Posted in Whathaveyou on November 20th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Ripple Music will continue its ongoing split series ‘Turned to Stone’ in January by bringing together Philadelphia’s Ritual Earth and Italy’s Kazak for a shared platter. The first single, from Ritual Earth, is streaming at the bottom of this post. The series has heretofore established a high standard for itself, and last time around with Blue Heron and High Desert Queen (review here) emphasized so much of what works about the format, the bands’ respective works complementary but individualized in their take.
I’ll cop to being less familiar with Kazak than Ritual Earth — Philly’s a lot closer to NJ where I live — but it’s easy enough to get on board with the open-feel of the guitar in “Through the Interstellar Medium,” the accompanying lumber, sharp and decisive punctuation of the drums, and echoing, grainy melody gives over fluidly to a bit of pastoralism before sweeping back to its heavier proceeding. The PR wire drops hints of Om-style meditations from Kazak, and in their latest track “Dimming Lights” one can hear it, but again, I’ve got to dig further.
More to come. For now:
Doom and psych metallers RITUAL EARTH and KAZAK unite for “Turned To Stone Chapter 9” split album on Ripple Music; first track streaming!
Ripple Music announce the next chapter of their “Turned To Stone” split series featuring US and Italian doom and psych metal purveyors Ritual Earth and Kazak, to be released on January 12th. Stream the first track “Through The Interstellar Medium” now!
Launched in 2020, Ripple Music’s “Turned To Stone” split series focus on unique pairings from across the stoner, doom and heavy psych underground and explore the farthest reaches of riffdom. This ninth chapter builds an towering wall of sound, bringing Philadelphia-based monolithic heavy merchants RITUAL EARTH and Italian psych-laden doom duo KAZAK to the forefront for a dark and enthralling sonic experience.
Stream the first single off “Turned To Stone Chapter 9” with Ritual Earth’s “Through Interstellar Medium”
RITUAL EARTH’s progressive sound lends itself to complex lyrical themes and heavy use of emotions and symbolism. Says the band: “We explored introspection and dove much deeper into personal and darker issues with our unconscious minds to practice spotting our inner shadows. The death of a rival, relapsing and overcoming addiction, navigating the complexities, experiences, and challenges in our lives and the changing world around us are all topics you will find intertwined throughout these three songs.”
“Turned To Stone Chapter 9” will be available on January 12th, 2024 in various vinyl formats as well as digitally, with preorders available now on Ripple Music.
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 20th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Kudos to Italian dark folk singer-songwriter Kariti — generally stylized lowercase: kariti — on signing to Lay Bare Recordings for the release of her second album, Dheghom, in Feb. 2024. The project debuted with 2020’s Covered Mirrors (review here) and produced the grim offshoot Néant with a self-titled EP, and some of the depth of arrangement brought to that outfit seems to have bled into Kariti as well.
I was fortunate enough to hear some demos earlier this year for songs that will presumably be on the record (one never knows until it shows up, and it’s early for that yet), and while Covered Mirrors was almost sneaky about how much was happening at any given point, there’s a bolder engagement with neo-folk and electronics alike, a bleak ambience rooted in human emotion. I’ve been looking forward to the finished product.
That it will arrive through the Netherlands’ Lay Bare Recordings is a boon for Dheghom, and I’ll hope to have more as we get closer to the release. For today, there’s a teaser below that hints at spaciousness to be manifest, and at 90 seconds is a little more substantial than ‘teaser’ generally indicates. I feel like usually they’re about a third as long, but here you get enough to actually dip your head in and immerse, if briefly.
Every little bit counts, right? I’m sure there will be another announcement with the album details, cover, probably a single and all that kind of normal got-a-record-coming stuff, but as Kariti heraldsDheghom — the name taken from the Mother Earth goddess of proto-Indo-European mythology — with this signing and the short clip, the message to keep an eye and/or ear out comes through clearly. Can do.
From the PR wire:
Dheghom will be released on February 2nd, 2024 on Lay Bare recordings, video by Damiano Tommasi.
Says Kariti: “Dheghom is an attempt to write about some things i can’t necessarily understand or even feel, but have a lot of feelings about, it is as eclectic musically as it is focalized in terms of lyrical themes and the meanings they bare. i had to be patient and wait for a very long time to let it out, my appreciation to Désirée for doing this with me goes beyond any words.”
Says Désirée Hanssen of Lay Bare Recordings: “Hearing the voice of ekaterina from карити (kariti) made an instant connection with my heart and my skin. It was hard not to engage with her captivating blend of powerful vocals, engaging melodies, and evocative poems. kariti’s mix of intimate, stripped-down mourning folk songs with crisp sounding instruments and eerie harmonies creates a unique and emotional experience.
“The impact of kariti’s voice is evident, draws you as a listener into it and makes it easy to connect with the depth of her music and words. kariti’s resonant vocal tone adds a distinctive and profound quality to her music. It’s fascinating how a singer’s voice can shape the emotional experience of a song.
“Lay Bare Recordings is beyond thrilled to welcome kariti to the label and to collaborate on releasing her upcoming album. Incredibly exciting to walk the path of this rich and diverse musical experience together.”
Sicilian heavy psychedelic rockers Rhino will release their second album, Human Farm, early in 2024 through Argonauta Records. The opening track, “Agony and Madness,” premieres in a lyric video below. If you want to jump over the next paragraph or two and get there immediately, I ain’t holding it against you.
“Agony and Madness” starts the eight-song/47-minute Human Farm with a languid groove and attention to atmospheric detail. Subsequent cuts “Big Cloud Again” and “Fast Radio Burst” offer Fu Manchu-type fuzz rock, while the title-track is more purely Kyuss desert idolatry after the careening “Gentle Sound of the Knife,” but the guest-vocal-inclusive “Magic Water” has prog-stoner edge by its finish, “Padrock” benefits from the grittier vocal inherited from the track before, and “Planet of Dust” unfurls the rolling nod to cap it off. For the converted, it’ll be an easy record to get on board with; solid in its construction, energetic in performance, varied but not inconsistent in tone and mood. “Agony and Madness” doesn’t quite represent the entire scope of the release, but it’s a standout for sure, and the band put no less of themselves into any of the other atmospheres they explore throughout.
Some words from the band and the album announcement follow video premiering here. Please enjoy:
Rhino, “Agony & Madness” lyric video premiere
Rhino on “Agony and Madness”:
We are proud to announce Agony & Madness, the first excerpt from our upcoming album Human Farm, due in early 2024 through Argonauta Records. We are going to take you to a ride through the desert like no other: an oneiric trip in the company of Agony and Madness, driving at breakneck speed to nowhere. Like jackals on a carcass we wait for their arrival. Everyone is looking for their moment of agony and madness. The dawn on the horizon brings the hope to reduce the pain for our mistakes and make us sane again, letting us find our way home. The ride continues, speed does not diminish and Agony and Madness are still with us.
We really want to thank Argonauta Records for welcoming us again and a special thank goes also to Saverio Autellitano, who made this lyric videos. We are eager to share with you all the rest of Human Farm: it’s gonna be an unforgettable ride.
Rhino is a heavy stoner rock band rising from the sulphuric city of Catania, on the slopes of the Etna volcano, where the five members play a mix of stoner/desert rock from the ’90s and 2000 blended with the deep psychedelia of the ’70, resolving in an attitude built around a riff-driven composition, a megalithic wall of fuzz and tons of watts.
Rhino was born in 2012 by an idea of the bassist Frank The Door and the guitarist Red Frank, briefly joined afterward by the drummer Lord J. Frank. Following the guitarist Francesco Cucinotta opting out of the band, the lineup was completed by Frank the Doc on vocal duties and Frank Real Tube on guitar. The lineup stood the same since then. Since their beginning, Rhino stand out for their extensive live activities through Italy, sharing the stage with such bands as Red Fang, El Perro and many relevant Italian acts.
The band debuts in 2013 with their self-titled EP, followed by their first full lenght The Law of Purity (featuring I See the Monsters videoclip), released on 2017 through Argonauta Records. Renewing the collaboration with Argonauta Records, Rhino’s second full length Human Farm will be release on early 2024, showcasing the most mature work of the band, who confirms to be true to riff worshipping and atmospheric psychedelia, still crossing the genre defining boundaries in an album that stands as unique in its segment.
Rhino is: Red Frank: Guitar Frank Real Tube: Guitar Frank The Door.: Bass Lord J. Frank : Drums Frank The Doc: Vocals
Italian heavy psych rockers MR.BISON will release their new album, Echoes From the Universe, through Heavy Psych Sounds on Feb. 16. The Tuscany-based four-piece were announced as having signed to the imprint last week, and today brings preorders and the first song premiere — LP-opener “The Child of the Night Sky” — which is streaming for your pleasure under this text.
Next year will mark the 60th anniversary of the first time humans heard the echo of the Big Bang in cosmic background radiation. MR.BISON, working more on the temporal than the cosmic end of spacetime for this third full-length follow-up to 2020’s Seaward (review here) and their split with Spacetrucker (review here), would seem to use the universe itself as a means of exploring notions beyond linear time, ideas from myth and science fiction combining to give a thematic heart to the proceedings. I haven’t heard the full record yet, but “The Child of the Night Sky” is way tripped out, and if you thought the band — whose moniker you’ve probably seen stylized as Mr. Bison; they reportedly prefer the caps-no-space version — were flexible as they hit into Seaward after 2018’s Holy Oak (review here), the intervening years would not have seemed to lessen that in the slightest.
Song’s here, blue copy follows. Go make friends with it:
MR.BISON, “The Child of the Night Sky” track premiere
MR. BISON – New album “Echoes From The Universe” out February 16th on Heavy Psych Sounds
About the album, the band says: “The theme of “Echoes from the Universe” is the attempt, as human and temporal beings, to escape the idea of an alleged destiny predetermination by managing to build one’s own individual life path trough will power. Its concept is based on the of the Norse Norns myth, who weave the threads of universal destiny on a tapestry, in which all existence, in a continuous mix of past, present and future, intersect and influence each other, thereby generating a kaleidoscopic vortex of infinite and unpredictable possibilities. For this reason, we have used them as a symbol of freedom of choice, which never excludes but indeed implies, the element of chance.”
The artwork designed by Django Nokes reflects the Concept perfectly. “Echoes from the Universe” is an evocative soundscapes trip and fresh breeze of groovy beats and psychedelia swaying between sweet moments and massive progressive deliriums.
TRACKLIST
1. The Child Of The Night Sky 2. Collision 3. Dead In The Eye 4. Fragments 5. The Promise 6. The Veil 7. Staring At The Sun
CREDITS
Recorded by Matteo Barsacchi at Blotch Recordings Studio – Cecina (LI) Italy and Nicola Giorgetti at Indipendente Recordings – Matelica (MC) Italy. Mixed by Nicola Giorgetti at Indipendente Recordings – Matelica (MC) Italy. Mastered by Carl Saff at Saff Mastering – Chicago (IL) US
Additional instrumentations by: Fabio Cuomo (Synth, Keyboards “Collision”) Dominik Wichrobrody (Bass “The Fragments) Artwork by Django Nokes
BIOGRAPHY
Mr Bison is a rock band that melts heavy psychedelic sounds with progressive elements and evocative soundscapes.
Formed in a small coastal town in Tuscany / Italy, the band has reinvented their sound over the course of four albums from Stoner/Psych Sounds to Heavy Psychedelic Progressive Sounds,
firmly establishing themselves in 2018 with the acclaimed “HOLY OAK” and the latest Concept Album “SEAWARD”, which suddenly brought them touring around Europe and US many times, attending the best festivals on the scene such as Desertfest Berlin London Antwerp, Krach am Back, Duna Jam ….
The band has just finished the new concept album, produced by guitarist Matteo Barsacchi, mixed by Nicola Giorgetti at the Indipendente Recording Studio and mastered by Carl Saff.
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 16th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Mostly-Italian heavy psychedelic unit Ananda Mida just released their third full-length, Reconciler, through drummer Max Ear‘s own long-running Go Down Records imprint — and by long-running I mean there’s an anniversary fest coming up in Berlin on Dec. 1 to mark 20 years that Ananda Mida will also play — as the follow-up to 2021’s Karnak EP (review here). They’ve lined up a series of weekender-type dates between now and February in order to support the album, and they’ll be playing mostly in Italy but also Germany and Austria as they look to the start of 2024 and the possibility of more to come.
If you haven’t heard the record yet — it’ll be in the next Quarterly Review in a couple weeks — it’s streaming below in full, along with the lyric video for “The Stumbling Doll.” Whether you can make it to one of these shows or not, if you’re still reading this, you might at this point find the music worth your time.
To wit:
Psych Rock Collective ANANDA MIDA Announces “Reconciler Tour 2023/2024”; New Album Out Now Via Go Down Records!
Psych Rock collective Ananda Mida just recently released their third album, titled “Reconciler”, via Italian powerhouse label Go Down Records. To celebrate the band’s latest offering in its pure form, the band has announced a bunch of live dates for 2023/2024. Tickets on sale now and dates are as follows:
Reconciler Tour 2023/2024 2023/11/30 THU – p.m.k – Innsbruck – AT 2023/12/01 FRI – Urban Spree – Berlin – DE 2023/12/08 FRI – Backstage München – München – DE 2023/12/09 SAT – Astra Kulturzentrum Centro Culturale – Bressanone – IT 2024/01/18 THU – Fine Mondo Verona – IT 2024/01/19 FRI – SIDRO CLUB – Savignano s.R. – IT 2024/01/20 SAT – Arci Joshua Blues Club APS – Como – IT 2024/01/21 SUN – Freakout Club – Bologna – IT 2024/02/02 FRI – Astro Club – Pordenone – IT 2024/02/03 SAT – BLAH BLAH – Torino – IT 2024/02/16 FRI – Trenta Formiche – Roma – IT 2024/02/17 SAT – CSOA COX18 – Milano – IT
The new album “Reconciler “marks the final act of a trilogy inspired by Georges Ivanovič Gurdjieff’s book, “Beelzebub’s Tales to His Grandson,” and his profound thoughts. Originally planning to release three records, Ananda Mida’s founders, Max Ear and Matteo Pablo Scolaro, collaborated with artist and friend Eeviac to create a concept album trilogy. The first two albums in the series, “Anodnatius” and “Cathodnatius,” explored themes of Holy Affirmation and Holy Denial respectively. Now, with “Reconciler,” the band delves into the theme of Holy Reconciliation. During the making of “Reconciler,” one of the band members experienced both the joyous grace of birth and the deep mourning of death. These significant life events have greatly influenced the reconciliatory intent behind this record. With eight tracks spanning over 83 minutes of music, “Reconciler” showcases a diverse range of emotions and musical styles.
The album features an instrumental song titled “Reconciling,” while five other tracks are performed by talented singers. In addition to Ananda Mida’s core members, twelve artists from Go Down Records’ musical gang have contributed their talents to this record. This collaboration not only fulfills the band founders’ vision but also serves as a tribute to their independent label, which has been a hub for talent and passion over the past two decades. Ananda Mida’s sound is deeply rooted in 70s Rock, infused with desert and psychedelic grooves. Since their formation in 2015, the band has performed with various lineups, ranging from three to six members, both instrumental and featuring singers. Their unique blend of influences has garnered them a dedicated following within the Stoner and Psychedelic Rock community.
Tracklist: 01. Stormy Lady feat. Quiet Confusion 02. Lucifer’s Wind feat. Virtual Time 03. Reconciling 04. Swamp Thing 05. Never Surrender feat. Virtual Time 06. Following the Light feat. Lu Silver 07. Reconciling (reprise) 08. Doom and the Medicine Man [part V – VIII] V- The Future VI- The Stumbling Doll VII- The Ghost In The Machine VIII- Otherlives
ANANDA MIDA are: Davide Bressan | bass Max Ear | drums Conny Ochs | vocals Matteo Pablo Scolaro | guitar Alex Tedesco | guitar
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 9th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Supporting their 2023 album, Cosmic Evoked Potentials (review here), on Subsound Records, Italian heavy psychedelic rockers L’Ira del Baccano will head out on a round of European touring starting at the end of February. There are dates to be filled in — I also don’t have venue info, so I guess there’s that as well — here and there as the band courses mostly through Germany, with some shows in Italy and a date in Prague for good measure. They’re hoping to tag a couple more shows onto the end as well, and I’d assume there’s some flex there geographically, since they can head in whatever direction might make sense and then just turn back home after. If all comes together as planned, it’ll be a solid two weeks of shows without a day off. Not insignificant.
The following was posted on socials. If you can help out, do. If you missed the record, you’re never too late no matter what internet fomo tells you. Good music is never irrelevant, especially not for having been out for several months already.
Dig:
Doomdelic Instrumental Space Prog Rockers @L’IRA DEL BACCANO will be on tour in Germany next March promoting the last album Cosmic Evoked Potential. Few slots are still to be filled. Any suggestion is much appreciated!! (better contacts/names of promoter/booker of course ). Below list of dates, Links. DM the band or Alessandro Drughito Santori for info. Free dates : MARCH 3rd -4th ( 2nd we will be in Schmalkalden and 5th in Weimar)- MARCH 10th & 11th South Germany/Switzerland
L’IRA DEL BACCANO Feb/March Tour 2024
17-02 Rome 27-02 Verona 28-02 Bolzano 29-02 Altotting 01-03 Nuremberg 02.03 Schmalkalden 03-03 NEED..BOOK US!! 04-03 NEED..BOOK US!! 05-03 Weimar 06-03 Dresden 07-03 Prague 08-03 TBA 09-03 Heidelberg 10-03 NEED..BOOK US!! ( South Germany, Switzerland, South France) 11-03 NEED..BOOK US!! ( South Germany, Switzerland, South France
L’IRA DEL BACCANO “COSMIC EVOKED POTENTIALS” order:
Italian cosmos compilers Ufomammut will celebrate Halloween 2023 with the release of Crookhead, a new three-song EP. Releasing through their own Supernatural Cat imprint and of course handling the artwork in-house through their (partial) visual arts alter ego Malleus as per standard operating procedure, the three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Poia, bassist/vocalist/synthesist Urlo (also The Mon) and still-recent-but-has-an-album-under-his-belt-now drummer Levre — all of whom make a great deal of noise — revel in raw spaces across the 17-minute outing, which serves triple duty as the follow-up to 2022’s Fenice (review here), a preface to their 10th album next year, and a solid merch-table feature for the Fall tour they’re about to start this weekend ahead of the EP’s actual release. No sweat to those in Maastricht and Munich, though. I’m sure they’ve got you covered as regards vinyl.
Also crush. Crookhead begins its offload with the title-track and works righteously longest to shortest through “Crookhead” (8:59), “Supernova” (5:12) and “Vibrhate” (3:35), and wholly justifies its release in about the first 15 seconds. “Crookhead” quickly establishes itself as a physical force of tonality. There’s historical context as regards the trajectory of their growth, but in order to make this sentence shorter than the actual EP, I’ll spare you some of it.
Suffice it to say that Ufomammut have never stopped seeking new dimensions within the void. Their heavycraft, which as the PR wire notes is nearly 25 years on from its initial manifestations, is singularly identifiable and constantly evolving within its sphere. When Poia and Urlo (both founding members) brought Levre on as drummer in 2021, coming back from a hiatus announced in Jan. 2020, the result on Fenice was reorientation of principles.
Crookhead shares with Fenice a play between the expansive and the claustrophobic. Ufomammut craft huge spaces and drop them on your bones with all due gravity, and Crookhead effectively and efficiently showcases the various sides of their methodology, from the title-cut’s ultra-low distortion rumbling at a mean clip into the sampled-speech-topped central riff.
They ride that current of aural concrete to a stop at 1:50 and kick back in with Levre setting the slow march on hi-hat, as the speech echoes, complemented by grunts or effects-twists, whatever it might be — since it’s technology I don’t understand I’ll just call it magic — and pummel themselves into a break after four minutes in with a pinging sound like the construction across the street from where I live when they pull out rebar (it’s not the same sound, I checked), and a creeping melody of mosquito-buzz synth to bolster the tension ahead of the smooth return to full volume. Onward they roll, to victory, death, or that spot on an accretion disk where you might get a bit of both at once as the light bends around you and you watch the universe’s entire future unfurl in whacked-out spacetime.
It’s a build, and they’re galloping by the finish, but because it’s Ufomammut, “Crookhead” is as much an expression of ambience as heft. With a memory-wipe 30 seconds of drone/synth noise, “Supernova” soon enough meets “Crookhead” on its own level of impossibly-dense noise riffing, but the turn toward atmospherics happens sooner, and is more patient, more willfully psychedelic.
Interesting to note that the vocals are spoken there too, but it’s a short stretch as Poia soon draws a solo over the soundscape, and a few more words lead into to a full-bore layered melodic verse before opening again to the speech and cycling through one more time. As will certainly happen, the vocals are in part consumed by the surrounding instruments, but that’s part of the immersion; the sense that all things are being consumed and so you are too. This is who they are.
They’re also the quiet psychedelics and the furious bludgeoning, and however fuck-yes-this-is-what-my-brain-needs the heaviest moments of Crookhead might be, dynamic is essential to the character of Ufomammut new or old. They have purposefully stripped down their style, but “Crookhead” and “Supernova” and “Vibrhate,” which also opens synthy and runs that thread alongside the relatively uptempo push of the guitar, bass and drums. For them, it’s a departure in structure and among the most straightforward, ‘traditional’-style metal songs they’ve ever done, but it’s neither out of place in style nor sound next to the other two, and the defined verses help ground the proceedings ahead of the last shove. In the spirit of the EP as a whole, I’ll call it ‘brutiful.’
And I’ll leave it there so you can actually hear the thing. You know the drill. Tour dates, preorder link and whatnot follow the EP premiere on the player below, courtesy of the aforementioned PR wire.
Please enjoy:
Ufomammut, Crookhead EP premiere
UFOMAMMUT presents a brand new EP, Crookhead, with three new songs that continue the expansion of the band’s sonic vision. The EP was recorded at Flat Scenario Studio in Italy by Lorenzo Stecconi in July 2022, and was mixed and mastered at Triple Sun by Stecconi. The artwork, as with all of the band’s releases, was designed and printed in Italy by Malleus Rock Art Lab, the graphic design collective of which Poia and Urlo are both founding members. The artwork, with its handprinted and numbered silkscreened cover, adds an artistic touch to the EP. Crookhead is a foretaste of the band’s impending tenth album, which will be released when the band celebrates their 25th anniversary in 2024.
The band reveals, “Crookhead is the Middle Earth, the gateway to something that lies within us and has yet to come, a bridge connecting our rebirth place called Fenice and the incoming journey. These three pieces perfectly represent how the new UFOMAMMUT form takes definitive shape and unfolds its fangs towards space, towards the unknown lands that await each of us. Crookhead is simply the final result of the urge to write new music, the natural introduction of our next record.”
UFOMAMMUT’s Crookhead EP will be released on Halloween, October 31st. The EP will released digitally and in a limited edition vinyl version of 500 copies: 200 on Marble Red Vinyl, 200 in Marble Gold Vinyl, and 100 in clear transparent vinyl which will be available only on the band’s fall tour. Preorders are now live at the Supernatural Cat shop HERE: https://www.supernaturalcat.com/home/?s=crookhead
UFOMAMMUT has booked a Fall tour across Europe in conjunction with the release of Crookhead, with dates running from October 29th through December 3rd. See the confirmed dates below and expect new tours to be announced into the new year.
UFOMAMMUT Tour Dates: 10/29/2023 Samhain Festival – Maastricht, NL 10/30/2023 Feierwerk – Munich, DE 11/04/2023 Sonic Rites – Helsinki, FI 11/15/2023 Mostovna – Nova Gorica, SLO 11/16/2023 Arena – Wien, AT 11/17/2023 Turbina – Budapest, HU 11/18/2023 Stadtwerkstatt – Linz, AT 11/19/2023 Kamienna – Krakow, PL 11/20/2023 Hydrozagadka – Warsaw, PL 11/21/2023 Kabinet Muz – Brno, CZ 11/22/2023 Club 007 Strahov – Prague, CZ 11/23/2023 Cassiopeia – Berlin, DE 11/24/2023 Hafenklang – Hamburg, DE 11/25/2023 4AD – Diksmuide, BE 11/26/2023 GeBAude 9 – Koln, DE 11/27/2023 P8 – Karlsruhe, DE 11/29/2023 Effenaar – Eindhoven, NL 11/30/2023 Le Bulle – Lille, FR 11/01/2023 Petit Bain – Paris, FR 11/02/2023 La Poudriere – Belfort, FR 11/03/2023 Old Capitol – Langenthal, CH
Posted in Questionnaire on October 20th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Adres from Deadly Carnage
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I make extreme music that aims to create atmosphere rather than sound aggressive and I do it keeping in mind that music does not end with sound; the music, the concept and the artwork travel on the same tracks for the same purpose. How did I come to do this? I couldn’t explain, I think it’s a mix of conscious choices and unpredictable events that happen in life: having seen a film, talked to a person, visited a place…
Describe your first musical memory.
This is not a simple question! I have many memories related to music from when I was a child, but probably the first ever memory is my brother playing the classical guitar, my brother is six years older than me and as long as I can remember he has always played the guitar, often as a child I watched him play, first the classical guitar, then the electric guitar. Thirty years have passed since that period, but my brother and I still talk about music and instruments every time I meet him, he is also a musician; just a few days ago he sent me an audio to let me hear the sound of his new guitar.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Ok, that’s a much simpler question! Surely for other people it’s nothing special, but it was for me. I was around sixteen years old, I had been listening to extreme music for at least a couple of years and I was becoming interested in black metal bands from my country (Italy); at that time I was listening to a lot of Frogotten Tomb (who weren’t yet as famous as they are today) and Opera IX. One day, when I was sixteen years old, they did a concert together in my city and for me that concert was special! Two black metal bands I loved, in my little town and a lot of distros to buy CDs from, it was one of my first extreme music concerts, maybe nothing special, but I will remember it forever! These things are important and fundamental when you are sixteen.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
I admit that I thought a lot before answering this question, it is not a trivial question at all, after thinking about it a lot I think I have not yet found myself in a position to seriously put one of my beliefs to the test, but I still have a long life ahead of me (I hope).
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
I think the best thing about making art, in whatever form it is, is that you don’t know where it may lead. You can know the starting point, you can know the intention, but you cannot know the arrival point, just as all the intermediate points often remain unresolved. Sometimes it’s nice not to know, mystery is nice.
How do you define success?
Maybe I’m not the right person to ask this, in fact I’m a rather solitary and reserved person, my concept of success could be strange compared to what most people believe. For me, success is fully satisfying yourself, being proud of what you have done, then everything else is secondary.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
Surely in my life I have seen unpleasant things, things that have hurt me, but I think that currently there is nothing that I want to forget. Even painful things make us who we are, not necessarily better people, but still they make us who we are.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
For a few years now I have been thinking about the idea of creating a small shady garden where I grow sarracenias (a carnivorous plant that looks like a flower). I’m not very good with plants, my current garden shows it, but I can learn, I like plants, maybe one day in the future I will be able to do this project.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
I believe that art should not have a merely practical use, let me explain: for me all things like “music for exercising” or “music for driving” are bullshit! For me, music and art in general must not have a practical purpose, it must nourish our spirit and our mind; a beautiful painting has no use other than making us feel sensations, whether bad or good, and that’s how it must be, you can’t think that a painting is as useful as a fork or a chair.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
I’m a big fan of old B-series horror films, once or twice a year I meet up with some friends (who live far away) to spend three or four days watching these types of movies, I honestly can’t wait to organize another of these meetings, in recent months I have found some movies that are right for us!
