Arvo Zylo was interviewed by The Formant in a two part series. The first part is available now. Here is the intro:
The entire existence of The Formant is based on engaging with music and the people that create and propagate it on a personal level. I favour the road less travelled; the difficult listening experience; and the confrontational underground above the latest trend. I‘d rather talk to the artist, the label or DJ with something to say than review the track that has already been talked about on every other media outlet. Needless to say when I find an entity that values the same ideals I take note, and when Arvo Zylo contacted me personally after I reviewed his work on Tymbal Tapes a while back I was eager to find out more about this illusive artist and specifically about his “off-the-grid” label, No Part of It.
What took life as a money order label and has only recently developed to incorporate a digital outlet immediately grabbed my attention for it’s purposeful and blatant contempt of common musical and industry practises. My first encounter with the label came through Blood Rhythms’ (a Arvo Zylo moniker) In a vacuum – a track so upfront and confrontational that it would shake any mild mannered individual to its core. I simply had to find out more, and knowing very little about this obscure label and artist other than it’s based in Chicago and it’s called No Part of It, that meant a lot of questions emailed to Arvo Zylo the man and the artist behind the label.
The new reissue of Hello Walls, by Arvo Zylo was aired by MuhMur radio in the UK. The first track, at 36 minutes long, "Body of Defective Memories" was aired first, in its entirety. The new NO PART OF IT reissue of Ataraxic Ataxia's "Shadow Sea" was also aired, along with John Hudak, Iron Fist of The Sun, Modelbau, Con-Dom, and more! MuhMur Radio Programme is curated by Steve Cammack, who has been listening and involved in noise and its various inceptions since at least the early 80s. He's got a project called Dieter Muh which has had material released on Hanson Records, EE Tapes, Harbinger Sound, Xerxes, Cipher Productions, and Tesco, among others. He's also been involved with Vagina Dentata Organ frequently, and just has many stories that would make a relative latecomer enthusiast drool. Be sure to follow his blog for playlists, previous guest appearances (including a recent guest spot by Frans De Waard), HERE.
In July I received a package from Chicago based label NO PART OF IT, I have asked the guy who runs the label, Arvo Zylo, if he is interested in sending something "special" for a broadcast, which I am happy to say he is … and in the meantime he sent me some of his recordings and releases. The Arvo Zylo "Hello Walls" Cdr has rarely been out of the disc player. Also of note is the Arvo Zylo and Bryan Lewis Saunders collaboration tape "The Pleasure Tunnel".
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The new Blood Rhythms PRO CDR was reviewed by Frans De Waard at Vital Weekly. Here are some excerpts.
BLOOD RHYTHMS — HEURISTICS (CDR by No Part Of It)
Back in Vital Weekly 965 I was amazed by the fact that someone send me a letter, typed on typewriter, about a record that one could obtain by writing a letter, since the label, as the name implied, had no part of it, i.e. the worldwide web and such. I was looking for information on Blood Rhythms and to my surprise I saw the label now has a website and bandcamp of sorts, but who can blame them? A product needs to be sold, I guess. Blood Rhythms is, as far as I could dig up information, mainly the project of Arvo Zylo, who also works under his own
name; it is not clear when he does that and when Blood Rhythms is more appropriate. Over the last fifteen years he has recorded a lot of material, which in his own words, was intended for '7 inches or prestigious compilations, or they were criminally under-released, perhaps prematurely', but now found their way on this compilation of sorts. While I only heard the previous LP, I can't say I have a clear picture of the music of Blood Rhythms, but I liked that LP a lot. It seemed to have an interesting fresh look upon re-using sounds from all sorts, and present them in an ambient way, or noise, or just funny and strange; which is perhaps something one could also of the music of Zylo solo.
Many of these pieces one could say are media pieces: using sounds from other sources, which are treated with electronic effects and/or sampled.
..... Blood Rhythms are at their best when they keep their ambience on the industrial side, with
mechanical loops of a conveyer belt and an air conditioning van, such as in the long 'The Stifling Air', or applying old musique concrete techniques in 'Mope' (very NWW), or the intense synth bursts of 'Dismissil'. Here there is enough to intensity and power in the noise based ambient music to make this fully enjoyable. As such even the more 'silly' pieces become quite enjoyable as counterparts to the pieces I like best. In all its diversity a release I quite enjoyed. (FdW)
Illusion of Safety, WILT, Thirteen Hurts, and Arvo Zylo were aired by Difficult Music for Difficult People in Germany. Hieroglyphic Being, Asmus Tiechens, and Sote were also played, among others.
Thirteen Hurts has been getting a fair amount of airplay at KFJC. Notably, as part of a truffle of 13s, (Yahowha 13, 13th Floor Elevators, etc) or as part of another set by Number 6, featuring Psychic TV, Dalek, RZA, Shredded Nerve, Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio, Nordvargr, K2, and more..... Then there was a set by Gato Girl with Hive Mind, Cloama, Test Dept., Bad News, Lustmord, Tribes of Neurot, and Negativland. Then a set by Abacus Finch with Louise Huebner, Christian Marclay, Nurse With Wound, and COH, more... Then another set by Number 6, and another by Eamon Devil Era , and so forth..... Thanks for the support! If there is a petition to get audio archives up for this station, we will sign it!
On August 1st, a WZRD DJ (Sarah) aired a track from the new Ferrante & Teicher release, prior to its official release date. There is no archive, but the set was great, and the playlist is worth saving.
Stick Men with Ray Guns “Christian Rat Attack”
The Untouchables “Crawlin’”
Arcesia “White Panther”
Aksak Maboul “I Viaggi Formano la Gioventu”
Aranos, Jon Mueller & Chris Rosenau “Now Sparkling Ice”
Letha Rodman Melchior “Hypatia Rilles”
Auditor “forced to take the shape of a man”
Niels Lyhne Lokkegaard “Decending Piece”
Angkanang Kunchai “Missing Lover”
Andy Stott “On My Mind”
…mixed in with “Dark Matter Leak” by Angel
Suicidal Tendencies “Institutionalized”
Tuxedomoon “L’Etranger”
Recording of a Naqshbandi zikr in Bosnia
Iasos “Cloud Prayer”
Alfred Panou & the Art Ensemble of Chicago “Je Suis Un Sauvage”
Robert Black performing Giacinto Scelsi’s “Et Maintenant C’est a Vous de Jouer”
Arvo Zylo: untitled track from cassette about to be released on Bob Bucko Jr’s label, Personal Archives: Heavenly Sounds in Lo-Fidelity: Arvo Plays Ferrante & Teicher
[your dj speaks over some harp music by Reinecke]
Tiny Tim “Girl”
The Cadets “I Got Loaded”
Alice Cooper “You Drive Me Nervous”
Velma Cross & Her High Steppers “I’ll Be Oh So Good”
Anne-James Chaton, Alva Noto & Andy Moor “Chapitre V: Calculs” (from the album Decade)
Niki Neecke “Funnyfoodfactory”
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