" I'm open to
anything as long as it's interesting, and I'm easy enough to
reach, and would be happy to hear from anyone with worthwhile
ideas. Unfortunately I tend to get asked by those without original
ideas who just want to associate themselves with my work for
some reason. I also often get asked by people who have neither
any ideas or budgets, amusingly they're the only ones to get
offended when I point out that this is how I make a living."
What's your opinion on industrial music
and the whole bunch of bands that play soft electronics or
death metal and add 1-2 samples or use some effects to make
their music sound harsher and describe themselves as "industrial
bands"? Does industrial music lose its harshness because
of the people who are too lazy to take it as it is?
I have no real opinion about such nonsense. They just don't
get the point and they're not worth thinking about.
Is making music an unlimited act then? Maybe
the copycats are on time because everything was said and done
all around music? Have you noticed styles keep repeating every
decade with some mutated add-ons?
They do to a point, but only because
people are lazy. There are those doing something different
and interesting (as well as different but not interesting),
it's just harder to be aware of them with all the other noise.
Is there any place for such art and industrial ventures
like those created by the 80's Throbbing Gristle, SPK Current
93 or Nurse With Wound in contemporary society?
I'm not sure if there is, what was happening then was very much
a product of it's time, and it's more important that somebody
new and younger comes along and shows the old farts how it should
be done, though unfortunately that isn't happening. People are
more interested in copying rather than taking an idea further
or into a new direction. Having said that, it is good to see
Throbbing Gristle getting recognition these days and a new generation
having the chance to see them live. And Nurse With Wound never
did have a place and it's good that Steve is still doing his
thing.
As for Throbing Gristle, with all my respect for art,
but is Genesis P. Orridge an art himself while transformed into
a woman showing off his new tits worldwide?
Who cares ? I have no interest in what he might be doing.
Is it impossible to make suitable sounds using the computer
to make them sound the same as those recorded in natural environment
like deep caverns or underwater?
For the last couple of years it's been very possible.
So how do you make your compositions? Do you keep a complete
song in your mind before you write it or is it more a concept
of writting process itself while you take your place at the screen
of a computer and play with sounds to create something worth
of memory?
I always have the general structure and mood in mind, and usually
the sounds. I the work on creating the sounds that I'll need,
building a library to be used in whatever project I'm working
on. During this time I'll often be inspired to take a particular
sound in another direction, which sometimes suggests an idea
for a different project, or which I'll add onto the original
idea, taking it a little further from my original conception.
(This is _not_ an advertisement for Apple ;)) Is it a
longlasting trend that musicians choose Apple Mac computers over
other PCs? Is it really so infashionably bad to make music on
a non-Mac PC?
The operating system for the Mac is so much more "elegant" (which
is why Microshit tried though failed to mimic it) and the system
as a whole is more robust and a far better system for creation,
so creative people gravitate towards it. Creative people have
taste after all :)
Isn't it tiresome watching a hundred of windows opening
while working with Macs?
I have no idea what you mean by that. Hundreds of windows ? Are
you sure you've used a Mac? And of A Mac is that bad, why has
Microshit spent so much time and money in trying to copy it's
OS ?
You've done a few remixes recently (Tool, Gang of Four
and Larsen). Who's queued next?
No remixes planned, but I'm very open to doing more as I enjoy
doing them.
What would be the greatest challenge for you in a matter
of remixing?
I don't know to be honest. I'll let you know if it happens :)
Back to Tool. They have very dark and symbolic videoclips.
Have you ever thought what your videoclip should look like?
I have, but it's difficult to find somebody on the same wavelength
to make them, and my ideas are expensive. Ha! I'm sure there
will be some kind of visuals somewhere along the line. At the
moment I'm playing with ideas for possible live use.
These are great news! When could we expect to see your
live shows with the visual stuff included?
First live show in 25 years was in June, I'm open to doing more,
it's just a matter of what offers come up and schedule.
You've worked with musicians like Rober Rich or Andrew
Lagowski (whose very good show I saw during the 4th Wroclaw Industrial
Festival last year in Poland). Does a musician you choose to
work with need to have some specific abilities or musical experience
to make you interested in cooperation?
Again a person needs to be on the same wavelength, be committed,
available, easy to work with, have a sense of humor and be within
a reasonable distance. And it can be hard to find people who
match all those criteria :)
If you had to choose between
Lisa Gerard and Diamanda Galas, whom would you choose to
cooperate with? Have you ever considered working with some
woman to bring some "heavenly" voice" to
your "hellish" music? ;)
Diamanda, as I find Lisa rather pretentious. I've never met Diamanda
though. Jarboe would be good and is a friend of mine. I've no
problem working with women and don't view people by their sex.
There should be more women working in the kind of music I'm involved
with, there's too much of the "guy thing" going on.
I guess there are women involved
but might be pushed aside by "guy thing", don't
you think so? Have you ever come across some female musicians
involved in dark ambient music, if so could you mention some
names worthy of memory?
I haven't, but then I don't follow any "dark ambient" or
related genre so I wouldn't know. The more women doing music
of any genre the better in my opinion.
Personally, I rate 'Pigs Of The Roman Empire', the album
which you've recorded with The Melvins, very high. Such a mix
of two different musical styles created a peculiarly interesting
and even futuristic sound. Do you consider entering similar ventures
in the future? Who would you prefer to cooperate with?
Thanks, that album was a lot of fun to work on and we became
good friends in the process. I'm very open to doing something
similar again as the results can be interesting. I don't have
specific collaborators in mind.
Is 'Stalker', the album title,
bound somehow with the "stalker" character
appearing in Boris and Arkadyj Strugackys' novel called "Roadside
Picnic"? What's so fascinating about the stalkers?
The album was inspired by the mood and sense of place created
by the movie based on that story. It was an attempt to do with
sound what the movie ddid with pictures. It's not an "alternative
soundtrack" to the movie as has been incorrectly reported.
Are there any other movies you would hear a different
kind of tunes used as a score to instead of that finally included?
There are many, but too many too list, especially for a hypothetical
question ;)
Some people state they have seen UFOs, others conduct
research and look for signs of an alien civilization. If there
is any other civilisation, is it possible they are further evolved
in hi-tech than the human race? Or maybe the human race has achieved
such a hi-tech level that it appears as a threat to the aliens?
Strange question... and one I can't possibly have an answer for.
I'm sure our species is the last thing an advanced one would
have any interest in, unless we became able to spread ourselves
further, we are rather dangerous to have around.
Huh I wanted to drag you out of questions concerning music
only because sometimes it seems a boredom to ask about similar
things but.. OK let's get back to normal questions then ;] Talking
about Hollywood, you live in Los Angeles. Does that full of stars
city suit you well? Isn't there too hot?
It gets hot in summer (32-43 C) and today (mid October) was about
30 C, but that's a good thing if you grew up in the UK. The main
thing about LA is that is big. Very big. You have to live here
for a few years to realize just how big. Southern California
is a good place to be.
What are you favourite places in Los Angeles? Have you
ever met any movie stars while you were buying a food for your
dog? ;)
My favorite places are outside LA, in the desert. I've met "famous" people
in different circumstances, but I don't prescribe to celebrity
worship so there's no point talking about it.
A long awaited Zoetrope movie is available via Soleilmoon
at last. Has Zoetrope been noticed by any mainstream critics?
Are you preparing a follow-up?
I'm not aware of any mainstream critics reviewing the movie,
but then I haven't really been following such things. I was working
on various ideas with Charlie Deaux, the films director, but
none of them got anywhere unfortunately.
There were a few computer games
brought to the big screen like Resident Evil, Doom, Mortal
Kombat to mention a few more popular ones. There is a post
apocaliptic game called Fallout with amazing music by Mark
Morgan. Do you think it'd be a good idea to turn it into
a movie, or would it be a waste of a good idea?
I'm not familiar with the game so can't comment, but in general
terms, converting games into movies is a bad idea as they're
very different experiences and a good game is designed as a game,
It only happens because the money behind Hollywood is only interested
in profits and believe that concepts like "cross-marketing" and "name
recognition" are what it is all about.
You've worked with the Happy Pencil multimedia venture.
Lustmord music is played on their website (link) as background
sounds. The website is full of amazing sketches, drawings, graphics
and my favourite images of Rikk Roberts' scary sculptures. Are
you going to get more involved into such projects with comics
or graphics designers?
I will if any of them ask. I'm open to anything as long as it's
interesting, and I'm easy enough to reach, and would be happy
to hear from anyone with worthwhile ideas. Unfortunately I tend
to get asked by those without original ideas who just want to
associate themselves with my work for some reason. I also often
get asked by people who have neither any ideas or budgets, amusingly
they're the only ones to get offended when I point out that this
is how I make a living.
Yeah it sounds weird to me too. People don't try to understand
that real hard work and good ideas of others demand a payment
equal to the put effort. How long have you been in making music?
25 years.
Some people state that art is a good way of therapy,
letting all hidden emotions free. Do you feel some pressure,
anxiety or insatiability that leads you to musicmaking?
Not at all.
So why do you make so dark serious music instead of making
a living with f.e. Jenny Lopez? ;)
Simple. Because I'm crazy. You have to be a little bit crazy
to do the kind of things I do. that's not necessarily a good
thing.
Do you believe in love, faith, reincarnation, religion
or are those things just visioners', poets' and philosophers'
fiction?
Well.. they all obviously exist as concepts, so in that sense
yes, but I personally don't have any use for faith or religion,
though if others do, that's their own business, not mine. I believe
in love, it's rather hard not too as you go through life, and
at least there's something that makes it all worthwhile.
There are some though-provoking threads all around the
world while people usually have something to say what makes really
long discussions: sex, religion, politics and economy, drugs
abuse, family abuse, making money, homosexual rights, taste in
music, UFO, animal rights, abortion, racism, prostitution, WTC
or the far future inventions. Which one is your domain? ;)
I can talk at length about most of those. I have strong opinions
about most of them, from a left-wing perspective. Some things
are just common sense to me, things like equality.
Have you ever felt burnt out, about to quit Lustmord once
and for all?
A few times, but I've obviously haven't acted on that yet.
What would lead Lustmord to quit his venture?
There are a few things, like having to use my time taking care
of somebody I cared about, but also if it just wasn't fun anymore.
Lustmord's name thrills fans of dark music like a magic
spell. Do you often get CDs from new musicians to judge them
and help in their promotion?
I used too but I don't accept them anymore, far too many just
trying to sound like my worko, and I don't see the point in that.
A somehow provoking question so you may want to omit it
;) Your complete discography is present on P2P networks. Have
you ever wondered how to stop such illegal activity? Is P2P networking
really harmful for the artist?
I can't think of any way to stop it, especially now when so many
people are used to just taking anything for free. It's a major
problem for the small independent artist as they rely on sales
to fund each successive project.
Does it sound frustrating that making independent art
and music is doomed to be a non profitable work? Is there only
one alternative - treat your music as a hobby being well know
through P2P only or find a full time job to earn money?
Frustrating? I suppose it would be, but this is what I do, I'd
be doing exactly the same thing if I had no success at all. We
do things like this for ourselves, not for others.
Some musicians have other, non-musical hobbies. Some of
them write, paint, do gardening, love to read or collect something.
Do you have any other interests besides musicmaking? Do you listen
to a lot of music in your free time? And finally could you tell
us please what other bands is Lustmord fascinated most with?
I listen to music a lot, from a wide range of styles, but mostly
rhythmic music. I particularly like slower grooves and listen
to a lot of dub. Always have. (Note: See my blog on MySpace and
in my forums for a list of my "Top 10" albums").
Your music is mostly know of electronics
driven content. Have you ever played a guitar, bass, synths
or maybe were singing sometimes? ;)
Nope.
As far as I know you have many fans in my country. Would
you like to give a show in Poland? ;)
Sure.
I wish you all the best and hope you will continuously
evolve the undertaking with merging art and music ventures ;)
Thanks, I'll try - put no promises ;)
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