In this interview spotlight, I chat with miserable.noise.club about the near impossible task of choosing a favorite song of all time, dream collabs, the latest project and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Are you able to choose a favorite song of all time? Or would you label this an impossible task? If yes, what’s the song? If no, what’s your current Top 3?
As years go by with the abundant and never ending new music discoveries and reshuffles, an all time favorite doesn’t exist for me. The first of my current top 3 is “Ole School Shit” by Eazy-E. This is from the “Str8 Off Tha Streetz of Muthaphukkin Compton” album. I grew up listening to a lot of Hip Hop and Gangsta Rap, especially West Coast tunes. This one takes the top spot. The hard hitting rough beat with signature West Coast keys absolutely mesmerizes. The lyrics are filled with intelligent wordplay and great bars. Excellent delivery from everyone featured on the track. And the fact that this is a diss track gives it all a raw and gritty punch that just does not let go from the second the beat kicks in. In my opinion, this is the definite Gangsta Rap song. I’m still spinning this 25+ years later.
Second comes Agalloch’s “In The Shadow Of Our Pale Companion” from their album “The Mantle.” I got this when it came out, and I have never heard anything like it before. What is this? Folk? Drone? Black Metal? Doom Metal? Progressive Rock? Melancholic Acoustic Neo folk? Post Metal? All in one track?! A little short of 15 minutes; it’s an absolutely beautiful journey through the cold, snowy landscapes of the Pacific Northwest. Numerous different passages that blend into each other seamlessly with so many emotions and sounds that many other bands would never be able to capture in their entire discographies. This is Agalloch’s masterpiece.
Third, I’m putting “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” (all parts) by Pink Floyd because I’ve been listening to it a lot. It’s one of the those tracks that no matter how many times you listen to, you’ll always hear something new. Phenomenal keyboards, excellent guitars and all out great instrumentation. This is a classic so I’m not gonna talk much about it. I’m just in the mood for it these days for some reason.
What about this project makes you most proud? Was there a specific goal you were trying to accomplish with this release?
Since the conception of miserable.noise.club almost a decade ago, the fact that we’re a collective with members scattered around the globe. All of us have other bands, projects, work, family and personal matters to take care of. But we’ve still managed to stay relevant and consistent with releases, performances and a presence. I’m very happy and thankful for the support we have received throughout the years from fellow friends, musicians, magazines, websites, blogs, channels, and radio stations that featured and broadcasted our tunes. We’ve performed in small spaces, to big venues and even national galleries. I’m proud of everything that we have achieved so far.
For “Sun-dried Politics” specifically, we wanted to produce an improvisational piece of music that still had a structure and sense of progress. All guitars, bass, synth, percussion and whatever noise you hear on there. It was completely improvised. It’s only a few seconds short of nine minutes, yet there’s a journey there. It’s a bumpy ride. It takes you places. It’s jazzy, noisy, dark, crushing, with spontaneous transitions and that all flows together smoothly until it reaches its final drony climax. I’d say we achieved our goal, and we couldn’t be happier with this release.
What inspires you to create music? What motivates you to keep going?
Myself. I do things that inspire me to make music, because I know creating music in its turn inspires me and keeps me going, energized and wanting to do more. Whether it’s more music or other endeavors. Every track, EP, album, cover art released and anything associated with this makes me happy and motivated to do more. Recognition and positive reviews (even negative) as well. There’s a wonderful feeling that comes from doing this. Akin to a pint of beer with great company, or a cold shower after a run, or whatever gives you a jolt or nudge to keep on doing it. There are tracks that we recorded years ago that only now are starting to get reviews and plays internationally. Being compared and mentioned in the same sentence as Pink Floyd is humbling and inspiring.
It’s also important to stay relevant and up to date with everything. World news, pop culture, music review, video game reviews, TV / movie reviews, books and whatever. Stay relevant with what’s happening in different cities around you and in other continents. Walk around art galleries, through alleyways, through parks, and go places where you usually don’t. Something might intrigue and lead you to another thing that could spark an idea in you.
I’ve met and collaborated with some wonderful artists and musicians around the globe. Still do. Having new collaborators add their own touch is always exciting and motivating. They inspire me to keep coming up with new and ideas that are fun and exciting to work on. More experimentation and delving into unknown production ways to sculpt sounds that are original, intriguing and as some have said, “tickles the ear.”
If you could collaborate with anyone – dead or alive, famous or unknown – who would it be and why? If it’s an indie/DIY artist, please include a link so readers can check them out.
Mark E. Smith of the Fall. It wasn’t until a few years ago that my brother put on a few of their tracks and in turn I dove into their discography, especially their peel sessions. Hundreds of live performances on Youtube, interviews, documentaries, and albums listened to, I get it. In my own way. We’d have a couple of pints (a dozen each more likely). Have him mess around with the knobs, pedals and the entire setup, yell at me then kick me out of the studio. It’ll be worth it. Seriously though, all of our music is instrumental. But if there’s one person to ever record vocals for us, it would be E. Smith. He was a dedicated artist. And he made great music. Cheers to the bloke.
What was the last song you listened to? Favorite all-time bands/artists?
I was rummaging through a vintage clothes shop in Koenji, Tokyo and saw a t-shirt by a band called Dissent. I was intrigued so I looked them up and it turned out to be a cluster-fuck of hundreds of bands with that name (and similar logos). After listening to a few of them, I discovered Dissent from Houston, Texas. A Thrash Metal / Crust Punk band that were active from 2005-2014. I’ve been listening to their EP “Strength Through Chaos” on repeat. Especially the track “Fuck Cop Sympathy.” Not so much about the lyrics and political views. But the riffs, drumming and all out musicianship is my cup of tea.
Some of my favorites: Irreversible (Atlanta), B-tribe (The Barcelona Tribe of Soulsters), Akira Yamaoka, Bohren & Der Club of Gore, Iggy Pop, Arvo Part, Cliff Martinez, Martin Stig Andersen, Napalm Death, The Fall, Swans, Tricky, Massive Attack, Dead Can Dance, Elend, Converge, Altar Of Plagues, Cypress Hill, Lurker Of Chalice, Nortt, Marconi Union, Dissent (obviously now), Of The Wand And The Moon, Dead Kennedys, Hans Zimmer & John Powell solely for their work on “The Thin Red Line.”
Where is the best place to find you and stay connected?
miserable.noise.club@gmail.com for any direct communication with me regarding questions, inquiries, collaborations, events and bookings.
You can follow us, stream our tracks and watch live videos through these links:
I appreciate Your time. Want to say or plug any other projects before we part ways?
We have a new track coming up later this year called “Désolé pour la désolation” that we’re thrilled about. We’ve been working on this for a few years. It features a collection of field recording, synth, acoustic guitars, strings, percussion, improvised electric & bass guitars + various electronics all weaved into it. We also have a three track EP that will have a heavily atmospheric Dark-Drone oriented sound. Plus a video performance currently in the works that will be recorded in parts in New York, Istanbul, Guangzhou and other parts in East Asia. So stay tuned to all of these and give us a follow on Bandcamp and Youtube.
Thank you so much for your time as well! And to everyone who went through my answers. I really appreciate it. Cheers.
