Daughters of Cacophony / Bit Graves / Peopling / SPLASTEEN
Coming up from Portland, Daughters of Cacophony (dark experimental ambient) will play along with Bit Graves (experimental electronic synth), Peopling (party noise) and SPLASTEEN (live modular noise)
Monday, April 29, 7:00 PM at Mudlark Oddities - Event Page
Modbang: DJ Weak Acid / Jay Hosking / Som Shankar / EZBOT
The monthly free electronic music showcase at The 4Bs will feature DJ Weak Acid, Jay Hosking (live synth), Som Shankar (electronic acid ambient), and EZBOT (dark minimal techno).
Tuesday, April 30, 7:00 PM at The 4Bs - Event Page
I Can’t Trace Time / Emergency Hand Puppet / Noisepoetnobody / Sacred Signs
Members of Afterlife Giftshop along with members of Von Wildenhaus will perform an evening soundbath in AM static and barely tuned in stations, interjected with imagined soft rock hits, talk radio detritus, and mellow jams being compressed and awash in AM frequency white noise.
Thursday, May 2, 7:00 PM at Rabbit Box Theatre - Event Page
Radio Noise Collective - City Statics + Maria Thrän
Radio Noise Collective transforms the airwaves into a framework of sonic exploration, where participant-performers decode the universe through a symphony of radio hacking, unraveling the hidden dance of electromagnetic waves and the raw essence of noise-clouds in a captivating live performance.
They will be also be joined by Maria Thrän (Berlin / Seattle)
Thursday, May 2, 8:00 PM at Chapel Performance Space - Event Page
Test Frenzy / (blouseusa)band / noisepoetnobody
Record release for the Lythic Records comp appearance of Test Frenzy (industrial sweater core) (members of Githyanki). They will be joined by (blouseusa) (electronic free jazz) and noisepoetnobody (experimental cold wave).
Friday, May 3, 9:00 PM at Southgate Roller Rink - Event Page
Friday, May 3, 8:00 PM at Gallery 1412 - Event Page
Interview with PRISONFOOD
PRISONFOOD is the noise project by Abraham Moses from Everett, WA. He has been making noise in some form or another since 1999. I’m excited to have him here on the blog for an interview.
SEATTLE NOISE:
Good morning. We are conducting this interview while you’re on tour, so it may be interesting to see how your perception may change as you make your way down the road and back home.
PRISONFOOD:
Good afternoon Seattle Noise and thank you for reaching out during this adventure. Luckily I discovered my flip phone has a hotspot so I am able to internet a tad out here. It’s wild to me that I am on a tour, something I have actively resisted doing ever since touring as the noiser in a metal band ages ago.
SEATTLE NOISE:
Can you give us an introduction to your project? How do you describe PRISONFOOD?
PRISONFOOD:
My project is mostly just me scratching whatever audio video itch tickles my fancy. I have always found it difficult to learn an instrument and play music but I still enjoy the process of creating textures and honing in on subtle minutia detected within the waves.
PRISONFOOD is just the moniker I give myself when I am experimenting alone. If someone collaborates then usually that would earn its own project name. I used a couple of names for my solo recordings before eventually locking it down.
Back then I wanted my tracks to sound good like Locust Abortion Technician and when they didn’t I would be so discouraged it prevented me from creating. Keeping expectations low and giving myself a license to create sounds that sucked was the key to ensuring momentum, an inertia free of discouraging deprecations. Surely no one would check out a project called PRISONFOOD and expect it not to suck.
SEATTLE NOISE:
There is such a diverse group of noise artists and musicians in the Seattle / Cascadia region. Is there a memorable show where you first connected?
PRISONFOOD:
The Wooden Octopus Musick Pfestival in 2005 was a pivotal event for me. After years of incessantly searching for the PNW noise sect, I had finally found my fold. Seemingly everyone in attendance had a noise project and I could not wait to hear them all. Trading releases was the social media of the day. Thankfully I was able to break the ice, meet all the locals, and bring home some of the most treasured releases in my collection. That Pfest audience was packed with so many local noise acts, I decided that day forward to focus my ears on local experimental sounds because the ocean of Euro and japanoise was insurmountable in my eyes.
A highlight from that show was during The Haters set I kept checking my ears for blood, it felt like liquid was streaming down my neck. Surprisingly there was no blood but it was so loud I was concerned about my hearing safety for the first time at any live show. I noticed the person next to me pull out a fist full of individually wrapped ear plugs which they were happy to pass around. Thoughtful generosities such as these, no matter how small, are what I’ve come to admire most about Seattle’s noise contingent.
SEATTLE NOISE:
Building community is what I find exciting about noise. [I fell into the noise community in 2018]. I first heard about you from the AnaRchYinBedRoK Twitch streams. How did that start and have you been able to connect with people from Twitch while on tour?
PRISONFOOD:
In 2017 I entered into hermit noiser mode and after some time had passed my curiosity about the current state of noise had piqued once again. I began looking for the places where people get their noise but it’s not like there is any centralized noise hub that I could find. Falling down some rabbit hole that I discovered on Hollow Earth Radio, I found myself checking out a new social media messaging site called Discord which I didn’t really like but there I met a young media specialist who turned me onto Twitch as sort of a free and easy platform to build a channel kind of like MTV for noisers. The word “twitch” reminded me of a song where the lyrics say “Anarchy in bedrock, twitch twitch” AnaRchYinBedRoK came from the song. It was just a spur of the moment thing, it said I could change the name later but I guess I just left it there and that’s what my online Twitch persona became.
It’s been real hard to stay connected to anyone on the tour with my flip phone and limited internet, but I know they are fine. I have built a strong community of leaders there for keeping noise events thriving on Twitch even after I am gone. I have created a Discord server I can keep an eye on that is a staging ground for twitch noise events as well as sharing news and tips about gear, releases, irl shows, everything and nothing, really. It’s very autonomous the way pretty much anyone can set up events there, anarchy at its best.
SEATTLE NOISE:
Looking to the future, do you have any goals for PRISONFOOD? (other than of course completing this tour)
PRISONFOOD:
Tour is almost over and I feel like I’m not ready to hang up the reigns just yet but who knows? The future of PRISONFOOD is always uncertain and that is what keeps me interested. Collaborations, fun shows, freeing minds and interacting with fellow noise enthusiasts are the only real goals that drive my happy ass to keep living the dream.
Thanks for the interest, I enjoyed the Q&A sesh here on the road.
SEATTLE NOISE:
Where can people best follow you and keep up with what you’re doing?
Sunday, April 21, 7:00 PM at Lucky Liquor - Event Page
RN White / Lye Feast / Casey Adams / RIB
Another round of noise with RN White (harsh noise wails), Lye Feast (death industrial), Casey Adams (sparse-tronics) and the debut of RIB (movement noise)
Wednesday, April 24, 7:30 PM at Teatro de la Psychomachia - Event Page
The Electric Nature / Friends of the Road / Dosenöffner
Thursday, April 25, 7:00 PM at Drongo Tapes HQ - Event Page
🔮 G.T. Arpe 🔮 Debt Rag 🔮 Glad We’re Together 🔮 Fantasy Dumpster Circus 🔮
Generator show with G.T. Arpe (experimental avant garde electronica), Debt Rag (punk) from Olympia, Glad We’re Together (experiemental), and Fantasy Dumpster Circus (experimental).
Thursday, April 25, 8:00 PM at Under 1st Avenue Bridge - Event Page
Lori Goldston + Jaison Scott: interdimensional immersion for Torben Ulrich
Cellist Lori Goldston and drummer Jaison Scott improvise together, moving freely between ideas that spring from jazz, metal, chamber music and a long list of folk and popular idioms.
Thursday, April 25, 8:00 PM at Chapel Performance Space - Event Page
Clove: Durate
Clove features a close group of players and improvisers attending to the interplay of emptiness and form. Clove draws on their flowers and roots in the punk, metal, noise and diy scenes, for syzygies of song, sound, and silence.
The ensemble will consist of Meredith Davey (cello, voice, electronics), Hanna Broback (guitar, voice synth), and Ian Gwin.
Friday, April 26, 8:00 PM at Chapel Performance Space - Event Page
Eastern Iowa Municipal Percussion Ensemble
Eastern Iowa Municipal Percussion Ensemble was formed out of an Anarchist collective located in Blue Grass, Iowa. Their repertoire for every performance is chosen based on their beliefs in sound/percussion as Ritual and Protest. On this tour they will perform a percussion piece by Italian anarchist/composer Damiano Cecceralli (1937-1999).
Friday, April 26, 8:00 PM at Gallery 1412 - Event Page
NonSeq: 05elantra + august V.M./Arabella
The next performance in the NonSequitur NonSeq series curated by Connie Fu (enerph) will feature 05elantra:
05elantra is a Los Angeles-based interdisciplinary visual artist, musician, designer, technologist, and curator interrogating liminal spaces in modern life.
for this performance, august will present a collection of musical sketches composed in preparation for the writing and recording of her first album…In collaboration with august VM, they will be exploring the curiosities and openness of the deep sea, by creating an installation utilizing video synthesis and light as a material.
Saturday, April 27, 8:00 PM at Chapel Performance Space - Event Page
Sunday, April 14, 7:30 PM at The Sunset Tavern - Event Page
To End It All album release
I featured their upcoming album release earlier in March and now the show is here. To End It All will be joined by Rachel LeBlanc (voice), Susan DuMett (voice), Jackie An (violin), and Lori Goldston (cello). Butoh performers will include Vanessa Skantze, Kaoru Okumura, and Douglas Riding. Greg Campbell will perform a solo percussion set.
Thursday, April 18, 8:00 PM at Chapel Performance Space - Event Page
Medium Weekend / Thee Effluvium / Skunk Ape / Tarsier Eyes
Saturday, April 20, 8:00 PM at Casa Dentata - Event Page
SH!TOMATO / (-2) / Takeshita / Tom Scully / EKG
Noise show with SH!TOMATO (noise), (-2) (experimental doomjazz), Takeshita (harsh noise), Tom Scully (guitar driven experimental noise), and EKG (experimental party noise)
Saturday, April 20, 8:00 PM at Bad Bar - Event Page
somesurprises / Coral Grief / Anthers
Album release show for Perseids by somesurprises (dreamy krautrock). Supporting them will be Coral Grief (ambient dream pop) and Anthers (punk).
Saturday, April 20, 7:30 PM at Tractor Tavern - Event Page
Visiting from New York City is Painted Faces (experimental noise). Joining them will be Forrest Friends (freak folk), Peopling (party noise), and Changing Bodies (experimental synth movement). It’s a generator show so you may want to bring an extra layer because it’s not quite summer yet.
Sunday, April 7, 8:00 PM at Under 1st Avenue Bridge - Event Page
The Reinvention of Romance “for cello and percussion comprises some 90 minutes of spare, economical gestures, played not quite in sync… [resulting in] an extended sequence of simple figures arranged in succinct packets, each repeated at length until a timer prompts moving on to the next… Weaving together the kinds of fragmentary figurations with which Morton Feldman might have evoked twirling mobiles or intricate tapestries, Ms. Hennies instead evokes the slightly akimbo biorhythms of lives intimately conjoined.” – Steve Smith (The New York Times)
Thursday, April 11, 8:00 PM at Chapel Performance Space - Event Page
A night of experimental music featuring Eyvind Kang and Jessika Kenney, “a duo interested in geomusicalities”. They will be joined by Faith Colloccia (experimental) and Casey Adams (electro-acoustical percussion).
Thursday, April 4, 8:00 PM at Chapel Performance Space - Event Page
The Rita / Tab In/Tab Out / RN White / NUDECONSUMER / CZ
Rescheduled and finally here at last. The Rita (avant-garde industrial noise) will play along with Tab In/Tab Out (harsh noise wall), RN White (experimental), NUDECONSUMER (harsh noise wall) and CZ (harsh noise).
Saturday, April 6, 6:30 PM at Woodland Theater - Event Page
Upcoming Shows March 24 - March 30
Robert Tussin / Blaix / Shoyei / Aria Bare
A night of experimental electronic music presented by Modbang. Featuring Robert Tussin (electronic), Blaix (electronic breakcore), Shoyei (electronic), and Aria Bare (ambient deep techno).
Tuesday, March 26, 7:00 PM at The 4Bs - Event Page
LottoRPG / Dedfones / The Checks / Changing Bodies
Visiting from Los Angeles is LottoRPG (electronic) and Dedfones (garage rock pop-punk). Joining them will be The Checks (garage punk) and Changing Bodies (experimental synth movement).
Tuesday, March 26, 8:00 PM at Blue Moon Tavern - Event Page
unpoetry at Casa Del Xolo
Part of the ongoing unpoetry experimental sound and poetry series. March features Rhea Melina, Craven Rock, The Dolls, rEEk, Samuel Henry, Rachel Le Blanc, and Tarsier Eyes.
Thursday, March 28, 8:00 PM at Casa Del Xolo - Event Page
Carlos Cotallo Solares / Sophie Chin / Peter Tracy / Aaron Michael Butler
Thursday, March 28, 8:00 PM at Vermillion - Event Page
Max Nordile / Organic Produce / Hannah Rice & Casey Adams / Till the Teeth
Experimental music from Max Nordile (human music), Organic Produce (harsh soft drone) from Portland, Hannah Rice (movement) and Casey Adams (percussion), along with Till the Teeth (experimental noise rock).
Friday, March 29, 8:00 PM at Gallery 1412 - Event Page
Give Me The Money / CSTMR / Mantle Collapse / Mutual Stoke
Wednesday, March 20, 7:00 PM at Casa Del Xolo - Event Page
Xinxin / Lionmilk / Christopher Icasiano
On tour from California is Xinxin (alternative jazz-grunge) along with Lionmilk (experimental jazz). Joining them will be Christopher Icasiano (percussion)
Thursday, March 21, 7:00 PM at Chop Suey - Event Page
Saturday, March 23, 8:00 PM at Blue Moon Tavern - Event Page
To End It All - Of Blood & Memory
Avant-garde industrial group To End It All will be releasing a new album with Roman Numeral Records. On March 8 they released a video for “The Drink of Silence”, featuring Douglas Ridings, Kaoru Okumura, Vanessa Skantze, Joy Von Spain, Masaaki Masao, and Anne K. O’Neill. (Review by Veil of Sound)
The full length will be available on April 19, 2024. In case it’s too long for you to wait, To End It All’s performance last summer at Lunasa Cascadia (filmed by Shelby Kray of blueheronvideo) is available. Accompanying their performance was a film by Hali Autumn of Vanessa Skantze.
The release show will be on Thursday, April 18 at the Chapel Performance Space. Joining them will be Rachel LeBlanc (voice), Susana DuMett (voice), Jackie An (violin), and Lori Goldston (cello). Butoh performers will include Vanessa Skantze, Kaoru Okumura, and Douglas Riding. Greg Campbell will perform a solo percussion set.
The last show I attended before the pandemic was on March 12, 2020 for the Pathogens tape release along with To End It All. As it cut us off so suddenly, seeing people continue to create and collaborate provides a certain optimism and excitement. Weaving between noise, doom, and industrial the stray threads lead into somewhere ethereal, and yet vast. Under the roar of a glacier retreating, perhaps.
Another memorable performance was on August 31, 2019 at Reaktor Space as part of Mehreren Kammern 3.33.
Upcoming Shows March 10 - March 16
Some housekeeping for the blog. I’ve introduced a section, “Flyers” linked at the top. For people who don’t have social media, this allows you to view the flyers without having to login. I plan on maintaining the Google Calendar of events, but keep in mind I add events to the Google Calender which don’t end up getting featured in the weekly posts. Another goal is to set up an email newsletter if you prefer to subscribe that way.
Modular Nights: Modbang and Basement State Takeover
Jonah Parzen-Johnson makes music for baritone saxophone & flute that challenges listeners with experimental textures & forms while embracing them with warm approachable melodies.
