noise – Weirdo Shrine

9 August 2023

Double Vest attack: Tomoyuki Trio – Mars vs. Modoki – Luna To Phobos (2023, Riot Season Records)

Mike Vest continues to be one of the most prolific artists in the psych scene. He likes to join forces with other psych noise artists, mostly through long distance recordings. Like Artifacts & Uranium with Fred Laird, Neutraliser with Charlie Butler, or Mienakunaru with Junzo Suzuki and Dave Sneddon. The next two albums he releases on Riot Season Records are no exception, and this time he worked with two legendary guitarists from the Japanese underground…

On their first collaboration with Japanese guitar demolisher Tomoyuki Aoki (known for his notorious noise psych-outs in his band UP-TIGHT) Mike Vest and Dave Sneddon have opted for a slow burning doom approach to let Aoki shine in his guitar bombardments and hazy vocal delivery. The trio patiently, but steadfastly builds each of their Godzilla jams into seething monsters bellowing fire from blackened nostrils.

Building towering layered structures of feedbacking distortion and wailing guitar screams, this unholy threesome will put the test to your speakers and your eardrums as they plow through their post apocalyptic jam based songs as if they have been chased by rabid zombies for days on end and finally give in.

You can imagine this is the music that is played on our last days when the big meteorite finally hits and the world is smashed into oblivion. It is immensely powerful stuff, but it also holds a certain blackened bleakness and disdain for beautiful things that gives me goosebumps.

That’s not all folks though, because Mike Vest simultaneously releases another awesome collaboration with a Japanese guitar hero…

With Modoki Vest and Sneddon continue their journeys with the illustrious Mitsuru Tabata. Tabata was part of the first embodiment of Boredoms, toured the world with Zeni Geva, and played in Acid Mothers Temple. Needless to say he knows where to get the mustard for some unhinged jamming. On Luna To Phobos he mentally and physically abuses his guitar creating otherworldly visions of what future axe playing could be. Supported by the steamroller rhythm section of Mike Vest and Dave Sneddon Tabata freewheels to other galaxies and back exploring space and beyond through black feedback holes and endless reverb clad warp speed drives.

My favorite thing about Modoki‘s Luna To Phobos are the vocals though. Absolutely unintelligible for these ears of course, but that is part of the appeal, adding a dash of crazed exoticism to the mix that makes this production completely its own.

We return to Newcastle on Tyne, where the illustrious Mike Vest resides. When he is not recording unholy space rackets in his home studio he mostly spends his time gardening, and that is where we start this conversation about Tomoyuki Trio and Modoki…

Hi Mike! How are you doing? What have you been up to since we last spoke, and how is your garden?

I’m good, slowly working on the next batch of releases for next year, gathering and mixing. I work 6-12 months ahead usually. Another album with Aoki, Mitsu, new LushWorker and few others. Had to replant the strawberries, planted them too late and in large pots. So I’ve transferred them to garden rich soil. There should be way more next year, hopefully. They spread quick, but it might be worth the risk. Strawberries take time to settle, I think. But, once they do, they produce in abundance.

Farmed all the potatoes recently, used all that fertile soil for the garden. 5-6Ft sunflower ‘plants’ are starting to bloom. Like mini trees. Slowly digging and reducing the ‘lawn’, dug out a place for the pear tree, that ill plant in the autumn. Plants are really taking to the new soil, some beautiful colours, white/light violet hydrangeas finally bloomed. They took a while to repair.

What can you tell me about the writing and recording sessions for the Modoki & Tomoyuki albums? Did you meet up with Mitsuru & Aoki?

All the albums are recorded remotely. So…I will record a bunch of drums with Sned in 1st Avenue Studios, Newcastle. Take the stems and return to my home studio. Then start to distribute the drums accordingly. Record some rough bass-lines, song structures etc etc. Then pass on rough bounces to Aoki & Mitsuru.

Then they can take their time and record guitars, vocals, organ, whatever they want. They are both great at recording, engineering and mixing and all that good stuff! Making music in this fashion, for me, removes all the aspects of issues that I hated, when making albums. Logistics, time constraints, unwanted influence, tiredness. This way, time is not a issue. Everyone sets time aside to work on the project and they can spend as much time as they want. Without feeling under pressure. This comes out in the music, a form of relaxed expression. I send two bounces of the whole album (Bass & Drums mostly) but then, also send just the drum tracks. So they don’t feel confined to my bass playing or choice of notes. I would then play bass to their guitars. I’ve been recording like this for years, before lockdown.

How did you get into contact with Mitsuru Tabata and Tomoyuki Aoki? How does one end up jamming with people like that?

Junzo Suzuki made the introductions while we were working on the 3rd Mienakunaru album ‘Strato Arcology’ LP. Mitsuru was supporting Junzo during his rehabilitation. As ’Strato….’ came out when he was in hospital. Mitsuru was able to receive his lps and sell his music on Junzo’s behalf. Check it out here.

What should the laymen know about UP TIGHT, and where for instance should they start listening?

Two UP TIGHT LPs came out on Cardinal Fuzz early this year. These are vinyl pressing of cdrs made in the early 2000s Pick up any of there albums really, they are all great. ’The Beginning Of The End’, ‘Night Is Yours’ & ‘Early Years’

Check them here and here.

Did you experience a difference in approach between you and these Japanese artists? Were there things you learned or that they learned from you?

They were great to work with, very committed and focussed. They respect the work and process. After working this way, (remotely) for a few years. I can now hear the level of conviction and intent in someones playing. I can then determine how committed or interested they are in the album.

What can you tell me about the artwork of both albums?

Both were painted, during the time I was mixing and piecing the albums together. Each cover was painted while I was listening to mix downs of each album. Creating them doesn’t take long, as its just all flows, no second thoughts.

What can we expect from you in the future? Are there any releases you especially look forward to?

Tomoyuki Trio – ‘Mars’ LP & Modoki – ‘Luna To Phobos’ LP both up for pre order now. Will be released in August. Another Artifacts & Uranium LP & a new project called Kaliyuga Express should be out this year too.

5 July 2023

Review + Q&A: Omnibadger – Famous Guitar Licks Vol. III (2023, Cruel Nature Records)

Remember HAL, the evil AI computer aboard the space ship in 2001: A Space Odyssey? Ever wondered about what it would be like if that guy was programmed to make music in stead of sending a bunch of astronauts to their death? Well that’s a borderline weirdo coincidence because Omnibadger just fixed that fantasy for you.

On the strangely titled Famous Guitar Licks Vol III The band draws up a menacing spectacle of death bleeps, harsh noise, noise rock, human yelling, and all kinds of other insane raucousness that is programmed to creep people the fuck out. And make you forget about the fact that there is no Vol I or II, which once again is of course suspect as hell.

The band used to be called Omnibael, which more openly referenced their demonic upbringing. But then again, consider a badger truly, and realise that those critters are evil as hell too, and not to be trifled with. It’s like the band wanted us to believe they were fluffy cuddly mammals in stead of the psycho devils they clearly house internally, well yo did not fool this weirdo, not today!

Back to the “music” though, because this racket is still considered that, even though at times on this record it stretches its definition. I guess if you like the sound of blown up speakers, broken beats, gurgling shards of glass, and being yelled at, this is your cup of boiling bile. All the other people might want to give it a go for shits and giggles, and hit the stop button as the former creeps down your pants well before the latter presents itself…

Any of the above might be completely made up though. It might be written by an AI trying to fend off potential saboteurs, it might be the truth, or it might be all or none of these things. Better see for yourself my adventurous furry little friends…

Better still, we made contact with Omnibadger to see whether we were dealing with actual humans. We are still not quite sure, though their answers made us lean towards yes. You guys be the judge! Oh and take to their Bandcamp to listen to their new album, because it is a hoot!

How are you? How was the pandemic period for you as musicians?

Yeah, not bad. Could be worse, you know? The pandemic was actually good despite all the horror going on. That’s what got us started doing what we do as Omnibadger. Music had pretty much come to a hault with our other projects due to lockdowns, but Jase and I knew eachother from playing shows together before with a couple of other bands, This Sun No More and Goya. I can’t remember why now, but we got talking about music and our solo electronic noise projects. (Plan Pony and Old Man Disgusting) We started sharing music with eachother and said “fuck it, why don’t we do something together?” It was during that time when the government arbitrarily allowed people to meet up in groups of two or three, so we thought we’d book our a practice space and just have at it. So we just brought a shit load of equipment and started messing about, usually just experimental improv stuff with drum machines, loopers, samplers, contact mics, oil containers, and guitars. It started working pretty well right away. I think we’d already recorded a small E.P. within the space of 4 hours. We got on board with a bunch of live streams with other artists, and started doing that every other week or so. We ended up on a few compilation records and it went from there.

Can you introduce yourself, how did you start your career, etc?
I’m Phil from Omnibael/Omnibadger, typically a play guitar/bass/vocals and general electronic nosie shit. I wouldn’t really call it a “Career” more just fucking about with music we like. I’ve been in a few bands throughout my life and this is the lastest venture. I’m a noise merchant at heart, so it’s about time I did something about it. It’s good to finally let loose and just make whatever the hell springs to mind on that particular day.

What can you tell me about your musical backgrounds?

I started out just playing guitar and instantly joined some teenaged hair metal band, you know fuckin Motley Crue sounding shit? Since then I moved on to what I actually wanted to be doing and joined a post metal band, which I’ve been in for over 15 years now (This Sun No More) I went to college in Stafford to study music tech and that’s when I became interested in the more noisy electronic side of things. Typically just recording nasty synths, chopped up drums and yelling my lungs out in to a webcam microphone. My parents were super proud.

What does a regular day in your lives look like?
Ah, you don’t wanna know about that. Typically I just work at a manufacturing plant with robots. On the weekends I try to make music, but life often gets in the way. It’s a good outlet. Music, or rather sound is a one of the few things I care about in life. Gigging, writing, recording, just hanging out with other “musicians.” Most of the time I’m just doing normal adulting to be honest. I’d rather not, but here we are. So music is a good escape from all that.

What is the best thing about Famous Guitar Licks Vol. III?
The secret track at the end that no one has noticed yet. We got a bit in to the Shaggs while coming up with ideas for the record, and thought we’d have a go at doing a sort of Shaggs song. We didn’t do the Shaggs justice but it was a lot of fun. It’s kind of just this out of tune guitar, out of time electronic drums, an old children’s recorder and a kazzoo. It’s probably the best song on there. Surfin’ was really fun as well, because that’s actually an older song which we never really got round to recording. We sampled the drums for it by just banging on old shit outside the practice space for that industrial sound. We had a lot of fun with that one.

What does the title refer to?
It’s just kind of a Throbbing Gristle inspired joke, you know Jazz Funk Greats? Clearly it’s not actually an album of famous guitar licks. I mean, Surfin’ has a Dick Dale inspired riff at the end, but you can’t tell due to the copious amounts of fuzz, and the terrible way I played it. All the reviews just focussed on the idea that it said “Vol. III” which is just another ironic layer. Ah, whatever. We felt because the previous record had a bit of a serious title and a very sickly sound on it, we ought to have a bit more fun with this one. It’s not all nihilistic angst… This one had more of a whimsical feel to it… At least for us anyway. That’s also why we changed the name to Omnibadger which was what we were originally called before we went in to pure industrial noise depression stylings of Omnibael.

Where do you live and how does it affect your music?
Stoke On Trent, city of pottery, debauchery, monkey dust, poverty and endless wearhouses. So yeah, you can see where we get the sound. I mean, it’s not so bad. There’s a lot of green space as well, but we wanted to focus more on causing a racket. Perhaps some of that green will chime in on a future record. Our Twee Pop phase will happen eventually. Be warned.

Who are some contemporary musical heroes of yours?
Swans, Isis, Aphex Twin, The Body, Can, Fartclops, Harvey Milk, Lightning Bolt, Merzbow, Nisennenmondai, Pere Ubu, Suicide, Lez Rallizes Denudes, Black Dice, Animal Collective to name a few. Everything we do gets compared to Godflesh and Throbbing Gristle for some reason, so I guess I’ll mention them. I mean… If you can describe any of that as contemporary.

Can you tell me about how you went about composing and recording songs?
Typically we’ll just grab a bunch of equipment, shove it through a bunch of fx pedals and speakers, jam with it for a bit and press record when it starts sounding pretty good to us. Then we’ll develop those ideas over time and hopefully come up with something that’s worth actually putting on a record.

What are your immediate and long term future plans?
Gig, record, gig, record, do some splits with folk around the country/world. Just meet some fucked up, like minded individuals and make some horrible music with them. Then who knows? Settle down with all our noise artist riches.

What should the Weirdo Shrine reader do after reading this interview?
Make some music, get in touch with us, invite us to play at your local DIY venue. Go buy some stuff from Cruel Nature, they’re an awesome DIY label, and everything on there is just gold. Then… Idk, take drugs, fuck the system, call your parents and tell them everything is going to be okay, take your dog for a walk, watch the Lord of the Rings extended editions, piss yourself for old time’s sake, quit your stinking job, make model ship in a bottle, drink a piping hot grape juice, coax a pigeon in to your local Greggs and watch the chaos, stick your penis in a hoover, delete your Facebook profile, listen to Dog Train, join a cult and invite Louis Theroux to check it out, go on the Wetherspoons app and order a bowl of peas to every table, cry. It’s been so long since you cried, why can’t you cry anymore? It used to be so easy.

22 May 202320 May 2023

Review + Q&A: Loma Baja – Piscinas Verticales (2023, Spinda Records/Echodelick Records/Lay Bare Recordings/Clostridium Records)

Piscinas Verticales…take a good look at the picture above if your Spanish is a little rusty and you’ll get there too. You’ll be needing those wits, because the quirky title and artwork are only the start of this weird adventure you are about to embark on. Loma Baja is the name, and this Spanish collective of experienced noise mongers have made an effort to shake up all of their favorite musical styles and genres to appeal to the true adepts of the weird and avant-garde…and they succeeded gloriously.

I won’t be throwing around those genre tags or styles and spoil the surprise for you, but the fact Loma Baja listed the following artists as their influence speaks volumes in my book: Beak, True Widow, Breach, Black Midi, Liars, and Portishead to name only a few…I could add Tom Waits, Thom Yorke, Captain Beefheart, and Hey Colossus, but the list would still not be complete. It does give you an idea of the self-minded pioneership of these artists.

What we get then from this mixture is a distillation of the finest strain of musical creativity, bottled in years of hardworking band experience, and served with the craftsmanship of a skilled film director to completely pull you in as a listener, and only let you go after these 45 minutes are over.

The thing I like most about Loma Baja though, is that they don’t “try” to be different, weird, or “out there”. Their accumulative backgrounds and personalities just made them like this, forward thinking, staying far away from cliches and stylistic straight jackets.

It makes Piscinas Verticales into the the exciting adventure it is, because you never know what will happen next, and your (fixed) mindset and genre concepts are constantly challenged. If there were a prize for the album that fits most on this Weirdo Shrine internet space of mine, Loma Baja would win it hands down.

In line with their characteristic combined performance, Loma Baja also answers their questions with combined synchronicity, leaving room for the individual touch while ultimately remaining a strong collective. Here the story of the band as told by Víctor Teixeira (guitars), Pacomoto (bass, keyboard, vocals), Jorge García (synths, samplers, guitars, vocals), and Raúl Lorenzo (drums).

How are you? How was the pandemic period for Loma Baja?

ALL: ”Hello! We are fine, at the moment we are aging correctly. First of all we want to thank you for giving us space in your blog.

VICTOR: For Loma_Baja it was the beginning of everything. Originally, the band was structured differently. During the lockdown, each of us contributed songs from our homes. When we finally managed to get together, we realized that things weren’t working out and decided to start from scratch, proposing ideas as a band. Raul’s entry was what set the direction of the band. It was his first time playing drums, although he had a lot of experience with other instruments. Jorge also took the opportunity to play synthesizers instead of guitar. I think these two elements are what best define Loma_Baja’s sound

PACO: Loma_Baja GOOD Pandemic period BAD; still recovering.

RAUL: The pandemic hit me at the perfect age, 41 years old. I wouldn’t have liked to be locked up at home for three months at 16.

Can you introduce the band, and how did you meet, etc, ?

PACO: I’m the oldest but undoubtedly the most handsome guy in the band. I live near the mountains of Madrid and besides playing music with Loma_Baja, I’ve been playing bass with my bros from G.a.s. Drummers (punk rock from southern Spain) for almost 25 years. I also work as a TV producer (working for the enemy), but I love my Loma_Baja bandmates.

RAUL: I am the drummer, a friend, and a companion in a thousand adventures with Jorge since we were about 20 years old. One day in June 2021, Jorge asked me to join one of his bands to replace their original drummer. At that time, I had only been playing the drums for two or three months, but since the rest of the band were also old acquaintances and friends, I wasn’t afraid of the challenge.

VICTOR: I’ve played guitar all my life, and that’s what I do in Loma_Baja

JORGE: Synths and samples (which are new instruments for me), guitar and vocals are my world in Loma_Baja.

What can you tell me about your musical backgrounds?

PACO: I grew up in a very musical family (thanks to my mom and dad) and have a wide spectrum of musical tastes, including rock and roll, punk rock, hardcore, heavy metal, krautrock, psychedelic, pop, classical, folk, and jazz. In Loma_Baja, I play bass, synth bass, and also handle some vocals.

RAUL: I have played guitar all my life and I regret not discovering the drums earlier.

VICTOR: Well, all of us come from playing metal, hardcore, and punk. That’s our connection. Some of us have known each other for more than 25 years. With our previous bands, we have played together many times.

What does a regular day in your lives look like?

JORGE: I work as a freelance animator and Designer so i use to spend all day sitting in my studio working in pijamas. When I finish I like to go skateboarding, play some Miyazaki’s vídeo games or enjoy my time with my girlfriend.

VICTOR: I’m a first-time father, so you can imagine.

PACO: My life revolves around working, sleeping, listening to and playing music, eating, reading books and watching films, and spending time with my family. The best moments of my week are drinking coffee, playing with Loma_Baja, and visiting my baby niece.

RAUL: On weekends, I don’t set foot in my house because I work as a sound technician. However, during the week, I lead a fairly quiet life, dedicating my time and energy to what makes me happy: playing the drums, cooking, making electronic music, and watching series with my partner.

What is the best thing about Piscinas Verticales?

RAUL: I would highlight two things: its honesty and the pleasure it transmits when listening to it from beginning to end

VICTOR: It’s really otherworldly. It wasn’t until we had it recorded that we became fully aware of how we sounded. We believe it’s a pretty original album, with all that entails. It’s not a genre-specific record, and the best part of it is that anyone who listens to it can enjoy it quite a bit.

PACO: Personally, the best thing about this album is that I had the opportunity to meet these guys whom I love and respect not only as individuals but also as talented musicians. We were able to share our different perspectives on music and help each other develop new ways of composing.

Where do you live and what is the environment like for musicians like you?

VICTOR:The Spanish music scene (where we’re from) has always had a niche of unclassifiable and quite surprising bands. Everything is pretty interconnected. It has all come from the scene from 20-25 years ago related to punk and hardcore (especially in attitude), and many of these people continue to do very interesting and completely original things. This fact is fundamental for us. Loma_Baja didn’t have to start from scratch, people have been interested in what could come out of the union of four people with such different backgrounds. And that’s thanks to this freaky and interesting scene in which we have grown up all these years.

PACO: I live by the mountains, away from the big city; Madrid city is a good spot for musicians, there’s not a bad offer for rehearsal rooms, venues and freak people that come to shows of bands like ours.

Who are some contemporary musical heroes of yours?

PACO: Jeff Lynne, Nick Cave, Neil Young, Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto.

RAUL: People who make music in the world and do not have the impact or ease of making a living from it.

VICTOR: (from the band perspective) The cornerstone of Loma_Baja’s influences may be things like Beak, True Widow, or Breach (perhaps these are not so new). We don’t deliberately try to sound like any particular thing. In the band, there are people who still listen to a lot of new music, while others delve into music from other eras and try to bastardize those sounds and make them meaningful in what we do. Nationally, we’re into Akron or Tze Tze, not as a direct influence but in the way they create from very personal concepts.

JORGE: As Victor said many of out influences aren’t very contemporary but I love the music of Blank Mass, The Bug, Gnod, Black Midi, Squid and now I’m digging in a band called Trees Speak.

Can you tell me about how you go about composing and recording songs?

PACO: Composing for us is about getting four guys in a rehearsal room and seeing what happens, along with automatic writing. When it comes to recording, we prefer to do it live and Pedal to de Metal!

RAUL: When it comes to composing, we usually quickly realize what works and what doesn’t. Communication between us is fluid at all levels and we don’t take long to shape the songs. To record PISCINAS VERTICALES, we were respectful of the composition since we recorded it entirely live except for the vocals and some overdubs. We wanted the mixing and mastering of the album to be natural as well, and Rafa Camisón in mixing and Victor García in mastering did a perfect job.

VICTOR: We don’t have a very premeditated way of composing. Sometimes someone brings a more or less complete idea, other times they are more or less defined concepts or ideas, and many times they are improvisations. Among us, we have a fairly closed and primitive language that works quite well for us. There are no impositions of any kind. It’s fundamental both in how the band sounds and in composing that two of us started from scratch with our instruments. That has kept us away from any preconceived idea of what we could have sounded like coming from the bands we come from.

What are your immediate and long term future plans?

PACO: We are excited to announce the upcoming presentation of our first album! It will take place at Sound Isidro in Sala Maravillas, Madrid on May 26th. We would like to express our gratitude to our record labels: Spinda Records (Spain), Lay Bare Recordings (Netherlands), Clostridium Records (Germany), and Echodelick Records (USA).

What should the Weirdo Shrine reader do after reading this interview?

PACO: Deep breathe, survive, love your family, friends, Fugazi and Beak and (of course) listen to Loma_Baja.

RAUL:Put more cowbell on everything.

18 May 2023

Review + Q&A: The Pines Of Rome – The Unstruck Bell (2023, Solid Brass Records)

Today we are travelling back to the early nineties with The Pines Of Rome. It is where their roots lie, even after all these years. On The Unstruck Bell the Providence, Rhode Island band pick where they left after over two decades of radio silence. Still when they get that machine running again and the first guitar chord is strummed it is like all that time never passed at all. The clock broke, the bell never struck, but The Pines Of Rome fixed it and now they are back.

And so we are transported back to the time of the subdued hardcore indie of Unwound, the broken fuzz pedals of Sonic Youth, the fragile beauty of Mazzy Star, and the silent versatility of Will Oldham in his Palace years. If any of those names mean anything to you and your heart, you will find a good place to land within this album.

If anything stands out more on this record than this feeling of nostalgia, it is the brutal sincerity with which the band presents their songs. All of their songs, whether they are slow plodding and beautiful, or fuzz laden and loud, come straight from the heart. A heavy heart too, one that has seen enough to write songs like I Am A Road, and White Ships. All breathe believability and directly transport this experience and carry it to the listener where it can only end up straight into the feels.

There are no frills, no gimmicks, no leather jacks or glitter suits. This is pure emotion stripped and packaged in the music these guys grew up on and made their own. Welcome back The Pines Of Rome, your music has struck a nerve once again. I for one made that connection and enjoyed the ride through my own 90s experience, so thank you.

I contacted the band and found two perfect sparring partners in John Koldij and Matthew Derby, who kindly and fondly told me about their band and their longstanding bond loving music. Let’s let them take us back to the early nineties where it all began, and then transport us into the new and the new The Pines Of Rome album.

How are you? How was the pandemic period for The Pines Of Rome?

Matt: Just for myself, that period of time was characterized by this very particular combination of enhanced dread mixed with a kind of cautious revelation — this newfound understanding of the importance of community. Our sense of interconnectedness. Creatively, socially, politically. I saw that I’d drifted pretty far from the mainland. So far out that I couldn’t help anyone if I tried, and I wasn’t sure who to ask for help if I needed it. So the past few years have been about reconnecting, trying to build those bridges to the mainland.

John: I’d like to think I’m good. The pandemic certainly created many challenges, but specifically to The Pines of Rome, it was the phoenix from the ashes type situation. We channeled a lot into this, rebonded, reevaluated, and re-energized. I had just moved back from Cleveland, Ohio during the beginning of the pandemic and The Pines became a rooting force for me.

Can you introduce yourself, how did you meet, etc?

Matt: John and I met while we were in college in Western NY in the early ’90s. He was in this fantastic shoegaze-y band called Beatrice Blinded, and I was in a band called Tourbook, which was working hard to sound just like Sugar. We played a few shows together and got along really well. Then John moved to Providence, RI after graduation and I figured I’d never see him again. Two years later, I got into Brown’s MFA program in Creative Writing and unwittingly moved in next door to John. Literally. I had to take that as a sign we should work together. And The Pines of Rome was born.

John: Matt’s really underselling his old band, they were great. Another glimmer of fate, Rick, the drummer, moved into the apartment directly underneath me. Destiny rides again.

What can you tell me about your musical backgrounds?

Matt: I grew up in a Catholic family, during the Jesus Freak revolution in the 1970s. So I was surrounded by folk hymns. As a kid, I resisted that whole world, but as an adult, I can’t listen to those songs without bursting into tears. So I have to imagine they imprinted themselves on me. I also grew up in a very small college town in Western NY where new — and particularly independent — music was pretty hard to come by. So instead of searching out the stuff I loved, I loved what I was given. There are some pretty big holes in my “musical education” as a result. I never heard a Can record until I was in my 30s. That kind of thing. I’m still catching up.

John: I too grew up in a small college town, yet one with a storied, very hippie, recent past. I listened to the college radio station a lot growing up, but I really grew to love the local folk/bluegrass scene. I also grew up in the wake of David Torn, who lived in town when I was really young, 7 was a big influence on me-(his ECM record blew my mind and helped me start chasing different sounds and techniques) & along with Bill Frisell led to Sonic Youth, MBV, etc.

I took some lessons, just enough to be confused, and played in the high school jazz band. I was really, really into jazz in high school- 10th grade was all Charlie Parker and John Coltrane (also, The Cure, The Pixies and Jane’s Addiction). I’ve just never stopped wanting to hear new sounds.

What does a regular day in your lives look like?

Matt: About five years ago my wife and I started waking up at 4:30 every morning. Initially, it was just this dreadful time where we stared at the crappy ceiling fan in our bedroom, dreading the future. Sorting through the past. Then my wife started getting up and writing. Almost instantly, her life improved. So I thought I’d give it a shot, and sure enough, everything started to make a new kind of sense when I started every day inside the creative act. Suddenly, it was like, no matter what else happened to me in a day, I’d already made something. No one could take that away from me — least of all, myself. I didn’t have to come up with excuses why I wasn’t able to write in a day. So now, pretty much my whole life revolves around waking up at 4:30 every morning to write. It’s kind of hard to have much of a social life. I do my best, I guess?

John: 100% influenced by reading an interview with Matt & his wife, I also started getting up (at 5:30! such a slacker!) and walking almost every day- I’ve always believed in forest bathing, and did that as much as I can, but just a daily listen to the local birds, seasonally, and the wind through the leaves does me good. Work, and often a little guitar at the end of the day to wind down.

What is the best thing about The Unstruck Bell?

Matt: For me, it’s that it happened at all. The first phase of The Pines of Rome ended in 2000, when John moved to Brooklyn. I tried to write music afterward, but everything just sounded like the worst kind of Journey ballad. Journey wrote great ballads, actually, so I don’t want to dignify the shit I wrote by comparing it to them. Just awful, treacly bullshit. I sort of gave up on it all. And when John reached out to me somewhere around the end of 2019 and we started collaborating again. It was one of those “feels like we never stopped” experiences. So the record, to me, is just a celebration of our ability to even come together at all.

John: Working with lifelong friends, including Chuck from Solid Brass. It’s just a true story of persistence and a labour of love. Never stopping.

Where do you live and how does it affect your music?

Matt: I live in a post-industrial town outside of Providence called Pawtucket. The neighborhood I live in got cut in half by the interstate back in the 1950s, The other side of my street is the most congested highway in the US. It’s a weird sort of apocalyptic no-man’s land. I’ve never really considered how that affects the music but if I had to guess, it’s sort of like trying to plant a garden in the front yard of a house on the frontier of climate collapse. Mustering some spark of hope in the face of futility or something?

John: Rhode Island is the greatest state. The community here is what drew me in from the jump. People support and hold up their friends, even those outside their “circle”. What I love/loved about DIY culture was not the adherence to some punk value of not selling out or being a starving artist, but community. Helping those along the way, and I’ve always tried to help anyone I could express themselves. Providence has this in spades.

Who are some contemporary musical heroes of yours?

Matt: This could easily just become a laundry list of music I’m listening to, so I’ll constrain it to the bands that are making the kind of music that The Pines were chasing back in the day, but which didn’t really exist back then. Big Thief is sort of the Aristotelian ideal for what we were going after. It’s just thrilling to be living in an age where that band is making new music. We are really into Wednesday, too — they’ve figured out the right combination of shoegaze/noise and country, with David Berman-caliber lyrics. Caroline is another band that, to me, is making the kind of music I’ve always strived for but never accomplished. I could go on and on. There’s just so much amazing music out there.

John: Heroes … I love the music of Eliane Radigue very much. Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. Loren Connors & Suzanne Langille. UNWOUND. Bill Frisell. Like Matt there’s so much great new music-I’ve always felt that much like physical life, once you stop moving, you’re dying. Once you stop listening to Now, considering the how and why of Now, you’ve got one foot in the grave. I love Wednesday, ALVVAYS, SZA, Cloakroom, Greet Death-Big Thief & Meg Baird, Joan Shelley & Nathan Salzberg, boygenius, & ‘talons.

Can you tell me about how you went about composing and recording songs?

Matt: When we first started writing again, we fell right back into the mode we’d crafted twenty years earlier. The first songs were a kind of comfort food for us: Slow, sparse, expansive, apocalyptic. It felt good to go back there. That whole era of “post-rock/math rock” in the mid- to late ’90s… It was a little sad to me that it disappeared. I sort of thought the bands I loved back then: Codeine, Rex, Bedhead, etc. would keep making that kind of stuff forever. Things just went a different way. So it was good to return to that place, sonically. But halfway through the writing of the songs on The Unstruck Bell, we saw that we we’d written a few variants of the same template. So we just started challenging ourselves: Let’s write a Neu! song. Let’s write something in the style of Fugazi. etc. Nothing on the album sounds like those bands, but the exercise put us out on a new frontier, and I think the album sounds more expansive as a result.

John: I bring in approximately 23 parts, and my illustrious editor, Matt, helps whittle it down to the actual 4-5 parts that might make up a usable song. We write together really well, and I love his lyrics. We do some demo recordings, but we’ve always used an engineer. Working with Seth at Machines With Magnets is really wonderful. He is just super intuitive, and gets gorgeous sounds.

What are your immediate and long term future plans?

Matt: As a band? I don’t know. We don’t really talk about the future. We’re working on another record, mainly because it’s just a fun thing to do. So I guess we’ll keep doing it until it isn’t fun. I don’t have any illusions that people are going to listen to it. I don’t think we make music that people listen to, really. It’s primarily just us (or maybe it’s just me!), trying to make the kind of sound I want to hear in the world.

John: Just to keep going. Playing as far away as possible, but keeping expectations real. We’re all lifers. We don’t know how not to do this.

What should the Weirdo Shrine reader do after reading this interview?

Matt: I don’t know. I’m super uncomfortable telling people what to do. But, wherever you live, someone in your community needs you. Even just to show up. So find out who needs you and be there for them.

John: Go for a walk, and show up for everyone in your community.

13 May 202313 May 2023

Interview: Mike Vest (Drunk In Hell, Modoki, Artifacts & Uranium, Downtime, Neutraliser, Mienakunaru, Bong, Blown Out, 11Paranoias)

Ok, so we just had to talk to Mike Vest, right? Known throughout the underground for his involvement in Drunk In Hell, Bong, 11Paranoias, and of course the mother of all psych jam breakouts: Blown Out. In stark contrast to his regular noise mongering on record and on stage, we find the man in the quiet environment of his vegetable garden in Newcastle, UK. “I much rather visit the chaos, than live in it” is a beautiful quote from the man who seems to live very much in the presence, and does not dwell on the past for a second. So open your eyes, but definitely also your ears for this one, because there will be a lot of new and upcoming sounds in this one…

How are you? Can you introduce yourself and you multiple endeavors?

I’m good, enjoying these lighter nights, I’ve been gardening, I farmed a lot of potato soil end of last summer. Trying to get the garden soil back to a good pH or whatever. Starting to see the benefits now. De bois, gariguette and cambridge strawberries plants are growing well,
especially happy with the Ceanothus (Lilac Tree). The roots run deep, took about a year for it to be able to stand on its own. Hydrangeas are returning stronger, dark violets and royal reds hopefully, like last year. Going to plant a pear tree in the autumn. Tulips came out nice too. Winter pansies holding strong. Nice to have some freshly picked flowers around the house again.

So…two new LPs out now, MODOKI with Mitsuru Tabata playing leads.
I play bass and do the mixing and Dave Sneddon, handles the drums.
‘Atom Sphere’ our debut is available from Riot Season (UK) and Echodelick Records (US)
Our second, ‘Luna To Phobos’ should be seeing the light in a couple of months I think.
The second has more twists and turns. These were both recorded and mixed around the same time as each other.

New album from Artifacts & Uranium, our 3rd ’The Gateless Gate’ is out on Riot Season (UK) and Echodelick Records (US). Fred Laird did a great job with the production and mixing, as he has done with all our albums. We have just completed the 4th. This has Mitsuru Tabata as a guest feature. As I was working on Modoki stuff at the time.

https://riotseasonrecords.bandcamp.com/album/atom-sphere https://echodelickrecords.bandcamp.com/album/atom-sphere https://riotseasonrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-gateless-gate https://echodelickrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-gateless-gate

The Tomoyuki Trio LP should be seeing the light soon as well.
A trio with legendary guitarist Tomoyuki Aoki from UP-Tight. Awesome album. Was a pleasure to work with him. Foundations are laid for our 2nd. Up-Tight have just released a couple of lps on Cardinal Fuzz. Reissues, well worth checking out.

https://cful.bandcamp.com/album/uptight-sweet-sister https://cful.bandcamp.com/album/uptight-makoto-kawabata-uptight-makoto- kawabata

I completed a new debut album with IIkka Vekka, Ohto Pallas, Otto Juutilainen from Haare & Nolla. New project called Kaliyuga Express, total Hawkwind experience, specifically the Warriors and Masters periods.

Did a lot of experimenting with ultra delays on the guitars and micro tonal changes, lots of automation and octave chords. Tried to mix the guitars so every four/eight bars, something changes tonally. Just recently signed this off with the label.

DOWNTIME, a duo with me and Dave Sneddon. Our debut tape came out on Cruel Nature Records (UK) in January. Might be a few left. Weird instrumental noise rock. Slide guitar ventures. SNED runs a publishing house.

Lot of punk literature and art books.

https://cruelnaturerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/neurotics https://amorphouspieces.bigcartel.com/

NEUTRALISER, collaboration with Charlie Butler, released a tape on Cruel Nature Records (UK) in January.‘Capsule Bowed Space’ There is some copies of the 2nd run of tapes.
Also self released a digital album a month back, called ‘Liquid Oxygen Kerosene’.

https://cruelnaturerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/capsule-bowed-space https://charliebutler1.bandcamp.com/

What can you tell me about your musical background?

Been playing guitar & bass in bands’ since I was 16, got into improvisation and noise/drone music specifically when I was 20, I think. Started BONG, loosely, when I was 22/23. Played in noise, drone, improv sludge, noise rock, thrash, punk, grindcore bands through my 20s. Started playing gigs heavy from the age of 25 till 38. Probably more known for playing in BONG, 11Paranoias, Drunk In Hell, Melting Hand, Blown Out, Mienakunaru….

What does a regular day in your life look like? What role does music play?

Most days I’m working on music, mixing, recording or just listening and making notes.
I’ve got so many notepads full of numbers, track names, ideas, edits…etc. Maybe for only for an hour or so. But everyday, there is something to check over. I minimised my recording setup and the way I record albums. So it’s not a big thing to just start checking/recording/mixing various projects I’m working on. Its a fluid motion, I’ve made it easy to just pick up, play and start recording/mixing and so on..

I paint whilst I listen to mixes.

Where do you live and how does it affect your musical doings?

I lived at the coast for years, now I live close to the boarder between Gateshead and Newcastle. I used to be away all the time, playing shows/recording in larger cities, so, with being away lot, made me appreciate the smaller scale and calmer atmosphere I would return to. Less daily stress means more time to be inspired and productive, I guess.
Like a pirate, I would go and gather all gold from the capitals and go back to the sea.

I much rather visit the chaos, than live in it.

Can you highlight some of your favourite releases you were involved in, and tell us why?

The stuff I’ve released over the past 2-3 years and LPs that are on the way. I’m most proud of. I don’t save any copies of any album I have done. They either all get sold, given away or traded, everything is in the outbox. Test pressing etc, everything goes eventually. Being able to create music with Mitsuru, Junzo & Aoki over the past couple of years has been great. Same with Fred Laird with A&U & Charlie Butler in Neutraliser, got me back into enjoying, what I love the most about music.

The creating of it and the evolving process. Most importantly though is Dave Sneddon, without his drums, many of these albums/projects/bands would not be possible.

What is “the dream” for you as an independent artist?

To have 10% of my followers, buy my music and art.

What should the Weirdo Shrine reader do after reading this interview?

Buy music and art.

https://weloveyoujunzo.bandcamp.com/ https://visualvolume-mikevest.bandcamp.com/ https://emptyhouse.bandcamp.com/music https://charliebutler1.bandcamp.com/ https://amorphouspieces.bigcartel.com/ https://tabatamitsuru.bandcamp.com/

24 April 2023

Interview: Fred Laird (Empty House, Artifacts & Uranium)

The last time I talked to Fred Laird (Earthling Society, Taras Bulba), things were still strange with covid, and I had just discovered meditation. I noticed that a lot of instrumental drone artists around me moved in similar directions, and Fred was one of them. Through the article about meditation I first came into contact with his Empty House project, and Secret Suburbia is his fifth release since!

Secret Suburbia is still music you should listen to with your eyes closed. In a near-meditative state it will bring you places. The almost complete lack of percussion creates a deep stillness in every track that reverberates a mysterious tranquility throughout the album. With my eyes closed it is like discovering a secret garden, and then discovering nine more gardens even deeper hidden within, each with their own ambience and sounds.

Secret Suburbia is another place that Fred Laird created for the listener to go to and find creativity in stillness. Just close your eyes, and let him lead you through this new chapter of Empty House…

We return to Fred Laird, in actuality the first musician Weirdo Shrine ever talked to. That is not a coincidence, as his work resonates deeply within this blog, from his early days into heavy space rock with Earthling Society, to his psychedelic solo work with Taras Bulba, to his quieter work with Empty House, and his collaborations with Mike Vest in Artifacts & Uranium. And then of course we share a pandemic story arch, as we both changed a bit through covid. Fred discovered meditation and Empty House, I started this blog and discovered experimental ambient music. Now that we are both came out of the drabness pretty well it is time to catch up!

Hi Fred, how have you been lately?

Hi Jasper. Yes things have been good thanks. Keeping myself busy with music, reading, movies and martial arts. Just finished reading the water margin or Outlaws of the Marsh as it’s known officially. 2100 pages of mayhem set in the Song Dynasty with a 108 leading characters all with similar names!!

Last time we spoke it was deep lockdown everywhere, how did you come out of that? Are there things that have changed since?

Yes I changed physically and mentally. I had just decided to quit drinking about a month before and with the lock down and sobriety, decided to fling myself into an exercise regime that i still maintain now. It really has made me more focused, more attentive to things, especially being more meticulous in song construction. As for mental health, I no longer rely on antidepressants which I was on and off with over the years. I feel physically stronger and no longer feel like a self depreciative slob that wouldn’t have looked out of place in Uriah Heep!

What musical ventures are you working on currently?

I’ve recorded some guitar stuff for Mika of Astral Magic which is coming out soon (listen to it here-ed). I have also recorded another Artifacts-Uranium album with Mike (Vest) which also features Mitsuru Tabata on lead guitar. Its sounds good. Primarily its Empty House for me from there on in. Thats my main focus now. I Have some new ideas for the next release which are quite interesting.

I had a really good time listening to the last Empty House album Secret Suburbia, what can you tell me about making that album?

It was a joy to make i know that much. No hassle. It was like a meditation in itself. I’m thoroughly pleased with it and its sold out really quickly which is great. I kind of knew what i wanted with each song and just took my time layering it down then stripping stuff away to keep it focused.

What can you tell me about the field recordings you did for it?

There’s an eccentric woman who’s garden faces mine. She has lots of canaries and other birds. They are on the album. I also used radio Garden before they restricted the licence to UK members. So i would sit with my phone plugged into a handy recorder and tune into these desert radio stations in the middle of Africa and pick up random sermons or tribal chanting. There’s a lovely little station where these girls just recite psalms and chat away.It seems like it’s outdoors as you can hear dogs bark and whatnot. They are on track 1. Such a lovely part of the album for me.

What can you tell me about the upcoming Artifacts & Uranium album? Did you and Mike Vest spend some time jamming this time?

Gateless Gate was a lot more focused than the previous albums. I had this idea, it was a theme – Visions of Albion part 1&2. I had Penda’s Fen or some other folk horror stuff going in my head. It was a ritualistic idea, a trance like soundtrack to William Blake or Arthur Machen. I was trying to capture Terry Riley, Coil, Throbbing Gristle, Joy Division, Monster Movie CAN throw it in a cauldron and have them coming out as odes to the book of Thel or Lud Heat. Anyway long story short it was changed to Gateless Gate which is a reference to a zen book of koans. Still sounds great though. Very different.

What new music are you listening to at the moment?

New music? Beth Orton ‘Weather Alive’. I had a habit of playing Sandy B‘s ‘Student Night’ constantly which I think was pissing off the rest of the house ha. Suede‘s ‘Autofiction’ is great too.

Do you have any music tips for people that would like to try meditating?

Keep at it, let the thoughts come and go like little fluffy clouds, don’t fight them..say Shoo!!

What should the Weirdo Shrine readers do after reading this interview?

Go and buy Secret Suburbia of course! Oh and be kind to one another.

The Artifacts & Uranium project is a monolith of ritualistic experimentation in which two psychedelic noise veterans meet and test their amps upon the unsuspecting crowds. Fred Laird found Mike Vest (Blown Out, 11Paranoias, Modoki) and together they bring out the otherworldliest and most bombastic version of themselves in this project. The Gateless Gate finds the trilogy come to a close, after their self-titled debut and the impressive Pancosmology.

It is an album divided into two great rituals; a throbbing, danceable, uplifting sermon called Twilight Chorus, and a tribal monolith called Sound Of Desolation.

Twilight Chorus hits the beat button right away, turning the post apocalyptic wasteland into a psychedelic dance floor for stoned zombies. Eventually the track mutates into something Stereolab could have done if they would have jammed with Neurosis, and the ending is in fact quite serene and beautiful.

Sound Of Desolation is the grand finale, and it could be what I imagined the soundtrack of the beginning of 2001:A Space Odyssey would have sounded like when the monkeys discover the black monolith. It builds up for a good ten minutes, and then fully bursts open, displaying love for early industrial music and even some Joy Division (that bass line!).

It is a colourful, multifaceted album, with an album cover that prepared the listener beautifully for what is coming. Ambient noiseniks know where to go from there.

10 April 202312 April 2023

Review + Q&A: Gravitsapa – Concert No1 ’23.23′ (For chamber duo with looper and Polivox)

In a dark basement in Lviv, in Western most Ukraine, a duo of weathered musicians tries to find a way to deal with the hopelessness of war in the only way they know how. By making noise. Gravitsapa is a band that has had many faces, and many mouths, but these days they are only two musicians making sense of a senseless world by creating…”sounds”.

The Ukrainian duo creates sounds in the broadest sense, as they meander from mumbled spoken word to creepoid feedback drenched radio frequencies, to guitar solos from overblown speakers, and noise loops that sound like air raid sirens in the distance. Or perhaps they are air raid sirens in the distance?

In all its alienating noise, cold eerie feedback, and subdued inhuman sounds, the concert they call #1 23.23 has become a work of bleak ugliness and despair with the world. It is not a nice listen, not something you will want to go back to and enjoy for its great tone or something. In fact it is hideous, and very very scary.

But in times of war, statements like this have to be made. War is humanity at its ugliest. Gravitsapa have just made its eeriest soundtrack.

We found a way to communicate with Hulurlaid and Jabo from Gravitsapa. It felt like it had to be done. The story of the people in Ukraine needs to be told, even if it is depressing and hard to listen to. Like their music, are hardened by the experience. But they are also determined, and by creating their art they somehow still make sense of it all…

Hi Gravitsapa, how are you right now?

Hulurlaid: fucked up and depressed.

Jabo: I feel well-rested after four weekends.

Can you introduce your “band”? (is it a band? Also; what does the name refer to?)

Jabo: Yes, we are a band Gravitsapa, and for 17 years we have been searching for an understanding of what music is. We are currently functioning as a duo.

“Gravitsapa” is a device for interplanetary travel from the post-apocalyptic movie Kin-dza-dza, directed by Georgiy Daneliya. Throughout the movie, the characters searched for it, only to discover that it had been in their bag the whole time. In our slang, “gravitsapa” means a strange thing. And most likely, we will end up like the characters in the movie Kin-dza-dza, who found what they were looking for, in their bag, and it was with them throughout the entire film (read: life).

What are your musical backgrounds?

Jabo: I’ve been playing in Gravitsapa for 17 years. We started as an alternative rock group, then played experimental math rock, post-metal, and now we play what we play. Also, I played in a sludge/grindcore band called Drunk Diver for a while, and make music for one project anonymously.

Hulurlaid played in a band called Yobanyi Nasral (translated something like Fucking Shit) – not all fans of Ukrainian underground dive so deep to know about them :)).

Can you tell us how your lives have changed since the war broke out?

Hulurlaid: No big change for now, but the time will come and everyone will have to fight.

Jabo: it so happened that we were not affected by the war and sometimes we can allow ourselves to analyze this time philosophically, without negative emotional connotations. This is a time that provides an impetus for change. Wars have always been a stimulus for progress. In terms of creativity, we have become more courageous and self-assured and can present our music as contemporary and relevant to the entire world. Psychologically, our nervous system is under great pressure and may malfunction. In terms of ideology, we have come to the realization that global moral and ethical norms are far from perfect (here I am referring more to the world’s tolerance towards Russia).

What does making music mean to you at the moment, and did its meaning change over the past events?

Hulurlaid: We always wanted to make money by selling albums.

Jabo: Music is an extensive system and I have several reasons for pursuing it:

– to express my worldview to others

– to derive pleasure from creating unusual musical systems with original connections and interactions

– as a form of art therapy

– I don’t believe in using music as a means of propagating ideologies or beliefs, but currently, I feel the need to shout slogans.

What does a regular day in your lives look like normally? What role does music play?

Hulurlaid: We wake up and read the news. Then we meditate as much as possible. At the appointed time we go to the temple of Chaos – the God of creation, and have 300 minutes of pure “sex”. So music is a way to save the mind from destruction.

Can you tell me about Concert no. 1 “23.23”? How did it come into existence?

Jabo: for the past six years, we’ve been trying to capture the concept and give final form to the music we started playing. Then, a year ago, we were listening to our recordings when a video of the fighting and destruction of Ukrainian cities by the Russians randomly played in the background. The combination of music and video was too organic. Our music sounded like a soundtrack to the war. That’s when we started preparing the album.

There are rumors going around that Putin (who has a liking for numerical patterns) wanted to start the war on 02/22/2022. We named our album 23.23 as a symbol of overcoming all this shit.

Hulurlaid: It’s the greatest album in Ukrainian music of the XXI century. It has become by the Will of the Holy Spirit.

Are there possibilities to play live in Lviv right now? What are the options for musicians?

Hulurlaid: Everything is the same as before the war, but no big festivals for now. We are preparing for a concert now, in a shabby club. Then we want to do a live performance open-air or in an abandoned church.

How do you see your future? What hopes do you have?

Jabo: To tell the truth, when I look back at the past three years, I can’t imagine any improvement in the quality of life, either in our country or in the world as a whole. It seems like things will only continue to get worse. My hope is that I won’t be broken by all this pressure, and that at the end of my life I won’t be ashamed of myself. And when it comes to hopes, I hope for justice. I want Russia to face the same fate as post-World War II Germany, with a tribunal and reparations, after our victory.

Hulurlaid: We hope to release a DVD before we die.

What should the Weirdo Shrine readers do after reading this interview?

Jabo: do what Thou wilt!

Hulurlaid: support the Ukrainian Army (https://donate.wah.ua/en)

25 March 202327 March 2023

Review + Q&A: Hands Up Who Wants To Die – Nil All (2023, Human Worth, Sleeping Giant Glossolalia, Fonoradar)

Hands Up Who Wants To Die are a love ‘m or hate ‘m affair. And the the reason for either would be the same. They are a dangerous lot, unpredictable, a bunch of loose cannons that could go off at any minute. One moment they are whispering sweet things in your ear at the cinema, the next they are tearing the covers from the seats in a mouth foaming frenzy…

Their tribe are the dark and weird noise rockers of this earth. The Jesus Lizards, the Oxbows, the Enablers, and the Made Out Of Babies. Bands that wear their feral instability proudly on their sleeves. Within the realm of this tribe anything goes, which makes their records such fascinating and adventurous journeys. And deep too. Because for every “hobo-afraid-to-lose-his-liquor-outburst” there are intelligent lines of smart poetical mumblings with an absurd but artful twist.

And there is humor, albeit hidden underneath a thick layer of dark tar. Just check out the video for L’inconnue below and watch the band writhe in agony while squeezing lemons into their faces…

So is this a nice little Diddy you can play at your in-laws’ neighborhood barbecue lawn party? Nope. But it is a confrontational piece of art that will tell you a few things about being uncomfortable that you might need to hear. Go on, you might learn something valuable, even if you might not want to hear it.

In my global search for weirdo music I stumbled upon Dublin, Ireland before. For instance I talked to No Spill Blood, but also to Wild Rocket quite recently. And lo and behold; the world is a small place, because members of those bands are also in Hands Up Who Wants To Die. For undisclosed reasons we will not reveal their full names here, but I talked to the guitarist and the drummer who told us all about their band(s) and the Irish underground scene.

How are you? How has the pandemic period been for Hands Up Who Wants To Die?

J: We’re ok, thanks. Collectively, we have kids & dogs & cats and another kid on the way. So it’s busy busy. Pandemic was manageable, we slowly got a batch of new songs written for our fourth LP. We’ve been playing some of these numbers at the album launches of our third LP, which was also finalised over the pandemic period: mixing, mastering, labels on board etc. That one is Nil All and has just been released.

Can you introduce yourself, how did you meet, etc?

P: I met Rory at a Tenpastseven gig in the Bowery in Waterford.

I met Matt at a Sylvan gig in Pine Lodge in Myrtleville, Cork.

I met John at a Shellac gig in the Button Factory in Dublin.

What can you tell me about your musical backgrounds?

J: We actually like music and have played in various DIY bands over the years. We’re all ‘self taught’ I suppose. We play, or used to play in Shifting, Tenpastseven, Wild Rocket, The Bridges of Madison County, No Spill Blood, Chirps, Elk, Molossus, Ügly Mind, Sylvan, Nippons.

What does a regular day in your lives look like?

J: We all have different jobs and have to do them, we then play music and sleep when we can.. we all eat somewhat regularly too. Paul tends to need more regular feeds than Matt, for example. We have drinks sometimes too. Water, beer, coffee, wine, stuff like that. Matt is an illustrator/visual artist, Rory a designer and I work in video/TV production, so having that day-to-day knowledge of image and video manipulation helps with what’s needed for the band sometimes. The album art for Nil All (and our last LP Vega in the Lyre) is all Matt’s original work, digitally altered and laid out by Rory. And I made this video for the ‘lead single’ from our album: https://youtu.be/RGk07JDLJmU So, days are all quite different for us.

What is the best thing about Nil All?

J: That it’s out.

P: There are no losers.

Where do you live and how does it affect your music?

P: I live in Dublin. That makes me want to make loads of money from music so I can afford to live in Dublin.

J: I live in London. That makes it difficult to meet up regularly for rehearsals/hangs with Hands Up (Paul & Matt are in Dublin, Rory is in Cork) but also means that I get to see an abundant variety of live music that influences my drumming. I’ve met and played with a lot of great and sound musicians here too.

Who are some contemporary musical heroes of yours?

J: Katie Kim, Percolator, Jana Rush, Charles Hayward, Agathe Max, Natalia Beylis, Stef Ketteringham, Will Glaser, Icebear, Rising Damp, David Lacey, Sweet Williams, Lankum, M(h)aol, Girlfriend, Aya, Rattle, Sunn O))), Horse Lords, Fax Machine, Black Shape, Andrew DR Abbott, UKAEA, Roger Robinson, Part Chimp, Crowhammer, Crying Loser, Roslyn Steer, Seán Clancy, Declan Synott, Patrick Kelleher, Elaine Malone, Myles Manley, The Bonk, The Altered Hours, Lex Amor, Kae Tempest, Gnod, Shifting, The Ex, My Disco, Circle, Benefits, Natalie Sharp, Olivia Furey, Mykki Blanco, my bandmates in Wild Rocket, Phil Langero, Conor Hickey, Beak>, Don Vito, Grief Eater, Slomatics, Sly and the Family Drone, The Maori John Wayne, Section 4, The Eurosuite and Junk Drawer.

P: Noxagt, Oxbow, Enablers, Psychic Graveyard, Dead Rider, Shimmer, Conformists, Yowie, Ni, The Hoaries, Thank.

Can you tell me about how you went about composing and recording songs?

P: The songs usually start with one small idea and then we try to twist in as many directions as we can squeeze out of it and just keep building on that. They go through years of cul de sacs, digging trenches, knocking walls etc with occasional public unveilings to see how they fare.

For recording, myself, Matt and John (guitar, bass, drums) play together live to get the energy in the room for the drum takes. Then we will overdub a good portion of guitar and bass to concentrate on getting specific sounds. Then Spud and Ian, who we work with regularly in this and other bands, work their magic. Due to lockdown and us all living very far away from one another, we did a lot more mixing remotely than usual with Nil All but we got there in the end.

What are your immediate and long term future plans?

J: We have a couple of gigs with Psychic Graveyard in Ireland in May, which is very exciting. Then we go to the US to play Caterwaul festival and seven other dates.

P: After that, we’re sitting on the rest of the next album so we just need to figure how to shape those songs and filter them through everyone’s brain. A few more jaunts abroad for some concerts would be lovely too.

What should the Weirdo Shrine reader do after reading this interview?

J: Have a laugh. Enjoy the company of a friend or loved one, or one’s self. Practice a bit of self care, wash your face or head or something. Have a listen to our new album.

19 February 2023

Review + Q&A: Machiavellian Art-Indoctrination Sounds (2023, Riot Season Records)

Some bands are just made for the time and place. Take Machiavellian Art. They have created the perfect soundtrack for post Brexit Britain, and especially the frustrated anger of the people who did not vote for it. It is a slab of complete and utter madness and disarray full of the nastiest noises humans are capable to produce. Theirs is a sound accumulating the weirdo outrageousness of Locust Abortion Technician era Butthole Surfers, the disorienting noise mongering of Skullflower, the indoctrinating bark of Killing Joke‘s Jaz Coleman, and a random spastic saxophone player that somehow fits the picture perfectly.

Idoctrination Sounds is the soundtrack of a country hitting rock bottom and a people just done with all the bullshit, the vast dumbness, and the lies. It is time for riots in the streets and the sacking of Downingstreet, V For Vendetta style. You can imagine the British politicians roaming the streets like zombies while Let Down is blown from speakers in the streets, their hollow eyes mimicking the words. In the whole country cities are a complete garbage heap of dumpster fires, and spurred on by the machine like thrust of songs like Watch Them Crawl and Revolution the crowd smashes statues and pisses on the flag.

In times of complete frustration and anger with the stupidity of the ruling class it is music like this that keeps us going. Machiavellian Art has channeled all their rage and despair and fired off this seething album. I think they should send links to all the people responsible to fully express the true outrage of the other 50%. Just imagine Nigel Fucking Farage’s face when he plays Indoctrination Sounds…now that would be worth installing TikTok for.

I talked to the band, who answered the questions in a way that fits their music. It is always interesting to be able to get a look inside the artist through email or some other distant means, and have no possible way to fully expect what you are going to get back. This is what Machiavellian Art got me:

How are you? How has the pandemic period been for Machiavellian Art?

Good thank you. Like everyone it was problematic. When restrictions were lifted we managed to play a livestream in Brighton for our friend Ana. Her band, Codex Serafini, are well worth a listen.

Can you introduce the band, and how did you meet?

John: guitar and vocals, Sam: drums, Joe: guitar, Amy: bass and Ben: vocals and saxophone. Knew each other for the most part from playing in other bands together or each others old bands playing together.

What can you tell me about your musical backgrounds?

Most of us played/play in hardcore, punk and noise bands.

What does a regular day in your lives look like?

Watching Cradle of Filth and Wrestling Bios videos on YouTube from the moment work finishes until it’s time for bed.

Where do you live and what is the environment like for musicians like you?

Sack Sabbath and Motorheadache play The Billsley most Fridays. Joe lives in Sheffield and there’s a good punk/DIY scene there.

Who are some contemporary musical heroes of yours?

All my heroes are dead.

Can you tell me about how you go about composing and recording songs?

Usually it comes from a bassline or guitar part that’s jammed with drums in the practice room. The vocals, noise parts and saxophone are fitted in around that once the structure is finished.

What are your immediate and long term future plans?

We’re playing a lot more this year. Plan on recording again before the end of the year. More spun out with longer notes and greater dread.

What should the Weirdo Shrine reader do after reading this interview?

Listen to Indoctrination Sounds and spin out.

27 November 2022

Interview: Shane Hartman (Underground Mountains, Metal Machine Ascension, Acid Test Radio, We, Here & Now Records)

So originally, I intended to write a little piece about Stratford, Canada’s improvisational psych rockers Underground Mountains and their uncanny brand of “anything goes, let the universe guide us, and let’s record every jam CAN style” psych rock. They ARE pretty cool, and you really should check out their debut cassette tape and track everything that there is still to come if you are even remotely into that original kraut rock improv sound. But then I started talking to guitarist Shane Hartman, and it turned out I had already met him two times or more in different online entities. For Shane is a human centipede of psychedelic music, manning a weekly radio show, a record label, a solo project, next to occasionally jamming the stars from the cosmos with Underground Mountains.

It is people like him that keep this tiny psychedelic universe going, and being a fan of the music is first and foremost in that. We are not in it for the money or the fame, we are here to strive for that one ultimate Godzilla jam, whether it is with our own musical projects, or through some other human making noise somewhere on this awful ball of dried up lava. We do it because we have to, because it is better to create and participate than to just consume and get fat. Although we do hunt for that sweet vinyl from time to time, and it can’t be limited enough…

Anyways, meet Shane Hartman people. Lover of psychedelic music, fan of bands like CAN and The Band Who’s Name Is A Symbol, and a valuable contributor to the scene in his multiple enterprises. Let’s meet him and find out all there is to explore through his stories and his sounds…

How are you? Can you introduce yourself and you multiple endeavors?

Hi Jasper! Thanks for the interest in all this business. I’m Shane, I have a few irons in the fire but I’ll do my best to cover everything!

I produce a weekly radio show / podcast called Acid Test Radio whose motto is “Fuzzed Up Sounds In Search of Higher Elevation” since 2019. I play loads of psych, space rock, punk, free jazz, drone, noise, new age…basically everything I’m into and the occasional funk 45. It can be heard on svpradio.com THURSDAY @ 5pm EST and Midtownradio.ca Saturday @ 7pm EST.

I play guitar, synth and mess around with tape loops in Underground Mountains – we are currently a 6 piece and play free heavy, psychedelic and krautrock informed music, predominantly in our rehearsal room “The Jam Cellar” located beneath the most excellent Sound Fixation record store here in Stratford.

Currently Underground Mountains is..

Andrew Hunter, Trevor Worsell, Andrew Enns, Jeremy Cox, Tim Nicholls and myself.

I also record solo as Metal Machine Ascension – tape loops, effects, synths creating a droning Maximalist Meditation Music.

aaaand I run We, Here & Now! Records – a psych / experimental / heavy sounds label. I originally started to help release one record which seems charming in retrospect as the amount of projects the label has taken on has snowballed more than I anticipated! Since beginning in April, WHN has officially released 7 tapes and co-released one record with plenty more on the way for 2023!

Shouts and much respect to Jeff @ Echodelick Records and Dave @ Cardinal Fuzz for all the help and encouragement! These guys release some of my absolute favourite records, I’m sure readers of Weirdo Shrine are probably aware but if you don’t know them, do your ear holes a kindness when you can!

What can you tell me about your musical background?

I’m a bit of a late bloomer and mostly self taught.. I didn’t start playing guitar until my early 20’s. A friend gave me an acoustic guitar he’d made from the remnants of two broken ones (dubbed the Franken-twanger) and from there got down to learning in earnest. I loved The Replacements and Leatherface the most before hearing The Constantines‘ Shine A Light record which is still one of my all time favourites. In the last year I’ve been exploring the wide world of synths and tape in my music while slowly acquiring more gear and developing an interest in using non-musical objects and field recordings in my process. I promise that it’s not as pretentious as it sounds!

What does a regular day in your life look like? What role does music play?

My partner Catherine and I adopted our pup Fred (Australian cattle dog) in February and we’ve since become very early risers and avid walkers.. if I don’t have to work I’ll be getting caught up on label projects (several at different stages of development right now that I’m VERY excited about!), new music for Acid Test Radio, reviewing our jam recordings. There’s always music on at home, be it records, tapes, streams, radio or one of us singing to the pup. Our house is a very musical house.

What do people often forget when they think about owning a record label?

I think going into this, what I wish I knew and perhaps what others might not understand is how many hats one can end up wearing! Being a one person show, there’s quite a lot to do. I love it and I think for folks who enjoy doing several different tasks, it can be an incredibly satisfying way to help get the music you love further out into the world.

Where do you live and how does it affect your musical doings?

I live in Stratford, Ontario, located about 2 hours driving from Toronto. The city is famous for the Stratford Theatre Festival as well as being home to and having a lot of incredible musicians from here (members of The Band, Janis Joplin’s Full Tilt Boogie Band, Colin Fisher, Darren Dumas (The Salads) immediately come to mind.. oh! Justin Bieber’s from Stratford as well..)

I moved here from Ottawa several years back and knew that I’d like to play the kind of music I make now but finding like minded heads historically has often been challenging.. I met the fellas I would later end up playing with in Underground Mountains here and I honestly couldn’t believe my luck! We jam weekly if possible, record everything and it’s always a trip! Pre-covid, travelling to see bands in Kitchener, London or Toronto was a frequent occurrence. Post Covid, live music is slowly coming back.. I’m hopeful for the new year!

What is your take on making improvisational music? What is the ultimate jam?

I think it can be one of the most transcendent and powerful expressions and in a group setting can produce incredibly magical experiences. Communicating without speaking, call it the cosmic nod, whatever you call it, it’s something special.

The ultimate jam.. whether it’s an epic hour long sprawl through space, shifting between psych, blues, funk, dub and freakouts with full on “godzilla” passages to borrow a line from CAN or 10 minutes of focused pocket dwelling.. when it’s over and we’ve re-entered our bodies and can say that was really good!

Who are your favorite current other artists and record labels at the moment?

Oh boy! Honestly this could go on and on there are so many quality labels putting out so many great records! The short list would include Cardinal Fuzz, Echodelick, Feeding Tube and Noiseagaonymayhem.. and Dreamlord.. oh! Up In Her Room as well! and Fuzzed Up & Astromoon! Weird Beard, Worst Bassist..

For artists.. The Band Whose Name Is A Symbol are pivotal, Dead Sea Apes are un-fuck-withable and Anunnaki are a force of nature! Big ups to Thee Cosmic Brick Road, Wasted Cathedral, Pallbearer Industry and pour one out for the fellas in Hawkeyes as well..

(sorry, it’s hard to keep it narrow!)

What is “the dream” for you as an artist, and as a label owner?

As an artist.. to just be able to keep making music. It’s an obsession and probably in my DNA.. Collaborating and growing.. The same applies to the label as well I suppose, in terms of releasing records I’m excited about but I’d also tack on being sustainable – to focus on doing the label full time would be the dream come true!

What should the Weirdo Shrine reader do after reading this interview?

Tell the people you love how much you do.