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ANGELSPIT Apologies - but your website is skimpy on details, what you have both been up to before? DestroyX: I used to be in an 80's covers band….and played classical piano for too long. Angelspit has been my first foray into electronic music. Zoog: I've been in a couple of rock/industrial/cyber bands.
'A riot grrl with a vocoder and a cyberpunk with a distortion pedal.' How did you meet, and why did you decide to do this, specifically? Zoog: We met through our love of underground zine publications about 2 and a half years ago. DestroyX introduced me to the ideas of Punk, as she was very into in the riot grrrl/hardcore scene. I love the DIY take on creation, I love the anger, energy and uncensored politicised 'fuck-off' attitudes of punk. We started working on zines together and ran our own zine distro called Vox Populis, which was non-profit, and an awesome way for zinesters to promote and distribute their creations. We had the largest distro in the southern hemisphere. We closed it down to work on Angelspit, which was a progression from our joint zine work. Destroyx: So Angelspit isn't just music based, it's a visual and musical art project. We started writing music in the middle of 2004.
Musically, what does this give you which you aren't hearing elsewhere? Zoog: High energy, passion and anger. DestroyX: I'm tired of hearing elitist music which aims to alienate listeners through impenetrable song structures and vapid posturing. I see Angelspit as a bridge between heavy noise, distortion and pop music. We want our music to be accessible as well as raw. We are being influenced by everything from psytrance to amen. Zoog: I'm sick of hearing how some industrial music has evolved into mass produced formulaic drivel. It needs to get back to it's fresh and experimental roots. I feel we are giving form to the term 'cyberpunk' through our music.
You noisy! I bet you regularly shout 'turn it down!' at each other and this relentless assault is purely accidental? Destroyx: We actually yell 'turn it up' to each other, we've blown up our PA on multiple occasions. Zoog: We aim for our music to be deliberately loud, obnoxious and in-your-face. Writing music can be a harrowing experience as we tend to throw bits of gear around the studio. Destroyx: We want to challenge ourselves and listeners through our musical assault. We want to inject a sense of personality into the sterility of electronic music. We sample field recordings in order to generate organic and unique sounds. Zoog: We built a drum kit out of bits of metal and recorded us smashing it until it broke, which formed the basis of our drum tracks. We are so tired of hearing the same standardized drum samples and lifeless computer generated sounds. We never want to have the obligatory 'slow' song. Every song has to say 'fuck' and 'you' in any particular order.
Why is there catchy skeletons inside the fuzzy sounds? And is the balance tricky? Some people would go for brighter happier shapes, or for total noise-attack. You're in the middle. DestroyX: Typical song structures allow us the musical vocabulary to relate to more audiences, with the noisy atmospheric undertones adding interest. You can make a pop song out of heavy industrial noise, making such sonic texture reach new contexts. Too much noise can alienate an audience whereas too much pop can make them puke. Zoog: We're not elitist, we want people to enjoy this music and we want them to relate to it. Pop music is almost an offensive concept to us, because if a song is catchy it will stay inside someone's head regardless of whether they like it or not.
Zoog: People are downloading it, they dancing to it and they are coming to gigs. So that's a good start. Destroyx: The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive and people say their favourite thing is the high energy and freshness of the sound.
If you have a reputation is it one you are happy with? Zoog: We may have ruffled a few feathers - we are deeply involved in the Australian Gothic community, however some do not consider our music to be 'gothic'…but can anybody give me a straight answer about what 'gothic' means in 2005? DestroyX: When we perform we give it everything and people are often impressed with that. We go to a great effort with designing the visual look of the stage with banners, with our costumes and have had movement artists on stage with us. We have a reputation for giving our audience everything.
How unusual is this round your way? Two people making a heaving noise but in minimalist form? Destroyx: It is definitely unusual. I can't really think of any bands which are deliberately going for a catchy edge to chaotic industrial sound. Zoog: Some really amazing international acts have toured through Sydney recently and we have been very inspired by them. We are always trying to simplify our ideas to make them clear and punchy but with a heavy overtone.
You say Fuck Fashion and much electronic-based music seems to follow pre-ordained fashionable rules. I presume you can happily make enemies everywhere with your uncouth take on the sounds? Zoog: We're just trying to be true to ourselves. We are just trying to make music that we like to hear. DestroyX: New music and art always comes as a reaction to the status quo. However, we don't necessarily go out to break rules deliberately, we just try to make the music and visuals in the way we wished they existed already. Zoog: If I sit on my computer, write entries on my livejournal and search ebay for transmuter boots, I will make enemies. If I bust my guts trying to make the best music I can make, trying to be the best DJ I can be or trying to build a website that will help the community, I will make enemies. If you try your best and raise above the norm, people will cut you down….and if they don't cut you down, they'll just look for someone else to shit on.
It's been a great start for you, but there are limitations I see in the sounds tending to shunt into each other in terms of feel. How frustrated by what you can or can't do? Destroyx: Angelspit started out as an experiment, we didn't know how it would sound or whether it would work. Nurse Grenade was the product of us trying to write to music together and was a culmination of our shared musical experiences. I have definitely learnt more about music since we finished the EP, and this will become apparent in the diversity of approaches demonstrated in the future album. Zoog: Since working with bands like Ikon, we've discovered this really cool thing called 'melody'. We intend on using it as offensively as possible. Playing live has taught us many great lessons in the fine art of "fucking shit up" as we are beginning to embrace the possibilities and uncertainties of playing live. It has allowed us to refine and improve songs. We are now writing songs that are designed to 'go off' live as well as be exciting for listeners at home.
Is it destined to just be the two of you - or are others itching to get involved and make the sound positively Herculean? Destroyx: Too many cooks spoil the broth, and it's quite difficult collaborating with others during the writing phase because Zoog and I mesh together creatively very tightly. Zoog: Democracy and music don't mix. I've never been in a band that can be democratic and focused. Angelspit works because we both understand that it's not just about the music, it's also about the visuals. Destroyx: However we are very happy and excited to do remixes and work with others for our stage show.
I read in one of your interviews that 'effort' is seen as a dirty word - is that why Australian bands fail or fade all too easily? Zoog: We put a tremendous amount of effort into our music, the performance and our look. People are responding very positively to this. Other bands who we are working closely with, are encouraging us to work like this, and in turn are putting more effort into their bands. Destroyx: That comment I made referred more to the amount of effort people put into their appearance than into bands as such. I do not believe that Australian bands are failing or fading…. Zoog: Australian bands Ikon and Angel Theory will be playing WGT and are guaranteed to make a major impact on audiences.
How is the Crashfrequency collective working out? Does it look inspirational? Zoog: Extremely. We encourage each other, we look out for each other and positively critique each other. It is a collective of likeminded bands that will propel the quality of Australian music. We are trying to encourage open-mindedness and push the definitions of what the scene represents. Destroyx: It's a positive alternative to the mainstream 'alternative' scene which is spearheaded by the radio station Triple J which has an overpowering influence over the alternative airwaves (and consequently large music events and festivals). With these bands collaborating, we are trying to make ourselves heard within Australia and internationally, and are doing this currently through organising our own Crash Frequency festival and helping each other distribute our music all over the world. |
