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Vision Heat Noisey Interview (English Vers) 0

jared-blum-studio

Noisey: Is music your main job? If not, what is?

Vision Heat: No music as of now is not. I mostly work in the food industry which I can dig because I love really good food, wine and spirits. Also it keeps me from getting fat sitting at a desk all day.

NS: What were your main influences when you decided to be a musician?

VH: I was into music from an early age maybe about 5 or 6 but hit heavy into rock when I heard Van Halen’s 1984, from there on I was hooked. I also raided my folks records so I was checking out the usual suspects The Beatles, Zeppelin, The Who, Cream and Sabbath! But I also dug Michael Jackson and Madonna too…then around 6th grade or 7 came Rush and Yes and all the proggy metal stuff.. I began to play bass and from there I was open to just about anything that had good bass players!

NS: How did you come up with the Vision Heat concept?

VH: The concept was sort of an accident. I was always into the 80’s thing but finally got enough gear and software to make “legit” sounding tracks. As I got going I started to write stuff in different styles and feels but all in an 80’s electronic vibe. For me, it’s all about revisiting or exploring a genre or time in history. It’s basically a vehicle to write the music in my head. I guess I could do it using guitar, bass, keyboards and drums too, but I love the sounds of the 80’s. It’s also easier to write complex shit using midi than playing it in band too. So all of these work for me. In terms of the style, I began listening to lots of mixes people made on blogs like “Unreleased Horror Soundtracks” which a lot are just basically ripped straight off of the VHS tapes. Other mixes like ones Andy Votel makes with Applehead for instance, helped shape the feel. I like changing up the sound as you listen through the record. Literally the production not just the style or instruments. It keeps me interested. Before long the record began to take on its own shape. I realized I could actually make my own “mixes” or “compilations” thus Vision Heat became more of a production studio and the “Chosen Themes” could actually span time. It also has a sound that doesn’t just sound like one single artist which is fun to make. It gives me carte blanc to go anywhere I want.

NS: How did you find fascination and inspiration in 80’s synth music?

VH: I grew up with it. It was everywhere in everything I heard. I always loved synths – I mean Jump was the track for me. During my college years I was in a band called g25 which was sort of video game experimental prog rock. Synths were a big part of the sound. When the band broke up I began tinkering around with gear in my bedroom and making more ambient weirdo stuff. Listening to lots of Eno and Aphex Twin, Kraftwerk, Talking Heads and King Crimson. I got really into the minimal thing. It wasn’t until I heard Boards of Canada with their lo-fi detuned thing that really made me stop and realize “oh yeah I remember these sounds from the old filmstrips and educational shit!” That stuff was actually cool again. The haunted sounds and melodies were so great. So that’s where I began the love of the nostalgic I guess. I then started going deep into Tangerine Dream and then into all the soundtracks of my youth and rediscovering that sound. I also love all the prog bands that did pop in the 80’s too. The shit most people can’t stand; Rush, Yes, Gabriel/Genesis, Crimson… It’s not all about arpeggios as the most of the current 80’s re-up seems to be about. I dug all the angular sequences bass parts and off drums.

NS: You take part in other music projects, more experimental stuff like The Talking Book, Blanketship and Vulcanus 68. It seems you have a lot to say, musically. Do you use all these different expressive outlets to conserve some coherence regarding your global artistic personality?

VH: Yeah it would bore me to just do one thing all the time. I need those outlets to influence the others too. Each one is a different vehicle in which I’m able to write music. And they all happened to have a nostalgic vibe. I don’t think I’ve ever written “future music or now music”. With Vulcanus 68 it was mostly this 60s electro acoustic thing, Blankenship was this strange 70’s easy listening fucked rock band sort of project using a blend of samples and my own playing. Talking Book is probably the closest in terms of anything “current” but it’s rooted in old vinyl that’s been played at 8 or 16 1/3 rpm. So it’s got some mold in there too. I like what Trey Spurance does with Secret Chiefs 3 for example. He’s got all these different “bands” or “personas” all within SC3. So he could either make separate projects or throw them all on one record and it works. I kinda like that. Maybe I’ll try that next.

NS: Vision Heat released three records prior to the Stranger Things OST release. Will you apply to score the next season?

VH: Ha… No I think they have a good thing going with these guys but at least it does bring into focus the sound of the 80’s synth stuff which really works great in suspense or sci-fi. It just fits you know? I guess I would like to do some more legitimate soundtrack work though, it’s super fun.

NS: What do you think of the craziness regarding Stranger Things? Did you listen to the soundtrack or watch the series?

VH: I’m not sure why all of a sudden it’s so hyped up. There’s been a lot of 80’s stuff going on recently in soundtracks. Other than the theme it’s very minimal and used as such. Like a little sequence comes in or some erie pads but that’s about it. You definitely can hear a little bit of early 90’s ambient in there too. I dig it a lot.

NS: Do you believe the ST phenomenon could help to reconsider the 80’s sound again?

VH: So what’s funny is that this re-up of 80’s sound has been around for a while now. Wasn’t the Drive soundtrack all the craze a couple of years ago? Death Waltz Records had been re-releasing a ton of stuff like this including being the first to reissue John Carpenter’s records. Almost everything they put out is pretty much on the 80’s esq soundtrack spectrum. I’ve been seeing lots of reissues and it’s awesome. Guys like Com Truise, Pye Corner Audio, Umberto and Steve Moore (Zombie) are just a few who have been into this feel for awhile now. I’m not too heavy into the whole coldwave/synthwave thing that much or at least don’t really listen to a lot of it. I’d rather throw on the Firestarter soundtrack! Probably my favorite guy doing this right now would have to be Davin Wood who’s done all the music for Tim and Eric’s stuff. That’s the real deal! It’s all about the other music, the incidental – in between stuff that I love as well.

NS: What’s next for you?

VH: I have a new project based on Japanese 80’s electronic/minimalist/pop/new age called Empire of Signs. It will be coming out on Root Strata and it’s a co-production with my buddy Maxwell August Croy (who co runs Root Strata). He plays koto, piano, guitar and tapes on the record. Basically, it was inspired by this mix “Fairlights, Mallets and Bamboo – Fourth-world Japan, years 1980-1986” by Spencer Doran aka DJ Spencer D. It’s absolutely incredible! It’s a pretty weird pop record. Then I have 2 more Vision Heat records, a soundtrack and another “compilation” on the way. So keeping busy.

NS: What’s new with The Talking Book? Any details on future plans?

VH: Yes! So we have about 2 albums worth of material that needs to be sorted and mixed. After that the plan is to put it out and hopefully play shows. Everyone’s been so busy with other bands and projects but soon enough we’ll all be able to get back and finish it off.

Q&A – John Chantler 0

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1: Analog or Digital?
plenty of both

2: What time did you wake up today?
6:30 am.  almost asleep again already.

3: Last thing you read?
Syrian Notebooks by Jonathan Littel

4: Whats your first memory?
Seeing my brother ride on the back of an elephant.

5: Tea Or Coffee?
Coffee. (preferably African, lightly roasted)

6: Last thing you cooked?
tofu, vegetables, rice noodles in a slightly sour soup (soy/lime/mirin)

7: If you’re reborn who or what would you like to be?
i could have another go at this being human thing…

8: What inspires you?
sunlight, surprises.

9: Last record you played?
Josh Abrams ‘Magnetoception

10: Favorite piece of musical equipment?
Serge ’73 Filter.

11: Last movie you saw?
Aloha (Totally garbage, transatlantic flight fodder)

12: Who do you love?
Carina, first and foremost.

13: Do you have any pets?
Nope.

14: Are you useful?
Sometimes.

15: Biggest fear?
That I will die before I’m done.

16: What do you value the most?
friendship.

17: Famous last words?
Let me just switch this thing on…

John Chantler is an Aussie gentleman currently based in Stockholm, Sweden. His new record, the fantastic ‘still light, outside’ was recently released and can be purchased in all formats here.

Q&A – TINT 0

TINT

1: Analog or Digital?
I think both is the dream team. Phone voice memo to cassette, cassette to Ableton, Ableton to 2″ tape, tape to digital master, whatever’s clever.

2: What time did you wake up today?
9 AM. The maintenance man in my building arrived unannounced to paint over the repair to the gaping hole that appeared in my ceiling after some severe storms. The repeated rings of the dinky bell at my door woke me up and had me jumping into my pants like a frantic feline. Comedy.

3: Last thing you read?
I enjoy reading many books in tandem. Right now I’m reading Morton Feldman Says, Architectural Representation and the Perspective Hinge, Looking For Bruce Conner, Adhocism and Der Klang der Familie. I should also say it has been an equally horrifying and inspiring time to read the news lately.

4: Whats your first memory?
I can’t recall what came first, but it’s either an enormous black spider coming out of the faucet at the start of my bath or my mom’s smiling face hovering over me, singing “You Are My Sunshine”.

5: Tea Or Coffee?
Coffee. Whole milk, no sugar. Cardboard color.

6: Last thing you cooked?
Fancy lad faux sausages with mushroom, zucchini, bell peppers, and red onion with dollops of a black pepper, french mustard and sesame ginger dressing concoction for myself and my auntie Brigid.

7: If you’re reborn who or what would you like to be?
A tree. While I’d happily sway for years and years, I’d be content to become a piece of paper, furniture, a house or firewood. Even a stump makes an excellent resting spot.

8: What inspires you?
The moment after the present one. It is in that moment I’m offered the chance to say or do what I’ve only thought.

9: Last record you played?
Kim Jung Mi, “Now”. I’ve also been enjoying the James Holden NTS radio sessions.

10: Favorite piece of musical equipment?
My Ampeg Dan Armstrong “Smoke” guitar. I took the name Tint in honor of the body of my guitar, in reference specifically to the dark transparent shade of the lucite it’s crafted from.

11: Last movie you saw?
In the theater: Inside Out. At home: What Happened, Miss Simone?

12: Who do you love?
Her. I’m not certain who she is though. So by default, Bo Diddley.

13: Do you have any pets?
Not right now, though I like to say “Hi” to most street cats.

14: Are you useful?
Depends what I’m doing. I tend to unconsciously avoid tasks I feel I struggle with, but strive to transform my fear into motivation. That being said, I hope to never master anything. My friend said to me recently that every day she says to herself “ingenuity over virtuosity”. Upon hearing that I realized I’ve always felt that way but never had the words.

15: Biggest fear?
To put it lightly, it would have to be that if I was to be buried up to my neck in the sands of time with the ashes of my dreams blowing into my face, while being forced to observe the reels of my delusions.

16: What do you value the most?
It’s a tie for my hands and my tongue.

17: Famous last words?
Thank you.

TINT is Brooklyn transplant Zane Morris. His new 12″ EP ‘My New Murex’ is out this week on True Panther. Scope the vid.

Q&A – Vision Heat 1

jared-blum

1: Analog or Digital?
The combo. I’m infatuated with poly synths of the mid 80’s as well as the old samplers which were all in the digital realm. Also I use a computer to create everything so… But then of course there’s nothing like tape. Nothing. Everything I do has to hit tape before it hits the ears.

2: What time did you wake up today?
6:20 when my kid woke up. Then back down till 7:43

3: Last thing you read?
Maybe the latest Tape Op and i’m currently getting through the David Byrne’s How Music Works

4: Whats your first memory?
My parent’s apartment -nothing particular just the main room

5: Tea Or Coffee?
Coffee.

6: Last thing you cooked?
Tomato Salad with feta, cucumber, and mint for a picnic

7: If you’re reborn who or what would you like to be?
A musician in the 60’s.

8: What inspires you?
My quest to challenge myself to make better music…To be able to listen to something I did and really like it.

9: Last record you played?
The Haxan Cloak-Excavation followed by Pomegranates- the Persian rock comp from Finder’s Keepers

10: Favorite piece of musical equipment?
My computer or APH Library of Congress Tape Player

11: Last movie you saw?
Inherent Vice

12: Who do you love?
My family, dogs and the couple of friends I have

13: Do you have any pets?
Yes had 2 dogs now only 1

14: Are you useful?
Depends; sometimes I let other’s be in charge. I usually don’t care enough. But most of the time it’s me trying to be the motivator

15: Biggest fear?
Not having any legacy or not leaving a trace

16: What do you value the most?
Humor and companionship

17: Famous last words?
LOL

Vision Heat is Bay Area based Jared Blum. Along with running the Gigante Sound label, he has been involved in countless solo and collaborative projects over the years including Blanketship, The Talking Book, Vulcanus 68, etc. Jared’s first release as Vision Heat is available now from Root Strata.

Q&A – Hiro Kone 0

HiroKone_img

1: Analog or Digital?
Inspired by analog but very dependent on digital.

2: What time did you wake up today?
9:30am to hit snooze and barricade the cats from the bedroom. So I could then sleep until 10am.

3: Last thing you read?
“A Splendid Conspiracy” by Albert Cossery

4: Whats your first memory?
A dream that involved a swamp, a row boat, and a group of hooded “small people”.

5: Tea Or Coffee?
Coffee in the USA and tea when I’m in Asia.

6: Last thing you cooked?
Noodles with ground pork and mushrooms marinated in sake, soy sauce and a dash of agave. Tossed with a ton of cumin, scallions, and basil.

7: If you’re reborn who or what would you like to be?
Mulder and Scully.

8: What inspires you?
People willing to share knowledge and those brave enough (like Aaron Swartz) to speak out against it being institutionalized and made available to just the privileged few.

9: Last record you played?
Fela Kuti’s “Black President”.

10: Favorite piece of musical equipment?
Right now it’s my Octatrack, but the violin feels connected to my core in a way that no sampler or sequencer ever will.

11: Last movie you saw?
“In the Heat of the Night” and by the time you read this Chris Marker’s “Level Five.”

12: Who do you love?
Albert. And my mom.

13: Do you have any pets?
Two cats, Vincent Price and Roland Kirk.

14: Are you useful?
Supposedly I’m good at math.

15: Biggest fear?
That we as a society won’t realize that when it comes to the environment, Ebola, militarized cops, the criminalization of journalism, and genocide—neutrality is no longer an option. Silence does not make one un-accountable.

16: What do you value the most?
Honesty.

17: Famous last words?
Borrowed words from Diamanda Galás: “Were you a witness?”

Hiro Kone is Brooklyn based musician Nicky Mao. Her latest release ‘Fallen Angel‘ is out now on Geographic North

Q&A – Messages 0

tres-warren

Tres Warren

1: Analog or Digital?
Both

2: What time did you wake up today?
8:30

3: Last thing you read?
The baseball standings in the sports section

4: Whats your first memory?
I don’t remember, probably hanging out with my granddad, he was my best friend.

5: Tea Or Coffee?
Coffee

6: Last thing you cooked?
Beans and rice with green chiles.

7: If you’re reborn who or what would you like to be?
I haven’t thought about it, I’ll play the hand I get dealt I guess.

8: What inspires you?
Figuring out the puzzle.

9: Last record you played?
The Tony Williams Lifetime: Emergency!

10: Favorite piece of musical equipment?
Roland Space Echo, but honestly, I don’t use it all the time.

11: Last movie you saw?
Ride in the Whirlwind by Monte Hellman.

12: Who do you love?
My girlfriend

13: Do you have any pets?
She has a dog, so I kind of have a dog.

14: Are you useful?
I can bait a hook.

15: Biggest fear?
I’m not sure.

16: What do you value the most?
Spending time with people that mean something to me.

17: Famous last words?
I don’t have any yet.

taketo-shimada

Taketo Shimada

1: Analog or Digital?
analog

2: What time did you wake up today?
6:30 am

3: Last thing you read?
Old Capital by Kawabata

4: Whats your first memory?
I don’t remember

5: Tea Or Coffee?
both

6: Last thing you cooked?
cucumber and cabbage pickles

7: If you’re reborn who or what would you like to be?
I don’t know.

8: What inspires you?
fear

9: Last record you played?
Bismillah Khan – Raag Multani

10: Favorite piece of musical equipment?
shehnai, lap slide guitar

11: Last movie you saw?
Pacific Rim

12: Who do you love?
myself, my wife, my family and some friends

13: Do you have any pets?
cat

14: Are you useful?
I don’t really care about that.

15: Biggest fear?
air plane crash, global warming, hurricane flooding, giant earthquake

16: What do you value the most?
things staying the same

17: Famous last words?

Based out of New York, Tres Warren (also of Psychic Ills) & Taketo Shimada are Messages. Their latest release, an LP reissue of ‘Mirage‘ is out now on Root Strata, available from a variety of fine vendors.

Q&A – Sean McCann 0

seanangeles13small

1: Analog or Digital?
Analog converted to digital

2: What time did you wake up today?
7:20am

3: Last thing you read?
“Experimental Music: Cage and Beyond” by Michael Nyman – fascinating!

4: Whats your first memory?
I have a particularly awful memory, but I want to say it’s going down a cold metal slide at a park playground.

5: Tea Or Coffee?
Espresso, then earl grey or mint tea later in the day.

6: Last thing you cooked?
Toasted bread with avocado, salt, and sliced tomato. A staple in my diet.

7: If you’re reborn who or what would you like to be?
Person: A classically-trained musician … could be interesting?
Thing: Being reborn as caviar would be a pretty wild ride (the whole way through)

8: What inspires you?
Hard work and selflessness

9: Last record you played?
LP: John Fahey – “Days Have Gone By” on Takoma Records
CD: Andrew Chalk – “Blue Eyes Of The March”
CS: A tape my parents dubbed holding the first two Roxy Music albums
MP3: Philip Corner – “Satie’s Rose Cross As A Revelation”

10: Favorite piece of musical equipment?
My violin

11: Last movie you saw?
I just re-watched Chinatown by Roman Polanski

12: Who do you love?
Most everyone a little, a few people quite a lot

13: Do you have any pets?
My roommate has two cats, Baby & Orange Man

14: Are you useful?
To certain people. Which, right now, is enough for me

15: Biggest fear?
Breaking my teeth

16: What do you value the most?
Consideration

17: Famous last words?
Pleased to have made it this far…

West Coast native Sean McCann lives in Los Angeles. Apart from numerous solo releases, he also runs the Recital Program imprint.

Prelusion, his latest solo work, is out this Friday on Root Strata.

Q&A – YOUNG MOON 1

1: Analog or Digital?
Both

2: What time did you wake up today?
9:15

3: Last thing you read?
‘ when things fall apart ‘ Pema Chodron

4: Whats your first memory?
Being terrified of the clown my mother hired for my birthday party and hiding under the table

5: Tea Or Coffee?
Coffee. I had my first matcha the other day. I love both.

6: Last thing you cooked?
The last thing i cooked would have been a few months ago on the bbq that is now in storage along with everything else in my life.

7: If you’re reborn who or what would you like to be?
a cat in the sun, a giant sequoia ? ? ?  not sure about this one.

8: What inspires you?
Love

9: Last record you played?
Burial ‘ Untrue ‘ . . . at the gym.

10: Favorite piece of musical equipment?
a tie between my Roland JV1010 synth module and my Roland R77 drum machine.

11: Last movie you saw?
I watched half of Donnie Darko before falling asleep last night.

12: Who do you love?
I love

13: Do you have any pets?
R.I.P. Iodine the Dalmatian, Winston the Persian , Summer the keeshond, Alaska the Black feral cat born in a dresser, and Nimrod the goldfish.

14: Are you useful?
yes .

15: Biggest fear?
of being alone on this journey

16: What do you value the most?
my heart being open

17: Famous last words?
I will quote the last thing Jefre said to me before he left for Europe because I really love it ,  “stay vulnerable”

Young Moon is William Trevor Montgomery, a California native and a founding member of Tarentel, The Drift, Lazarus & Moholy-Nagy, to name a few.
Navigated Like the Swan‘ is his first release under his new name and it will be out this Friday the 27th via Western Vinyl.

 

Q&A – Maggi Payne 1

1: Analog or Digital?
Both

2: What time did you wake up today?
8:03 am

3: Last thing you read?
Radical Light

4: Whats your first memory?
I forget

5: Tea Or Coffee?
Lemon ginger tea

6: Last thing you cooked?
Does boiling water count?

7: If you’re reborn who or what would you like to be?
A dolphin or the sea

8: What inspires you?
Just about everything

9: Last record you played?
Annea Lockwood’s Jitterbug

10: Favorite piece of musical equipment?
Too tough to answer and a moving target

11: Last movie you saw?
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

12: Who do you love?
Almost everyone

13: Do you have any pets?
Our neighborhood supplies a plethora of cats to pet

14: Are you useful?
Hope so

15: Biggest fear?
Perhaps that I’m not useful

16: What do you value the most?
The environment

17: Famous last words?
Ahh, ahh

Maggi Payne is Co-Director of the Center for Contemporary Music at Mills College, Oakland. She has been writing and performing music since the 70s and has performed her works all over the world. Her latest release (a retrospective of previously unreleased material), Ahh-Ahh Music For Ed Tannenbaum’s Technological Feets 1984-1987, is out now on Root Strata.

Q&A – VESTALS 0

1: Analog or Digital?
both, together, in a holy union

2: What time did you wake up today?
9:50

3: Last thing you read?
The Wind Up Bird Chronicle

4: Whats your first memory?
Waking up at dawn in my toddler bed watching the owls that lived in my neighbor’s roof fly back from their night hunt. Or maybe looking in the mirror trying to decide what color my hair was.

5: Tea Or Coffee?
Coffee

6: Last thing you cooked?
Stir fried summer squash with basil pine nuts and rice pasta

7: If you’re reborn who or what would you like to be?
something feline

8: What inspires you?
abundance, the sky in all of it’s manifestations, mind altering substances, intution, touch, texture

9: Last record you played?
HTRK work (work, work)

10: Favorite piece of musical equipment?
the thing inside my throat that makes the sounds

11: Last movie you saw?
Moonrise Kingdom

12: Who do you love?
Evan and June and so many more

13: Do you have any pets?
My family dog is an old yeller. I love her too.

14: Are you useful?
when I set my mind to it

15: Biggest fear?
fear is the mind killer (see 14)

16: What do you value the most?
the responsibility of self creation

17: Famous last words?
this should be interesting..

Vestals is California native Lisa McGee, who also spends time in Higuma & Portraits. ‘Forever Falling Toward The Sky‘ is her first ever LP & will be out tomorrow on Root Strata!!

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