noise.art.experimental

EconorE MagazinE #2

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TEar by JErEMy grovEs

the stone above his head was the only thing that was keeping him inside, for fifteen years. it let nobody forget, not that they really ever did.

every now and again he moved, felt the small fragments of his once bandaged bones grate against each other, scraping the sides of his small abode, the flecks of charred white visible amongst the tiny dust of grey.

How he knew this was a mystery, his eyelids had been glued down over a decade ago, the last final statement that what was hence to take place was no longer meant for him.

maybe it was too ugly, he often though, too disappointing for him. somebody or something in his bag of organisms must have known and decided to save him the torture.

He didn‘t believe in fate, or not anymore – his cards were drawn by him and he wanted them, signed for them long before his last sip.

He felt his room shake, a distant tapping on glass, voices. tapping, tapping. “maybe rain“, he heard ricochet off his shell. He was never bothered by the rain.

and so it was, a pile of ash where once a life burnt the retina of a seven-year-old‘s left eye.

if only his lungs were still strong enough to blow open the lid of his porcelain cell. He could hear the voices ricochet off the curves of his tiny room, the ticking of the handless clock.

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He felt himself sink down to the very bottom and begin to clump together.

He didn‘t notice the crack of light enter from the top of his porcelain home, for just one split second.

He inhaled, his lungs becoming dustier.

He exhaled, the dust moving forcefully up against his skull. nothing. He did it again and again and again, and once more, until his eyes were at the bottom, coated in dust and soot.

and then he felt the first droplet filter from the inside of his skull down to his ash-filled eyes, the saltiness of the liquid burning them slightly.

the tapping had stopped and he felt footsteps moving away from him, the sound of a blocked nose being cleared inwards.

He tried to stand up but could not piece together his legs, could find no more white through his stinging eyes.

His ears were filled, he could hear nothing but a faint thud that got increasing slower, fainter, until it stopped.

it was at that moment that he realised that he would never sail again.

the wide-winged Greek bird, sat the whole time looking in from a tree branch outside, emitted a pained sound from its scorched beak and then tumbled down, its head splitting open on the soft grass.

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FroM arTiFacT To FilTErby rosa MEnkMan

In the beginning it was calm... Then humans built technologies and the first forms of mechanical noise were born. Since that

time, artists migrated from the grain, the scratching and burning of celluloid (A

Colour Box by Len Lye, 1937) to the magnetic distortion and scanning lines of the cathode ray tube (as explored by Nam June Paik in

MagnetTV in 1965). Subsequently digital noise materialized and artists wandered the planes of phosphor burn-in, as Cory Arcangel did so wittily in Panasonic TH-42PWD8UK Plasma Screen Burn, in 2007. W ith the arrival of LCD (liquid crystal display) technologies, dead pixels were rubbed, bugs were trapped between liquid crystals or plastic displays and violent screen crack LCD- performances took place (of which my favorite is %SCR2,

by Jodi/webcrash2800 in 2009). Today artists even surf eBay to buy readymade LCDs with T-con board failure or photo cameras with loose CCD (charged coupled device) chips

(the latter I too exploited in The Collapse of PAL, 2010).1

Rosa Menkman

GlitcH art

From modernity onwards, artists have often found themselves on a frontline, reflecting on the politics, cultures and technologies of their time. over the last decades, audiovisual media have gradually gained importance in the arts, that are still ruled by classical media genres. today, artists fight battles against these and other conventions. For some artists it has even become a personal matter to use the medium against the message, to break the flows that are inherent to the machine they use and to sabotage conventions like transparent immediacy. While normally, the transparent media screen generates reassuring impressions of immediacy, digital glitch artists force the viewer to think beyond the borders of these comfort zones. Glitch artists use for instance the accident to ‘disfigure‘, flow, image and information and the void, a lack of meaning, to break and reveal not only the techné, but also to learn more about their expectations of the machines they work with. artists that work with glitch processes are hunting for a fragile equilibrium; they search for the point where a new form is born from the blazed ashes of a precursor.

1 Menkman, Rosa. ‘Glitch Studies Manifesto (version !$%)‘ in: Geert Lovink and Rachel Somers Miles (eds), Video Vortex Reader II: moving images beyond YouTube, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2011. ISBN: 978-90-78146-12-4, p. 346

art‘ is often used as a metaphorical concept and therefore differs from the stand-alone technical or informational term ‘glitch‘. Glitch artifacts fulfill a procedural role; they actively destruct the flow of technologies while forcing the user or viewer (the media literate with knowledge and expectations of a certain process) to deconstruct his conceptions of a medium and while doing so, to start a new process of making meaning. in these art works, the name ‘glitch‘ has become a symbol, a figure of speech for the different ways artists (actively) break from flows and protocols in both technologies and expectations, that lead to perceived or referenced errors. the complexities that have to be faced while trying to describe or encircle some kind of ‘essence of glitch art‘ (if there is such a thing) may be best understood by giving an example from of Beflix (ant scott) work. For years Beflix has been a leading

figure in the realm of glitch art. From 2001 until 2005 he published hundreds of glitch images on his blog. these images don‘t have a specific source; some of them are found while others are intentionally made. What makes his glitch art work even more complex is how the formats of his work vary from animations, software and static imagery. Beflix describes his series Glitch, which is a collection of 25 prints that are accessible via his home page, as “the best of his “pure glitch“ phase. the images, which at first might appear bewildering, were created from computer crashes, software errors, hacked games, and megabytes of raw data turned into colored pixels.“2 the glitches Beflix constructed originate from thorough trial and error processes, that generate images in which Beflix carefully reassigned colours and cropped the areas of interest. Beflix working process presents a new dilemma in the quest to define ‘glitch‘ in glitch art; how can the glitch be explained as an unexpected, abnormal mode of operandi, when the artists working process and what he aimed for was abnormal to begin with? in other words, is the intended error really erroneous? the first step into trying to answer this question is to recognize that a glitch can exist within different systems; for instance the system of production and the system of reception. Furthermore, a glitch depends on different actors within these systems; the hardware and the software, the input, the artist who presents the work and the audience who is in charge of the reception of the work. to understand glitch art better, it could be useful to make distinctions in the ways ‘glitch‘ is used within ‘glitch art‘.

“failure“ has become a prominent aesthetic in many of the arts of the late 20th century, reminding us that our control of technology is an illusion, and revealing that digital tools to be only as perfect, precise, and efficient as the humans who build them3

Kim Cascone

a Binary approacH to GlitcH art

the procedural essence of glitch art is opposed to conservation; the shocking experience, perception and understanding of what a glitch is at one point in time

2 Scott, Ant. “GLITCH #12.“ GLITCH ART. 2007. <http://www.beflix.com/works/glitch.php?id=12> 1 May 2009.

3 Cascone, Kim. The Aesthetics of Failure: Post-Digital Tendencies in Contemporary Computer Music. Computer Music Journal 24.4 (Winter 2000). p. 13

many artists have been attracted to the openness of the glitch momentum, which can move them in new and different directions. But this openness makes glitch art also difficult, if not impossible, to define. although a glitch can take place strictly within the computational system, the majority of artifacts that are called or referred to as glitches, are not purely informational, but can be spawned by a synthesis of different actors. in this sense, glitch art leaves the linear flow of information following the “information source > encoder > channel > decoder > destination“ to include actors like the creator, the protocols built into the machines‘ hard and software, the input that makes these protocols behave in a particular way, and the output and the system of reception, governed by the beliefs and expectations of the receiver, who cannot make sense of the outcome. moreover, the word ‘glitch‘ in ‘glitch

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cannot be preserved for a future time. the beautiful creation of a glitch is uncanny and sublime; the artist tries to catch something that is the result of an uncertain balance, a shifting, ungraspable, unrealized utopia connected to randomness and idyllic disintegrations. the core of a work of glitch art is therefore best understood as a history of movements and an attitude of destructive generativity; it is a procedural artwork of non con-formative, ambiguous reformations. However, many works of glitch art have also developed into archetypes; they have become stereotype examples or new models. moreover, some artists do not focus on the procedural entity of glitch at all. they skip the process of creation-by-destruction and focus directly on the creation of a new formal design, either by creating a final product or by developing a new way to recreate the latest glitch reformation. this can result in a plug-in, a filter or a whole new ‘glitching software‘ that automatically emulates, simulates or mimics a particular glitching method, which often leaves ‘affect‘ (the shocking momentum of glitch) in favor of ‘effect‘. Finally, a work of conservative glitch art can also be created by a filter. in the past, this form of design-driven glitch art has been referred to as artificial or “glitch-alike“. iman moradi even created a true-false binary, supported by the following statement and scheme:

Because of the intrinsic nature of this imagery and its relation to pure glitches, both in terms of process and viewer perception, i felt the need to form a word that adequately describes this artefact‘s similarity with actual glitches and presents it as an obviously separate entity. thus the term “Glitch-alike“ came about to fulfil this role.

therefore, Glitch-alikes are a collection of digital artefacts that resemble visual aspects of real glitches found in their original habitat.4

PurE gliTch gliTch-alikE

accidental deliBeratecoincidental plannedappropriated createdFound desiGnedreal artiFicial

4 Moradi, Iman. “Glitch Aesthetics.“ Unpublished Bachelor Thesis, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, UK. 2004. <www.oculasm.org/glitch/download/Glitch_dissertation_print_with_pics.pdf> 1 May 2009. p. 10

While this scheme can be a useful starting point, i do not support its usage. the creation of a binary opposition within glitch art seems not only too simple, but also in conflict with a genre that (often) deals with the scrutinizing of binary oppositions. the glitch genre is primarily about breaking categories open and uncovering what is in-between and beyond. the ‘glitch‘ in ‘glitch art‘ does not depend on just technology, but also on the artist, time (history), context and the audience role or perspective. instead of denouncing a non informational glitch as artificial, i think it is more interesting to research why a particular work of glitch art is part of the glitch genre. this can be done by asking what its relations to technical glitch are or from what perspective and to what extent the work of glitch art is aesthetically, historically or conceptually (socially) related to glitch.

If it works, it‘s obsolete.5

Marshall Mcluhan

From passive appropriation or ‘pure GlitcH art‘ to active, ‘procedural GlitcH art‘

First of all, glitch artists can challenge the ‘normal‘ mode of operandi by appropriating glitches that are spawned (partially or completely) by the production system. these glitches cannot be reverse engineered or de-bugged and exists both in the system of production and in the system of reception. typically, they are unstable (both in their process as well as in terms of results), which means that the artist will have to capture the glitch, appropriate and present it as an approximately static object (video-, sound- or image file), to his audience. an example of this first kind of glitch art is for instance an image serial cosign added to the glitch art Flickr pool, that shows a mac going haywire for no understandable reason. although these images are often capturing in terms of esthetics, the works do not signify more than what was captured in the first place; an accident. the invoked process of making meaning is thus not complex and the spectator stays reasonable passive. on other occasions glitch art relies on errors within the production system that the artists (at least partially) understands and can debug. in this case, the artist choses to actively exploit a production system, the protocols built into the machines‘ hard- and software, the input that makes these protocols behave in a particular way, or both.

5 Durham, Meenakshi Gigi, and Douglas Kellner. Media and cultural studies. New Jersey, Wiley-Blackwell, 2006. p. 110

an example of this second category of glitch art are for instance the 5voltcore performances. during their shows, the men of 5voltcore attack the computer with power interruptions (originating from an audio signal) that produce short circuits and generate signals that “are interpreted by the computer as input data and create an uncontrollable stream of images.“6 in their performances 5voltcore torture the machine and make it scream flows of hysteric, powerfully colored images, until the computer eventually dies. another, less aggressive example of this second form of glitch art can be found in Gijs Gieskes work. Gijs Gieskes takes machines apart and changes its circuitry; he is a circuitbender. Gieskes redefines the technology and its contents by penetrating and exploring the machine from the inside; first he dismantles the system and then he deconstructs and re-appropriates it. one of his circuit bent machines is the CirCuitbend Sega Megadrive2, a console of which the circuitry is modified into an autonomous video generating machine. creating artworks like the cirCuitbend Sega Megadrive2 is like doing surgery on the bowels of the machine, to let it recite (draw, scream or sing) in new, different ways. it activates the console, making it seem more alive and creates an opening for machine poetry; a stream of emotional and affective utterances in a language only the machine can speak. the video stream created by the console is only controllable to a certain extent, which means that the sega and the user can create the final result together. Gieskes did not add any code to the videogame, he only changed the circuitry of the console, transforming it into a video generating machine. this means that the glitches that appear on the television screen were already part of the videogame‘s software (the rom); they were readymade, manipulated appropriations of mass produced objects. the look and feel of these utterances is dependent on the the technology inside the original machine, which introduces questions around the esthetics of the CirCuitbend Sega Megadrive2. the work does not rely on a classical aura, which is, according to Walter Benjamin, build upon unicity or authenticity. the CirCuitbend Sega Megadrive2 doesn‘t posses one particular ‘here and now‘.7 instead, the artwork is generated every time the machine is activated. therefore, the aura is situated within the interpretations and context of the

6 5VOLTCORE. “Visual Stream.“ 5VOLTCORE - Corejulio‘s Visual Stream. <http://5voltcore.com/typolight/typolight257/index.php?id=1&articles=75> 1 May 2009.

7 Benjamin: 1968.

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user/viewer and the changed technology of the machine. the aura will appear like a Deus ex Machina, a voice from the machine that saves us from the otherwise normal flow of the consumer object.

How many efforts are required in order not to write.

Maurice Blanchot, The Writing of the Disaster

procedural GlitcH art

a third form of glitch art is probably the most paradoxical. this type of glitch includes works that are intentionally made to look like glitch, but technically do not stem from an error or break of a flow within a technological system.8 these stylized glitches are typically produced within a legitimate, conventional production process and can involve simulations of a glitch by a plugin (whether in music, image or video). Because the creator (the artist) exactly knows how he programmed or constructed his “glitch“, these glitches exist principally within the system of reception. these glitches don‘t necessarily rely on their esthetics to be called glitch art, but on the problematic reception they invoke with their public. an example of such glitch art is untitled gaMe (1996) by the the dutch/Belgium art duo Jodi. Jodi makes subversive glitch art, that battles against an hegemonic flow. the collectives‘ work is often at the same time confrontational and confusing, which is not just because the collective originally never added an explanation to their work, but also because Jodi often overturns genres and expectations while playing tricks on the behavior of the interface, form or flow. untitled gaMe is not an exception to this rule. in this set of 14 modifications of the First person shooter (Fps) Quake 1, Jodi searched and exploited opportunities within the source code of the videogame. the collective changed the algorithms that define the videogames playability; they destabilized or alter the laws of physics, steering and shooting and changed sounds and design, rendering the game ‘unplayable‘. But the videogame is not just ruined. it actually functions very well, albeit on a different level then the player is aware of, at least at first sight. in an online interview with dirk (di in Jodi), i got him to break the silence around Jodi‘s art. about untitled gaMe, he said:^

8 Moradi, Iman. “Glitch Aesthetics.“ Unpublished Bachelor Thesis, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, UK. 2004. <www.oculasm.org/glitch/download/Glitch_dissertation_print_with_pics.pdf> 1 May 2009.

Our point was to erase and make this other version of QUAKE and then denying it the name. [...] to call it UNTITLED GAME (meant) that it was just a prototype of any of these games that (consists of) these kind of standard construction elements and things you can do as a user.9

in e1m1ap (one of the mods) Jodi used the gravity algorithm to create unsettling vortex effects, while in ctrl-F6 the collective exploited anti-aliasing to create cubes filled with beautifully evolving moire patterns. in these Quake mods, Jodi shows that a first person shooter game can be used for much more than just careless shooting.10 untitled Game is an intentionally ruined videogame that questions the goals like ‘getting better‘ and ‘winning‘, that dominate the videogame battlefield. the modified algorithms, visuals and sounds generate a new ensemble, in which the visual has gained importance over competition and the outcome of the game is no longer a score but a colorful, disconcerting experience. untitled Game is fighting a technological determinist attitude of the consumer, already described by mcluhan in the 1960s. to mcluhan, technological developments were the most important reasons for cultivation. He stated that not the content, but the medium itself should be the subject of study.

the medium is the message: because it is the medium that shapes and controls the scale and form of human association and action. The content or uses of such media are as diverse as they are ineffectual in shaping the form of human association. Indeed it is only too typical that the “content“ of any medium blinds us to the character of the medium.11

in digital glitch art like untitled Game, the medium is redefined as a platform that doesn‘t follow the genre, the expectations of the spectator or the normal behavior of the interface and triggers the user to reflect upon his conventional frames of reference. these works criticize the flow, which is often taken for granted and constitutes our Zeitgeist. Jodi shows that

9 Menkman, Rosa. “Beauty in the Age of Digital Art; aesthetic, poetic or rhetoric.“ June 2006. Appendix 3.

10 Menkman, Rosa. “Jodi op de Pijnbank.“ Unpublished Master Thesis, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands. 2006. <http://home.student.uva.nl/rosa.menkman/Jodi%20op%20de%20pijnbank.pdf> 1 May 2009.

11 Mcluhan, Marshall. Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. New York: McGraw Hill, 1964.

software is more than just a programmed tool: they show software as a materialization of different modalities, a small part of the heterogeneous processes and discourses, an “assemblage,“ to use the term Fuller borrows from deleuze and Guattari. the glitches within untitled Game can be described as an invisible and at first sight irrational matrix of meanings. the void of original meaning forces the viewer to make sense actively and to consider the computer no longer as just a device of standardization but instead as a technology that functions within a social reality. only after reflecting on the new form, the user can see that what the glitch did was not just destroy the old videogame but in fact modify old denotations and exchange or entangle them with new lines or architectures of meaning. the ‘techniques of the void‘ - the systematic distortion of communication, helps to media up for discussion of their internal politics. through these tactics users can re-territorialize their techniques.

the ‘absence of meaning is in this case the presence of all meanings, absolute

ambiguity, a construction outside meaning‘12

Jacques Attali

in digital glitch art the void is a place where structures of meaning are (often intentionally) ruined. Here, the concept of ‘ruin‘ means a mode of working, but also simultaneously underlines the constructedness of the work. the ruins‘ formal fragmentation makes it clear that its meaning is open to interpretation and meaningful engagement.13 as a result, the work is never finished, wholesome or complete; it is not static but differs from reading to reading (or per syntax). in this sense, a work from which the code is ruined can be understood as a work in which alternate readings can be created; a virtual space where the reader can actualize an infinite amount of potential meanings. to create meaning, the reader needs to impose constraints and limitations on other possibilities. in this sense, every act of creation is also an act of destruction (of the infinity of possibilities).14 during 2006 and 2007 Jodi made the work <$blogtitle$>, which is based on the social publishing too from Google (Blogger). <$blogtitle$> looks like a place where the tool is glitched; it doesn‘t seem to

12 Attali, Jacques and Brian Massumi. Noise: The political economy of music. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1985. p. 33

13

14 Deleuze, Gilles and Claire Parnet, Dialogues II. London and New York: Continuum, 2006. p. 112

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function correctly.15 the pages of Jodi‘s blog are filled with text that either seems to belong to the back-end of the software, or doesn‘t mean anything at all (within conventional language systems). social blogging softwares like Blogger are often described as a democracy-enhancing tools, they exist within a myth of total freedom of speech.16 <$blogtitle$> exposed this myth when Blogger interpreted <$blogtitle$> as a malicious spamblog and actually blocked 3 of the blogpages Jodi created.17 in this case, the process of making meaning (of Blogger employees) became very literally a process of destruction. moreover, it became clear at once that blog-users have to answer to a built-in political system. this politics is based on a system governed by the desire and belief that the software will be used to distribute knowledge and opinions in a specific, pre-formatted way. Bloggers that do not answer to these conventions risk the possibility of being blocked or to have their blogs completely deleted. in an interview with tilman Baumgartel Jodi say about their work:

It is obvious that our work fights against high tech. We also battle with the computer on a graphical level. [...] We explore the computer from inside, and mirror this on the net.18

Jodi shows that the glitch can be completely socially constructed.19 Blogger is more than just a programmable tool; it is a materialization of different modalities and syntaxes, a union of multiple processes and

15 Jodi. <$BlogTitle$>. 2006-2007. 20th August 2008. <http://blogspot.jodi.org/> 1 May 2009.

16 Matheson, Donald. “Weblogs and the Epistemology of the news : some Trends in Online Journalism.“ Sage Journals. London: SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks CA and New Delhi Vol 6 (4): p. 443-468. 2004. p. 445

17 These blocked pages are located at: <http://d4d4d4.blogspot.com/>, <http://b1b1b1.blogspot.com/>, <http://a0a0a0.blogspot.com/> 20th August 2008.

18 Baumgärtel, Tilman. “TP: Interview with Jodi. We love your computer.“ Telepolis. May 2006. <http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/6/6187/1.html>. 20th August 2008.

19 A discussion around the artwork OSS (Jodi, OSS. 2001 http://oss.jodi.org/) can be found here: What the hell is oss.jodi.org ???!! - Club CDFreaks - Kno.wledge is Power <http://club.cdfreaks.com/f1/what-hell-oss-jodi-org-2451/> 20th August 2008.

discourses, or an “assemblage“.20

<$blogtitle$> should be read as a blog that doesn‘t consists of signs that have a strict meaning, but as a blog that entails a sign system, through which the viewer can navigate and choose (interpret) meaning himself. this process of making or reterritorializing meaning, can be described as an analogy on Barthes‘ writerly text. in his essay S/Z (1970) Barthes formulates a literary criticism that opposes classical, linear texts to texts that consist of elements (of text or other media) that are linked to each other with different paths or series and which are open ended. in this ideal text, the networks are many and interact, without any one of them being able to surpass the rest. the text has become a galaxy of signifiers, not a structure of signifieds; it has no beginning and is reversible;

we gain access to it by several entrances, none of which can be authoritatively declared to be the main one; the codes it mobilizes extend as far as the eye can reach, they are indeterminable [...]; the system of meaning can take over this absolutely plural text, but their number is never closed, based as it is on the infinity of language.21

classical literature is often characterized by its separation between the writer and reader; the reader only has partial freedom to interpret. instead of gaining access to the signifier (the process of making meaning), he can often only accept or deny the text. in nonlinear texts like <$blogtitle$>, the reader can make meaning actively, by choosing his own path. therefore, the constructed meaning is never ‘true‘. to Barthes, the goal of the ultimate text is not to be consumed, but to be produced, which means that the text can loose its original meaning. this process is what Barthes described as the “death of the author.“22 in the case of <$blogtitle$>, the void is the space of negation; it is used as a generative and creative force. in doing so, the spectator is forced to use his imagination. the glitch formal fragmentation signifies that the work is ‘open‘ to interpretation and meaningful engagement. this new text is no longer a work that displays or retells history, but a writerly text where history of the work is activated and meaning can be actively (re)constructed.

20 Truscello, Michael. “Behind the Blip: Essays on the Culture of Software (review).“ Cultural Critique, no. 63, (2006). p. 182-187

21 Barthes, Roland. S/Z. Paris: Seuil, 1970. p. 5-6

22 Barthes, 1970: p. 4

in the case of <$blogtitle$>, this openness also had a negative consequence; Blogger interpreted the blog as a malicious spamblog and consequently blocked it. this act could be described as a rather rigorous ‘death of the author‘, whose work was buried with him. the dilemma of <$blogtitle$> seems to be located in the fact that whereas social blogging publishing tools like Blogger seem to follow the rules of a newspeak, a language system that is created to shrink its vocabulary and grammar over the years, Jodi opens language up and treats it as a system that can be expanded with new possibilities like ‘glitches‘. in this sense a glitch might also be described as a language that blends the real and the imaginary and that nobody can read (yet). Jodi uses tools as a theatrical objects, in which conventional uses are subverted and borders and limitations are magnified. the glitches Jodi constructs are within the system, but do not follow the rules, the language or syntax of the system. they reside on the border of sense and nonsense and break with the spectator‘s expectations. therefore, the glitch resides on the border of system and non-system, meaning and non-meaning, truth and interpretation. Jodi‘s work resides on what deleuze and Guattari described as the line of flights, the abstract line of mutation; where axioms are questioned, genres are broken open and categories are created.23 the ‘voided‘ <$blogtitle$> shows the montage behind the daily reality, the conventions by which the reader lives and the norms that help him operate his daily technologies. this constructedness is not bad in itself, but sometimes (as is the case in <$blogtitle$>) leads to generalizations, unnecessary borders, invisible politics and by capitalism cultivated conventions. the glitch can help us uncover these obfuscated political inclinations and create a means to reach over them.

I don‘t use the accident. I deny the accident. There is no accident, just as

there is no beginning and no end. Jackson Pollock

creatinG tHe perFect GlitcH

Glitch art moves like the weather: sometimes it evolves very slowly, while at other times it can strike like lightning. the art works within this realm can be disturbing, provoking and horrifying. Beautifully dangerous, they can, at once, take all the tensions of other possible compositions away. these works stretch boundaries and generate novel modes; they can break open previously sealed politics and force a catharsis of

23 Deleuze, 1988: p. 213

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conventions, norms and beliefs. artists can use the glitch in different ways and forms. First of all there are the appropriated, found or readymade glitches. this form of glitch art is probably the most passive, yet ‘true‘ form of glitch art. Besides this, there are the different glitches, based on technological break of the flow or not, that implement the void. artworks like CirCuitbend Sega Megadrive2, untitled gaMe and <$blogtitle$>, use the void not only as a lack of meaning, but also as a means to move away from the traditional discourse around code, software or technology and open them up to understand the politics behind them. through the void, artists can voice a critique towards the digital media and redefine the medium as material, platform or object. the glitch can invoke not only the death of the author, but also the death of the medium (at least from the perspective of the technological deterministic spectator). sometimes the glitch is used to emphasize a rejection of what can be refered to as ‘software-determinism‘ (or in the case of Gijs Gieskes circuitbent machines as a form of ‘hardware-determinism‘). But the glitch is first and foremost a rupture that deconstructs the myth of linear progress. although determining what a glitch is, is mostly a subjective act, it is important to realize that the glitch depends on more than just a personal or even a social definition. the glitch involves different levels of reading at the same time: as a form of semantic terrorism the glitch causes breaks within social, political, economic and art historical constellations. these different levels of reading together form an invisible matrix of breaks from the meaningful. this is where the irrational matrix of the glitch can be found. But somewhere within these constructed ruins of meaning a feeling of triumph exists; a hopeful sense that there is something more at stake then just destruction. a feeling that something new is about to be created. the glitch generates a new state, a system that could be called ‘Glitchspeak‘ (as opposed to George orwells newspeak). However, once understood as a new language or alternative way of representation, the essence of its glitch-being is vanished. Glitch art is no longer the art of rejection, but a new state that is recognized as a form of art. this almost self-regulating character of the glitch is also what is most uncanny about this form of art. Glitch artists always have to try to answer one question: how much agency should we give the systems of destruction? the post-utopian strategy of glitch makes the artist move inside an equilibrium of changes and assess a precarious balance. Where is the tipping point; when is destruction recognized as the creation of something new? the perfect glitch exists at the tipping point between destruction and the creation of something new and shows that every act of

creation is also an act of destruction (the destruction of the otherwise infinite realm of possibilities).24

as we have seen in the works CirCuitbend Sega Megadrive2, untitled gaMe and <$blogtitle$>, the glitch doesn‘t only redefine the medium as an object, a platform or material, but also transforms and redefines the normal, or static aesthetics of the conventional artwork into a form of unstable utterance of counter aesthetics, a theory of destructive generativity or what i would like to call a critical media aesthetics. as an exoskeleton of progress, the glitch does not just take place on a surface; it is the very form of a new mode. Failure thus has a place in the histories of progress. the choice to accept the glitch, to welcome it as an aesthetic form means to accept change and to welcome a new dialectic. through critical media aesthetics, failure has obtained a place in the narrative of evolution.

To remove the barriers between sight and sound, between the seen world and the

heard world! To bring about a unity and a harmonious relationship between these two opposite spheres. What an absorbing task!

The Greeks and Diderot, Wagner and Scriabin who has not dreamt of this ideal?

Is there anyone who has made no attemptto realise this dream?25

Sergei Eisenstein

THE ACOUSTIC VIDEOSCAPE

In 1977, Murray Schafer described the soundscape as a combination of sounds that together form the sonic environment. He differentiated between three elemental sounds; the keynote sounds that form the basic sound piece (but are often only audible in the background), the sound signals, that are the sounds on the foreground, that attract attention and the sound marks, the sounds that are unique to an acoustic space.26 Schafer created this subdivision of sounds to make his students aware of the many sounds they had grown to be accustomed to and as a result could no longer hear. He wanted people to open their earlids again. His statements inspired me to write

24 Glitchspeak: Rhizome interview with Jodi. http://rhizome.org/editorial/2492

25 Eisenstein, Sergei. Film Form [and] The Film Sense; Two Complete Unabridged Works. New York: Meridian Books, 1968. p. 87

26 Wrightson, Kendall. “An introduction to acoustic ecology.“ Soundscape: The Journal of Acoustic Ecology vol 1. no 1. (2000): p. 10–13.

a piece called “the videoscape“, which was later published in a collaboration between Jodi for Floater Magazine, that launched an issue that centered around the “system false“.27 In our collaboration, the system false stood for the other side of the norm; that which undermines the working system of communication. It encapsulates that which we (normally) don‘t want to see, or always try to delete (errors, spam, internet noise, mathematical formulas to delete noise). The acoustic videoscape is formed as an analogy on landscape, only this scape signifies the environment as perceived by the video machine (the interface used to perceive a landscape of information). The videoscape is the domain of the feedback ecology; it doesn‘t focus on seeing but on theorizing the human thinking about the technology. The feedback within the videoscape thus creates an opportunity for self reflexivity, self critique and self expression. We can distinguish three levels of videoscapes, that all involve their own level of awareness, or feedback, if you like. First there is the found environment, consisting of representations created by continuous, natural, human and animal forces. Apart from this found videoscape, there is the domain of ‘primitive‘ visual culture, consisting of signifiers and other (more) discrete elements that we navigate on autopilot, governed by the flow of our everyday life. These are the houses we live in, the fabrics we work in and the highways we drive on, in short all the environments humans purposefully created to move around in, in our everyday life. Finally there is the imaginary videoscape, the staged environment of make believe, the vista of television, tabloids and the virtual worlds. But this is not only the site where we can trigger the sensation of experiencing a particular environment, but also the place where artists can create a new, visual ecology that can give playful feedback on the conventions that control the spectator in our everyday videoscapes. In these conceptually fueled videoscapes we can once again open our eyes for the unreasonable and give form to what we so often have tried to obfuscate in both audio and visual media, namely artifacts!

27 Jodi and Rosa Menkman. “System False.“ Floater Magazine. no. 2. 2009. <http://www.floatermagazine.com/issue02/System_False/> 5 May 2009.

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� When i think about you i don‘t think solely about the music or the images but rather get the impression of a universal artwork.everything makes such a good match that it always makes me wonder how it came to this particular kind of expression. How did you develop your style? How do the particular elements of your work, namely music, video, graphics, influence each other?

� �i have been making art my whole life, for as long as i can remember. in the past couple years, i‘ve developed the habit of trying to do something visual every single day, even if it‘s just a quick bit of drawing. my parents are not artists, but are very visually keen people who dabble in antique collecting and dealing, so the house i grew up in was a carefully balanced mix of furniture styles. they were really into colonial style stuff, as well as chinese and William and mary style furniture. they also share the popular fondness for afghan tribal rugs. this cultivated visual environment was a big part of what kept me interested in the process of seeing, and therefore the process

of making art. i also watched appalling amounts tv.i grew up outside Boston, and took lots of art classes in the city as a young child, many of which involved spending enormous amounts of time in the mFa or other museums staring at the collections and drawing various objects. i spent an unbelievable amount of time in those museums.

my current style emerged in its proto-typical form in high school when i started wanting to make work that was really “crazy“ by doing things totally intuitively, and as fast as possible, without any kind of plan and with no pretensions to meaning. the basic change that occurred was that i moved from a stance of visual restraint, to one of visual aggression. since then my working process has become slower and includes greater amounts of narrative and control, but still has a lot of intuition. i am also starting to pursue a balance between meaning and meaninglessness. the recent appearance of meaning in some sketchbook drawings and in video works might result from my departure from school and the necessity for me to get jobs and support myself. Working has given me a more intimate familiarity with how society functions economically, so i now feel an urge to speculate, even if it‘s just a little bit, on how futuristic imaginary societies might organize themselves.

i try not to view the projects i make in different media as separated. the differences between my drawings, installations, sound works and videos essentially result from the limitations of each medium. i think sound is very bad at telling stories, but very good

at controlling how people experience time, so my sound works tend to be about eliciting a visceral response from a listener, or about making them focus and pay close attention. in my experience, paying attention makes time seem to pass slower.

� a lot of your work also appears to tell stories. What are those little tales? could one recognize autobiographical facts or is it all fiction? Where do you get your inspiration for them?

� �the stories in my works are all fictions, there is nothing real in them at all. the aesthetic feeling i get from reality is rarely pleasant, so my gut reaction is usually to pull away from it. the decisions i make about how to construct a story are based on the mood that story conveys, rather than what that story is about. im actually skeptical of art‘s ability to be “about“ anything, as any work could have an enormous number of interpretations, particularly when you talk about still works like paintings or sculptures.

and this lack of singular meaning only becomes more pronounced with time. all those paintings i looked at for all those hours in the museums once had very precise meanings and made very particular statements, but now, hundreds and thousands of years later, the language and context of those works is gone, and to untrained viewers often all that is left is their visual elegance and maybe their mood. this emptying of meaning over time is one of my biggest inspirations. its why a lot of my work looks futuristic, because i want to place viewers in a future that they don‘t have the

vocabulary to understand intellectually.

im also really into the author stanislaW lem as well as chinese landscape painting. mat Brinkman‘s various sound and visual projects are another big influence, and also sHaWn Greenlee.

� When i saw you 2009 in new york at aBc no rio‘s (back then as Jamesamoeba) i had the opportunity to glimpse on your laptop‘s screen just to realize that i am completely clueless about what you were actually doing.For me your work seems to make total sense at first view. But as soon as i try to comprehend it i‘m clueless again. so how do you actually make your stuff? What equipment do you use? What sources? What software? in other words, what is mysterious House or the lizard club respectively from a technical point of view?

� �my current sound work is all digital, made almost entirely using max/msp, but i also work with reaktor, buzzmachines, a corrupted version of Fruity loops from 2003, and a few lossy editing programs (Goldwave, soundforge). recently, i‘ve started using body capacitance on metal via an arduino board as a way of achieving instant triggering using my right foot. the way i generate sound live tends to involve systems by which i control many effects simultaneously with very small gestures, and then memorizing 2 dimensional maps of presets so that i can cultivate the right kind of gestures to control these effects. that sentence might not make sense to anyone but me; the process is very difficult to describe. a lot of it has to do with particular types of panning and volume control. i‘m also really

interview with JaMEs MErcEr

� �JaMEs

� raMco

www.james.trummerkind.com

into frequency modulation, and am starting to dabble in Fourier transformation using sets of 100 oscillators in max/msp.

the black and white drawings i make are with a bic pen in a sketchbook, usually on the subway. it‘s not as hard to draw on the subway as you might think, particularly if you don‘t mind strangers staring at you and silently fearing you. the color images are mostly watercolor on paper with markers and spray-paint, and maybe some screen-printing.

the digital images and videos are a ridiculous cocktail of photoshop, illustrator, Quartz composer, and processing, which is a lot like Java. i edit the video clips made by those programs in Final cut pro.

� you use a lot of references to typical computer game aesthetics. are you a game geek? What about that click adventure style part “the attic“ on your Homepage?

� �i am not a gamer at all, i‘ve never owned a video game system in my life. i‘m terrible at games, but many of my friends are avid gamers, some of them quite hardcore. so i‘ve seen many games by watching other people play them. i do have an oldskool mac game on my computer called “glider pro“ and also i have “skiFree“.

the relationship between games and my work is probably coincidental. i‘m very concerned with the borders between reality and fantasy, and also with how to create immersive, hypnotic environments. these are concerns shared by game designers, who need to make environments that beg for intervention by players. aside from the attic, it could be argued that all the horizontal and vertical scrolling images on my website are also games, just very simple ones in which you “win“ by scrolling all the way to the end of the image. if movement is involved in a work, then there is also a question of what kind of space a viewer is moving though. is it dimensional or flat (like

skiFree)? isometric?

the aesthetics of gaming tend to be based on generic themes that audiences have been trained by Hollywood (and previous generations of illustrators and designers) to accept without argument. these themes, gritty action, gore-horror, alternate universe fantasy, to name a few, are utterly impersonal and without expression, thus contributing to their success with wide audiences. they are so general and familiar that there‘s nothing for anyone (except uptight parents) to object to.

the only reason video games maintain an aura of edginess among consumers is because of their capacity to be violent, but images of violence can hardly be thought of as transgressive anymore.

part of what makes mainstream game-design work is that there is almost no navigating between the persona of the player and the persona of the game designers, thus dodging the sense of self-loathing and introspective-disgust that extreme gaming binges can inspire. any opportunity for self-reflection is destroyed by the genericness of a typical game‘s aesthetic; it doesn‘t call into question how the player is supposed to relate to the game. one of my loftier goals with works like the attic and with the digital scrolling images is to create a sense of intimacy between me and my viewers. i think this is the main thing that sets me apart from the mainstream culture of video-games. this is not to say that there aren‘t good video games on the market, it‘s just that most of them are worthless.

� We are talking a lot about technical stuff, but you are at least as skilled with the pen as you are with the computer. What can we expect for the future? are those skills developing into own branches or are they merging even closer?

� �the black and white line drawings i do in sketchbooks usually act as omens of my future directions, because

they tend to be the most intimately connected to my day to day mindset. What i can divine from these drawings is that in the not-too distant future i will be more interested in depicting aliens and scenes that will be incomprehensible to viewers on a more fundamental level. i‘d like to do more work where you have absolutely no idea what anytHinG in the image is. no umbrellas, no people, no cute animals, no nothing, just images of weird alien objects. i think the figures and cute umbrellas and whatnot will always be there, but i also want to have some works without them.

my drawings are probably becoming more like my digital works, but its happening very slowly.

� you live in new york, right? Give us an advice where we could find you - what‘s your favourite place to go there?

� �i live in Brooklyn, it‘s true. the best live music venue in new york city is certainly matHBill‘s House (the virgin islands) in Far rockaway, which is like an eerie freeze-dried suburb in the middle of the bay. events at that house usually get listed here; http://chondriticsound.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=11. id also recommed eating at one of these three weird indian restaurants downtown, in the east village. there are 3 competing indian restaurants that are exactly the same and right next to each other at 93 1st ave in manhattan. the doormen will actually get into shouting matches with each other trying to get you to go to their restaurant. the lighting in each of them is all multi-colored christmas lights with holographic wallpaper and bad paintings! and they are super tiny and dense; tall people have to duck to avoid all the hanging lights. its like eating inside a shoe-box that santa claus threw up in. the food isn‘t very good. near my apartment in sunset park is Greenwood cemetery. the only places you can be by yourself outdoors in nyc are graveyards, so i like to visit them when i can.

they are very beautiful, unlike the city streets of new york, which are not so beautiful.

� thanks a lot for you time!

D i s c o g r a P h y

in tHe Woods House - 2011 - immigrant Breast nest

Hotel m - 2009 - iynGes

Walrus prison - 2008 - iynGes

derailed sHapes - 2007 - amoebafax records

invisiBle cHemist - 2007 - amoebafax records

mint tiGer - 2005 - club Fantasies records

allright - 2004 - club fantasies records

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interview with zackfrom nEon BluD

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� do you follow any song structures? How much space is there to let songs break out? How do you manage to keep songs interesting for yourselves?

� � Well usually when i write a song for the most part there is a loose structure but lately just been letting it flow and go, just letting things naturally progress, not try and force anything... to keep it interesting just kinda draw from different influences peek in different doors and go down different paths.

� right now you have a bunch of releases coming out. one is the neon nites vhs cassingle. What is that project about?

are there further plans to include more visual aspects in neon Blud?

� � it was a music video, it was something i wanted to do forever and got lazy about but eventually got things together and finished... i haven‘t put to much thought into a more visual aspect to the live show a couple of thoughts have floated through but nothing really thorough enough to execute... if i did do it i would want to do it right, ya know.

� if i‘m right, you are responsible for the drawings and artworks. does it play a big role in your life? are you doing other artworks besides nB? How did you start getting

into that matter?

� � it‘s more of an extract of my life. i don‘t know. i have always just done art it has just always been an outlet for me... i am working on a couple of art zines of drawings and whatever.

� i know this question comes up in almost every random interview, but what kind of music are you guys into? do you all have the same musical background?

� � Hahahaha... it all varies from month to month, week to week... there has not been a band i have been in that dave hasn‘t been in... a kindred spirit of sorts... and dave and ronnie are always

� � zack

� Jul

www.cultmaternal.blogspot.com

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working on something together, we all live together so we share aton of influences.

� i found a photo of a neon Blud show in a place packed with bookshelves, where was that? What other

odd locations have you played? What was the weirdest one?

� � that was this cool spot in orlando called stardust caFe... nothing too unusual... i think it‘s weirder to play actual venues with sound guys and that whole deal as opposed to a warehouse or a basement.

� it seems that there are no borders concerning your songwriting. Where is neon Blud going

musically? Would you go further steps in experimentation? What further elements would you include?

� � anywhere i guess.it‘s just doing whatever til it gets old... like learning something new with a pedal or a synth or hearing something new and just wanting to track down that path and not worrying about old material just always going forward.

� regarding the bands you sometimes share the stage with, you still play some hardcore shows. in how far are you detached or connected to the hardcore scene and why?

� � alot times we just play with friends,

or we‘ll just get billed as ex-cult ritual so the show will be booked according to that, but it‘s whatever sometimes bands are good, sometimes they are not... i don‘t really pay too much attention to many bands unless a trusted friend recommeds them to me or i see them and enjoy it... i seldomly seek out new acts... there are a couple scenes and labels i like to pay attention to, but there is way too much to pay attention to and filter to find what i like so usually i‘ll stick to what i know.

� there are plenty of interesting bands in your surrounding, seems that there‘s a pretty vital scene in tampa. please tell us a bit about it.

� � there is a few people here that like to jam, that‘s what we do, you know? not that much to it.

� Half of neon Blud also played in

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slavescene. Why did you break up? in which other bands are you involved and which other locals bands would you recommend?

� �Bands break up... it happens... it always seems there is a new project popping up every month...recommendations? volcanic slut, cHurcH WHip, skeleton Warrior, mercHandise, Boulders, dads (the real dads), JeFF ZaGers lives here – now he‘s an amazing musician... tHen and tHan, Halves and tHirds a ton more... diet cokeHeads from Gainesville, cop city cHill pillars/love Handles the best bands in Florida... i don‘t know there are so many...

� you‘re now facing a

quiet extensive three week tour through the us. are there many new places for you to play? Would you say you‘re more a live band than a recording band? is there any chance to see you guys in europe?

� � Went to canada, that was amazing... we are definitely a live band... that‘s where it is at, it‘s totally a primal art form and always my main focus any one can record a great song and mold it and layer it with

production but not everyone can do it live... just where i like to be with this band... we want to go to europe so bad... we will spend months there!

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D i s c o g r a P h y

WHipps | cs | cult maternal | 2009WHipps | 7“ | fan death records | 2010ampHetamine dreams cs west palm beotch | 2010live at BloodFest | cs | cult maternal | 2010neon nites | vHs | cult maternal | 2010speed, madness and FlyinG saucers | cs | econore | 2010B Girls | 12“ | drugged conscience | 2010compact Heat (with diet coke Heads) | 7“ | west palm beotch | 2011discotHeQue deatHBed | 12“ | vinyl rites | 2012

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Wenn das gehirn implodiert...

GeHirn.implosion ist ein ein-mann-projekt aus dem norden deutschlands, dass seit ca. 2002 unter eben diesem namen krach macht, “abseitigere musik“ wie dirk dietzel selbst es beschreibt. Gemeint ist hiermit zwar handgemachter, aber vorrangig laptop-basierter noise, ein gefangenen nehmendes rauschen, in welchem sich textliche kleinode verbergen. mit dirk, der inzwischen arbeiten mit tHe Haters, carsten vollmer, GerecHtiGkeitsliGa und weiteren sowie eigene vorgelegt hat, jeweils in kleinststückzahlen, auf unterschiedlichen medien von cdr bis kassette und zurückhaltendst beworben, wollte ich eigentlich über hauptsächlich stille sprechen. entwickelt hat sich dann daraus ein sehr persönlicher austausch über krach, kunst, ea80 und mio. GeHirn.implosion hat zuletzt “aether“ [tosom xx-010]veröffentlicht.

�du bist rührig, hast einen bemerkenswerten output, kooperierst fleißigst, scheinst eben hier, dann wieder da, daneben wächst dann noch das privateste umfeld... – das ist eine ganze menge aktion in wenig Zeit und Gelegenheit, denke ich. Wie viele bist du, hehehe, und wie setzt du die prioritäten?

� �Ja moin, philip, na, so viel aktion ist das ja gar nicht; vielleicht so 2 sachen pro Jahr seit 2002, und die kooperationen entstanden auch immer aus dem interesse an dem anderen heraus. aber stimmt natürlich, dass mit größerer Familie, normalem Broterwerb-Job die kurze freie Zeit wohl überlegt sein will :-) ich habe einen durchaus stressigen Job als konzernbuchhalter, der mich zeitlich zwar einschränkt, aber andererseits super bezahlt wird, so dass alle prima davon leben können

:-) das mit der aktivität kommt dir vielleicht nur so vor, weil du G.i. ein wenig länger kennst, normalerweise kennt mich keiner, ich leg das auch gar nicht darauf an – wenn es ein neues produkt gibt, wird einmal – und nur einmal – eine email versendet ob der Bewerbung, und das war es. das hat jetzt überhaupt gar nix mit kult oder verschrobensein zu tun, sondern ich habe schlicht nicht mehr Zeit und lust, das zu bewerben. ich bin meilenweit von z.B. masami akita entfernt mit seinen um die 1.000 veröffentlichungen. ich trage das material auch meist lange mit mir im kopf herum, wenn ich es denn dann am laptop mache, geht das meiste recht fix, weil ich genau weiß, wie es klingen soll, damit es mir gefällt; oft entstanden fertige songs an einem abend. priorität haben aber – wenn ich Zeit habe – ganz klar und an erster stelle meine Frau und meine söhne; kinder aufwachsen zu sehen, ist cool und interessant, hält jung, und es stellt dich immer wieder selbst auf die probe. ich möchte es nicht missen, habe das so gewollt und finde es in einer ausgesprochen individuellen,egoistischen, kinderfeindlichen Welt und industrial-szene wichtig, gegen den strom zu schwimmen. GeHirn.implosion ist ein teil meines seins, aber halt nur ein teil dessen. ich definiere mich da keinesfalls darüber, auch nicht über meine berufliche arbeit, eher als individuum, dass ich bin, wie ich bin. Wichtig für mich – und nur für mich, nicht als ego-pflege, sondern als Beruhigung, ausgleich, sinn. ich hatte schon immer ein besonders liebevolles verhältnis zur musik. also, ich bin immer nur einer, immer derselbe; würde mir auch nie einfallen, für jede kleinste abweichung in der “musik“ ein neues nebenprojekt aufzumachen, wie das einige andere tun. ich bin immer G.i., immer dirk, und jegliches kunst-verständnis geht mir in Bezug auf den lärm G.i.s völlig ab; sehe mich eher als Handwerker.

�Bemerkenswertes statement, ganz ohne Flax. und eine seltsam-unheimliche Beobachtung, dass der insgesamt beklagte Werteverlust, vermutlich die rückgraterweichung und all das sich ebenfalls im subkulturellen fröhlich Bahn zu brechen scheinen. Fühl‘ dich frei, wen an den pranger zu stellen, hehehe. scherz, darum geht es wohl kaum. Bemerkenswert ebenfalls, dass deinerseits stichworte fallen, auf die ich letztlich hinaus wollte, später erst, aber ich wollte darauf hinaus: “Beruhigung, ausgleich, sinn“ – ich wollte mit dir über stille reden...

� �Zuallererst geht es doch um spaß, und das scheinen die meisten zu vergessen. da siehst du in der szene – ob punk oder elektro – nur mies gelaunte schwarzkittel, Hexen oder andere loser und fragst dich immer: warum gucken die so böse und sind so schlecht gelaunt? remember: wir reden hier über

eine totale subkultur innerhalb einer randgruppe. da will ich überhaupt keinen anfucken oder beleidigen, denn dann wäre ich auf dem niveau, das ich nicht verstehe. open-minded ist da doch die absolute minderheit... machste krach mit dem laptop, wirst du angemacht, weil angeblich echter krach nur analog herzustellen sei. und spielste inner punkband, machst du sowieso nur die falsche mucke bzw. sparte. das ist mir alles völlig egal und war es schon immer. attitüde ist selbstzweck und letztendlich eine besondere art von unsicherheit. Zum pranger kommen wir dann aber vielleicht später, wenn es um die Frage geht, wie sehe ich mein tun im kontext, wie oben beschrieben... Wir bewegen uns in einem winzig kleinen sub-universum, welches keine sau interessiert, naja, da gibt es schon die eine oder andere schote, die es wert ist, erwähnt zu werden. vor allem, wenn die künstler herauskommen :-)

Zur Frage: stille (i) ohne pathetisch zu wirken: ein Zustand wohligen einklangs mit sich selbst. das kann man haben, wenn man im urlaub an einem Finnischen see angelt, die vögel zwitschern, die luft klar ist, die Gedanken rein und man erholt. Für mich ist das völlig abgekoppelt von Äußerlichkeiten; um echte wirklich reine stille (-ruHe-) zu bekommen, braucht es für mich den totalen tornado. letztlich – und davon bin ich seit Jahren überzeugt – existiert für mich absolute stille nur im größtmöglichen krach. Früher, als ich noch nicht selbst musizierte – und auch heute noch – beschert mir noise japanischer prägung einen unglaublichen ruhepuls bis zum einnicken – legst du merZBoW auf – schlaf‘ ich ein. das ist eine Wand, die nach ein paar minuten total beruhigt. aber auch nur diese spielart – andere noiser bzw. der meiste ältere industrial-krach sind zwar nicht so krachig, dafür aber viel fordernder. dieses ständige piepsen, Brummen, kreiseln geht mir ziemlich schnell ab – auch wenn ich‘s gut finde. carsten vollmer ist da ein gutes Beispiel – eigentlich sehr gut in seiner konsequenz und körperlichkeit, aber auch eigentlich unhörbar. Hallo, carsten ! :-)

stille (ii):

da hat wahrscheinlich jeder außerhalb der musik seine eigenen erfahrungen und momente; ich war nach der Geburt unseres ersten sohnes für eine halbe stunde mit dem Gerade-Geborenen alleine im Zimmer – ich hab nix gesagt – er hat nix gesagt –,und stiller war‘s, glaub‘ ich, noch nie. das rückt dann einiges Wichtige wieder zurecht.

�und das hält, glaube ich, kaum einer aus, diesen irgendwie auch kathartischen effekt der abwesenheit von Geräuschen. das kann unerträglich einsam sein. oder super-komprimiert und dicht und übervoll. vielleicht erklärt sich die 26

interview mitgEhrin.iMPlosion

� PhiliP nussBauM

� �gEhirn.iMPlosion

hauptsächliche unpopularität von noise ja auch, wenn man sich vorstellt, dass eben von der stille erzählt wird. vor einer Geschichte über so einen magischen moment wie den mit deinem sohn haben manche vielleicht richtig angst.

� �naja, vielleicht. aber es darf auch nicht verkopfen bzw. intellektualisieren. trotz alledem – wie oben schon erwähnt – steht spaß ganz oben. aBer: eine gewisse ernsthaftigkeit ist natürlich selbstredend. ich gebe allen stücken ja auch texte mit, obwohl die immer so verzerrt sind, dass sie nicht zu hören bzw. nicht vordergründig anwesend sind. das mache ich, damit ich mich auch später immer wieder in die situation hineinversetzen kann, als ich es machte. man hat natürlich die erinnerung im kopf, aber für mich ist es wichtig, es auf diese Weise zu konservieren. die unpopularität von noise hat meiner meinung nach nix damit zu tun, dass von stille geredet wird. es ist halt eine randgruppen-musik für abseitige. aber das gilt ja auch für viele andere stile, die selbst im mainstream angesiedelt sind. die Hörgewohnheiten sind auch nur graduell antrainierbar. ich hör was – und die entscheidung, ob‘s gefällt oder nicht, die treffe ich eigentlich nicht mehr selbst, sondern mein unterbewusstes. ich hör‘s – und find‘s gut oder schlecht oder bin indifferent. viele mögen halt nichts unrhythmisches oder lautes – ja auch die problematik neuer klassik. in der musik ist es wie im sonstigen leben – es gibt viel mainstream und wenige kleine nischen. als ich vor Jahren in Frankfurt wohnte, war ich bei einem (außen-) konzert des ensemBle modern; junge musiker mit klassischer ausbildung spielen neue musik und zwar diesmal in einer straßenbahn-reparaturwerkstatt mit kaputten radios und einem genau definierten plan, das Gaspedal eines genau definierten Jaguarmodells (welches wirklich anwesend war) durchzudrücken. ich glaube, das stück war von JoHn caGe. tja; und sehen wollten es außer mir vielleicht noch 20 leute. und dieses ensemble spielt normalerweise in der alten oper! es interessiert trotz Werbung schlicht zu wenige. trotzdem glaube ich, dass es anderen noisern ähnlich geht wie mir und sie in ihrem krach zwar nicht die katharsis erfahren, aber mindestens einen ausgleich oder besser ein ventil; wie ein langstreckenläufer, der das tägliche training braucht.

Zu deiner aussage/Frage:

Weiß nicht, ob ich es richtig verstehe: ich sehe/sehne mich nach stille, hätte diesen Zustand sehr gerne und habe auch einen Weg, ihn zu bekommen – meist jedenfalls. ich denke, man hat keine angst vor der stille, sondern vor der vorstellung, sich Gedanken über sich selbst zu machen und zu reflektieren – dann könnte man nämlich zu der einsicht gelangen, dass einen die ach-so-tolle individualität geradewegs und sehenden

auges in die einsamkeit geführt hat, die man nur durch aktion kompensieren kann. Ähnlich einer depression, die mit Hyperaktivität bekämpft wird.

�du hast mich da genau richtig verstanden, das meinte ich. dieses unbehagen, in ruhe einen Blick auf sich zu werfen und dann nicht direkt woanders hingucken zu können. Wohlige ablenkung des poppigen alltags hingegen, oh erleichternde dauerbeschäftigung! Zum Beispiel. ich stelle mir nach wie vor vor, wie du bei merZBoW wegdöst, hehehe. Was ist für dich im Gegenteil krach? Was macht dich unruhig bis aggressiv?

� �das mit dem Wegnicken ist nicht so unüblich, wie es sich vielleicht anhören mag :-) vor allem, wenn es sich um eine krachwand handelt, die zwar ultralaut, aber mit ihrer spielart monotonie positiv ermüdend ist – keine ahnung, kann es nicht besser erklären, als dass es mich mit diesem stilmittel beruhigt – musikalisch aggressiv werde ich eigentlich nicht, bei keiner art von musik. ich bin eher anderen stilen, die ich nicht mag, gleichgültig gegenüber eingestellt, es interessiert mich halt nicht. vieles ja – vieles nein. aggressiv werde ich seltenerweise lediglich abseitig der eigentlichen töne, wenn ich den eindruck habe, dass jemand nicht ehrlich ist bei dem, was er tut bzw. zu sehr den künstlerischen aspekt heraushängen lässt. es ist ein stinknormales Handwerk, das jeder machen kann, wenn er will. mir geht der künstlerische aspekt dabei völlig ab, ich sehe mich überhaupt nicht als künstler, eher als Handwerker. veröffentlichungen zu bemalen, zu besprühen, zu bekritzeln oder untersetzer als das neueste produkt zu vermarkten (welches dann im eigentlichen sinn nicht abspielbar ist) und so meiner meinung nach das eh schon verschwindend kleine publikum bzw. die wenigen, die es interessiert, verarschen zu wollen, find‘ ich extrem ungerecht und nicht angemessen. ist mir selbst schon passiert, dass ich auf explizite mehrfache nachfrage an den “künstler“ ob der abspielbarkeit der neuen single keine bzw. eine kryptische antwort bekam. es stellte sich dann heraus, dass ich für €15 eine angemalte unabspielbare single bekam, und das ist kunstkacke in meinen augen, die ich nicht brauche. allerdings konnte man das im schummrigen licht wirklich nicht erkennen. den “künstler“ nenne ich jetzt aber nicht :-) Jedenfalls hab‘ ich ihm die scheibe zurückgeschickt, hehe. außerdem gab es das alles schon vor Jahrzehnten – besprühte scheiben, scheiben mit mehreren löchern – verkratzte scheiben – scheiben ohne jegliche musik drauf, war alles schon da. dies 2011 zu machen finde ich so was von retro – mehr geht gar nicht. musikalisch unruhig werde ich z.B. bei sachen wie WHiteHouse – dedicated to peter kurten – ultrafieser alter industrial mit noch fieseren vocals von William Bennett – hochfrequent

bis zum abwinken und total aggressiv – ich find‘s toll, kann es aber nicht oft hören, 30 Jahre alt und immer noch schockierend. das Hören solcher musik macht mich sehr unruhig, und entspannen kann ich da keinesfalls. und letztlich ist “krach – noise – lärm“ ist ja alles nur eine liebevollere Beschreibung für eine bestimmte spielart des industrial :-), die einige mögen, andere nicht; und diese anderen haben keinen Zugang zu diesen tönen. als arnold scHoenBerG 1921 seine Zwölftontechnik erschuf, war die auch für fast alle unhörbar. ich will da keinesfalls irgendeinen vergleich schönbergs mit industrial ziehen, aber alles hat natürlich seine einflüsse, und nur das allerwenigste ist neu und innovativ, schönberg war so einer, und zumindest in Bezug auf das aufbrechen von konventionen und das Gehen neuer Wege steht der industrial schon in diesen spuren.

�eine unabspielbare cd für schlappe 15 euro, vom verzweifelten suchen des players abgesehen also ein wenig stille zum discounterpreis... – klingt doch nach einem schnäppchen, hehehe. obschon es ja gerade nicht klingt. ernsthaft, das ist vermutlich weniger kunst, als mehr kunstfertiger Betrug gewesen. allerdings mag es gerade in diesem Bereich der musik, also hier noise und ähnliches, für einige auch zu viele verlockungen geben. die Grenzen von kunst und kunsthandwerk verwischen, auch die der genutzten medien. unterm strich bleibt als essenz allenfalls das schaffen an sich. da ist vielleicht auch schnell der photoapparat oder der edding gezückt, und es entstehen dann auch kuriositäten, die eigentlich in keinem teilbereich mehr funktionieren. scHoenBerGs Bilder sind irgendwie auch nicht der knaller, oder? ich denke, industrial hat eine relativ große kunst-nähe, nach wie vor, und mit der ausformung noise vielleicht, möglicherweise auch eigentlich kaum gewollt, noch mehr. popart, dada, oder? und mit der chance zum bedingungslosen diy natürlich ausdrücklich punk.

� �War sogar eine bemalte 7“ – aber lassen wir das; ist vorbei. das mit der kunst-nähe ist schon richtig, und vieles ursprüngliche entstand in dieser ecke wie tG zum Beispiel. oft jedoch ging es dabei um – neben vielem anderen – provokation. die ausprägung noise ist da “bodenständiger“; es geht weniger um kunst, art, dada, sondern eher um das ausleben der musikalischen vorlieben. ich kenne kaum einen noiser, der sich künstler schimpft – echt nicht. da ist eher etwas im kopf – oftmals schon sehr lange – und man versucht, sich diesem anzunähern, diesem soundtrack im kopf, dem perfekten krach. diy ergibt sich da ganz von selbst, weil es kaum jemand interessiert. Zwar landet der industrial auch mal in der großen kunsthalle bzw. wird zur kunst post mortem gestempelt (tHroBBinG Gristle, H.n.a.s., asmus tietcHens, die tÖdlicHe doris...), 27

bis auf auBe und merZBoW passiert das im noise-Bereich eigentlich nicht – der ist immer noch im Jugendzentrum, im besetzten Haus, in der kultur e.v. veranstaltung. meine 200er auflagen der 7inches sind ja auch kein Zweck zur limitierung an sich, sondern kalkuliert, inwiefern es sich verkaufen könnte.

�schön eigentlich, noise im Jugendzentrum statt in der sektund amuse gueule-schwangeren Galerie! mutmaßlich hätte es da, auch schön im Zusammenhang auch die größten chancen auf resonanz – jugendliche und möglicherweise auch subkulturhirne haben eventuell noch deund restrukturierungschancen, hehehe. Bedauerlicherweise ist das nämliche Jugendzentrum in vielen Fällen dann aber recht leer. manch noiser tanzt doch auch mal ganz gerne auf dem drahtseil, martin fällt mir da als Beispiel ein. apropos: ea80 ist bereits mehrfach von dir bearbeitet worden...

� �tja, da muss ich jetzt wirklich vorsichtig sein, was ich sage :-) Hmm, also in meinen augen ist martin (sänger von ea80) kein noiser, martin ist ein “künstler“, was er auch unumwunden von sich preis gibt. sein “killer“-projekt gefällt mir wahrscheinlich deshalb nicht, weil er nie den rocker in sich ablegen kann – sorry, martin. da ist viel zu viel kunst – zu viel rock in “killer“. aber so what – ihm gefällt‘s und das ist doch das Wichtigste. und ea80: ich habe es wohl überwunden!! es war eine Zeitlang wie eine droge. ea80 faszinierten mich lange Zeit; die energie – gerade live –, die texte, die stimme und die wundervollen moll-lieder sprachen mich sehr an. viele Jahre rief ich martin immer an, um die neusten live-termine zu erfahren, die ja meist – früher – nirgendwo zu erfahren waren. ich habe auch irre lange reisen auf mich genommen, um sie zu sehen. als ich in Hamburg wohnte, fuhr ich etwa nach Zürich –900km – samstags hin – sonntags zurück. ich denke, ich habe etwa 70 konzerte von ihnen gesehen. da lag es für mich nahe, ihnen musikalisch ein ständchen zu bringen, das machte ich dann in der Form von cdrs zum 25sten und 30sten Bandjubiläum – mein noise auf ‘ner spur – ihre live-songs auf ‘ner anderen, fein als noise zubereitet :-) von ea80 interessiert das aber in der tat vielleicht wirklich nur martin ein wenig, weil er auch gerne krach hört. keine ahnung – hab‘ eigentlich nie eine rückmeldung bekommen. War ein kleiner Gag, gab nicht viele, die meisten hab ich verschenkt. mittlerweile bin ich ein wenig von dieser droge runter, hehe. ich muss nicht mehr jedes konzert sehen und finde es auch nicht so schlimm, eines zu verpassen, früher war ich echt kribbelig, wenn ich nicht anwesend sein konnte. vor allem die letzte “reise“-lp find‘ ich sehr enttäuschend, vom glatten sound, dem blöden Gitarrenklang und den fehlenden liedern des Gitarristen maul her. vor allem seine lieder sind für

mich die besten ea80-songs – und zur reise steuerte er aus diversen Gründen leider nix bei. aber das soll alles jetzt keinesfalls negativ rüber kommen, ea80 sind eine der besten Bands der Welt, nette menschen, sehr verschieden zwar, aber top – ich habe da sehr viele tolle erinnerungen an super abende, wo ich wirklich berauscht ob der situation war. ich habe sie immer bewundert, das so lange durchzuziehen bzw. ich bewundere sie immer noch. sie sind eine meiner absoluten lieblingsbands im punk-Bereich.mittlerweile habe ich mit maul am meisten kontakt, wir telefonieren manchmal, und er steuerte auch die Gitarre & stimme für ein lied auf der G.i./carsten vollmer-splitlp bei. und ich werde ihm ziemlich lange dankbar dafür sein, mit mir die “stern“-single gemacht zu haben und die zwei lieder von serene Fall in erinnerung an meinen verstorbenen sohn mio “two songs for the gone“ genannt zu haben.

�“Bei aller verzweiflung bleibt dennoch etwas eingeschlossen, ein behüteter schatz, etwas, was nur mir gehört.“ ich hatte überlegt, ob ich dich nach mio fragen sollte, aber ich wusste nicht, ob und wie. es ist ein thema, mit dem du dich auch “als“ GeHirn.implosion mehrfach auseinandergesetzt hast. Wie auch nicht? Beruhigung, ausgleich, sinn? Geräusch auch gegen das andauernde ausbleiben von Geräusch?

� �Beruhigung, ausgleich, sinn – das gibt‘s schon, so lange ich denken kann; die musik hat mit dem nicht-vorhandensein von Geräusch auch nichts zu tun. es ist halt so wie beschrieben: ich mag diese art von musik einfach. den Zustand des ausbleibens find‘ ich sehr harmonisch, ich habe nie probleme mit nicht-aktivität. ich bin gerne mit mir allein. ich liebe es manchmal, einfach nur auf dem sofa zu liegen und nichts zu tun.ok – man tut natürlich immer etwas, aber ich liebe den krach, die musik allgemein und auch deren abwesenheit. auch wenn man ständig denken muss, es gar nicht mehr abschalten kann – ich mag auch diesen Zustand, echt.das gab‘s alles schon vor mio, der seit gut drei Jahren nun nicht mehr bei uns ist. das Zitat oben, welches du verwendest, ist aus seiner trilogie (eine split-single, eine cd, eine compilation) und entstand wenige Wochen nach seinem tod. es diente und dient schlicht der verarbeitung des erlebten auf eine art und Weise, in der ich mich ausdrücken kann. mio wurde für uns völlig unerwartet nach normalem verlauf der schwangerschaft mit trisomie13 geboren. er verbrachte 26 tage im krankenhaus, und am 27sten tag entschieden wir uns dafür, ihn nach Hause zum sterben zu holen. das hört sich jetzt vielleicht dramatisch an (und war es auch), aber dazu muss man wissen, dass die sterbewahrscheinlichkeit für kinder mit dieser mutation bei 90% im ersten Jahr liegt. es ging nur um den Zeitpunkt, wir

wussten, dass wir nicht lange Zeit mit ihm haben würden – ihn nicht aufwachsen sehen werden. Wir holten ihn also am 27sten tag aus dem krankenhaus ab, fuhren mit ihm nach Hause, verbrachten eine nacht mit ihm zusammen, ehe er am darauffolgenden morgen in meinen armen starb. mio lebt trotzdem mit uns allen mit, wir reden über ihn, feiern seinen Geburtstag und lassen ihn nicht in vergessenheit geraten. letzlich war es für mich wichtig, offen damit umzugehen – die aufnahmen habe ich ja in erster linie für mich gemacht, und jemand der zufällig zum Beispiel eine single erstanden hat, konnte das nicht einordnen, weil es zu verschlüsselt war und nur mein innerstes wiedergab. das es auch unter “GeHirn.implosion“ erschien, war zwangsläufig, weil ich es bin – der musikhandwerker, der vater, der Zur-arbeit-Gehende, der normalo, der nachdenkliche, der enthusiastische..., ich kann und will das gar nicht auseinander dividieren. deshalb auch kein nebenoder seitoder drittprojekt.ich denke, man sollte mit Geschehnissen dieser extrem traurigen art offensiv umgehen – auch wenn es schmerzt. und da ich die Gefühlshölle kenne, fällt es mir leichter, alles ein wenig gelassener und mit der richtigen Gewichtung zu sehen.

�“und der tod relativiert alles, was uns im leben wichtig ist“ – HeideGGer, glaube ich. merkwürdigerweise schließt sich hier auch ein kreis, irgendwie sind wir ungefähr wieder am anfang unseres dialogs ausgekommen. Hast du den eindruck, das universum dirk/GeHirn.implosion ist bis hierhin ein wenig betrachtbar geworden?

� �na, so viel hast du ja nicht wissen wollen :-) aber wenn du das in Bezug auf anschaulichkeit verstehst bzw. dies meinst, dann sicherlich. es ist auch nie verborgen. ich mache um mein musikalisches tun kein Geheimnis, jeder kann alles, was er wissen möchte fragen; wenn ich es beantworten kann und will, dann mache ich das – zügig. keine Geheimnisse – kein kult – erreichbarkeit – respekt anderen gegenüber: das ist es und trifft wohl auf viele millionen andere auch zu. in der musik ist es wie im richtigen leben, es gibt nette, leute zum kotzen, idioten oder wundervolle menschen.und noch ein anderes Zitat, welches ich sehr mag: “der mensch ist erst wirklich tot, wenn keiner mehr an ihn denkt“, B. BrecHt. Wie wahr!

�das irre daran ist – es reichen doch hierfür das nackte sosein und allenfalls noch die Beziehungen, die man eingehen konnte. ob du nun also schweigst oder schreist, reich bist oder arm, dick, dünn, dumm, was auch immer, es ist für die erinnerung nicht das ausschlaggebende. und dennoch glauben eigentlich die meisten, es müsste helfen zu tun, tun, tun und hervorzubringen. Fragt also der schreiber den musiker: 28

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was als nächstes? Was wirst du in einem Jahr gemacht haben? und wer wird‘s bemerken?� �ich habe ja schon erwähnt, dass ich finde, Hyperaktivität (und musikalisch bezogen dann halt sagen wir release-overkill) kann auch etwas mit einer art depression zu tun haben, welche man nur durch aktion kompensieren kann – ohne dass man das merkt, weil man halt “darin“ ist. ich hab da was gefunden und besser kann ich es auch nicht ausdrücken: marianne leuZinGer-BoHleBer: “das spätbürgerliche individuum scheint abgelöst durch ein individuum, das die vorstellung hat, “alles ist möglich“, und geprägt ist von der angst um seine selbstverwirklichung, die sich leicht zum Gefühl der erschöpfung steigern kann. der ständige, oft nicht bewusste Wunsch, ein ganz besonderes, originelles, von anderen bewundertes und möglichst in den medien beachtetes leben zu führen, wird zu einem druck zur individualisierung, der in versagens-, scham-, und insuffizienzgefühle und schließlich in depressive symptome münden kann. die depression wird so zur tragödie der unzulänglichkeit“. das ist es was ich meine – der ständige nicHt BeWusste Wunsch etwas zu schaffen treibt einen voran bis zur erschöpfung. man meint, sich zu definieren über Äußerlichkeiten – den output. und um ihn interessanter zu machen, vermerkt man noch, dass das ausgangsmaterial ausschließlich vom ton des rutschens auf der kloschüssel entstand und akademisch verwurstet wurde. und um noch einen draufzusetzen limitiert man das auf 1 stück, alles schon erlebt. ich meine, dabei gehst du über kurz oder lang vor die Hunde. mal abgesehen davon, dass es keine sau interessieren dürfte, was das musikalische ausgangsmaterial ist (und die limitierung auf 1 eh einen Besitz ausschließt), stellt sich doch die Frage, warum es hunderte von blogs-myspace-blogspot-bandcamp-virb-soundcloud-etc-seiten im netz gibt, die dies präsentieren. ich meine, letztlich muss man erkennen, dass man nicht für irgend jemand etwas tut (musikalisch), sondern nur für sich selbst. dann ist man im reinen, mit sich und der umwelt – nicht aktion erzeugt reaktion, sondern demut – sich zurücknehmen – sich nicht aufdrängen – bescheiden sein. es muss ja nicht so sein wie beispielsweise der output eines Freundes in england von mir (till von GerecHtiGkeitsliGa), der 15 Jahre pausiert, weil er die pause für sich braucht und erst jetzt ob all seiner probleme bereit ist, etwas neues zu tun und am alten anzuknüpfen. insofern finde ich sein projekt trotzdem ehrlicher und besser und viel wichtiger als all die vielveröffentlicher, die mit sich nicht im reinen sind und kompensation (und letztlich selbstbewusstsein und Bestätigung) durch viele outputs unter vielen namen suchen, vermeintlich finden und sich in der virtuellen Welt aufdrängen bis zur selbstaufgabe – und es leider nicht merken. sich ein bisschen zurücknehmen finde ich schon ganz gut. in diesem

sinn: “Hallo till du bist´n supernetter! und ich finde es cool dich zu kennen – vielen dank nochmals für london“.Was werde ich in einem Jahr gemacht haben?tja..., bis dahin werden wohl so ein/zwei weitere G.i.-klamotten raus gekommen sein, und die Familie hat sich komplettiert :-)man muss nicht immer Weiter Weiter machen; das ist in meinen augen kein stillstand, wenn man den status quo “verwaltet“. es muss nicht immer höher-schneller-weiter sein.Zu erkennen, dass man JetZt im augenblick glücklich ist, ist eine kunst (kettcar); retrospektiv kann das jeder mehr oder weniger.ob‘s jemand bemerkt – ich glaube nicht. das ist aber auch nicht meine intention. ich bemerke es, und das ist für mich persönlich wichtig.

�und dann einfach stehen bleiben. und gucken. und atmen. und aus. danke, dirk.

� �danke auch dir, philip, für das Gespräch. da ich selber in interviews gerne lese, was die leute für lieblingsscheiben/einflüsse haben, hier meine scheiben, die mich (unter vielen vielen anderen) lange begleiteten und die ich wichtig finde. ein ausschnitt: ea80 – licht, 202, Grüner apfel; envy – insomniac doze, all the footprints you have left; drop dead – 1st lp; Grade – and such is progress; merZBoW – venereology; mineral – the power of failing, endserenading; moss icon – lyburnum wit´s end liberation fly; movinG tarGets – Burning in water; karlHeinZ stockHausen – licht; spk – information overload unit, leichenschrei; WHiteHouse – dedicated to peter kurten

und dann war schweigen.

Originally published by RENFIELD-FANZINE (Berlin)

D i s c o g r a P h y

lEBzEug | cdrnot on label 2012

gEhirn. iMPlosion/Ea80 > d. i. a. | 7“verstand recs. 2012

aEThEr | 3“ cd-r tosom 2011

gEhirn.iMPlosion/TinEMo aBBora > sPalTTonBanD #6| cs the tourette tapes 2010

DhrEn | cs verstand recs. 2010

gEhirn.iMPlosion/gErEchTigkEiTsliga > cEnTaurEa cyanus | 7“ verstand recs. 2010

alluMFassEnDEr unkonTrolliErBarEr sog | cd-r tosom 2009

gEhirn.iMPlosion/ThE haTErs > anD in ThE EnD a BEauTiFul MEMory rEMains | 7“ verstand recs. 2008

gEhirn.iMPlosion/schloss TEgal > BirTh: BEginning anD EnDing oF all WorlDs | 7“ bosom 2007

www.gehirnimplosion.wordpress.com

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�as one can see on numerous live-pics circulating on the web, most of the time you had painted faces and ornamental headpieces on your concerts. it seemed to be kind of a ritual. was it a constant component of your live shows? was there any deeper meaning behind it?

� �the idea behind totemic objects and face paint stems from wanting to obscure our own personal bodies/immediate space, a way of becoming the music, taking part of the ritual of playing. yes, we discussed many times the anti-drama bordering on boredom of just watching yet another band play in t-shirts and jeans. Where‘s the drama? Where‘s the performance? Where‘s the desire to take the stage out of reality and into a sureality? the face painting was never meant to emulate or impersonate a specific “tribe“ or “people“ – it was meant to create our own unit, our own gang. We caught a lot of slack, and were often accused of stealing native rituals, but that couldn‘t have been further from our intentions. We wanted to look different and feel different on stage than we did off. i went from amanda BroWn to the singer of pocaHaunted – that was an important step to get me to the place where i could let loose, move my body, lose control. the face paint tells you, We‘re the band. We‘re who you came to see. We‘re not one of you, and we‘re about to put on a show. it was a hard thing to keep up, and some nights, in some cities, after being sick or tired or just generally out of it, we had to remind ourselves to put the

paint on - that it was symbolic of us leaving behind the specifics of our lives in order to enter the performance.

�obviously there are some afro beat and funk elements beside your psychedelic foundation. are there any artists of that genres that have had an enduring influence on pocaHaunted? how did you get in touch with this kind of sound? were these elements part of your sound since you‘ve started the band?

� �We all have quite different musical tastes, but i think where we overlapped – especially around the time we decided what direction to take pocaHaunted in – was in the realm of dub, afro beat, and funk. none of us had ever seriously tried to play any of these genres in previous bands, so what came out was more of an outsider, eclectic take. i don‘t think one artist or band in general had the most major influence, but at the time i liked to listen to Boney m, Grace Jones, sly and roBBie, and tHe loveJoys sometimes before a practice, or before a song writing session. as soon as we realized we had to rely heavily on our rhythm section – smooth out our bass, steady our drums – we really began to touch the dub sound we were reaching for. When we added the double vocals, and then the triple vocals, there were a few comparisons to a kraut version of the slits, which i felt was very flattering. it was all totally new to hear, since the original pocahaunted sound was more of vocable, noisy, endless drones.

�your instrumentation was more a classical one (drums/guitars/bass), which other instruments did you include on your recordings and your shows? was there any space for improvisation or guest musicians?

� �We also had a keyboardist – first cameron stallones, then leyna tilBor. our recordings are very straightforward. We record the songs live, in one take, all playing together, just to insure the intensity that we give our stage performances. our friend alex of deep maGic overdubbed a little bamboo sax on a song or two for make it real, but in general we didn‘t want anything on the album you couldn‘t hear in the live show.

�you‘re very close to the la based label not not fun records. it more seems to be a collective than a typical label. how would you describe it to someone who‘s not familiar with it? in how far are you involved?

� �i am the co-owner of not not Fun records along with my husband Britt (pocaHaunted‘s guitarist). We always appreciate hearing that people don‘t consider us a typical label, but no – we‘re not a collective, just two crazy hard working people. it‘s incredibly difficult to describe our “sound“ as anything other than just our “taste“. We do like a certain fidelity, and a serious dose of soul (though not always in an obvious “soul music“ way), but really a musician‘s location,

their instrumentation, their influences, hardly matter to us. We just want to love the music we put out, and love the people who make it.

�unfortunately you broke up this summer. i can imagine that you‘ll miss touring, recording and everything else around it pretty soon. looking back, what was one of your most memorable moments during your time as a band? what‘s coming next? do you already have any new projects?

� �i will never miss touring, haha. and i don‘t really miss pocahaunted, i‘m happy to move on from it. i love to think back to the beginning of the project, when it was just Bethany and me and we were taking every single show, song, opportunity in without ego or motive. it was a great time to make music, especially if you were two women making seriously uncompromising music. a favorite memory was during a recording session with BoBB Bruno while we were working on the split lp with cHristina carter. i was so nervous splitting a record with christina – who i looked up to and respected not just because of how long she‘d been playing but also because she was so raw, so open, and back then i didn‘t consider Bethany and i to be making emotional music. yes it was pretty sometimes, or lulling, but it wasn‘t as expressive or real as what i knew christina was going to offer. We were sitting in my studio, in the middle of a long vocal take, and i looked over at Bethany while she was singing a particularly beautiful

interview with amanda fromPocahaunTED/la vaMPirEs

� Jul

� �aManDa

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melody. everything back then was completely improvised, and i was just blown away – i almost cried, i couldn‘t believe how beautiful her voice was, how ancient and deep it sounded against mine and the music and i knew we were making a really special record. my solo project is called la vampires, and my new record entitled “so unreal will“ be out next month on not not Fun records.

�ok, so let‘s talk a bit about la vampires. what is the main focus on that project? is it more kind of a bed room solo project? who else is involved? any plans to perform live shows?

� �la vampires is me trying to reconnect with music-making as a pure pleasure experience. that might sound straightforward, but it‘s actually a challenging thing. la v is about de-emphasizing typical music biz baggage that inevitably becomes such a factor for any band trying to grow and

succeed. i don‘t have to sound any one way or adhere to the style of a previous album. it‘s very much just what‘s inspiring me in that exact moment. and much of that inspiration comes from my collaborator, whoever

that happens to be. there are no permanent members besides myself. i‘ve played live before and i‘ll do it again, but i‘m currently in the mindset that i only really want to play for people who have the desire to see me. i‘m over that music trope of forcing myself and my music on people at every given opportunity. When it feels right, i do it.

�to me it sounds way more based on dub music. would you agree with that?

� �some of what i do is sort of fake-dub music, but i‘d never call myself a dub artist. as an aesthetic, i think it basically always sounds amazing. so, yeah, i‘d agree. But i‘d say more accurately i‘m making beat-based groove music, because i like to play with rhythm tracks and dance elements and steady pulses. i‘m certainly not a bassist and to be a great dub artist, you‘d need to be.

�as far as i can make it out, the vocals and the other sound layers are dubbed over drum loops. is the idea behind la vampires to get a way from the typical band lineup? are you more flexible with that?

� �absolutely. part of the freedom of la vampires is making music without worrying about having to replicate it live. also, a band dynamic brings out a lot of anxiety and stress for me. it can be stimulating but it can also be overwhelming. i also really like the idea of channeling something soulful from artificial instrumentation – drum machines, screwed tape loops, keyboards. i don‘t use these machines because i prefer them to their human music-making counterparts, i use them because i want to work within the dance/hip-hop/beat-based stylistic universe.

�let‘s get back to nnF. with over 200 releases you have an impressive catalogue. how did you start with nnF? have you ever imagined that it would become such a time-consuming project? is it hard to keep an overview of so many releases?

� �i like to keep my persona as a musician separate from my persona as the co-owner of not not Fun. i operate both of those projects in a vastly different way. the label is my love, my life, my job. i started it because i wanted to give my creative soul over to something that didn‘t center around myself and would connect me with other people. When i‘m in that headspace and in that sphere, it is the most time-consuming thing and far more important than the personal drama of my solo project, or even the bands i‘ve been in. not not Fun releases, and the nnF extended family of artists, are paramount; that‘s

35

what i put most of my juice into. We‘ve been fortunate beyond words that it‘s continued to grow and evolve and thrive this long. and the fact the people might like my own music as well? that‘s just icing.

�all the artworks accompanying the nnF releases have a high recognition value. how important is that factor to you? do you follow certain visual aesthetics?

� �style is everything. aesthetic is everything. even if it‘s not one i respect. if it‘s strong, then it‘s special. We‘ve always wanted everything we release to look amazing, even to someone that doesn‘t like the music. these days with so

much downloading going on, there might not seem to be much of point in running an object-based music label but we do it anyway, happily, and enthusiastically. We strive to keep music three-dimensional. i want the record in your hand to fascinate you, even before you‘ve listened to it.

�amanda, thanks a lot for taking the time to answer my questions, good luck for all your future projects!

DiscograPhy

la vaMPirEs� la vampires feat. matrix metals - so unreal – lp (not not fun records 2010) � la vampires meets Zola Jesus - 12“ (not not fun records 2010) � psychic reality/la vampires - split – 12“/cs (not not fun records 2010) � cassingle - cs (not on label 2010) � la vampires Goes ital - streetwise (not not fun records 2011) � limo scene – cs (not on label 2012) � la vampires by octo octa - Freedom 2k (100% silk 2012) � la vampires With maria minerva - the integration – lp (not not fun records 2012)

PocahaunTED� 2006/Moccasinging/CS � 2006/What the Spirit Tells Me/CS � 2007/a Tear for Every Grain of Sand/CS � 2007/emerald snake on ruby velvet/MCDR � 2007/Heavy sets (live at echo park)/(pocahaunted & robedoor & sasqrotch split)/cs � 2007/Hunted Gathering/(Pocahaunted & Robedoor split) � 2007/Mouth Of Prayer/(Pocahaunted & Robedoor)/CDR � 2007/mouth of prayer-Bright sea of singing Bowls/(pocahaunted & robedoor)/cdr � 2007/Native Seduction/MCDR � 2007/Out of a Common Bowl/MCDR � 2007/Pocahaunted & Christina Carter Split/LP � 2007/Pocahaunted & mythical Beast split/lp � 2007/Pocahaunted/CDR � 2007/rough magic/cs � 2007/Water-Born/MCDR � 2008/Bearskin rug/mcdr � 2008/Beast That you are/cs � 2008/Bored Fortress/(Charalambides & Pocahaunted Split)/lp � 2008/Chains/LP � 2008/island diamonds � 2008/Island Diamonds/lp � 2008/mirror mics/lp � 2008/peyote road/lp � 2008/Plays Berkeley/(pocahaunted & robedoor)/cs � 2008/pocahaunted & orphan Fairytale split/lp � 2008/tovahaunted/(pocahaunted & tovah olson)/1-sided lp � 2009/Gold Miner‘s Daughters/CS � 2010/threshold/7“ � 2010/make it real/lp/cs � 2012/Geneva misses/cs

w w w . n o t n o t f u n . c o m

36

37

ein Fensterglas das Gesicht. Zugucken aus dem eigenen Gesicht. in die

Farblosigkeit der Farbe. regenaugen. sein atem.

Ich bin eine Lokomotive.

lachen. viele feine

Fädchen direkt auf der Haut. unmittelbar. klammern. an

den stock. das ist die Wolle vom Handschuh. so blau. aber der regen ist nicht blau. noch nie im leben war

sie so nass geworden. sein atem.

Dich im Regen getroffen. Handschuh berührt

Handschuh. Weitergehen.abenteurer aus amerika spazieren

durch spanien. Zu einer schlechten Zeit.

in den glücklichsten momenten ihres lebens. Ich komme heute später von der Arbeit. die

sonne geht schon unter. die Züge fahren bis spät in die nacht.

aus dem Fenster gucken. Warten. irgendwann ist der Zeitpunkt. die ecke. der erste schuh.

schmutzig. müde. Ich muss länger bleiben.

und plötzlich die Freiheit. losfliegen als Wandervogel.

Wandervögel mit Beinen.

Ich wollte immer schon einmal das Meer sehen. sich schnurstracks umdrehen. sich im kreis drehen. das meer ist

nicht nur in kalifornien. nicht nur in new york. sie

wusste nichts von kalifornien oder new york. sie kannte

nur die Weizenfelder und die kleinstädte. die strickmuster

und die kochrezepte. den Briefträger und das behinderte

kind von mary-lou.So weit?

Und wenn uns im Flugzeug schlecht wird?

Warum waren sie nicht länger geblieben?Warum waren sie direkt weitergegangen?Warum hatten sie nicht gewartet? Bis die sachen trocken waren? Bis der Husten leiser wurde? Bis atmen wieder atmen, nicht keuchen war? die lokomotive. nicht aus Hast.nicht aus angst.Zwei tage später starb James. nicht beim einschlafen.nicht beim aufwachen.

einen rucksack kaufen. lachen. kannst du den tragen? alles

wieder auspacken. sie spürte das Gewicht nicht

mehr. der regen sauste durch die Gehörgänge. Blinde augen.

irgendwann sahen sie das nächste dorf. der kirchturm stand

schief. er tanzte. er schattete. tappen. tasten im regen. Dich im Regen getroffen. klingeln.

Warten. schritte.

sie sah ihn stolpern. sie hörte die stille. sie sah den Weg vor sich. sie sah den Weg

hinter sich. dann ein schmatzen. leise, leise. Brauner, weicher schlamm kroch den träger seines

rucksacks hinauf. Färbte. Farbenspiel mit rot. experiment. der schlamm kroch in den kragen seiner Jacke. eine Falte. der

Hals.

sie ging weiter.kopfschütteln. Zweifelnde augen. mitfühlende Blicke. No puedo...

Furcht, dass sie sich auf dem Wasser umbringt.

Furcht, dass das Boot nie zurückkommt.Wie viel?nie zuvor gefragt.

Jugendliche. ein riss über dem

linken knie. schmutzige

Fingernägel. ein Zopf.

Zigaretten. lachen.

sie streute ihn.

sie kam zurück.

ist das meer ein regen?

JaMEs‘ Way von nora sanDBlEisTiFT

38

39

PagE conTriBuTion

02–03 TEar by JEz

04–05 18–1930–31 visual noise by FŒn, Jul and raMco

06+13 darkness by FŒns nokia 3110c

07–12 FroM arTiFacT To FilTEr by rosa MEnkMan

10 glitch art by FŒn

14 drawing by JaMEs MErcEr

15–16 interview with JaMEs MErcEr by raMco

17 illu by Jul

20–23 interview with zack from nEon BluD by Jul

24–25 visual noise by Jason gusMann

26–29 interview with gEhirn.iMPlosion by PhiliP nussBauM

32 drawing of aManDa from PocahaunTED/la vaMPirEs by sPEncEr longo

33–35 interview with aManDa from PocahaunTED/la vaMPirEs by Jul

36 the computer-virus FŒns ancient Pc suffers from

37 illu by grEg Ponchak

38 short story + print by nora sanDBlEisTiFT

39 this page

EconorE MagazinE #2 © EconorE 2012

concept by Jul, raMco and FŒn

graphic design by FŒn

JEz = Jeremy groves

FŒn = Philipp königs

raMco = Markus radermacher

Jul = Julian Flemming

www.econore.com

info@econore.com