Did Howard Stelzer break the Noisextra crew with “The Acrid Acme (of)” P16.D4? Stelzer brought us this unclassifiable CD from 1989 to explore. This album has been with him since it’s release, and Howard’s knowledge and relationship with this seminal German project is infectious. We also get into Stelzer’s discovery of noise while living in Florida in the late 80s/early 90s.
We are back in Merzland with the fantastically bright “Red 2 Eyes” 10″ on V2. These thick, heavy, and cosmic sounds were recorded in February and August of 1995 and we get to hear Merzbow experimenting with his then-recently acquired EMS synth. As well as the history of this record and title, there is a fun-filled debate on what to call the colors of the cover and vinyl. This 10″ showcases how and why Merzbow hits in a way no one else quite can.
Joel St. Germain, the elusive owner of Spite and the man behind Humectant Interruption, gives us a glimpse into his fascinating personal experience of running a 90s noise label. We talk about assembling tapes with pancakes and pig snouts, getting into noise at the age of 15, and if Greh’s driving lessons stuck. Another noise history class is in session; no hall passes will be issued.
Enter a world of artificial time and nature with “Now Wait for Last Year” by Caroline K. As a member of Nocturnal Emissions, Caroline helped craft a strain of early industrial, but by the time her only solo album was released, a new landscape of sound emerged. This is a very special and singular album from 1987, and we all get swept away by its scope.
Blake Edwards (Vertonen, Crippled Intellect Productions, Ballast NVP) delivers the heavy knowledge on one of industrial culture’s originators by bringing Z’EV “An Uns Memonto” CD for us to explore. Blake worked directly with Z’V to release this obscure material, and he relays the process of putting it together as well as his continuing work with Z’EV up to Z’EV’s unfortunate passing. Set your CD players to “random” and see what happens.
With the release of the Proof of the Shooting box set out now on Self Abuse/Fusty Cunt, we thought it’d be a perfect time to have a conversation with Dan Greenwood, one half of Proof of the Shooting and the man behind the long running Diagram: A. Dan digs back into memories of special packaging assembly, discovering noise in the 90s, recording onto VHS tape and so much more.
The Pure series strikes again with Knurl “Nervescrap.” To-the-point noise from north of the border courtesy of this long running project. Get trashy, get junky, and tear metal to shreds. Will you make it across the border? Cranking this CD will certainly help.
Chris Sienko, our most guested guest, returns and brings the deep knowledge on TAC “If it Fits” on Spite. While all being big fans of Spite, none of us were quite familiar with TAC, and Sienko rectifies that with a heap of thoughts and info on this fairly obscure project from the golden era. In addition, Chris breaks down some of his favorite Spite releases.
Spit on works of art and stand against nothing at all as we discuss The New Blockaders. This week we present the audio of the first Noisextra video done for the Tusk Festival. We go into the early history of The New Blockaders and relay thoughts on TNB from Ron Lessard, GX Jupiter Larsen, Dominick Fernow, and Chris Sienko. Anti anti anti anti anti anti anti anti anti…
Break into the Nakamatsu Ironworks Ruins with Einsturzende Neubauten in the classic music film “Halber Mensch.” Neubauten has been a gateway band for innumerable noise artists and fans, with this legendary VHS being a huge touchstone. From a site specific performance to videos to live concert footage, “Halber Mensch” perfectly showcases the deconstructed world of Einsturzende Neubauten.