Visceral, violent, nihilistic, organic, animalistic, industrial are just are few of the adjectives used to describe the music of Peter Swanson, formerly one half of the mighty noise duo Yellow Swans. All these words should be taken as compliments.
He now works solo and a new EP entitled Punk Authority is out in March. He talks this and other stuff in a neat interview for Fact magazine Continue reading
These past two weeks are the longest I’ve gone without checking mail, surfing, updating my blog or downloading music. This self-imposed detox is a by-product of my vacation and it is one that has no debilitating effects. At the same time it leaves me feeling something is missing. I’ve gotten so used to logging on at home or at work whenever I want that the absence takes some adjustment.
Being on holiday means breaking routines which is good as far as it goes but also overrated. I’ve been travelling around the Midlands and Yorkshire which is a marked change from this time last year when I was in Portland, Oregon and San Francisco. In England, there are cafes and pubs that boast wi-fi but there isn’t the intensive (obsessive) internet activity that you see everywhere in the U.S.
I didn’t travel with my laptop so couldn’t take advantage of the chance to ‘get online’ at the Holiday Inn where I was staying in York. To check mail or other social networks at the hotel cost a steep £3 for just 15 minutes. The thirst to be permanently connected seems less pronounced in Britain which you might argue is healthier but while I know I can control my habit I’m looking forward to getting back to my daily ‘hit’.
Quotes from contributors to People Who Do Noise an excellent documentary film by Adam Cornelius (2008): Smegma - "Portland is like San Francisco in the 1960s" Pulse Emitter - "It sounds like the apocalypse - but joyful" Yellow Swans - "It's about deterioration" Honed Bastion - Anyone can do it - that's partly the point" Oscillating Innards - "Noise is more punk than punk" GOD (bryan eubanks and leif sundstrom) - "This music cannot be commodified" Kitty Midwife -"You hear everything differently" Josh Hydeman -"Why would anyone play noise unless they had some social or emotional problem?" Soup Purse - "You take out the music elements - this is Bladerunner music" Sisprum Vish -"To be human means to be wrong" Argumentix - "Pop music doesn't work any more" Redglaer - "It's about textures and energetic states" With Caro - "It looks fucked up and sounds fucked up" Daniel Menche -"Music is like one's own blood - so amplify it! As loud as possible -make the speakers bleed"
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