaving the rest to the imagination of the listener.

'This Day Brings Forth Our Destiny' starts off with the sound of an old-style projector being switched on and turns into quite a calming soundscape, while 'The First Light Of Morning' goes in a more sinister direction allowing the cold drone to emerge, interspersed with sputtering and crumbling textures that delve deeper into a cavernous ambience. 

'Where Snow Remains and Life Fades' continues in a similar fashion but with the use of more prominent field recordings, next up 'The Old Machine Shop' whirs away as the title would suggest, building into an intensely high pitched noise while the cold drone flies out of hearing range.

Despite being primarily a gloom filled atmosphere, Oblivion… does offer some brief moments of tranquility, fittingly on ‘Those Peaceful Days Of Our Past?’ which comes complete with a hooky meditative synth line and the sound of birds singing away happily. No doubt reflecting on happier times prior to the apocalypse.

'Back Into The Hole Where I Was Born' shatters that memory and brings us back to the cold harsh reality that is Oblivion...a myriad of sounds such as footsteps on crunching gravel and coughing all prelude the entrance of another character, who turns pages in a book noisily while he declares 'everything is gone' then puts a gun to his head and pulls the trigger.

The title track is probably the weakest point of the album I would say, mainly because it is just a repetition of saying the title with more and more intensity every time. However it does set up the closing track 'And The Far Unlit Unknown' nicely which ends the album on the sounds of tweeting birds and flies buzzing presumably around our character's dead body before the drones whoosh off into the distance.

I will admit that this album does demand a certain amount of attention, I found I had to really focus on it with zero distractions in order to enjoy and become absorbed in it, but if you're already well versed in Dark Ambient music then that shouldn't be a problem. 

Something which I cannot stress enough is to listen to this (and all of Noctilucant's work) with a decent pair of headphones or you will surely miss out on the extra sounds. 

I feel that Joseph has created an interesting musical world and I look forward to hearing what he does next.

All things considered, 'Oblivion To You All' is an immersive release that will suck you in.

8.5/10

Noctilucant Bandcamp

Noctilucant Facebook

Noctilucant YouTube

Listen to some brand new Noctilucant material here

‘Neath the Cerulean Abyss / Buried alive in Mud was released on cassette via Grey Matter Productions back in August which you can listen to / purchase here

You can read an interview with GMP founder Daniel Cornejo here

Graham Williams: Rebirth and Reclamation

Back to the UK for a chat with Graham Williams, a veteran of the Leeds Electronic/Experimental music scene and an avid dabbler in Ambient Dub, Dark Ambient, Drone, manipulated Field Recordings, Electroacoustic and Musique concrète with his projects Fencepost, Tungsten Grasshopper, Less than 1 and R0(nought).

Since returning to composition and audio experimentation back in 2014, Graham has been releasing with extreme consistentce to make up for lost time and this year has been no exception:

Abyssopelagic, Phantasmagoria and Malfeasance are 3 collections of previously unreleased Tungsten Grasshopper material that have been resurrected and reconstructed. 

Surface Noise Iteration The first Fencepost material in 14 years and Ersatz_2002 a previously unreleased Fencepost live recording.

D Th1rt3en a dark ambient/soundtrack release inspired by and using audio fragments from the classic 60’s horror movie Dementia 13.

Graham contributed 2 tracks to ‘MIDI sans Frontiers’ an online compilation spearheaded by legendary UK Acid House/IDM artist Squarepusher who gave out track stems and encouraged artists to remix them in aid of calling attention to the worrying rise in hate crimes in the UK post Brexit. 

Most notably, Graham decided to reach out to the ocean of online DIY artists with the Fencepost Reclamation Project an ever expanding compilation giving artists the opportunity to remix field recordings used for Graham’s Fencepost EP released back in 2002 on Evelyn Records. 

His latest release carrion sessions (yellow)  features various versions of 'carrion', an on-going work between his R0(nought) and less than 1 monikers. Several versions of 'carrion' have been previously released on the 3 pestis releases, Lost Carcosa and Orphan Source and carrion sessions (yellow) continues his exploration of the darker side of the ambient world.

listen below:

A 75 minute mix of carrion versions has also been included at the bottom of this interview

DMD: Growing up, what music left a large impression on you?

Graham Williams: I remember music always being part of my life. Vinyl was ever present through my childhood, my parents having a varied record collection, running from Little Richard to Tchaikovsky. One of the earliest records I clearly remember was a 7” of Zulu war chants which I used to play at various speeds. I used to get records for Christmas, a soundtrack to Star Wars with Holst on the B side, Close Encounters of the Third Kind etc. 

My father used to love westerns, so I soon had Morricone in my collection too. Orson Welle’s War of the Worlds also made a big impression on me as a child, teaching me the power of broadcast and beginning a lifelong of love of radio drama. Music that made the world a bigger place really started for me with Public Enemy’s It Takes a Nation... was released when I had just turned 13; I had never heard the use of loops and samples like it before. The lyrical content also made a big impression, opening my eyes to topics that I had never really been aware of. Hunting down the origins of loops soon brought me to James Brown.

Black Sabbath was also another big moment around this time; I remember finding Vol.4 in a charity shop. Supernaut was the one for me; I was soon hunting for their other albums and discovering other metal bands as I did so. Mike Patton, then in Mr Bungle and Faith No More became, and still remains an inspiration. The quality and variety of his work is staggering to me, his attention to detail instilling a thorough approach to my work methods, which has made me a more proficient producer.

Ministry opened up the industrial side of things when I picked up The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste album, especially with the track Burning Inside. Scorn and Nine Inch Nails soon followed, and it was these three bands that really ignited my interest in making music. My concept of music was turned on its head when Autechre released Basscadet when I was about 18. Not only did this track open up the world of electronic music to me, it reinforced the thought that production was something that I wanted to do. 

Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works II and μ-ziq’s Tango & Vectif were also revelatory to me. As my musical tastes widened, I also started to listen to more classical music. Penderecki drew me into the darkness and Wagner’s and Shostakovic’s structural processes also became fascinating. Many of my construction methods owe much to various orchestral works.

DMD: What were you doing musically before going solo?

GW: I have only really ever worked solo. It really began when, at about 16, I started messing around with tapes on an old stacking system. The recording head was on the way out and didn’t used to blank out anything that was already on a tape, simply layering the new recording on top. I collaged any sounds I could, sometimes until the repeated layering prevented any sound from being recognisable.

This led to my first pair of decks, a cheap pair of old belt drives. I used to mess with pitches of records by changing the belts for elastic bands, resting things on the belts, using paper clips etc. After a few years of endless mix tapes, I became frustrated with only being able to play and adapt other people’s music and enrolled on the Leeds College of Music’s Music Technology Production course.

I soon became involved in the Leeds electronic music scene and this lead to involvement with Vector, a loose organisation who used to put on monthly nights of electronica, and host a radio show. It was at about this time that I bought my 303 for £30 and a bag of weed. An SP 202 soon followed and between Vector and my music course, I began to learn how to construct the kinds of sound that I heard in my head.

DMD: When did you start to gravitate towards more experimental music?

GW: Once I had been exposed to Autechre etc. I began to actively seek out more and more experimental music, and this reinforced my desire to construct sound. Once I had started producing, I soon found it overly restrictive to be worrying about beats, bars and other traditional structures and soon dispensed with them.

My first couple of releases were on Fencing Flatworm, a label run by Rob, who now runs radiofreemidwich.wordpress.com. Rob had an incredibly varied roster on the label and this encouraged me to continue with my methods and approach to production. The OTO series was a tape only offshoot, limited to 50 copies of 50 releases. My contributions to the series were T04, T11, T26, T33 and T37. This was my first tentative steps into experimenting in processing films. the process was to build several filters audiomulch and then play audio from the films through them, changing the parameters in real time and recording as I did so; these recordings were then edited for the releases. 

Following a move to London, I had several projects released as part of Evelyn Records’ subscription series. Evelyn Records was run by Chris, who now runs tromerecords.com. The series was again a very diverse selection of works, including a singing woodstove, which is the release that got me into field recording manipulation.

By this time, my work was becoming increasingly abrasive as my mental health began to deteriorate. Soon after the fencepost EP was released, my mental health declined further and I began to feel that all of my works were worthless. Within about 18 months I had largely ceased to produce altogether; this cessation continued until about 2 years ago when I began my recovery.

DMD: What instruments do you play?

GW: Unfortunately, I do not play any instruments, and can’t even read music very well. I played the xylophone when I was at school, but was never very good.

DMD: Please tell us about the inspirations and the origins of your music projects: Tungsten Grasshopper, less than 1, Fencepost and R0(nought)

GW: I have always had a habit of using an artist name for only one or two projects and using differing names for different types of work. The name Tungsten Grasshopper came from a casual comment one of my friends made whilst I was working on a project for my music course. I played a half finished piece to him and he said it sounded like a mechanical cricket. 

After a bit of refinement, the name stuck. The project became the basis of Pyrrhic Victories, my first release on fencing flatworm. This album was really me finding my feet with the 303, the intricacies of composition etc. The second Grasshopper album was written whilst I was trying to come to terms with the sudden death of my mother and was a process of catharsis.

Less than 1 came about after my extended hiatus from music. I was suffering badly at the time with anxiety and felt less than a complete person; that some part of me had left. My wife encouraged me to get back into music production as it had been so helpful before. I was soon channelling a lot of my emotion into the music, which again helped me through a dark time.

I use this name for both my film reconstruction works, major projects and also use the amalgamation less than Tungsten for my rebuilding of unfinished Tungsten Grasshopper material. Of all my guises, less than 1 is the most personal. Fencepost was initially intended as a one-off project using nothing but field recordings, I am hesitant to use terms such as ‘musique concrete’. A fencepost was about the most prosaic concrete item I could think of and became the working title for the project. 

Evelyn records released the Fencepost EP and a full length was also recorded. Of all my old work, it is the fencepost works that I am most happy with. The R0(nought) moniker came about due to my interest in viral and bacterial diseases. Initially, I intended to only release pestis under the R0 name, but as it turns out a few more R0 projects are in the pipeline. Whilst stylistically similar to less than 1, R0 is constructed along more classic compositional lines, creating a denser sound.

DMD:  Apart from music what else inspires you?

GW: I love the natural world. Just about every aspect of it has held me in awe for as long as i can remember. Sonically, I draw inspiration from animals, odd phenomena such as singing sands, baffling underwater recordings, wind etc. I am rarely without my digital recorder and use the resultant recordings in most of my work, although much of may it not be recognisable.

Literature also plays a huge part in my inspirations. I have an especial love for weird fiction, especially Lovecraft’s works. I try to capture the otherworldly feeling of dread in an indifferent universe that his writing evokes in my work.

Films have also been a source of constant inspiration to me, I have an especial love of B-movies, old Godzilla films etc. I have reworked some of my favourite films in less than 1 projects and find the processing of the score, incidental music and dialogue a real pleasure.  More of these projects are scheduled for the future.

DMD: What is your recording set-up? 

GW: My set up has not changed very much over the years, as when I returned to producing I essentially just dusted off my old rig. 

Individual hardware elements include a Roland MC 303, a Roland SP202 sampler, a Kaoss Pad, 2 PDX2300 Vestax decks, an Ion TTUSB10 digital deck, a Citronic SMFX 200 mixer, a Radioshack SSM mixer, a digital recorder, minidisk and various mics. 

The main software I use is Soundforge and Acid Music Studio. My wife Sara is also an integral part of my set up, providing advice, track titles and putting up with having to repeatedly listen to half-finished tracks.

DMD: What is your day job?

GW: I work part time in local government, mainly dealing with environmental services issues. The rest of my time is split between running an allotment and music production, the reclamation project etc.

DMD: How did the Fencepost Reclamation Project compilation come about?

GW: The reclamation project came about due to fortunate happenstance. In the same week I discovered a CDr of the original fencepost stems and got back in contact with Chris who used to run Evelyn Records. Chris and I had unfortunately lost contact when I stopped producing music. The project was born when I asked Chris if it would be ok to rerelease the EP with remixes submitted by other artists. Chris was very supportive and was happy for the rerelease.

Rob, of radio midwich, was also very supportive of the idea and suggested some artists that I could contact to see if they would be interested. Following Rob’s advice, I sent out some email invites and was overwhelmed by the interest shown by so many other artists. Remixes soon began arriving and the project initially launched in April with about a dozen tracks. The project has continued in this vein and currently includes over 120 tracks from numerous artists from all around the world.

I am astounded by the enthusiastic support that the project has received and have to thank all of the artists who have been involved. Many of these have also expressed an interest in any future projects, which is an exciting prospect for me.

DMD: What would be your 15 desert island disks?

GW: Ae – Elseq 1-5

Fantomas – Wunderkammer

Ennio Morricone – Once Upon a Time in the West

Mick Harris & James Plotkin – Collapse

Mercury Theatre – War of the Worlds broadcast 1936

James Brown – Star time

Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath

Rollins Band – End of Silence

Ministry – The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste

Nine Inch Nails – The Downwards Spiral

Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation...

Wagner – Overtures

Penderecki – Orchestral Works

Wasteland – Amen Fire

David Attenborough – Life Stories

DMD:  Do you have any live shows planned for your projects?

GW: I don’t have any plans for any live shows. I do miss the live aspect, but there is not much of a music scene around where I live. I’m not overly proactive when it comes to arranging gigs etc; but if I was invited to play at an event I would jump at the chance. Playing live would also give me an excuse to raid films for apt dialogue. I tend to cut back on the use of vocal samples for studio production, but like to have a more narrative approach to playing live.

DMD: What does the rest of 2016 hold for you and your music?

GW: The next couple of months should be quite busy for me. As a result of the reclamation project, I’m going to be embarking on a series of splits with contributors. I’m hoping to have a couple of splits released before next year. The carrion sessions (an ongoing collaboration’ of R0 and less than1) will also see its first release. I am also currently working on a new R0 project, but am not sure this will be finished before 2017 is upon us.

DMD: What bands/artists releases this year really blew you away?

GW: The two releases that really stick in my mind from this year are Autechre’s Elseq 1-5 and the self titled Nevermen release. I’m still astounded by the complexity of these two diverse releases, which have swallowed most of my spare ‘listening’ time this year.

DMD: Tell us about your latest release the Carrion Sessions (yellow) and the soundcloud mixtape…Also: Why do the numbers on the Carrion tracklist go 2-4-7-8-9-10?

GW: The Carrion session came about as a precursor to the reclamation project. All of the different version of carrion use the same set of samples, and is really an ongoing series of reinterpretations, trying to see how many different ways a set number of samples can be reconstructed and reinterpreted. I return to the sessions on an ad hoc basis, generally between larger projects. The name is derived from the use of a Carrion crow sample.

The numbering on Carrion Sessions (Yellow) runs in the sequential order that the tracks were produced in. Missing numbers indicate where a particular version has been used as part of a larger project i.e. Carrion IV as part of pestis. I decided to do a mixtape for inclusion with this interview as a contemporary version of when you used to get a mix tape or CD with a magazine i.e. Fact magazine mixes.  

It also gave me the opportunity to segue various different versions of Carrion into one larger entity using different key and pitches to the original recordings. Essentially, the mixtape is a ‘live’ rendering of Carrion, performed to an audience of 3 of my cats. I also thought it would be a little bonus for anyone reading this interview, and so I decided that I would publish it via Soundcloud as a private track to add an air of exclusivity.

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

GW: Rob from Radiofreemidwich, for his constant encouragement, advice and support over the years. Rob’s wife Anne and their son Thomas, for being Rob’s wife and son.

Chris from Trome for his support and encouragement over the years, and for his wholehearted support of the reclamation project.

All of the reclamation project participants, I’m proud to be associated with so many talented and supportive artists. Ed, for being cool and providing me with this opportunity to be interviewed.

Most of all I would like to thank my beautiful wife, Sara, without whose love, understanding, support and constant encouragement I would be lost.

Desert...Mountain...Dust... is proud to premiere Carrion Suite 2 which you can listen to here 

Less than one Bandcamp

Fencepost Discogs

the remains of my estate records

radio free midwich blog

Photography credit: GAS Works