Kitsch Magik Interview with GRVD

GRVD is a blackened noise project from Ann Arbor, Michigan. I was able to chat it up with GRVD about a few things and to pick his brain a little bit.

You can check out GRVD in the link below

https://grvd.bandcamp.com/

Kitsch Magik: What got you into noise and what are some of your projects influences.

GRVD: I got into noise around 2012, but I had always been curious about the genre. I remember fucking around on my Yamaha keyboard when I was around 10, and I found the "sound effects" settings, and I'd just make these soundscapes and weird sounds for hours. I remember being 10 years old and hearing Pink Floyd's "Echoes" and really be into the ambient portions of that track. I think that was in a way a gateway into non-conventional music for myself. I had played in punk and hardcore bands in High School, but in all of those bands I felt kind of unsatisfied with what we were doing. I felt like there was too much control over the music, and I wanted things to be going into a more experimental, chaotic direction. I wanted the bands to be much more of an "experience" than a standard hardcore band you'd see at a bar. The last band I was in broke up in 2015, but I had started noise as GRVD in 2013. As GRVD started getting a little bit of traction, I started caring about that project infinitely more than the bands I was in. I got into noise because it gave me complete creative control over what I was doing, and I loved that. I can admittedly be a control-freak, but I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Noise gives me the complete power to express myself and make exactly the albums I want to. As for influences for GRVD, I'd have to say IRM, The Rita, Prurient's older material, Grunt, Atrax Morgue, Darkthrone, Gnaw Their Tongues, Infirmary, Nahvalr, Giles Corey, Genocide Organ, Swallowing Bile, and Waves Crashing Piano Chords, Xasthur, Xiu Xiu  .

Kitsch Magik: That's a great backstory and a list of influences. I know some people when they play live have a out of body experience. How do you feel when you play live. Is it an emotional experience? Do you try to create what you do on your albums? Or is it more on the unpredictable side of things?

GRVD: I haven't performed live very often. Over the course of the 4 years I've been doing GRVD I've only done 7 shows. When I do play live, I'm really only concerned with what's happening in that moment. My main concern is dropping all inhibitions and just doing what comes naturally. I'm a big proponent in going with your gut instinct. If I meticulously planned out every performance I'd feel like I'm putting on some kind of insincere act, and that's pretty shitty and annoying to see. When I perform, it's just about me getting out all of those feelings of anger or depression. If I end up beating myself to a pulp and busting my head open with a microphone, that's just how I was feeling in the moment. If I just relax and perform calmly, that's how I felt. The performance always depends on what I'm feeling in that moment. It's all about sincerity and feeling for me. As for trying to re-create the albums or what I do on those, I have no interest in doing that. If someone wants to hear those albums, they should just listen to those. Every album I make is meticulously crafted, and I take as much time as necessary to make sure they're absolutely how I want them to be. That doesn't apply to my live show, I don't care if those are trainwrecks, I just want them to be sincere expressions if that makes sense.

Kitsch Magik:  I know that some people love what equipment people use in live setting. What are some of the stuff that you use live? Also I think this is a question that I always bring up!!! What do you think noise will sounds like in ten years. Also if you had to have one wrestler come out to your stuff what wrestler would that be? And who would your tag partner be!!!!!!!

GRVD: I'm not much of a gearhead and my setup is super minimal, and I know absolutely nothing about wrestling lol.

GRVD: As for the how noise will sound in 10 years, I think noise is a static (no pun intended) genre. Like hardcore or black metal, it kind of revolves around the purity of the genre blueprints. Experimentation happens, sure, but noise is very much so a monolithic genre, which I think is both good and bad (but mostly good). If it's not broke don't fix it, and unless you really want to bring something new to the table and sincerely make something outside of the mold, trying too hard to be "different" really backfires, especially in a genre like noise. I mean, in most GRVD releases there are ambient elements and even really melodic elements at times, but I'm not trying to "change" noise. I just want to do what I want. That's really all I'm interested in when it comes to creative outlets.

Kitsch Magik: How do you come up with the artwork of the releases? Do you find images online? Draw them out? The artwork really speaks to what your about I feel like! I might be wrong!

GRVD: For artwork it's changed a lot over time. Initially I wanted to have people design artwork and I'd pay them or whatever, but the few times I tried this it was a complete failure. Not because they provided bad work, but because I really have an image in my head of what I want, and there's a visual aesthetic tied to the images that I take really seriously, that it's basically impossible for someone else to design something that is exactly what I'm imagining. For the first release I ever did. "The Ides of Romance I-IV", the image was taken from a photograph I found in Ann Arbor. I still don't really know the backstory of the image, but I took a picture of it and uploaded it on bandcamp. The image was just of this figure sitting on a box of PBR in a basement, and it was so simple and bleak I connected to it instantly. There's nothing I love more than just striking images. As I've continued on the artwork is found in various places; books, magazines, online sources, weird blogs I stumble across, whatever. How I find the image I think is secondary to how it is augmented and implemented to accompany the noise and the music on the release. I always whip up artwork first and then record based around the aesthetic and atmosphere that image gives off. With one of my most recent releases "Burden", I designed that artwork and whenever I'd record I'd have that image pulled up, and I think it was a huge influence on why that album is more "epic" in scale. I've encountered criticism for using images from outside sources, and I think that criticism is bullshit honestly. As long as it is transformative and augmented, I see nothing wrong with it. I don't claim to be a graphic designer or visual artists, I merely find images and textures, combine and transform what I want into a new image, and accompany noise to it. If someone has a problem with that, then their opinions on art and the functions of art aren't something I'm concerned with or respect. Those people are probably boring and draconian and are probably more concerned with reading the next Lena Dunham memoir.

Kitsch Magik:  What’s in the future for GRVD? any talks on doing a tour someday?

GRVD: Doing a tour has always been a dream, and if I was ever financially able to do a 2 week+ tour, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Until then I'll just keep churning out releases and doing my own thing.

Kitsch Magik:  any last words?

GRVD: Shout out to Contraktor, Bullshit Market, Frataxin, Methlab Explosion, Hypnic Jerk, WCPC, Farting Corpse, Crustgirls, Alocasia Garden, Pory from NOG Records, Paraplegic Erection, Cory Strand, Burial Weavings and all the other sick noise projects and homies out there. Much love to you all. Thanks a lot for interviewing me, and if you have the free time to watch any film directed by Xavier Dolan, I recommend you do it now.

Kitsch Magik Interview with Crustgirls, King of Strong Noise!!

Crustgirls took some time out of his day of watching professional wrestling to chat with Kitsch Magik about a few Things. Without Crustgirls there would be no MOYO and then no Kitsch Magik so I really hold this project up to the highest!!

Check out his bandcamp and facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/crustgirlsfl/?qsefr=1

https://crustgirls.bandcamp.com/

Kitsch Magik: first what made you want to start wanting to make noise music and how was crustgirls born.

Crustgirls: Wrestling shows rule

Crustgirls:  I used to listen to some noise in high school but didn't really get into it that much until later. I've always liked the freedom that noise can have, no rights or wrongs just whatever you feel. I started crustgirls after being frustrated that my current hardcore band wasn't doing anything and I wanted to create something, anything! It was also a low key joke at the time too because I'd see all these stuck up noise people that thought they were the best things ever and I made my debut demo as crustgirls in a single day from modified field recordings at my job and then just yelled over it and then got some lathe records of it pressed haha. I grew Into really enjoying what I was doing Crustgirls though it quickly became far more serious

Kitsch Magik:  That's so funny on the concept of poking fun at noise bros. Something that I feel I do also. Do you feel that there is a lot of stuck up noise guys out there that take themselves to seriously? We should do this because we love it right? I feel like it shows if you are that egotistical!!

Crustgirls: of course, I'm sure you've seen it as well. Those guys that are just so "man I'm so much better at what I do than you" or "geez that guys set sucked" etc They worship merzbow or have jammed full of hell once, but for the most part I've met and played with so many nice people. I feel like with any music style you have to love doing it instead of looking cool to others, who cares if your any good at it just do what you love.

Kitsch Magik: I love that about you and I totally agree that who cares as long as your having fun!! We are in this really weird culture that most people don't understand. But how is noise down in Florida? What are some of the venues you love? How does the noise community treat each other in your state?

Crustgirls: Florida has some cool noise, but I'm honestly not connected very well with many people here, I don'y play live often and I'm not normally invited to play the bigger noise shows. I feel I have way more friends and fans far above Florida it seems when it comes to my stuff. My favorite venue to play is Uncle Lou's in Orlando, bless Lou for letting all the random kinds of bands and projects play there. The times I do play shows though I've noticed most people in FL noise are pretty chill and fun to be around. Shout out to Hell Garbage aka Dhouser for booking me for events the most out here xoxo

Kitsch Magik: It's great that we have a small community that supports each other even thought all of us can be so far away. I can't stand when people say noise artist only make music for other noise artist. That's kind of a no brainer of course we think of that!!! Because most likely they are the ones that are also buying our tapes, t-shirts, and cds!!! Do you have any pros and cons for our weird community and culture? Have any ideas on making it better? Or worse!!! Lok

Crustgirls: Most def honestly most most noise is for noise haha, but that's not saying anyone can't get into it though! My buddy Robbie of Human Fluid Rot is a shinning example of this. He is a fucking master of noise and I have see people just watch his sets in awe and then comment how they don't even enjoy noise but thought that was an amazing set. That to me is a big Pro in noise, because if you can put on a show and show people something different they might over look their first opinions of it check out other noise acts. The biggest Con of noise are shitty people. There's always those few bad seeds in the community that promote noise and other extreme or weird experimental stuff that a lot of us are tied too that are into white power (which fuck that) or they just are incredibly smug entitled people that think everyone Else's offerings are trash and they just make this image that all of us are just dicks. Less comps from Adult Swim, more comps from Adult Swim haha. Encourage each other I suppose. Fellow noise musicians people will send me stuff sometimes to check out and I love to just tell them to keep at it and make more stuff.

Kitsch Magik: If noise was wrestling who would enter the ring to crustgirls? And what song? Also if noise artist were wrestlers who would be the hardcore champ?

Crustgirls: most likely that wild motherfucker jun kasai would come out to crustgirls, the song "empty graves open homes" from my dead love EP. sean beard of waves crashing piano chords would hands down be the hardcore champion

Kitsch Magik: where do you think noise will go in the future? do you think there will be the same people involved as old heads and there will be fresh new faces? what do you think it will sound like?

Crustgirls: it's getting more and more accessible it seems these days. Hopefully it will be more accepted in a sense that maybe I can freakin play a show in my own home town haha. The people that love noise will always be around I think but there will most def be new faces around with it popping up more I feel like kids will find it and be like oh man this is fun to make and who knows. probably sound like crap ha too many laptops but who cares Ill hopefully still be kicking around making garbage no one cares about

Kitsch Magik: HAHAHAHA! ok who are some of the people that you would love to work with that you haven't already kinda like secret noise artist crush thing. its it almost valentines day or something!!!

Crustgirls: I'd love to have a crustgirls split with waves crashing piano chords(we've had one with my other project Parasyte* and he was on my crustgirls lp), contraktor, methlab explosion. I would love do more stuff with non noise people too honestly I really want to do stuff with burnt hair, virgin flower and dream of doing something with grimes

Kitsch Magik: last words!

Crustgirls: steal from Walmart

Kitsch Magik: hahahaha ok thanks again man it was a pleasure !!

Crustgirls: xoxo

Go check out the labels bandcamp

kitschmagik.bandcamp.com

Kitsch Magik Interview with Rurnt

For our first interview series I wanted to talk to someone outside of my normal Kitsch Magik and talk to someone I really admire!

Rurnt Is a Tennessee artist that shifts from PE to Harsh Noise and sound  so violent! To me I feel like its really hard to find a Noise act that actually sounds horrifying (in a good way) and pulverizing. usually acts that try to do this comes off as being desperate. This is not the case for Rurnt! This guy really makes it look easy and everyone should take a note from this artist. Enjoy!!!

Kitsch Magik : ok sweet ill start off with a generic one! introduce yourself! where are you from. and whats the best way to describe your main project!

Rurnt: OK, here we go...

Rurnt : My name is Jerry a.k.a. Rurnt. Under that moniker, I have done releases and live sets that range from harsh noise, PE and HNW. I wouldn't consider any of those a "pure" version of those genres, but they all are an different influence that sometimes bubbles to the top.

Kitsch Magik : I first found out about Rurnt in a noise comp that made its way to a noise group called BIG TENNESSEE NOISE COMPILATION on Failed Recordings which is a killer! and Then I found out that you were the one who put that together! how was that experience? Does this comp is a great representation on where you are from!

Rurnt: Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad that comp made it's way beyond just TN. Putting the comp together was a really good experience as it allowed me to contact other acts throughout the state. It was surprising to find that I couldn't find evidence of noise in West TN. I'm sure it's there somewhere though. The comp is pretty good representation of TN at that time. Just like anything else, acts come and go. Some I know nothing of besides what's on the comp and some I've known for years. Where I'm from (Chattanooga) is heavily repped on the comp, but due to lack of venues, those acts can't really perform on the reg.

Kitsch Magik : Speaking about live shows. What does your live set consist of? how does the crowed react? is there gear that you sometimes cant bring? and was there a venue that you really liked playing at?

Rurnt: Almost every set I've played has been different. I try not to repeat myself if at all possible. I don't really have any gear I can't use live, but if there is something that's difficult, I just load it into my sampler. Venue wise, I'm always into playing house shows. Club wise, I would say the Pilot Light in Knoxville TN. It's a good size and has a good PA. 

here's a video of the last set I played.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEYEvA_gY-U&feature=youtu.be

Kitsch Magik: I know some people who don't like to use prerecorded noise in there set (I don't care at all and do the same thing.) but do you think that will eventually be excepted. probably a stupid question. but what do you think will happen in the next 10 years in noise and its future?

Rurnt:  Seems like most people I know who do noise are using samplers, tape loops, etc. Never knew people had a problem with that. I find it funny that anyone would. All the equipment anyone uses is nothing more than a tool. Saying your against pre-recorded sounds in a noise set is like saying there's no need to use a screwdriver while building a house. Any and everything should be used. I hope people accept that, because if they do that means they're coming out of their self induced shell.

 Rurnt: As far as the future of noise goes, I have no idea. I don't really seeing it being used in soda commercials or anything. I think it will just keep doing it's thing. There's always gonna be people still pushing the edge of what can be done and people still trying to be Whitehouse.

Kitsch Magik: also (highly generic question) what are some influences for this project.

Rurnt: My influences for Rurnt are from all over the place. Everything from the loop based experimentation of Slowdives "Pygmalion" to the fact that my boss can be a fucking dick. I don't know if they influence my sound (I'm sure they do to a certain degree), but some current acts that I'm really into are Terror Cell Unit, Developer, Jason Crumer, Sickness and a ton more.

Kitsch Magik: sweet that was amazing! any last words!

Rurnt :  Thanks for the questions and the interest. If anyone wants to hear what I've put out, check out the Failed Recordings bandcamp page. All downloads are free

You can hear Rurnt and other great artist at:

https://failedrecordings.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/rurnt423/

-Kitsch Magik

http://kitschmagik.wixsite.com/moyogash

kitschmagik.bandcamp.com