01 : MAR : 07
ANGELSPIT Interview in SIDELINE MAGAZINE (March 07)
Interview by Vlad McNeally.

From what I understand, you both met through collaborating on a zine distro called Vox Populis. How did that translate into creating music, and what is the overall modus operandi behind Angelspit?

ZooG: Making a zine is the coolest form of expression. It’s not like blogging - you can be creative. Plus you have to mass produce it (with a photocopier), assemble it and get it out there. It makes you think about what you are saying and how you are saying it…because there’s so much work involved, your content has to make it worth all the work.

It’s the same ethos with our music. We put a lot of work into what we are saying and the images and music that support it. Effort is the key behind Angelspit.
The revolution will be photocopied, sampled and distorted!

Destroyx: We’re a totally DIY band. Ever since we met ZooG and I have been on a creative rampage, which started with the wonderful world of zines. Zines are such a great form of self expression because you oversee the creation, publication and distribution. I suppose this has influenced our approach to music and promotion with Angelspit.

I was rather surprised that Angelspit comes from a reference to the art-rock auteurs, Sonic Youth. Noticing that you also have a penchant for homemade drums and unusual instrumentation, it reminds me of a time where experimental rock and industrial were partners-in-crime, when you had bands like Foetus working with Youth' Thurston Moore. Do you see yourselves as being like emissaries trying to re-invoke this lost connection?

ZooG: The only connection that we are trying to re-invoke is the desire within ourselves to create art with passion, motivation, honesty and boldness.

It’s so easy to fall in with the herd and obey the formula. There is a definite look and sound to industrial/ebm/whatever-it’s-called.

…but the worst formula to fall into is your own. It’s so important to always push your personal boundaries.
It is our deepest desire that we can inspire people to make art…and ultimately inspire ourselves to keep going.
Destroyx: In a way that is true.. I would say that we are trying to go back to the authentic and the experimental. We aren’t trying to go for a synthetic formula, we’re going for organic genuine and rich sounds which I guess are influenced by the soundscapes of bands like Sonic Youth.

It seems one phrase comes up when reading about your debut full-length disc - 'the beautiful grotesque'. In past interviews, you have cited studying such topics as medical fetishism, burlesque imagery, extreme violence, cults, and drug use, using them for fuel to power your music. What draws you into researching this sort of information for your inspiration, and what particulars did you discover that you find the most fascinating?

Destroyx: The beautiful grotesque is a great concept to explore because it shows how many of the values in society are relative. Some things that are extremely beautiful can seem grotesque and vice versa. The themes behind Krankhaus (medical, fetish, cults etc) presented in the album artwork have allowed us to show such binaries.

We were very much inspired by our research on the city of Berlin in the early 20th century. It was a city of total excess and vice. I suppose we were interested in what drove people to such extremes. We were wanting to explore the limitations and often horrendous possibilities of human nature.

The line where something can be deemed as 'acceptable' is constantly being pushed in the realm of extreme arts, from such cinematic examples as Eli Roth's Hostel and the extreme horror of Asian directors like Takashi Miike, artists like Joel-Peter Witkin and Mapplethorpe, and even musicians ranging from Genesis P'Orridge to G.G. Allin. Do you also see yourselves as artists 'pushing the envelope', and if so, how do you feel it is important to the overall Angelspit package?

ZooG: It’s completely pointless trying to change someone’s head. All the great spiritual leaders tried to “enlighten” the people who were in tired structural religions…and their revolutionary teaching have been de-evolved into tired structural religions.

We’re pushing ourselves. I hate the way I procrastinate. I hate the way I sit in front of the TV and practice being dead. I hate the way I let this society lie to me and I HATE the way I feel compelled to believe it. Krankhaus is our fury at the world and it is our pledge to change ourselves. Krankhaus is for US. We welcome anyone to relate to it – our hope is that it effects them positively.
…but I like the idea of making stones bleed….

Destroyx: I don’t think we’re trying to purposely ‘push the envelope’, we’re just trying to make the music we enjoy to make and hear. However, I would say we are pushing ourselves to achieve a high standard of music and visual art.

Among these inspirations, I'm curious about a prior mention of shamanism in regards to your music. With apparent allusions to the Viking and Aztec practice of hallucinatory drug rituals, is this hinting at experimentation between such magic and music in the vein of artists like Coil and Psychic TV, or merely an interest in such?

ZooG: I like duran duran.
Music is magic. We’re all in our own little grave, digging it deeper and covered in shit. Music lifts you out of your grave and lets you see the world for what it is, it gives you hope and motivation…then it puts you back in your grave and inspires you to get out of it.

Drugs open parts of the mind. So does crime, sex, rock’n’roll, love, hate, Duran Duran, growing up and whatever. Life is about experience. It’s about experiencing what it is to be human.

Beyond your research, I understand the construction of Krankhaus came during a time of personal duress. What exactly happened, and to what extent did these issues had an impact on your music?

ZooG: It rained shit. Thick, black and putrid.

Destroyx: We experienced the death of a family member. It was a very trying time for us both!

The special edition of Krankhaus comes with a bonus disc, featuring remixes from a disparate collection of underground artists, ranging from Combichrist to Ego Likeness, plus an ample load of Australian artists. What were your ambitions with this second disc, and how did you go about selecting these contributors?

ZooG: We wanted to get the best artists (regardless of where they’re from) and get them to give our music a face lift. We could go on and on about each contributor…I think all of the remixes are mighty.

It is our hope that people will see Australian (and New Zealand!) bands as world class acts…not just and exotic bunch of kids from “Down Under”.

There is some world class music being made now. Check out www.crashfrequency.com!!

Destroyx: When we got signed to Dancing Ferret Discs, it opened up many possibilities for us as our label guy introduced us to new artists. We were lucky enough to work with some artists who we have admired for a long time. Hopefully the remixes will introduce our music to new groups of people who normally might not be into our style.

From a distance, my only concepts of Australian socio-political backlash come from music. Other artists like Tankt and Snog also strike out with pronounced points of view about their home territory. Why do you find the Australian 'industrial' scene, including yourselves, to be so opinionated in your lyrical content?

ZooG: There are two other reasons:
Firstly:
I believe industrial music is the folk music of the corporate slaves. ie: us
Secondly:
Gothic is the bastard child of a Punk and a cool haircut…
Thirdly:
Australia’s Prime Minister is a COMPLETE CUNT.
So therefore Goth/Industrial music should be a little outspoken….right?
PersonX: “my life is shit”
Doctor: “Here, take this pill and everything will be fine”
Little goth kidX: “my life is shit”
Contemporary Goth/Industrial culture: “Here, take this pill and everything will be fine”
Wow…how fucked is that?
…I thought we were a counter culture. We have our own “fashion”, lip stick, TV shows and porn.

Destroyx: We don’t want to write another whiny goth song about pill induced love…fuck knows there’s enough of them. The only love song we wrote was MEAT – which is about cannibalism.
Industial Music *IS* socia-political! Take KMFDM, Skinny Puppy, ATR for example.
Our music is very angry, because anger is a strong and mighty energy to evoke CHANGE.

Speaking of socio-political stances, I understand that ZooG is penning an 'anti-consumerism / pro-cyber punk manifesto'. Could you share with us a little bit more about this manuscript, and you inspirations behind it?

ZooG: Here are some of my favourite ideas at the moment.
1. Don’t write blogs, write music.
2. Time is precious, it must be used constructively and creatively

Destroyx: I guess what irritates me about much of this scene is the emphasis on consumerism, instead of creativity. Goth has its roots in Punk, which has its roots in DIY. Therefore I take it upon myself to create my own aesthetic and challenge myself to define myself by what I create and not what I buy. People need to wake up and see that they are being owned by their possessions. The alternative scene is meant to be about counter culture, but more and more, it’s turning into a consumerist culture which mirrors the mainstream, except in shades of black.

Beyond the re-release of Krankhaus, I've heard rumor that Angelspit might be playing Wave Gothik Treffen festival in Germany this summer. Is that the case, and if so, how did that arrangement occur?

ZooG: We are booked for WGT – and we are so excited about it!
We are really looking forward to throwing our music at a European audience and seeing their reaction. Wings Of Destiny helped us out with getting that gig.

Outside of Angelspit, you both run the fetish-gear site, Surgeon-X, citing it as your ‘day job’. However, you have also mentioned that DestroyX is at university and that ZooG is a ‘bad actor’, which leaves me curious. What are DestroyX’s studies and where can we see some of ZooG’s acting?

ZooG: A “Bad Actor” is an element you add to an experiement that will result in a radical (and usually destructive) result. The experiment is usually chemistry….and it usually explodes.
We work full time on Surgeon-X.com. We’re actually in the process of making Surgeon-X more band merch orientated….so it’s mainly selling CDs (from Angelspit as well as other bands).

Destroyx: I’m at university studying design and international studies. I am really a total nerd and hermit.

Another project you are involved with is the Australian music promotion-collective, Crash Frequency. To what extent do you think Crash has benefited your home country’s underground music scene, both in Australia and abroad?

ZooG: Australia is a really hard country to make an impact in…especially if you are Australian.

The major cities are at least 1000Km apart. Most touring bands only bother playing 3 of the main cities….and you’ll pull about 200 people per city. (300 if you are lucky or from overseas).

So there are huge costs to factor in. Plus many DJs don’t give the local music a chance. Added to this is the dreaded “Tall Poppies Syndrome” – which is the desire to cut someone down when they are bold enough to reach higher than their peers.

We have encounted both devastating and malicious comments/reviews from our local press.
I honestly believe that the DJs here have become more open to Australian music since Crash Frequency started. Between all the bands we know practically every DJ and radio presenter…so we are all often persuading them to play us.
The response internationally has been fantastic! We have received wonderful encouragement from many Djs, on myspace… etc.

I think the bottom line is this:
The scene sucks because you suck.
Support the scene by going to clubs and going to live gigs
Buy local Cds!! Help your local bands keep going
When you’re at a club, BUY A DRINK – it doesn’t have to be alcoholic…drink sales make the Venue Manager happy, which means the club/band will get to come back
…so can I ask you a question?
We’re all the geeky kids who hung out in the library right? We’re all the nerds with braces who hated the cheer leaders and jocks right? We’re all the kids who were left out because we didn’t look like BarbieTM right?
So why the fuck are we embracing what we hate and trying to present the commonly accepted definition of beauty / popularity?
Why do we measure our importance on how many pages Friends we Add each day?
Why do we revolt against uniforms and mass-fashion then gladly embrace it just because it’s black PVC?
Why do we listen to music that is so constricted by a FUCKING FORMULA?
…and if we don’t make that music the DJs won’t play us because they’re too afraid their audience will run away and hide….!
”Gasp! That song is 156 BPM, I can’t do my lame-ass-goth-2-step-whilst-shoing-away-bats dance to anything over 132BPM…oh no!! my make-up is running!”
Am I a black sheep or just another sheep?

Apparently, there is a video or videos in the works to accompany Krankhaus. What songs do you have in mind to translate into the visual format, what will they be like, and from what directors do you draw your inspiration?

ZooG: We’re really excited about this!
A Sydney director and Producer named Drew Bowie and Brad Wiley are doing us a video for Vena Cava. Drew was filming on the set when we took the original photos – so there’s a lot of live action shots from the sets.
We are hopefully going to work with Dan Ouellette in the future (who worked on Androidlust’s “Dragonfly” and The Birthday Massacre’s “Blue” videos)…we’ll see!

Destroyx: Time and money constraints will dictate the progress on our videos. They are damned expensive things to make.

Beyond the possibility of videos and a stint on tour in the United States, what’s up next for Angelspit? Remixes, collaborations, a European tour, or maybe even the beginnings of the next album?

ZooG: This year we’ll be remixing as many bands as we can. We want to play as much as possible and promote Krankhaus.

I want to listen to more music – more metal, noise, funk, ebm, techno, R’n’B…seriously!! Utterly BRILLIANT production on R’n’B and the drums are pure sex! Applying an R’n’B philosophy to industrial percussion would be awesome!
I want to make more zines.
We are a community. We must pull together and support each other…the Emos are coming…and I don’t want to trade my HUGE BOOTS for a pair of sneakers!

“Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach. Those who can’t teach, administrate. Those who can’t even fucking administrate just fill in their journals. The world is going to hell and all we care about is what’s on eBay.”
- Pleasure Species (quote from my zine!)
Wake up, you are better than this.

Destroyx: We’ve already started on our next album. We’re really going to be progressing much more musically and visually. Also, we have more promotional photoshoots in the works. I’m going to be working on millinery, my motion graphics skills and other geeky things like that!

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