INTERVIEW – STEVE/CRUEL NATURE RECORDS

Newcastle’s storied underground imprint Cruel Nature is celebrating its 10th anniversary with the release of ‘Spectrum’, a 23-track charity compilation that highlights precisely why the label has become a byword for sonic diversity. No better time then for a chat with ever generous founder Steve Strode.

First of all, congratulations on reaching your 10th anniversary. Could you tell us something about your background in music and how Cruel Nature first came into being.

Thank you very much! 

My background in music started in my early childhood. My parents enjoy music and records were played a lot at home; mainly old rock n roll, Eddie Cochran, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, all sounds which I love today. My dad saw Eddie Cochran’s last ever gig at the Bristol Hippodrome in 1960. Aside from a couple of 7s, there were no Beatles in the house; although there was an album of a session band doing Beatles covers, and throughout my childhood I thought they were the Beatles. When Elvis died in 1977, my auntie came over to the house and Elvis records were played all day well into the night. When John Lennon died in 1980, the Beatles session band covers album was played. Which is both amusing and strange. Recognising and remembering John Lennon by playing his music performed by a fake John Lennon. I don’t think my parents cared for the Beatles much really. I remember my uncle playing me T Rex singles when I was a child, although it could be the fact that they were named after a dinosaur which was the main attraction there.  

I was in primary school when punk entered my world. For some reason, we always used to listen to Radio Luxembourg on a little transistor radio when on family caravan holidays, and I recall hearing The Clash and others played during the summer holidays. It was the very late 70s when I started wanting my own records and still under the influence of punk, I asked my mum to buy me Never Mind The Bollocks, which of course with a title like that she refused. So, I got Parallel Lines as a consolation, which I find a better album. I still have that original copy from 1978. After that I got into the 2-Tone movement, then The Cure, Joy Division, The Birthday Party and so on.  I was also a goth for a bit. But it was the Jesus and Mary Chain who influenced me to form my first band and play my first gigs when barely out of high school, leading to more bands, gigs etc.

At various points, I’d have several music ventures on the go. Playing in bands; putting on gigs; running a tape distro; publishing a short-lived zine with my mate Paul, that my mum used to duplicate for me on the photocopier at my old primary school, where she worked. We’d then sell it at gigs and through Revolver Records in Bristol. It ran to three issues, although issue three never went to print, even though it had a Big Black interview and a feature on The Ex in it. I don’t recall why. Maybe the photocopier had broken. Or mum was found out. Family has played a supportive part in my creative vocations, and it still does today.

As has been mentioned elsewhere, I formed Distraction Records with Darren Hubbard in 2002, releasing vinyl and putting on events. I don’t think Cruel Nature would exist without that experience and the subsequent involvement and collaboration with global labels and artists via MySpace, music forum / boards in the mid-2000s.

About three years ago, I watched a programme on the art of Japanese cherry blossom gardens. The dedication and commitment that goes into creating these horticultural wonders, often involving individuals solely focusing on one task (picking certain buds off, so the blossom grows according to the required aesthetic, for example), developing and excelling at it for many years, with a Zen stoicism.

This got me thinking about the activities I was pursuing at the time, trying to balance playing in a band, doing gigs, and running the label alongside the priorities of day job and family, which were all becoming very challenging to sustain.

With that in mind, after almost three decades of pursuing many music ventures simultaneously, taking a steer from the art of Japanese gardening, the only music vocation I am now dedicating my focus to, is the label and the curation of sounds that support it. 

Cruel Nature has one of the most eclectic catalogues of any independent record label. Was sonic diversity part of your original vision?

Absolutely. In the very early days, it was coming from a left-field, experimental and sometimes extreme angle which has softened over the years, but if you look at the first three releases: you have industrial dark ambient soundscapes, post-punk / no-wave, and harsh noise wall, so it was already crossing genres. That’s how I’ve always worked. The Distraction Records catalogue was eclectic and it’s reflective of my own eclectic taste. When listening to music at home and when I used to DJ in the late 90s / early 00s, the selections will go from dub to funk to techno to punk and then pop in a matter of minutes.  It’s that mix tape mentality, when you’d pull together a collection of random sounds for someone, with the sole message being ‘you gotta hear this!’

Cruel Nature specialises in limited edition cassettes. Why that particular format rather than vinyl or CD?

We have released some CDs and vinyl (mainly as made-to-order lathe cuts), to compliment the cassette releases, but from the outset, the label was established with cassettes as the format of choice. Cassettes are what I grew up with. Making tapes of tracks recorded off the radio, John Peel’s Festive 50 was great for that. All the band demos and my own sonic tinkering, all recorded straight to tape. Recording gigs of bands. Running a tape distro. Long before CDs, downloads etc, cassette was the only physical format for people to get their sounds out without having to take the big risk of shelling out on expensive vinyl. And arguably it still is. The DIY community thrives through cassettes. You buy one at a gig; it slips nicely in your pocket. Portability. Cassettes are DIY.  The cassette is there in the mosh-pit or at some 10 band bring your own drink, pass the bucket around for donations, gig in a rehearsal space, the backroom of a pub, a community centre.  Cassettes are punk.

Through running Distraction Records, I learned about the restrictions and constraints imposed financially through being mainly vinyl based. The basis behind Cruel Nature is to provide a platform for new artists, irrespective of location or genre. I can’t really fulfil that mission with vinyl and such an eclectic catalogue.  Cassettes give me more freedom to take risks with the sounds I’m publishing, and you still get the warm analogue organic feeling that you do with vinyl, along with the ability to be creative with the packaging, so overall a perfect work of art.

For the first 3 years, the label was 100% DIY. All the cassette releases were home-produced. I moved to pro-production due to time constraints and a desire to improve the quality of the releases, along with wanting to give better art and packaging options to the artist.

Of the many tapes you’ve released over the last 10 years, do you have any favourites?

I can’t really say. It’s like asking if I have a favourite child. They’re all loved equally for their own individual special ways. But if I need to call out some for significance, then At The Heart Of All ‘Cotard’s EP’ will be an obvious choice as it’s the first-born, the tape that launched the label. The one that I started the Cruel Nature learning experience and journey with. ATHOIA were from Bristol, and I’d been speaking to Aaron from the band for maybe a year before the tape came out. We’d been collaborating on some sounds before I’d considered starting the label. It was the only release I did for them. The band ceased a little while later. Aaron is now an artist and did the amazing artwork for the ‘Spectrum’ compilation.

Mirrored Lips ‘б​ы​л​и у м​е​н​я д​л​и​н​н​ы​е в​о​л​о​с​ы​, но р​а​з​в​е о​н​и п​р​и​н​е​с​л​и м​н​е с​ч​а​с​т​ь​е’ I was introduced to Russia’s Mirrored Lips in 2016 via an email from Sasha, asking if I’d like to publish an album for them. I checked out their Bandcamp and what I heard just blew me away. Off-kilter improvised free-form no-wave noise-punk, that had a sense of urgency that just commanded your attention. In October that year I released the album ‘MOM’, their first UK release. We corresponded a lot and started talking about arranging a UK tour and by March 2017, I’d booked a 7-date tour, across the north and south of England, accompanying them along the way. They were so good live. Amazing stage presence, such intense performances, drawing in and captivating audiences everywhere they went.  While here, they checked into Gateshead’s Sound Rooms and recorded ‘были у меня длинные волосы, но разве они принесли мне счастье’.  It was a studio live recording of the set they were playing on tour. Released in June 2017, for me that tape represents Mirrored Lips at their peak.

Being one of the labels involved with last year’s release of Nadja ‘Labyrinthine’ was a pleasure. I’d worked with Aidan on a couple of solo albums previously and was asked to handle the UK cassette release for Nadja. It was a good demonstration of how several global labels can come together and work collaboratively on a single release, each bringing their own stamp through individual artwork and presentation. 

In the same vein, after working with David Colohan on a number of solo releases since 2015, it was an honour to pick up the cassette release of United Bible Studies ‘Return Of The Rivers’ last year.

I have solo works for Aidan and David in the schedule for this year, but it’ll be great to work with both Nadja and UBS again.

‘Spectrum’, your mammoth 23-track 10th anniversary compilation, has just been released. Could you tell us something about it and how you approached the process of track selection.

Whilst daunting at the outset, I did follow a process to select the artists involved. This was based on those who are still active; those I had worked with on many releases; those whose work had a significant impact on me; and then an overall sonic cohesion. The original list was more than twice the size of the final 23 so would’ve been a box set if I included everyone. The tracks provided were all at the artist’s discretion. There was a limit on duration, and they needed to be exclusive. Aside from that there were no restrictions.

The other aspect of the compilation is that all proceeds from the release are going to The Toby Henderson Trust, an independently funded charity in North East England which supports autistic youth and adults, as well as their families and caregivers. My son Davy – who is the same age as the label – is autistic with ADHD, so I have a close connection to the challenges faced by affected individuals and their families and understand the importance of the support that charities like TTHT give.

Since initiating the compilation, some of the artists involved and supporters of Cruel Nature, have highlighted their own connections with neurodiversity, either personally, through family or providing support, so it’s good that it is also raising awareness and getting people talking about the subject.

Looking forward, are there any artists you’re keen to add to the Cruel Nature roster, and how do you see the label progressing?

I have a steady stream of submissions and a growing release schedule, with this year already almost booked out, so we’re continuing at a prolific rate. Time constraints mean that occasionally I do miss an opportunity with submissions, but I always endeavour to listen to everything, and if the content of the accompanying note grabs my attention, then I’ll jump right in. Sometimes, a conversation might start with someone about releasing something and it can take a couple of years or more before anything is published. Katie Gerardine O’Neill is a good example. It was the start of 2021 when we first spoke about possibly working together and it was 2 years later when I published ‘Into The Beyond’. I don’t push or pressure artists. Everything must proceed at their pace, ‘don’t worry, there’s no rush’ is a stock phrase. It’ll happen when it’s meant to happen. Equally, I respect the patience of the artists, as with a busy schedule, it can sometimes take months for work to be published.

There have also been times when albums have been submitted, artwork produced and then not actually released as the artist has withdrawn the work. With Chihuahua, their amazing album ‘Crythor Du’ was released, and the band split up 9 days later! A big shame as they were excellent. I’m glad I managed to get the album published before the split.

In the next few months, there will be material from Pound Land, Tunnels Of Āh, Aidan Baker, David Colohan, Clara Engel and Charlie Butler; along with Gvantsa Narim, who produces amazing emotive electronic ambient soundscapes inspired by religion, esotericism and Georgian polyphonic music. We’re also welcoming Waterflower to the Cruel Nature roster. A Latvian artist merging interdisciplinary performance with a fusion of art pop, experimental noise, avant-garde, and ethereal melody. There’s also the debut from Tyneside based Dissociative Identity Quartet, who produce enigmatic minimalist techno and a singles collection from frenetic Leeds post-punkers, Volk Soup.

I’m also keen to publish some more work from Tibshelf, aka Lee Etherington, the man who established Newcastle’s Tusk festival. His debut ‘Supreme Flounder’ is plunderphonic heaven, cutting and pasting all kinds of samples into mind-bending sound collages. Funk, hip-hop, techno, ambient, soul, it all gets thrown in the mix and along with Summer Night Air’s ‘5’, is another example of Cruel Nature pushing the boundaries of sonic diversity.

There’s plenty to get excited about!

‘Spectrum’ is available now from Bandcamp as a limited edition double cassette and digital download. All proceeds will be donated to the Toby Henderson Trust, an independently funded charity in North East England which supports autistic youth and young adults together with their families and caregivers.

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Cruel Nature Records

The Toby Henderson Trust

INTERVIEW – MIK/CADAVERIC DISSOLUTION RECORDS

Here follows a short interview with Beer Throwing Gore Pimp Mik, mastermind behind Cadaveric Dissolution Records, foul purveyor of Gore and Death tapes from Russia!

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How did Cadaveric Dissolution records come to be?

Well, Cadaveric Dissolution was founded in late 2013, at first it was an idea to help my friends release their bands – projects like Butcher M.D., Active Stenosis, mainly on cassettes. After the first cassettes were released, almost all the copies were sold out or traded extremely fast. Then I became interested in the continuation and expansion of the label, and now you can see for yourself in what garbage this has turned he-he!

Which releases so far are you most happy with on Cadaveric?

Seriously, i love all of them, coz i releasing only the music that I like and listening constantly, most of the people from these bands or projects are my friends and I am very happy about it! But, i’m especially happy about these releases on my label: Maggut – Into The Gore + Demo (2002) CS Version (I’m also printed Maggut – Into The Gore TS along with this release), Blue Holocaust – Carnage EP + Gorified Rehearsal CS,
Butcher M.D. / Distrophy Split CS (The first Cadaveric Dissolution release, both sides amazing, really old school sounding Goregrind piece of shit! Butcher M.D. first release also and still my favourite stuff from this project!),
Active Stenosis – Final Histopathology Report CS (You do not need explanations, you understand everything yourself about this one!), Embryonic Cryptopathia – Total Fucking Garbage Discography CD (It was a real pain in the ass haha! It took me about 2 years to make this release happen! It was very hard to get all the material and prepare the rest of the things for this release, but in the end everything turned out perfectly!), Rawhead – Spineless Pigs Full Length CD (I can safely say that this is the best Goregrind release of the 2018. This CD will be available for order in the end of July!).

What new releases are on the horizon?

As i said above : Rawhead – Spineless Pigs Full Lenght CD, Garbage Guts – Digest Me To Excrement CS (August), G.B.S. – Demo 2018 CS (August), Pulsating Cerebral Slime – Disciples Of Disgust CD, Pregnancy – Full Length CD, Haggus / Golem Of Gore CD – CS, Heinous – The Basement CD. This is not a complete list of upcoming releases, but I think so far this is enough he-he!

Do you plan to venture beyond Gore and Grindcore releases?

Sure, I’m already released Chaosbringer – Demo CS (Old Skull Death Metal from Russia. Killer Bolt Thrower worship. They just released their Full Lenght – Turn Into Ruins on 12″ Vinyl, other formats are available also.
I highly recommend to check this band!). I’m also have some Death Metal releases for the future Cadaveric regurgitations. But yeah, Cadaveric created for the Goregrind releases mostly.

Which artists would you love to release a Tape or CD for?

Hmmm, almost everything I wanted was already released or in the works on Cadaveric Dissolution haha!
But maybe it would be : Lymphatic Phlegm, Sulfuric Cautery, Deterioration, Contaminated, Fetid.

You host the out of print or out of copy releases at the bandcamp page for streaming and free download. Where do you generally stand on the argument of physical vs digital releases? I think your approach here is best, i.e. free downloads for  releases which are no longer available for purchase.

I’m Okay with both! I think if you really liked the digital version, you will buy a physical one also, unless of course you do not a asshole haha!

Do you or have you played in bands?

More likely not, than yes! Actually I’m supposed to doing vocals for Butcher M.D. but this project on hold at the moment, I really look forward to the return of this project in near future. Also I did some guest vocals for Reeking Cross, Vomitoma and couple of other projects of my friends.

Do you enjoy music from beyond Gore and Grindcore, or even further out from metal or punk?

Hell fucking yes, man! I’m a big fun of Black / Death Metal, Doom Metal, Sludge Metal (90’s) genres & Rupture!

Which are some of your all time favourite records?

Probably it was always the most difficult question for me, be ready for the heap of them haha!

In no particular order : Autopsy – Acts Of The Unspeakable, Incantation – Mortal Throne Of Nazarene, Disembowelment – Transcendence Into The Peripheral, Catasexual Urge Motivation – Encyclopedia Of Serial Murders, Dahmer – Dahmerized, Dead Infection – A Chapter Of Accidents, Demilich – Nespithe, Dysmenorrheic Hemorrhage– The Last Vapors Of Gangrenous Fetor, Embryonic Cryptopathia– Uterine Excretor Of Carcinovomit, Gore Beyond Necropsy – I Recommed You… Amputation!, GUT – Odour Of Torture, Impetigo – Ultimo Mondo Cannibale & HOTZ, Last Days Of Humanity – In Advanced Haemorrhaging Conditions, Lymphatic Phlegm – Pathogenesis Infest Phlegmsepsia, Maggut – Into The Gore, Meat Shits – The Second Degree Of Torture, Mortician – Final Bloodbath Sessions, NVE – Mass Murder Festival, Carcass – Reek Of Putrefaction, Regurgitate – Effortless Regurgitation Of Bright Red Blood & Concrete Human Torture, Rupture – Cunt Of God & Corrupture, Warsore – Violent Swing Discography, Blasphemy – Fallen Angel Of Doom, Goatlord – Reflections Of The Solstice, Beherit – Drawing Down The Moon, Perverted Ceremony – Sabbat of Behezael, Proclamation – Execration Of Cruel Bestiality, Profanatica – Disgusting Blasphemies Against God, Teitanblood – Seven Chalices, Eyehategod – Take As Needed For Pain, Fistula – Loser, Full Blown A.I.D.S, Grief – Dismal, Manilla Road – Crystal Logic… I can continue for a long time, but I hope this is enough, and you understand what a disgusting musical taste I have!

Which current bands should we be keeping an eye on? Any discoveries you’ve made recently that you’d like to share or promote?

I do not always get to follow the release of new things or bands, but here is the some of them :
The Men’s Toilet, Endotoxaemia, Cerebral Rot, Bloodsoaked Necrovoid, Myxoma, Incinerated, Rawhead, Extremely Brutal, Regurgitated Guts, Fetid, Caveman Cult, Vomi Noir…

Thanks for responding to my questions, Mik!

Thank you for your interest, Jordan!

cadavericdissolutionrecords@gmail.com
cadavericdissolutionrecords.tictail.com
cadavericdissolutionrecords.bandcamp.com
cadavericdissolutionrecords.blogspot.com

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Thanks again Mik for agreeing to this interview! Now go scope out some of his tapes and downloadable releases, you degenerates! Support this filth!

 

INTERVIEW – ALBERT TROSS, LEADER OF THE DEMONS

Here follows a short interview with Harry, the madman behind the dread headache-maker Albert Tross, Leader Of The Demons, who kindly agreed to slither from his bunker and disseminate just exactly what in God’s name he thinks he’s doing.

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How did you find an interest in Noise?

At an early age, I started messing around with tape manipulation. Creating loops, replacing vocals to songs with weird noises, slowing down music, piling loops on top of one another, or just recording white noise and hoping for some sort of interference.
No idea where it really came from. Boredom? Soon after that I heard an early CD by Laibach, which led me to other groups like Non and SPK. The thought of doing harm to others with nothing but sound amused me, so I continued.

How long have you been making and releasing music, as Albert Tross or otherwise? Do you have any other projects currently?

My early tapes are gone for the most part. I found one, fuck knows what kind of shape its in. I might try to rip that one day. Albert Tross, however, started as a casio keyboard’s drumming and a distorted, shitty guitar. I’d guess that was around 2001.
Most of that stuff still exists, but its pretty horrible. I was eventually introduced to SoundForge, a couple of years later, and began experimenting with manipulation again.
There’s some other shit I’m working on, sure. Takes me forever to complete shit though. There’s this attempt at krautrock using the GarageBand app that’s been sitting unfinished for way too long. There’s also some shit with actual instruments that I
sporadically start and stop working on. Not sure what kind of direction I want to go with it, but it will be pretty noisy and sloppy. I also sing for Stab!

What are the inspirations behind the frightening dreamscape that is Albert Tross, both sonically and visually?

Migraines and hallucinations. I’ve had those problems for as long as I can remember. Albert Tross is my way of re-enacting the pain and anxiety.

What equipment or instruments do you use to create your Noise?

I mostly just use the SoundForge program and stolen music/sounds. I don’t think I would ever use anything else and feel right calling it Albert Tross.

What does the process of creating new material entail for you?

A clouded mind and a couple of hours of free time. I just plop down in front of the computer and start digging through this massive collection of acquired sounds. I might go into it with an idea on what I want to achieve, even then I often stray from that
plan. Its mostly just haphazard trash. I’ll create some sort of mess and sort it into a folder when I feel its completed. I usually have 4 or 5 collection folders going at a time of tracks that I feel fit a certain mood. I’ll go back to them over and over again at
a later point when I’ve completely forgotten what everything sounds like, then I’ll either work on them some more or wait until I’ve forgotten about them all over again. The whole process doesn’t make much sense.

Who do you like/listen to/follow in the world of Noise?

I honestly don’t know too much about the whole noise scene. I know the guys behind Arachnid, Atomic Cockbombs, Kap’n Krank and Mahler Haze, so I listen to and enjoy their output. Andy at Mortville shared a link for this noise outfit called Beelzebukkake, which I
thought was really incredible. Reminded me of those countless hours sitting behind a stitcher/trimmer in a print shop as a teenager. He really captured how all of those loud, abrasive factory noises can become quite rhythmic after a while.

What do you like listening to outside of Noise?

Metal, mostly. Krautrock, schlager, oompah. Shit that either makes me want to drink or break something or both. Just snagged a massive amount of recordings by a synth group called Nightcrawlers, really enjoying them.

Any releases on the horizon?

I recently completed a track for a split release with Arachnad, not sure when that will be out. Started working on some stuff for Kareeye Tapes, far from finished on that though. There’s always my usual mess of incomplete folders too. I’ve got five
separate concepts going at once right now. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to do an entire album centered completely around monster movies, but I haven’t been able to wrap my brain around it completely yet. Or maybe a Haunted House album.
One of these days.

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Thanks again Harry! Go scope out the ever confusing Albert Tross, Leader Of The Demon’s extensive body of work here. Bring aspirin. Bring alcohol. Do NOT bring psychedelics.

 

INTERVIEW – DAN LACTOSE (DJ EONS ONE)

American Hardcore/Grindcore/Hip Hop legend Dan Lactose very kindly agreed to an interview about the late Stinkweed Kuklinski, legendary West Bay figurehead of such bands and projects as Plutocracy, No Le$$, Shed Dwellaz, Kompund and many more, and how he came to curate the Stinkweed Bandcamp page.

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How did you and Stinkweed meet?

I knew about Stinkweed long before I met him.  I had seen his tags all over Redwood City and had been listening to Plutocracy since the “Progress” demo because I went to school with Kalmex.  I think the first time I ever met him Kalmex had me drive over to his house with a my mom’s 35mm camera so I could take some pictures of a throw up he had done the night before on the side of the freeway.  I don’t know if he would have even remembered that though, I think it took you meeting him a couple times before he really recognized you as being down with him.  Through Kalmex I met all the other Pluto dudes and started hanging out at some practices and recording sessions which eventually led to me and Max skating together a bit and eventually forming what would end up becoming Spazz.  This coincided with Max deciding to leave Plutocracy and I was bummed that they were calling it quits just as they were writing their best stuff and also, I was worried people would think I had a part in that all happening.  Of course, if this didn’t happen, there would have not been NO LE$$ who were one of the most innovative bands to emerge from our small scene.  Fast forward to 1995, I’m hanging out at the Chestnut Spot with a bunch of fools and Stinkweed comes up to me and asks if I’d be down to be the DJ for a new rap group he was starting.  I told him sure but I didn’t have any equipment to makes beats.  He said not to worry and about a week later we had a 4 track and a Roland MS-1 which, alongside a Boss DR-550, is what I used until I bought a MPC 2000 in 1997.  An interesting side note is that I had actually met Tizoe before Kalmex and Stinkweed.  We met in my 7th grade science class.  I had a bunch of pictures from Gorezone and Fangoria taped to my book cover and we started talking about horror movies.  Redwood City gets really fucking small if you are a true weirdo.

Who were inspirations to you and Stinko coming up through Hip Hop, Metal and Punk?

I can’t really definitively speak for Stinkweed on what actually inspired him but I will say that some of his favorite groups, to my knowledge, were: Pink Floyd, Above The Law, Exodus, Vio-Lence, Funkadelic, Zapp, Youth of Today, Black Flag, Hugh-E MC, Terrorizer, Mac Dre, etc.  I think we both really connected musically because we both were into hip hop before we discovered punk and metal and we could see the parallels between them very early on.  I remember one of the last times I ever hung out with him he told me that music was better when punks, metal heads and hip hoppers all hated each other.  I’ll never forget that.  As for me, Soulsonic Force was the group that hooked me on hip hop and Black Flag was the band that made me want to pick up a guitar.  Once 7th grade me bought a copy of Napalm Death’s “From Enslavement To Obliteration” on cassette, the course was charted.  I still distinctly remember sitting in the computer lab at school and playing Napalm Death on my Walkman for a girl that liked me.  The look of absolute disgust that she gave me told me I was definitely on to something.

How did the Stinkweed Bandcamp page come about?

Stinkweed’s parents invited a bunch of us over to their house to celebrate his first posthumous birthday.  I got there a little early and gave his mom and step dad copies of the Short Fast & Loud and Maximumrocknroll magazines that contained the tributes I curated for him.  While talking to his mom she remarked that she could find tons of his grindcore music online, but barely any of his rap recordings.  On the bike ride home I came up with the idea to create the Bandcamp page.  The first thing I put up was actually something that Stinkweed, Tizoe and myself put together after Stinkweed finished his final stint in jail.  We had been starting to reconnect after a huge fall out that stemmed from a disagreement I had with a certain person I will not name who managed to convince a large group of my friends to turn their backs on me.  Anyways, I had a near death experience in 2007 and I think it kind of reset the situation and we all slowly started coming back together.  When Stinkweed originally came to me his main goal was to dig out all the 4 track tapes that had Zodiak Iller (RIP) rapping on them so that we could digitize them.  We had a great afternoon drinking, smoking, ripping the old tapes and reliving memories, good and bad.  We were amazed that the transfer sounded so much better than we had remembered the recordings and wanted to save it for something special instead of just throwing it on the net or a bunch of cdr dubs.  When Stinkweed died, I felt I just had to share it with everyone.

Do you have a record you and Stinko collaborated on that you feel most proud of?

I think the Low Budget/No Budget compilation was the best thing we ever did together.  It was the culmination of 15 years of making music together, going from 4 track to 16 track to 2″ 24 track to Pro Tools.  I had lost my job after being hit by a car while riding my bike to work and Stinkweed was, well, he didn’t work all that much so he pretty much took the bus to my house everyday.  Luke Sick was working part time in the town I lived in so he would roll over after work and we’d usually already be in the midst of working on something or watching a movie.  It started to become the spot to meet and be creative and the project just came together naturally out of that.  It was great to see Luke and Stinko build off each other.  A lot of people don’t know that Stinko had an engineering background and he was involved in way more than just his vocal or guitar performances.  We both worked at the same recording studio for a bit and he attended a bit of a recording school program as well.  He was also an expert arranger, obviously born with a gift.  You could play him a riff or two and he would instantly come up with a grip of ideas how to use it or would pull a cassette out of his pocket and say, “I got a sick sample for that, bro!”  Every move he made was in some way working towards creating new art in one form or another.  He never fucking stopped!

What response/feedback have you received from the Bandcamp page?

Old RWC heads have told me they are stoked to have access to songs they maybe only had on some fucked up cassette they lost 15 years ago.  Aside from that, not much, although all the responses I’ve received so far have been positive.  Bandcamp is cool, but it’s rare that someone will sit down and write some critical text about it since it isn’t a real, physical release.  That’s why your website is so great, Jordan!  So many fucking blogs just repost the links and original write up/press release with no additional commentary.  The focus is not on quality posts, but the quantity of posts.

Any new projects on the horizon for you, or any upcoming re-releases/uploads of out of print Stinkweed material?

I actually have quite a few beat related things in the works.  My first ever fully instrumental release is at the plant now.  It’s a 7″ called “Revenge of the Crate Goblins” that will be coming out in a limited edition of 100 copies on Megakut Records. We’ve had to reject the first 2 sets of test pressings so hopefully the 3rd set works and we can get the damn thing pressed! I did all the beats for a project with Foul Mouth Jerk and Gus Cutty from Gurp City South called Scoff Law.  I believe they are wrapping up mixing that.  You can hear one of the tracks here: http://gurpcitysouth.bandcamp.com/track/hot-sauce-ft-philo

I’m working on mixing down a 7″ by a young, up and coming MC named Lightbulb from the Sunset District of SF.  4 songs and I did all the production.  That will also be released by Megakut.  I just got hired by a group called Chainsaw Squid to make the intro and outro to their 7″.  I have 3 beats on a new project called Mutual Daps which is a kinda LB/NB project spearheaded by Luke Sick, TC Bonelocs and White Mic of Bored Stiff.  I just finished a remix for my homie Z-Man that will be on a forthcoming remix album that Gurp City is putting together.  Got some other things in the works that are a bit to early to really speak on.

As far as the Stinkweed Bandcamp page, I’ve been slowly upping the tracks for the Shedwellaz “Back 2 Tha Shed” mixtape which was the first release with Stinkweed’s resurrected Shedwellaz with TC Bonelocs handling the majority of production.  After that I’d like to do the Shed Dwellaz “Deadly Episodes” EP and the 2nd Kompound album, “Modern Crucifixion.”  I’d also like to add that I took this project on by myself and have just been uploading recordings that I either was involved with or lossless audio of.  I *think* Stinkweed would be into it, but like my homie Franko said, he was a crazy motherfucker who had been known to flip out on people misrepresenting his music.  For that reason, I’ve kept it all free and leave the disclaimer that if anyone involved in the recordings wants me to take them down, I will.  So far everyone has been really stoked and it’s saved me the time of burning cdrs for all the people who inundated me with requests after he died.

 

What are you currently listening to?

Da Buze Bruvas, Bangaar, Sepsism, Beatnuts, Villains, Pagan Altar, William Onyeabor, Yabby You, Om, Step Brothers, Original Concept, Paul Chain, Sir Lord Baltimore, Syl Johnson, Leviathan, Master’s Hammer, Funereal Presence, etc.

Anything You would like to add?

I guess I’d like to add that the relationship Stinkweed and I had definitely had it’s ups and downs, but I’m extremely grateful that we were so close during the last few years of his life.  We played in Torture Unit together, recorded the Low Budget/No Budget album, played a bunch of shows and communicated with each other almost daily.  He was a huge inspiration to me and it was an honor and a privilege that he chose to work so closely with me for all those years.  I loved him like a brother and miss him dearly.  There will never be another Stinkweed.

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Thanks again to Dan for this interview and his support for GonzoK. You can check out the DJ Eons One Soundcloud here.

RIP STINKWEED

INTERVIEW – SLAVESTATE 641A

Luke and Ryan of Slavestate 641A and Robocop, among other projects, both kindly agreed to an interview about their Slavestate 641A ‘Masochist’ release on Grindcore Karaoke

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How did Slavestate 641A come about? What was the impetus to move away from the sound of Robocop post-‘Dead Language, Foreign Bodies?’

 Ryan: The not so terribly secret fact about this record was that it was supposed to be a Robocop e.p. Originally, Tom was going to play an electronic drum kit and it was going to be an incorporation of early noise and industrial (think SPK, Throbbing Gristle, etc.) influences into our sound. Tom couldn’t make it, and we had planned for him to double the tracks or do some vocals. That didn’t end up happening, so Luke and I didn’t feel we wanted to call anything without him on it Robocop.

As for the sound of the record, all of our earlier albums have had a different sound than the predecessor: the demo was recorded mostly live and very much sounds it, Robocop II was much more worked over, Dead Language Foreign Bodies was the first time we recorded in anything resembling a studio. We consciously wanted to move away from the sound of that record because it was a little too cleanly produced for our taste. The context in which we were recording (I was moving out of my house the next day, and we had one day to record), probably influenced the style. It was much more about experimentation and hearing what would work.

 Luke: Moving away from Robocop, in my mind, was more of a submission to the facts rather than something I would have pursued intentionally. Without Tom, I feel like a lot of Robocop’s spastic, high-energy thrashing was left wanting. Between Ryan and myself, more of the darker and dismal energies remained and I guess that was our launching point.

What equipment was used in creating the record?

 Ryan: My usual generic 7-string guitar, bass, programmed drums, waterproof contact mics, a dual square wave oscillator synth I made with a few control knobs and a light sensor, a microphone with a piezo disc attached to a can of ice-tea with the top cut off, a bathtub, etc.

 Luke: At the time, both Ryan and I were exploring analog sound/technology and building ways to capture and produce sound from scratch. We came together with some contact microphones made water-proof by a synthetic rubber as well as what I believe to be Ryan’s first audio producing synth: what seemed to be a sine wave generator with a pitch control and some modulation.

What influenced the sound of the record?

 Ryan: Swans, Godflesh, Skin Chamber, Big Black, Napalm Death, SPK, Alvin Lucier

 Luke: The sound of the album then comes pretty directly from the environment we recorded in as well as a few objects we were using at the time. The vocals to Screwdriver were recorded using a contact mic and an Arizona Ice Tea can as a resonator. In fact, we tried using that can as a resonating chamber for all of the sounds on that track but I believe we left it only on the Vocals, guitar and synth. Of course, there are also the vocals underwater. Self perception is often misleading but I think that, as far as this album goes, my overall contribution to the sound comes from thinking of stupid ways to try and use the cool ideas that Ryan has. I don’t say stupid to be self-depreciating as much as I’m referring to my complete lack of discretion for my ideas on how to employ the new tech we had. We tried and otherwise shot down an awful lot of ideas which were a little more asinine (e.g. taping the mic to a chip bag and screaming into it) but I think the fact that both of us entertained those ideas is pretty central to what we ended up creating (the same could probably be said for Robocop…). All of that and hearing Godflesh for the first time (I’m definitely the new kid on the block in our group).

What influenced you in recording ‘Masochist’ the way you did?

 Ryan: While we were referencing what we had done previously in Robocop, we really felt like we could reconfigure what we were doing so as to make it unrecognizable. It was important to do something new, because I felt like, on our own small level the vultures were coming in and picking at our earlier work. I was honestly incredibly frustrated with what was passing for ‘interesting’ or ‘intelligent’ in music and had spent three months in the middle of nowhere to think and regroup. Most of the recordings for what has become Body Hammer II were done during that time.

Regardless, I wanted to make something personally meaningful that didn’t abandon punk and hardcore but related to it in a different way. I like the idea of constructing something familiar, but formally organizing it so that it feel odd and uncomfortable. For example, the lyrics for Screwdriver was taken from lyrics I was writing, a short story, and quotes from other writers that I fed into a piece of software which reorganized the material. I’m influenced by the use of detritus in art such as Gutai, etc. and for me, the lyrics of that song remind me finding scraps of ads and junk mail in the winter slush by the side of road. There is an element of corruption and entropy there, but also of organization beyond your control.

The recording of both works was also influenced by the thematic content. Reptile Enclosure was primarily focused on claustrophobia and water. When I was around 8 or 9 years old I nearly drowned after walking on a frozen lake and falling through the ice, and the summer before I recorded Masochist, I had a really terrible case of pneumonia that for whatever reason wasn’t properly diagnosed for a month or so. I felt like I was going to drown in my own mucous. This track has a number of references to internal/external drowning. I had made an earlier recording inside of a fountain using contact mics, so we used that, as well as waterproof microphones I’d made to record some of the underwater screaming and flailing at towards the end of the track.

 Luke: All of the recording decisions we made were largely guided by the lack of time we had. Ryan was in Vermont and I knew that was gonna be our only chance to record anything face-to-face in a while so I drove down there and we had a day to buckle down and do whatever we could to create something. If you knew how much fun it was to make music with Ryan and Tom, you’d probably make the drive in a heartbeat yourself. That being said, I personally carried a lot of emotional pain into this recording and being on a time restriction really accented that at times. I was also extra pissy because my wife and Ryan’s fiance were binging on Pretty Little Liars together; if you’ve ever watched that show you’ll know what I’m talking about I think.

What are your thoughts about the finished piece?

 Ryan: Only that it contrasts very strongly from the experience of making it. Luke and I are very high energy when we’re working together, and it seemed like every insane idea we had was coming together in a way that worked well. The finished e.p. feels very cold and calculating, but writing it was the exact opposite.

 Luke: The final piece carries with it all of the memories from that day: good, bad, whatever. It also is a showcase to me for some direction(s) we may end up pursuing more fervently as we continue to make music and I find that really exciting. I’ve been listening to a lot of Ufomammut recently too so I’m hoping that we can come together for really punishing epic in the future.

Any plans for more releases?

 Ryan: I’m hoping we can have something together next year. We’ll see.

 Luke: Ryan said he’d be up here for Christmas and Tom said he’d be here for Halloween so I’m guessing that new material is inevitable in the near future. I’ve also been working on a number of different things alone up in the Frozen North that I’m hoping will get the Slavestate blessing soon. Turned a gas mask into a microphone so you know it’s eventually gonna be something cool!

Any other news regarding Robocop, Body Hammer or other projects?

 Ryan: This year we all put out a number of releases. Tom released e.p.s with Ultra//Negative and Bonethrone. Luke released the first Giantgiant album after working on it for 7 years, and I’m releasing the second Body Hammer album in December/early January. I am also finishing up a demo for a new power violence band called Abrasax that I started with Ryan Jobes (ex-Sutekh Hexen, Sunken Cathedrals, Cube ov Falsehood) and will be out via Vestige Recordings early next year, as well performing with Rhys Chatham and Night Worship in the next couple of weeks. Earlier this year I started mastering other bands starting with the Heroic Quartet/Ben Tinker + Tara Sreekrishnan split, and early in December I’m engineering a recording for Pink Gaze. I’m currently putting together a vhs of Robocop’s last show, along with some videos I made along the similar lines as Aftermathematics. I’m sure I’m missing important things.

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Thanks again to both Ryan and Luke, who were paid in obscure pedals and DVD’s of terrible Bruno Mattei movies for their part in this interview. Here’s looking forward to more Slavestate 641A, and the highly anticipated ‘Body Hammer II’!

If for some ridiculous reason you haven’t downloaded one of the year’s best releases for free, do that here – GK#445