This month's edition of the no part of it interview series features Michael Idehall! Tune in!
Friday, December 13, 2019
Blood and Snow
This month's edition of the no part of it interview series features Michael Idehall! Tune in!
Interview Series #10: Michael Idehall
The NO PART OF IT Interview series was a strain of questions sent to a number of different people between February and March 2019. Each entry was scheduled chronologically to be thrust upon the world on a monthly basis since then. Each individual is introduced informally as if they were being discussed at a bar.
Scheduled on March 6, 2019 Michael Idehall is a deep occult sound artist/painter whose recordings have been released on Ant-Zen, a label which many would regard as having almost entirely released a more accessible variety of dance music/electronic music since their apparent departure from occasional noise/power electronics albums in the late 90s. I remember going through Ant-Zen's discography to see if I can parse out the more experimental material and coming upon the work of Michael Idehall, much to my satisfaction. One of the reasons I am doing this series of "interviews" is because if I were to do a full-on "formal" interview, I would need to know the artist inside and out to feel comfortable. Here, I will leave the reader to fill in the blanks as they see fit. I will just add that Idehall's music is consistently unique and personal; One of those artists whose work is somewhat signature, but rapidly evolving at the same time. My favorite moments from what I have heard so far have a strong sense of electronic music as the new folk music (and I am not talking about "neo-folk"), and at other times, there are dense soundscapes where drone, musique concret, industrial noise, and soundtrack elements collide in a manner that I feel is worthwhile returning to and exploring. I'd also like to add that Idehall's DIY releases, be they CDRs or very limited occult books, are endearing to say the least. All of this body of work, from what I have seen, suggests a practicality to the motivation, as if it is a service or tool to be applied to something, and I'm glad to see when an artist is self-made in this way, outside of invisible boundaries and ghettos of genre-identification, but still, for all intents and purposes, firmly industrial.
1. What types of things have you been getting into lately?
2. What you do, do you do it as an artist, or is it a hobby? If you don't like that question, what do you have to say about true art (vs. "entertainment")?
3. How would you describe what you do?
4. How would you describe your creative progression over the years, in a brief synopsis?
5. How would you describe your philosophy?
6. Do you believe in psychics, magic, ghosts, or gods? If no, then maybe you'll share your favorite conspiracy theory (whether you believe it or not).
7. What would you say was your most definitive experience?
8. Do you have any side projects that I am not aware of? If not, what is something you'd like people to know about you, that you don't think anyone would ever ask?
9. Would you care to name any theoretical "desert island" records, or at least releases that you think are approaching your concept of "perfect"?
10. What is the earliest childhood memory you can (or are willing to) recall?
11. Are you able to appreciate other peoples' creative work regardless of their personal shortcomings or inherent flaws? To what extent?
12. Do you have any heroes or heroines? Who are they? Feel free to add anything that makes them stand out.
13. What would you like to have on your epitaph? Or what is your favorite quote?
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Interview Series #9: GX Jupitter-Larsen
Scheduled on February 17, 2019
I remember being in Denver with GX Jupitter-Larsen, and relating with him about how desolate some cities were in the 80s. For him, he talked of Denver and San Francisco, and how dead bodies would be left to decay completely underneath a bridge or inside of a viaduct, and this is how some of the robotic contraptions came to have animal components to them during his tenure in Survival Research Laboratories. To be clear, GX only did sound design for these performances of destructive robotic creatures, but sound is not what he is limited to. He's got a whole philosophy, language, and measurement system designed to explain his particular form of dadaism. One could be kept busy for a while in reading about his abstract terms such as "The Permawave", "The Polywave", or my favorite, "Xylowave".
Jupitter-Larsen has taken 7 inch records that are blank, and released them, advising people to scratch the surface themselves. Or he has released a blank cassette packed into a bag full of dirt. Lathe cut records made of cardboard, which will disintegrate upon playback, and an album that is played by having water poured on it. I have seen him perform with his project The Haters at least four times. Two of those times was during his "Loud Luggage" period, where he had radio transistors inside of briefcases, which were interrupted by microphone feedback. I have seen incredible sounds come out of the simple rubbing or pounding of these briefcases, not to mention when someone takes an angle grinder to them.
Personally, GX performed with Blood Rhythms once, when we were throwing around boxes of glass and taking belt sanders to sheet metal, and GX used the sheet metal as a reflective surface for sound, rather than banging on it or other obvious choices, when there was a missing belt sander. He was actually putting the metal up in the air as if to deflect sound. With the concept of radio art, he has been known to air recordings of broken transmitters (something I have also had the opportunity to record/do), or run tape loops through several different tape heads for a "seamless sound sculpture"... One of my favorite releases of his is a radio art installation that he did on my old radio show, which was four hours long. When I asked him if I could release it on DVD, he said no, because it was intended for radio only. On top of that we have done a split release and participated in another group live performance, and in short, he has always been a gracious and kind person, sitting through a lot of noise fests while many of us spent much more time outside, and working with lesser known young bucks when it suits him. I am not sure how I would go about a direct interview with him, but this format seems to work, and I'm honored to be able to partake! Thanks for everything!
Arvo Zylo: What types of things have you been getting into lately?
GX Jupitter-Larsen: Influencing Machine Records is releasing a double 10 inch for The Haters 40th Anniversary. A total of four sides, one for each decade. Each side will have an unreleased track from a different decade. The Thinking Ross Did for 1989; Untitled Title Shot for 1999; Audiothecary for 2009; and Totimorphous Ubiety Guide for 2019. The release also includes a flexi of AMK playing the records in his own very special way.
AZ: What you do, do you do it as an artist, or is it a hobby?
GX: The question should be, is what I do a career or a mission. Careers can make you money. Missions however always cost you. What I do has cost me dearly. Still, if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing.
AZ: How would you describe what you do?
GX: My life. Just life. Nothing more. Nothing less.
AZ: How would you describe your creative progression over the years, in a brief synopsis?
GX: A phonograph record is just a noisy photograph. Likewise, a photograph is just a quiet phonograph.
AZ: How would you describe your philosophy?
GX: The nihilist would never fear the post office. He would embrace it as an extension of himself.
AZ: Do you believe in psychics, magic, ghosts, or gods? If no, then maybe you'll share your favorite conspiracy theory.
GX: I do not believe in psychics, magic, ghosts, or gods. Interestingly, the term “conspiracy theory” was invented by the CIA to discredit their critics while covering up their crimes in plain sight.
AZ: What would you say was your most definitive experience?
GX: When I was nine, I used to run into heavy traffic just for the fun of it. I never got hit. Came close a couple of times, but always timed it just right. Otherwise I was a perfectly quiet child who always kept to himself. Now, I had never done this type of thing again till some 26 years later on. While I was walking down a busy street in San Fransisco’s Mission district, in the middle of the afternoon I was suddenly attacked by members of a local gang. To escape I ran into traffic. The gang members freaked out and ran off. I found safety in the midst of all the rushing cars and trucks.
AZ: What is something you'd like people to know about you, that you don't think anyone would ever ask?
GX: This is going to sound ridiculously unreasonable, but I find the speed of light infuriatingly slow. Even if we were standing next to each other, I’d still be seeing you as you were three namoseconds in the past. That’s too slow. The slowness of light is a pimple on the face of nature. I wish I could find something faster than light to see with.
AZ: Would you care to name any theoretical "desert island" records, or at least releases that you think are approaching your concept of "perfect"?
GX: Chop Shop’s “Steel Plate” Double 10 inch, MSBR “Ultimate Ambience” LP, the “Euragine” CD by Anne Gillis, the “White Elephant” CD by Speculum Fight, "Somnambul" CD by Radiosonde, AMK’s “The Lonesome Echo” CD, and Small Cruel Party’s “Resin Parched Chthonic” LP.
AZ: What is the earliest childhood memory you can recall?
GX: My 5th birthday. My mother had baked me a cake. It was super surgery.
AZ: Are you able to appreciate other peoples' creative work regardless of their personal shortcomings or inherent flaws?
GX: No. While I can forgive most shortcomings, nobody is perfect, least of all me, I can not tolerate any degree of rudeness or impoliteness from anyone. I don’t care who you think you are or what you think you’ve achieved.
AZ: Do you have any heroes?
GX: Marcel Duchamp; mind you, these days I can’t help but think that he was probably somebody else’s readymade.
AZ: What would you like to have on your epitaph?
GX: "Death is no time to be practical."
I'm So Loathsome I Could Cry
HERE
The new BLOOD RHYTHMS - CIVIL WAR LP was reviewed by noise veteran HOWARD STELZER at Vital Weekly:
BLOOD RHYTHMS - CIVIL WAR (LP + book by No Part of It)
Holy shit. This album is intense. I’ve listened several times over, and find several things about it fascinating. Compositionally, it packs a lot into a short amount of time. As a complete experience from start to finish, “Civil War” is remarkably well constructed and compelling. It’s sonically deep and detailed, compositionally varied and skillful. Out loud, it’s a burner… on headphones, it’s a world to sink into and admire the project’s instigator Arvo Zylo’s studio mastery.
Understand that I’m not generally a fan of power electronics. While some people surely do it well and have made its tropes their own (Pharmakon is far and away the best going right now, but also Ramleh, Bloodyminded, probably a couple others), it seems hopelessly anachronistic as a genre. At PE’s inception in the early 80s, it made sense a response to Thatcher and Reagan, the rise of the Christian right, popular nostalgia for a white-washed 1950s, economic polarization and racial tension, punk and post-punk giving way to corporate synth-pop… white dudes screaming about transgression had a particular place as a micro-sub-genre of industrial noise. In the 21st century, power electronics has been embraced by non-ironic right-wing edgelords who think that being aggressively vague about taboo subjects is the same as having something to say about them. For the most part, this crap is as provocative as a wilted salad. Blood Rhythms, however, is power-electronics that rises above genre. Not only is each song a self-contained unit full of depth, space and drama, but “Civil War” also succeeds as a cycle of songs that grows stronger in sequence, a single album-length statement that makes deliberate use of every minute of its run time.
For sure, Zylo does shout over feedback (such is power electronics), but he also builds a
uniquely uncomfortable tension with jarring juxtapositions and a wide range of compositional
ideas. The first side begins with “Closure” (har har), an elegy for reeds (baritone sax? bass
clarinet?) around which weave multiple whispered vocal lines and crumbling close-mic’d
percussive rattle. “Sick Skin” is a Prurient-ish feedback shriek, the most genre-representative thing on the album, but noteworthy for how Zylo spaces component sounds around the stereo field to give an impression of depth and motion. It’s followed by the mournful growl of “Locked Away”, an ugly grunt of self-laceration set to mournful reeds and layers of noise that shift steadily sideways with textures that change subtly as new elements are brought in and out. At one notable moment on “The Face”, I audibly gasped when the introductory passage of nervous industrial sequencers slams against a mountain-sized brass section. Blammo! As the song builds, a howl of gray shrieking despair becomes a wall of pummeling acoustic drums, reminding me of Taiko drumming or Crash Worship. The album ends with a punishingly bleak two-part blurgh called “Alchemy + Grief”, which has Zylo exhuming his voice from some buried brain horror as a steady roll of beatless metal-sheering percussion amps up the anxiety. Instead of catharsis, "Civil War" simply ends, dropping the listener callously off a cliff.
Zylo is the main voice of Blood Rhythms, but on “Civil War” he’s joined by Dave Phillips (of Schimpfluch), Dan Burke (Illusion of Safety), Wyatt Howland (Skin Graft), Mike Weis (Zelienople) and other players. The LP comes in a gatefold sleeve with a 44 page art book. (HS)
––– Address: https://nopartofit.bandcamp.com/
The CIVIL WAR LP was also reviewed by the excellent Lost In A Sea of Sound site. Here is an excerpt:
The spirit being pierced by anti-harmony and severe turmoil. Voices cry in anguished urgency. There is no help for them, these sounds only a warning from the dimensional nexus. A place beyond current perception, an open aural pathway most would refuse to travel. BLOOD RHYTHMS is just downright scary. Knowing these sounds lurk within those around us could be even more frightening. Is this a completely rearranged creativity or is there a direct connection to an unknown world, dark and foreboding by the carefree standards of today's society? When music ceases to be and the cacophonous sounds become hyper focused, thoughts race and reach to understand. This composition titled CIVIL WAR defies rational thoughts. From the shrill opening tones, through both garbled and crystal clear messages, a drone like glue of electronic static holds everything together for a brief listen. The unknown reasons these sounds were made, clearly has purpose and tremendous significance.
Additionally, the New BLOOD RHYTHMS CIVIL WAR LP was aired on WZRD, alongside Meat Beat Manifesto, Illusion of Safety, Skozey Fetisch, T. Rex, Mars, Eraserhead OST, Hans Grusel's Krankenkabinet, Spider Compass Good Crime Band, COIL, and more. Listen HERE
Additionally, Bob Bucko Jr's track for the split with Arvo Zylo on no part of it was aired in a different episode, alongside Pharmakon, Death Factory, Tom Recchion, Kaada, Alien Sex Fiend, The Electric Flag, Orchid Spangiafora, Nautical Almanac, and more. Listen Here.
Copies of the CIVIL WAR LP are now available at Easy Street, Wall of Sound, Singles Going Steady, and Zion's Gate record stores in Seattle. Copies are also available at RRRECORDS and Hanson Records, although they may not be available online from these locations yet.
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Interview Series #8: Val Denham
The NO PART OF IT Interview series was a strain of questions sent to a number of different people between February and March 2019. Each entry was scheduled chronologically to be thrust upon the world on a monthly basis since then. Each individual is introduced informally as if they were being discussed at a bar.
8. Do you have any side projects that I am not aware of? If not, what is something you'd like people
10. What is the earliest childhood memory you can (or are willing to) recall?
13. What would you like to have on your epitaph? Or what is your favourite quote?
SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY
The entire set is a delightful audio art, soundscape, collage, noise excursion. The music excels at simultaneous aggression and tranquil thematic development. I love how the music dramatically twists and turns on emotional and mood shattering dimes. It can be harsh, but there is a LOT going on… much sonic ear candy for the brain to ingest and absorb. I have listened to this LP several times, flipping slowly and intentionally through the art book, transfixed by the images. The imagery absolutely impacts the experience of the sounds on the LP! more here
The CIVIL WAR LP was reviewed by NOISE RECEPTOR. Here is an excerpt:
Far from being a power electronics ‘genre’ piece, this is a wildly varied and creative release, where Civil War manages to continually surprise despite its relatively short overall run time. If it is not already apparent, Civil War is a perfect album for those craving sonic diversity well beyond the expected norms of a more typical ‘power electronics’ offering.
Arvo has contributed a cover song to a tribute album for "Star Trekkin' Rock N' Roll Cowboy" Ralph Gean. Due out in Winter of 2019, Keep an eye out for it here.
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Arvo has created a Halloween playlist on Spotify. It is a mixture of his favorite "monster music" as well as material that dips into the realm of "Generic Halloween CD at the Dollar Store" territory, with no regrets.
Additionally, a track was aired on WFMU via Fabio's Strength Through Failure radio program, alongside James Last, CAN, Taj Mahal Travellers, Exmagma (from the excellent German Psych compilation Kraut! Demons! Kraut!) and more. Listen here.
PART 1
PART 2
PART 3
Friday, September 13, 2019
International Update
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A sample of the 44 pg booklet that comes with the red vinyl edition of CIVIL WAR |
Arvo related projects are on a new spotify playlist, including a newly published excerpt to the Blood Rhythms reworking of Arvo Zylo's 333 material titles "BLACK WOLF SUN", and a single from the new Blood Rhythms LP, Civil War, called "THE FACE". These tracks are also available at Amazon, Itunes, Deezer, Google Music, and more.
Interview Series #7: P. Michael Grego
P. Michael is the main impetus behind the now-legendary "avant-gospel / industrial" outfit ONO, who has been in existence since 1980. This is all 2nd hand here, but I remember P. Michael saying that he grew up around where Curtis Mayfield, Billy Butler, Jamo Thomas, and a lot of other Chicago soul singers did their thing. Grego was also friends with Al Jourgensen from Ministry around his high school years, and it resulted in ONO's first album being produced by him. I have come to know these folks as people who have helped out a lot of troubled youth in their time. I know that at one point there was some discussion about buying a house in Indiana to help wayward younguns. I am quite sure some things were rough in 1980s Chicago for a band like this, of questionable sexuality and intentions! I know that during the punk era, not only did punk rockers have their trouble getting venues and audiences, but so too did ONO, having played in racist settings and abandoned buildings (one of the buildings was still smoldering and without electricity, I was told), exclaiming "If You Came Here For Music, Leave NOW!"
During the mid 80s, there was a strong hiatus with ONO, and P. Michael allegedly had a project called "Precious Sweet", and I've never been able to find recordings, but I have been told that they still get royalties for their (significant) songwriting/instrumentation on a track by My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult from the soundtrack to the movie Cool World.
To be honest, when I first saw ONO, I thought they were improvising everything. I didn't think they practiced at all, but having played with them a few times (they started without me on the official debut of my then-new project!), and interviewed them at practice, I have found that P. Michael quietly dictates what needs to be there and what is open-ended. There are things that are debatable and things that are not. It's a very interesting dynamic, as P. Michael sets up to either play keys, run samples, or play bass, as if he is in charge of the control room, by a guy who is very soft-spoken and generally quiet. Most shows, he is sitting in a chair watching and not socializing unless provoked. It may seem easy for him to be overshadowed, but there is a lot of character in there, I knew it when ONO did a jaw-dropping emotional performance during a David Bowie tribute / exhibit at the MCA, and I knew it when we rode back from Columbus, Ohio, listening to The Supremes and Patty Duke and Dionne Warwick, after I talked ONO into doing their first out of town show since ending their hiatus. They did this all for my goofy ass because I was finishing my first real tour on a greyhound, and they knew I would be unhinged! P. Michael is like the calm of the tornado. Not to be underestimated!
1. What types of things have you been getting into lately?
Perseverance is important . Don’t stop
Sunday, September 1, 2019
TODAY IS THE FIRST OF SEPTEMBER!
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Interview Series #6: James Whitehead / jliat
The NO PART OF IT Interview series was a strain of questions sent to a number of different people between February and March 2019. Each entry was scheduled chronologically to be thrust upon the world on a monthly basis since then. Each individual is introduced informally as if they were being discussed at a bar.