Blood and Snow

Arvo was interviewed by Noise Beneath The Snow.  Therein, the deeper details of the CIVIL WAR LP were discussed at length, including the motivations for the booklets, the contributions, live sets, and various occurrences from 2010 to present that led up to its gestation.  

The Blood Rhythms - CIVIL WAR LP was reviewed by Lexi Glass at KFJC (also aired a number of times):

Civil War is the latest assault from Blood Rhythms, the noise collective fronted by Chicago-based electronic artist Arvo Zylo, here with Dave Phillips (of Schimpfluch-Gruppe), Wyatt Howland (Skin Graft) and many other collaborators. It’s a devastating – yet even beautiful – record, that might surprise non-noiseniks with its range of sounds and moods, and nearly song-like compositions. “Closure” (T1) opens with strange clarinet melodies, piercing tones, and a massive chorus of voices that finally resolves into a lone anguished scream. If the high-pitched violence of the latest Frataxin release left you begging for more, “Sick Skin” (T2) provides satisfaction, as strangled growls flail helplessly in feedback filth. With its first deep, ominous pulse, “Locked Away” (T3) descends into a forgotten underground lair, and we are overtaken by the howls of those trapped there. Side B holds the centerpiece – the colossal, confrontational “The Face” (T5) – where driving electronic rhythms collide with a cacophony of hellish horns. Yes, it’s a face-melter. The two-part finale (T6 and T7) buries heavy beats, organ bellows, metal scrap, and dying screams in a mass of noise; with one final thud, the suffocation succeeds.

 Teachers AIDS aired "The Face" along with Bacillus, Peste Noire, and Ak'Chamel.  With Grawer, "Paris Window" was aired alongside Paul Metzger, Nadja, and Boris.  By Lexi Glass, "Locked Away" was aired with the graces of Einheit / Brotzmann, L. Voag, and Thomas Dimuzio.  Whilst Whinger played "The Face"  in the company of Coil, Aube, and Winters In Osaka.   Meanwhile, Louis Caliente aired "Alchemy & Grief" among the ranks of KK NULL, Metalux, and Carlos Giffoni.   Thanks folks! 

BLAST FROM THE PAST:

An archive of WZRD from July 2017 was unearthed, featuring a track from Arvo's final Upheaval full length, as well as a track from Machine Listener on NO PART OF IT label.  Also in the set were Sparks with Giorgio Moroder, Death Factory, Harry Nilsson, The Ex, Lenny Bruce, Volcano The Bear, Ligeti, and Lydia Lunch! Listen Here.  

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?

Last year was a lot about the video medium for me. I purchased a video synthesizer and started experimenting. Together with my partner I created an audio/video opera called Apparatus God which is available in its entirety on my YouTube channel. My friend Árni Bergur Zoëga and me also made a short film called Mr. Grant's Gift which is currently available only to my patrons on Patreon.

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")? 

I am a freelance artist. My partner and I also run a sound art gallery which has been a way to get by apart from my erratic design engagements.  

3.  How would you describe what you do?

Art for me is intimately connected to spirituality. I explore esoteric concepts through manifesting them in art. 

4.  How would you describe your creative progression over the years, in a brief synopsis?

There used to be an aspect of perfectionism in my compositional method but as I have gained experience, the need to examine every minute detail has disappeared. Now I am more goal oriented and I have a wider perspective on my art. 

5.  How would you describe your philosophy?

Leading on from the previous question, I would say that my art has become much less about solidifying ideas and more about exploration. My compositions are documentations of experiments. I go on a journey and take some pictures and notes, then I release those to the public.  

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). 

I am a firm believer of almost everything. The one thing I do not subscribe to is the idea of conspiracies.

7.  What would you say was your most definitive experience?

I wish that I had something profound to write here but I cannot think of anything.  

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?

Most of my side projects are clearly listed on Discogs, so I imagine there are no surprises there. I would like people to know that they should feel free to approach me for commissions at any time. 

9.  Would you care to name any theoretical "desert island" records, or at least releases that you think are approaching your concept of "perfect"? 

 There are so many but if I would restrict myself to three I would say Kraftwerk – Die Mensch Maschine, Cypress Hill – Black Sunday, and Black Sabbath – We Sold Our Souls For Rock 'n' Roll. 

10.  What is the earliest childhood memory you can (or are willing to) recall?

I wandered in the fields behind my grandfather's house as I came upon a large wooden chest. As I opened the lid I discovered that the whole box had been built into a wasps nest. To nobodies surprise I started running and found myself next to a dry well with a huge bear statue standing next to it. Bears and wasps are common symbols in my dreams until this day.  

  

11.  Are you able to appreciate other peoples' creative work regardless of their personal shortcomings or inherent flaws?  To what extent? 

I can definitely enjoy work by people who have made mistakes in their life. However, sometimes the immorality of a person shines through the art and it can become too distracting and thus be detrimental to the experience. 

12.  Do you have any heroes or heroines?  Who are they?  Feel free to add anything that makes them stand out. 

Stockhausen's originality has always been an inspiration for me, not to speak of his outrageous claims of being from another planet. He truly inhabited his own magical universe and was able to communicate something 'other' that reverberates with me. Other than that I think that I have successfully managed to kill all my idols: Burroughs, Austin Osman Spare, Kenneth Grant etc.  

13.  What would you like to have on your epitaph?  Or what is your favorite quote? 

Since I will never have any children, I am not sure who would be interested in such a thing. It would be nice if they could make my body into a gemstone or a record, like some kind of necromantic artefact for new generations of magicians to use in their ritual work. 

Interview Series #9: GX Jupitter-Larsen

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 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

ballast NVP011: Children of the Stones re-envisioned by Arvo Zylo (2 x 3” CDR)

I think I really got to know Arvo maybe 10 or so years ago, mostly through his live performances. Whether solo or with ensembles, his live sets were almost always intense, dense, ride-the-mixer-into-the-red, primal “industrial:” sanders played on sheet metal, that sort of stuff. It was material I really enjoyed hearing live.

So when Arvo sent me the audio for this release, I was surprised to hear the result of his densely stirred, multiple layers of looping and phasing (as in, triple digit layering, an extremely common pathway for his studio recordings), was minimal—yet immensely immersive. Tones, frequencies, and snippets of sound (all sourced from the TV series of the same name) layer, swim, and ebb around one another to create aural waves that then radiate and fold back into themselves. Instead of Haters, I was reminded of Hafler Trio or Nurse With Wound. It’s a rare combination of breathing room and myriad layers of shifting and sliding parts: new elements and transitions seem to peek through over repeated listens.

Some additional info about the release.

This release comes in a hardback book-like package with a hand stamped cover, screen-printed interior, two small posters, and is numbered and signed by Arvo. The edition is 55 copies.

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.

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.

   

 Scheduled on February 17, 2019

Val Denham has been active since at least the early 70s, as a visual artist and musician.  Her artwork has graced the covers of albums by Marc Almond, Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV, Black Sun Productions, Cyclobe, and Merzbow, but my favorite of her cover art is probably If You Can't Please Yourself, You Can't Please Your Soul,  a classic compilation featuring Foetus, Coil, Einsturzende Neubauten, Cabaret Voltaire, and more.  More recently, she has had extensive art books published, most notably TRANART, released by Timeless.  As a musician, her work dating back to 1982 with The Death and Beauty Foundation has been reissued by the deluxe box set specialist label Vinyl-on-Demand, and her prolific work with various projects seems to only increase as time goes on. 

 Personally, I would be remiss not to note that I find Denham's personal facebook page to be a relief, as it is rife with the quirks of an evermore rarefied and robust, youthfully humorous, yet witty soul.  I feel as if I know how Val laughs solely by seeing her posts of odd record covers and cultural abnormalities.

1. What types of things have you been getting into lately?

I'm just in negotiations with my record label as to the running order of the 12 tracks for my

forthcoming vinyl and CD album entitled The Devil Knows Your Name Now;. This will be the third

album that I have done on Vanity Case Records. This is really the final part of a trilogy that started

with Dysphoria; and I Saw Myself in Your Dreams Last Night. After this album I will do something

very different. I'm also finalizing the artwork for a box set of my earlier work for Yuen K Wah,

entitled Fabulux This will be a coloured vinyl LP and 4 double album CDs, a T shirt and an original artwork in a box. Plus, I am always doing my painting and writing.

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")?

I am a total artist. I collect vintage monster / horror film magazines as a hobby, but my art is my life.

3. How would you describe what you do?

I create stuff compulsively. I do it for my mental well-being. I am considered an outsider artist,

because I don't need anyone else to see my work. Don't get me wrong, I do like other people to see

and hear my stuff, but it really isn't essential. I don't create art or music with the intention of making

money or pleasing/impressing other people, I do it because it is important to me. If there was a big

war and we all went back to cave man times, I would have to draw on the cave walls.

4. How would you describe your creative progression over the years, in a brief synopsis?

I've come to realize that my creative output is a symptom of my mental health issues, namely severe

obsessive compulsive disorder. My work is totally about my own psychology. Every work that I

produce is a self-portrait, either literally or on a subconscious level. Obviously the older you get, the

more your painting technique improves as indeed so does your musical abilities. You really can't help

improving with time. I also have absolute faith in my intuition now that I am more mature as an

artist. However, for me to be truly mature I believe that I must completely embrace the child inside

myself. I want to have lots of fun.

5. How would you describe your philosophy?

Go with the river. Everything is perfect. To be angry, unhappy or uncreative is a negation of the

divine gift of life. We will be dead sooner than we think, so try to enjoy every second. Love is the

greatest energy in the universe. Do not live your life as other people think you should live it. Be who

you are. If anyone has a problem with that, drop them. I mean it. Whether they are family, friends,

employers, if they are negative you must X them out of your life. You must be ruthless and without

fear. Fear is the enemy. Destroy all monsters.

6. Do you believe in psychics, magic, ghosts, or gods? If no, then maybe you'll share your favourite conspiracy theory (whether you believe it or not).

I believe in the unknown physical world. There is so much weird shit that has happened to me over

the years. Maybe this is because I'm open to it. I am a Deist. Neil Armstrong, the first man on the

moon became a Deist. I believe in God. But I now think that "God" could be a whole race of beings.

As for conspiracy theories, these conspiracy believers should read “Voodoo Histories” by David

Aaronovitch. Certain people need to believe in something to fill the void left by the fanatical

onslaught of atheism that is so prevalent these days. Now these individuals will believe literally

anything, no matter how ridiculous. It is simply paranoia. Someone must be behind it all? But, guess

what David Icke, people such as you are the ones behind it all. The moon is hollow and run by lizard

aliens? The Royal Family are in fact alien lizards? These people are insane! The CIA bombed the Twin Towers so that they could blame it on the Muslims. Fuck off.

7. What would you say was your most definitive experience?

It was in 2001 when I was 44 and meeting up again with my first girlfriend that I went out with when

I was 17. A couple of years later we got married. She is my soul mate. I have never been happier in

my life. I'm now 61 and at last I have some kind of contentment. I quite like growing older together.

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?

I spend more time cleaning and putting things in order than I do artwork due to my OCD. I like to

drink lots of alcohol. I like to do exercises as I watch "Pointless" on TV. I have two security blankets

and I sometimes get panic attacks for no reason. I use an inhaler every morning and before I go to

bed. I'm a big collector as I said, with the magazines which I have in perfect order in Mylar bags in

acid free boxes, but I also collect everything that I can by my favourite band "The Residents". I have a huge collection! I’m a bit of a hoarder of books, vases, and various other things. I love collecting. I

love eBay.

9. Would you care to name any theoretical "desert island" records, or at least releases that you

think are approaching your concept of "perfect"?

"Walk on By" by Dionne Warwick is perfect. I've seen her sing it live in Bradford. But, albums?

Hmmmm.....my favourite album has to be "Third Reich'n'Roll" by The Residents. I also love David

Bowie. I have all his albums. I listen to all this music on an Ipod when I am in bed. "The Dreaming" by Kate Bush is a big favourite. The Stooges, Chrome, Faust, Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, mostly old 60's, 70's and 80's music, But I do like some new stuff too. I also listen to my own releases quite a lot!

10. What is the earliest childhood memory you can (or are willing to) recall?

My Dad blowing cigarette smoke in my ear, seemingly to cure earache. However I couldn’t speak as I

was only a baby, so how did they know that it was earache that was bothering me? I also remember

as a child watching two televisions on at the same time, in the same room next to each other with

the room lights out. This was because my Dad liked his own TV programmes and my mother liked

hers! I asked my mother a few years ago, if this was a false memory or a dream, but she said "No, it

was true. I didn't like his sport and war rubbish, so got my own television so that I could watch my

things." I said to her "But, mam, you had them both next to each other, with the same volume on

and me sat right in the middle!" Yes, she said you were watching one then the other like watching a

ball at a tennis match. No wonder, I ended up weird.

11. Are you able to appreciate other peoples' creative work regardless of their personal

shortcomings or inherent flaws? To what extent?

I love practically everything. I was watching a documentary on TV the other night about cave art and

it was presented by the British sculptor Anthony Gormley. I was really shocked that he said "I don't

like Picasso's work, because he was a predator and wasn't nice to women." I thought WTF! How can

you not appreciate someone’s work because you don't like their personality"!? I love Henry Darger

and let's face it; the guy was a raving paedophile. You just need to look at his work. I adore

Caravaggio and he was a murderer. Eric Gill, absolutely superb graphics and he was something of a

kiddy fiddler. He even shagged his dog. The work is all that matters! A few of Hitler's paintings are pretty good! And when people say that all his artistic output is facile crap, then, I’m afraid to say that

they delude themselves.

12. Do you have any heroes or heroines? Who are they? Feel free to add anything that makes them stand out.

So many........Charlie Chaplin, Louise Brooks, Gilbert & George, Pierre Molinier, Andy Warhol,

Salvador Dali, Alfred Jarry, Picasso, Van Gogh, The Beatles, The Residents, Kate Bush, Stravinsky,

Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, Stanley KubricK, Jean Vigo, Jean Genet, Orson Welles, Samuel Beckett. Alan Turin, Winston Churchill, Jesus Christ, James Whale, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, WH Auden, HG Wells, Joseph Beuys, Henry Matisse,William Blake, Austin Osman Spare, William Burroughs, Alan Ginsberg, Genesis Breyer P Orridge, Sebastian Horesly, Caligula, Leigh Bowery, Oscar Wilde, David Bowie, Frida Kahlo, Jean-Michel Basquiat,Howard Hodgkins, Edward D. Wood Jnr, Vampira,The Rocky Horror Show, The Outer Limits, The Twighlight Zone, The Munsters, The Addams Family, In the Night Garden, Frank Sinatra, Burt Bacharach, Stephen Sondheim, Tiny Tim,Pierre et Gilles,Vermeer,Gustav Klimt,Hieronymus Bosch, Albrecht Durer,Count Arthur Strong. GOD. Too many.

13. What would you like to have on your epitaph? Or what is your favourite quote?

My first wife said that if I died, it should say on my grave stone "At least he wasn't boring". However

now it would have to say "At least she wasn't boring". Perhaps if I chose an epitaph for myself it

would be “Don’t grow up! It’s a trap!”

SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY

Jerry Kranitz went over a few of his favorite physical releases in a new article at Hal McGee's Electronic Cottage webzine/community site.   Kranitz has been involved in the noise/experimental scene since the 80s and has a book on cassette-culture coming out at Vinyl-On-Demand (with two 7 inches) coming soon.  He had this to say:  

I’ll say at the outset that this is the granddaddy of all physical music packages I have seen in years. The LP is pressed on red vinyl, comes housed in a sturdy gatefold jacket, and includes an absolutely STUNNING 44 page glossy art booklet. View the video for a detailed look.

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

And if you haven't seen it yet, check out the newest installment of the NO PART OF IT interview series featuring VAL DENHAM!  

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. 

 ---
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.  

The new BLOOD RHYTHMS LP was aired on Austin Cooley's radio show, Genetic Memory, on KTRU.  Also aired were Roky Erickson, The Stooges, Nurse With Wound, Konstruktivists, Merzbow, Rudolf Eb.er, Puce Mary, Pharmakon, Kleistwahr, Love, and Daniel Johnston, among others! 

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.  

 The new BLOOD RHYTHMS LP was also aired by Michael Krause (also featuring in the only BR track with profanities for some extra nepotism value!) on WZRD.  Below are links to the archives, and the playlist.  Krause has also uploaded very rare tapes on his archive.    In addition to that, the first track on the LP was aired by another WIZRD on WZRD Sept. 9, alongside SIXES, Can, Author & Punisher, Rune Lindblad, Points of Friction, Nevari Butchers, PBK (excerpt from the split with Arvo Zylo), Midmight, and more!  Thanks WIZARDS!

PART 1
PART 2
PART 3

1). Mark Stewart and the Maffia- name and the wrong number

2). W.S.Burroughs - THE 5 steps

3). Aphrodite's Child - 7 trumpets /Altmont

4). Slayer- The Final command

5). Music excerpts From “ Last House On the Left “ ...

6). The Avalanches - Electricity

7). Butthole surfers - 22 going on 23

8). Last House on the left music.....

9). Algebra Suicide -Somewhat Bleecker Street / Gist

10). Witchcraft music from Kenya/Tanzania

11). novelty track (unknown cd-r )

12). The Haters / La Sonorite Jaune - Intersteller Radio transmission

13). Otto JJ Grubauer - involuntary thoughts - (excerpt ) cassette (1984)

14). Metek/ N.R.Y.Y. - Intel Inside

...some crossfading /mixing between the above 2 selections ….

15). more from Last House ......................

16). Legendary Pink Dots - Defeated ,Deflated, Black Highway

17). Glassing - Jurogumo

18). Toxic Holocaust - War is Hell

19). Electric Wizard -Satyr IX

20). This Heat -Repeat (extended version ) mixed with a record about important news stories of the ‘60’s and a children’s record) . effects added too.

21). Aphrodite's child - Loud loud loud , the 4 horsemen

22). Vapors - Daylight Titans

23). Mashup - Iron Maiden Vs- Michael Jackson - Beat it Trooper

24). Novelty record - unknown - “ I like Cheese !!!!!!” (?)

25). Eraserhead soundtrack- “in Heaven”

26). Can - Butterfly

27). SA- from “Graveyard tramps eat the forbidden city Dog Food “

https://www.discogs.com/Various-The-Graveyard-Tramps-Eat-The-Forbidden-City-Dog-Food/release/11977826

28). Su Ra - Along Came Ra/ The Living Myth/ Interplanetary Music No. 1

29). MuslimGauze- mujahideen

30). (A) The Light Crust Doughboys - Pussy Pussy Pussy / 30). (b) “ Lights Out” - The Laughing Man (1950’s radio horror )

31). Zahgurim - Presence

32). Bloodyminded- Essential Humanity

33). Blood Rhythms - Locked Away

34). DDAA- King Deebo is six tracks for a kit

35). Hellhammer -Crucifixion

36). Mace- Marching Saprophytes

37). Rats With Wings- untitled side long track from “ Aide Memoire

International Update

A sample of the 44 pg booklet that comes with the red vinyl edition of CIVIL WAR

There are less than 50 copies left of the red vinyl edition.  

For international customers, copies of BLOOD RHYTHMS' CIVIL WAR LP (16 page booklet/black vinyl edition) are on their way to the following mail order shops:

SCREAM & WRITHE (Canada)

WHITE CENTIPEDE (Germany)

COLD SPRING (UK)

CIPHER PRODUCTIONS (Australia)

NARCOLEPSIA (Portugal)

ZHELEZOBETON (Russia)

TURGID ANIMAL ITALY

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.

If you haven't seen it yet, feel free to check out the 7th installment of the NO PART OF IT interview series, with P. Michael Ono, of the avant-industrial/gospel band ONO.

Interview Series #7: P. Michael Grego

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.

 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?

Various types of coffees esp Turkish and using the Cezve to make it

Working on my sounscapeing and sampling skills and creating a collection of spacious sound to use in-performances

Reading lots of Samuel Delaney of course and sleeping to outer space sounds

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")? 

I used to call it art when I didn’t know any better . bitterness ,cynicism and possible depression has me confusing it with a necessary hobby ... I believe art is for the artist in you and entertainment is done for an audience not the artist or the creator

3.  How would you describe what you do?

A very nasty habit like smoking or like a candy addiction

4.  How would you describe your creative progression over the years, in a brief synopsis?

Passionate enthusiastic open creative naive

confused desolate despondent bitter resolved

5.  How would you describe your philosophy?

Perseverance is important . Don’t stop

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).  

Of course I grew up with that in my family, they are from NOLA I had my grandmother and aunt practiced that stuff ..I had my chart done in the 90’s and it layered out everything very clearly for me so ever since then I know what I can and what is really a waste of my time pursuing... like love and romance ... it will never happen for me and I know that so I don’t waste time on that stuff , don’t give much thought and I don’t feel I’m missing anything

7.  What would you say was your most definitive experience?

Starting up ONO had no idea it would go this long or this far

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?

No I have no use for any side projects I’m busy enough living as is

9.  Would you care to name any theoretical "desert island" records, or at least releases that you think are approaching your concept of "perfect"? 

FOREVER CHANGES by Love

Bitches Brew-by Miles Davis

That’s how heartaches are made -Baby Washington

Albert Ayler-various

Alice Coltrane various

Phil Spector various

CAN -various

ENO-various

have always been a major things for me the way they were put together

10.  What is the earliest childhood memory you can (or are willing to) recall?  

Wandering through my grandparents huge haunted mansion

11.  Are you able to appreciate other peoples' creative work regardless of their personal shortcomings or inherent flaws?  To what extent? 

Not sure I think it depends on who it is I guess ...

12.  Do you have any heroes or heroines?  Who are they?  Feel free to add anything that makes them stand out. 

Not really .. probably my father would be it, he was a master musician and historian

13.  What would you like to have on your epitaph?  Or what is your favorite quote? 

Probably Groucho Marx “ any club that would have me it I would be suspicious of “

TODAY IS THE FIRST OF SEPTEMBER!

The new Blood Rhythms LP was reviewed at Tiny Mix Tapes!   Red vinyl editions come with a 44 page booklet, black vinyl editions come with a 16 page booklet, all in full varnish, thick gatefold jackets.  Copies are shipping now!  

Excerpt:  Civil War (No Part of It) is a literal civil war on the senses, ears versus mouth, mind versus heart, all boiling blood and bile as it tries to get a foothold on reality through its blind and bludgeoning rage. One look at ringleader Arvo Zylo’s collaborators (which include such noise and extreme music luminaries as Bruce Lamont, Mike Weis, and Wyatt Howland) and you’ll get the picture, the grim, unfiltered, sandblasted picture.

In other news:

Andrew Quitter's side from his now sold out split with Arvo Zylo was aired on KFJC in July.  Zylo's most recent Upheaval full length was also aired.  Listen here.  

   Arvo's Sequencer Works Volume Three (get in contact if you want to order a copy of the cassette from us) was aired on Austin Rich's Mid Valley Mutations program LISTEN HERE!  Some time before that, but maybe we are finding it for the first time, Bull of Heaven's contribution to the 333REDUX compilation was also aired on the program HERE.

Arvo did a secret, silent, remote appearance on WZRD a several months ago.  Here it is for public digestion.  Carl Stalling, Butthole Surfers, PIG, P/16/D4, and Sylvie Vartan are among those featured.  

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.

   

 

 Scheduled on February 18, 2019

Jliat is the alias of one James Whitehead; noise artist, composer, writer, philosopher extraordinaire.  Whitehead has created programs just to mimic a certain album by Merzbow in certain randomized ways.  He's created variations on classical compositions made with car crash sound effects and explosions.  His list of conceptual work continues endlessly.  I still need to ask him if he ever finished his 233 dvd box set of randomized noise that he hasn't even listened to in its entirety.  I was told that there is a CD which seems to be totally silent, but in actuality it is sound transformed or extracted from a jpg file, and is said to have caused speakers to smoke when set to full volume. 

 

 James and I have argued a ridiculous amount about art, and this is a fella who studied in proximity to John Cage, AMM, various early fluxus artists, and has lectured on noise music, and all I have done is play a piano that John Cage first prepared once!  Jliat has sent me his PDFs of what would be his power point lecture clips, complete with animated Gifs, and they are a treat for those who have an interest in the subject. I believe he also has a book available soon.   As a reviewer, JW is notorious for waxing philosophical all over an artist's work, to a degree that several complaints have been mounted and others have claimed to be made delirious (I did an article about it on WFMU's blog, with hand selected reviews from Whitehead here).  I enjoy what he gave us here, and I hope you do to.

1. What types of things have you been getting into lately?

Making Noise tracks using Roland Modular effects all pieces based on two Merzbow recordings, 1930 and Pulse Demon. (Variations). Recording various synths presets, (Voreinstellungen). You can find these on Sound Cloud.

Making what I call “Black Swans”- using old computer parts, resin, paint and glitter. Writing about my work for a proposed seminar in May. Reading German Idealism, Kant, Fichte, Schelling and Hegel.

2. What you do, do you do it as an artist, or is it a hobby?

For the last few years I've decided neither. After visiting the Quai Branly ethnographic museum back in 2017 I realised that all these things were made by people who never considered them particularly as “art” or anything. Like when as a child I would play in the garden, making tunnels and stuff, it was just 'stuff'. So, though it might sound pretentious, now I just make “stuff”, whatever anyone else might want to call it.

3. How would you describe what you do?

“Play”

4. How would you describe your creative progression over the years, in a brief synopsis?

I started out as a painting student and whilst at Falmouth School of Art was introduced to contemporary music, and the painting department had an electronic music workshop based around a VCS3 and a couple of Revox tape machines. I was hooked, as they say. After college I bought a Synthi AKS and a couple of tape machines. I did some work with video, but by the 1980s went back to electronic music, in particular drone works. I then became very interested in noise, especially its lack of skill and meaning and what this meant philosophically for ideas about just what was art and music. I guess I thought “Art” was something one could approach 'objectively' by working within some framework that was given. As I say above I've pretty much abandoned that idea, and see art now, if one wants to call it that, as something purely personal and subjective. My “progress” has then been to achieve the freedom from planning, reasoning and thought to being able to 'play' like a child might, and produce things that please and fascinate and maybe even frighten me. It's odd that to get to this I had to read a lot of philosophy to understand that the real 'problems' of art and life are that there isn't any problem, and so nothing to understand, or that the problems are unsolvable. At a similar time I came across the work of Schelling in particular his ideas of the impossibility of bringing together freedom and nature, or consciousness and the unconsciousness. So he claims the intuition to do this cannot be made by any rational philosophy but only via art which is not rational. Art achieves a harmony between these opposites, something rationally impossible, including between the finity of consciousness and the infinity of nature, the objective unconsciousness, or in Kantian terms to bring about a synthesis of the things in themselves with perception.

Black Swan

5. How would you describe your philosophy?

Though I read a lot of philosophy I wouldn't be able to describe my philosophy, its not that I don't have one, maybe I have many... As I said above my 'practice' became no longer that of music or art but of 'I make stuff that others might call art' And this autobiographical 'insight' was into work I had been producing for many years prior to 2017.

So now I've 'bracketed' art... for want of 'I do stuff, with stuff'. 'Bracketing', to quote wiki..

“This process also known as the - Epoché - The term was popularized in modern philosophy by Edmund Husserl. Husserl elaborates the notion of 'phenomenological epoché' or 'bracketing' - "suspension of judgement" but also as "withholding of assent".. In its philosophical usage "epoché" describes the state where all judgements about non-evident matters are suspended in order to induce a state of ataraxia (freedom from worry and anxiety).”

So this is my suspension of the worry of 'is it art' and the anxiety of – and 'is it any good?' through to 'What does it all mean'.

6. Do you believe in psychics, magic, ghosts, or gods?

I believe some ideas of these arise out of a human mistake in thinking 'language' is real. This runs from The Bible, where the mere word of God can create reality, through to Harry Potter where spells can make things, change things by incantations. Though language is powerful and can change things, precisely what Marx said, but the change is physical. It's easy to loose sight of this with just thinking and using computers, it's not like carpentry where wood splits, hammers can hit thumbs as well as nails, and something is sharp because it cuts you. Allot comes from this idea of language and words, ideas like 'good' and 'bad'. A tree is not good or bad, but a proposition can be wrong, I can say ”I'm looking at a larch” and be wrong. So a question such as “do you believe” implies the idea of 'truth', yet truth is just that, an idea. Reality escapes language, which is why we make stuff some call art. It's not that thinking, reasoning and language are not useful, it's just that they are secondary to reality, to nature. You never in the real world come across 'Tree' or 'Dog' as generalizations, but particular instances of particular actual trees, and dogs. I suppose more recently I've been impressed by the belief of the Sadducees, who are no longer around. They believed in God, but not in personal immortality. So you would think it odd to bother to worship such a God when your own life is futile, short and meaningless. It's all in Ecclesiastes. 

7. What would you say was your most definitive experience?

I'd say my three years at art school meeting people who didn't judge ones ability to do something, like make music. Prior to art school many of my friends played guitars, and I considered myself not musical, tone deaf in fact. At Falmouth those tutors who were into music would have non of this. And I remember years ago, after working with synths and drones, my wife remarking that my singing was now in tune! And a tutor back at Falmouth asking if I would make art on a desert island, I know I would. And it would be the best art on the island, as well as the worst.

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?

I think I've covered my recent work, I also do some reviewing for Vital Weekly. Most of my recent and past work can be found on the JLIAT website.

9. Would you care to name any theoretical "desert island" records, or at least releases that you think are approaching your concept of "perfect"?

I'm going to duck this one, which might again sound pretentious, I think the concept of 'perfect' is one of our most dangerous concepts. Once achieved then the game is over. Or as Nietzsche says to the effect if perfection was possible in a universe of an infinite past it would have already come about, that we are here, and imperfect is a result of the impossibility of perfection. Evolution works from failures. And think of all the terrors man has inflicted on man in pursuit of perfection. We have recently re-watched the Tom Hanks film, Castaway, on his island he has a kind of 'god' or spirit when he draws the face on the basket ball... this I think answers your previous question, about belief in gods, in that we, Tom, or I can make 'gods'. Are they real, well to a civilized adult of course not, but to a child or a castaway – yes, very real. So I would on my island, if I managed to survive, make stuff, things, instruments, what others might call music or art. This might be considered perfect, or the best I could do, but then they are in that case one and the same. So what makes perfection not one and the same with the best I can do are 'others'. I'm aware when I write this of there being no errors or typos, but the computer will tell me, and any reader will no doubt spot them. I recently had a paper about public art rejected because of the grammatical errors. (I argued that public art didn't exist.) The reviewers liked the ideas in the piece yet rejected it because of the bad grammar, citing that this didn't meet academic standards. I wonder would the same be true of science or maths papers? Of course it wouldn't, if someone made a few mistakes in some paper on physics which was of interest why would or should it be rejected? There's this futile debate going on about whether Neil Armstrong said “One small step for man” or “One small step for a man”, but he was the first man on the moon! FFS (excuse my French...)

10. What is the earliest childhood memory you can (or are willing to) recall?

I've written about this recently, and its become very important to me as it alters my idea of how we acquire language and learn the nature of things.

Here is the story...

I must have been two or three years old, I remember a door to a yard with a gap at the bottom where I could see a dog's nose, I then remember being at a gate, and my hand was hot. "Hot” was the name of the feeling at the time.

I can now assume the dog had bit me, and the heat was in fact pain, and so the word “hot” was wrong, but the pain from the dog bite was no different. So the idea of pain was given to me in a material event that mattered to me. An event which I still remember as strange and baffling, an aspect of using the words “pain” and “hot” I no longer have. So language comes from things, and autobiographical things...

To quote from Nietzsche,

“Every word instantly becomes a concept precisely insofar as it is not supposed to serve as a reminder of the unique and entirely individual original experience to which it owes its origin.”

There appears a choice between 'concept' and 'individual original experience'... and the making of individual objects and experiences is Art.

11. Are you able to appreciate other peoples' creative work regardless of their personal shortcomings or inherent flaws? To what extent?

I think so. When I read this question the name that came to mind was Heidegger whose work I think is significant. The problem is he certainly was a Nazi, and anti-Semitic, and extremely arrogant. Add to that a tendency like many Continental philosophers at a deliberately difficult writing style and you don't get a good picture of the person. Having said all that he did think science and in particular technology presents us with great problems, both for humanity and the environment, and argued that Art was the solution. Though I should add that the 'best' art he thought was poetry, and in particular German poetry! As I've said above I'm now more and more interested in ethnographic and Neolithic art, where in the latter case actually knowing the person concerned is impossible. It's the objects themselves which one engages with. From the 40,000 year old flutes made from vulture bones to the slit gongs “among the largest free-standing musical instruments on earth”...

12. Do you have any heroes or heroines? Who are they? Feel free to add anything that makes them stand out.

It would be a very long list...

Masami Akita, Morris Louis, T.S. Eliot, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Wittgenstein, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ad Reinhardt, The German Idealists, especially Kant. Terry Riley, Terry Atkinson, Ethan Hunt, Steve Reich, Lauren Bacal, Stockhausen, Jimmy Hendrix, Tom Hanks, Mr Barlow (my old primary teacher), James Bond, Einstein, Sam McKinley, Georg Cantor, Kurt Gödel, David Bainbridge, Jean Baudrillard, Jacques Derrida, Robert Smithson, Jacques Attali, Romain Perrot, Jack Reacher, Thor, Groot, (from the Marvel movies), Michael Baldwin, George Smiley, Barbara Hepworth, John D. Caputo...

to name but a few, and for many different and similar reasons.

13. What would you like to have on your epitaph? Or what is your favorite quote?

No epitaph, but very many favorite quotes.

“I have come to the conclusion that much can be learned about music by devoting oneself to

the mushroom.” John Cage.

“I can't wait to get into a position to make really bad art and get away with it.” Damien Hirst.

“what is to be done?” Vladimir Ilich Lenin.

"A lot of my work is about sales.” Jeff Koons.

"Who ordered that?" Isidor Isaac Rabi - When the muon was accidentally discovered.

But perhaps this -

“Once upon a time, in some out of the way corner of that universe which is dispersed into numberless twinkling solar systems, there was a star upon which clever beasts invented knowing. That was the most arrogant and mendacious minute of "world history," but nevertheless, it was only a minute. After nature had drawn a few breaths, the star cooled and congealed, and the clever beasts had to die. One might invent such a fable, and yet he still would not have adequately illustrated how miserable, how shadowy and transient, how aimless and arbitrary the human intellect looks within nature. There were eternities during which it did not exist. And when it is all over with the human intellect, nothing will have happened. “

Friedrich Nietzsche - On Truth and Lies in a Non moral Sense .