D503 Interview How you are now, tell us more about D-503 - D-503 is just another experimental noise project trying to make new sounds, or at least new arrangements or sounds, using field recordings, pedal improvisations, and digitally created sounds... Mostly how many people are involved when you are doing or composing noise material? - generally it is only myself, although I hhave collaborated with a few other people on basic source sounds, including my ex-brother-in-law and other noise musicians. Where do you practice or creates a noise project, in rooms, studio, or where? - this is essentially a bedroom project, allthough I occasionally move to new spaces for the atmosphere... the place I'm currently living in kind of has a basement studio/practice space, so if I want a bigger sound or just want to steal my roommates effects boxes I migrate down there. What are your influences to create noise? - the biggest influence on me when I was sttarting out as d-503 (previous to that I recorded under the name UNIVAC with very minimal equipment) was brutum fulmen, the most interesting name to pop up when I finally got on the internet in 1999 and tried to find out if anyone else was doing this sort of abstract sound thing. Oval also had a large influence, both in method and sound. After a bit I got into merzbow, who, despite all the shit he gets for over-documentation, I really respect a lot if only for the clearness and separation of individual elements in his recordings. What do you think is the dis/advantage of a noise band compare to a band with lyrics and music? - Disadvantage: it can only really sound huurt or angry, if you ask me. There isn't a very wide range of emotion you can get without exploring musical territory or incorporating musical elements, which I've been trying to stay away from. - Advantage: there is no limit as to the raange of things you can do. If you want quiet bird chirp feedback followed by an abrasive wall of noise, do it. If you want everything to grind into static halfway through, the come back completely different, do it. Anything you can think of and have the means to do, you can do. One more advantage is that anyone can make noise. Not everyone can make noise that is interesting to listen to, but that shouldn't stop them from trying. In your own explanation what is really a noise project for you? It is only a sound that harsh your ear or there are any hidden message that you wanted to express? - There are messages I sometimes try to puttt forth, but don't necessarily have to have one to make a track and anyway, the sounds are so abstract that it's hard to be sure you're getting any message out to people. Samples help, but I refuse to do vocals. Do you think putting title for every noise you create is more important or what? - Titles help to try to make people think aa certain thing about a track, like brutum fulmen's "ice summit" for instance. When you read that you know it's going to sound cold. sometimes I don't want people to approach a track with any set idea as to what to expect, so I'll either give it a nonsense name chosen at random or not name it at all... What about equipment, radio noise, computer noise, etc. what material are you used? - Currently using computer, various effectss pedals, scrap metal, tape machines, cd players, and homemade junk. I'm a very big fan of delay feedback. Samples, do you use samples? - Samples are good sometimes. No porno sampples though, that was old before I even heard of it. Usually how long the length of every noise you make, and mostly what time you compose? - Length varies depending on when I think II'm done. Tracks can and have ranged from as short as nine seconds to forty minutes long. Do you been played live already? Where and when if happened. - I've played live once by myself and threee times with some friends of mine under the name machester bulge. all of the shows minus one have taken place at a local bar here in fargo, north dakota called the moose lodge, the other show being a birthday party out on a farm with some punk bands. Well how many hour you performed and what is the reaction of the people who heard or seen your performance? - Mostly we've played around half an hour tto forty-five minutes a show, except when we played the birthday party, we pretty much drove all the punks away and just played for a couple hours until we were too drunk to continue.. When we've played in bars there are always people who don't know what to expect and leave with their hands over their ears, but we've got a small group of people who stay all the way to the end and congratulate us.. The first show we played someone compared us to xennakis, which was pretty cool, even if it was totally unjustified... When you are performing live did you seen people enjoying what you are doing which is they stay or do you think because of curiosity so why they are listen to you performance. - I think people are surprised to see peoplle up on stage making noise, so some of the reason they stay is just curiosity, but a lot of them seem to enjoy it based on what they say to us afterwards.. we give away cd' after shows and they keep turning up in people's houses, people play them and tell their friends to check out this crazy shit they got, which makes me happy. I just want for people to hear this stuff. By the way, is there a noise scene in your area? Mostly what bands they are? - so far the only noise groups that play arre manchester bulge, myself and a sound collage/weirdness group called the handsome terrorists. I don't think it really qualifies as a scene, mostly people here are into pop punk and metal. Is noiseband accepted in you place? - People have liked what they've heard, forr the most part, and I've certainly never gotten shit for making noise. Even my grandmother pretends to like it. If there is a band willing to make a split with your band what they should have to do? They must be a noiseband too? - They don't have to be noise, they just haave to be something that I would like listening to. I like all types of noise, lots of electronic music, punk, metal, etc.. Anyone can contact me if they want, just give me the chance to listen to some stuff. Are you willing to make a project (split) with other type of band like punk, hc, oi, ska, etc... - If I like the way they sound, yes. I think my computer stuff sounds kind of like more somber Brutum Fulmen, pedal stuff sounds like Jason Campbell or not as well produced Merzbow. Overall I have a lot in common, I've heard, with Vok and Anaphylaxis. How you think people appreciates or accepts this kind of noiseband? - I think there have to be a few people outt there who are into the stuff I'm making. People's tastes go all over the place, everyone likes such a wide range of groups, and I'd have to be doing a really bad job for not one single person to like my tracks. Do you been played in other band like punk/hc/crust/grind type of music? - Personally, in a group situation, I can'tt really play with people, I have to kind of play against them.. I can't really operate in a context where I have to react to changes and create a flow between elements, it completely goes against my tendencies as a noise musician... I always want to do something that will make the people I'm playing with surprised. What happened to your friend plan to formed a glam band with some of your noise background? - A friend of mine wants to start a glam baand and have me do a more structured version of my noise in the background, but I think I might like being in the spotlight too much for that... Tell us something about your future releases. Have you been split with other band already? Mostly what type of band, Noiseband? - future releases mostly include trying to catch up on running my label Lucha Libre and putting all that stuff out, plus some newer d-503 releases.. I've done a couple splits, one with Jason Campbell, Anaphylaxis, collaborative stuff with Vok, Andy Kisaragi and Algee, trying to get out a collaborative spilt with Hinyouki (still), probably more that I'm forgetting. By the way, how's Lucha Libre now? Do you have any new releases or project, and mostly noise project are what you released? Lucha Libre is sort of on hiatus, but if anyone emailed and wanted a release I'd still trade.. We're just trying to catch up on releasing our current catalogue at the moment, but money is kind of tight so it's a very slow process. we release mostly noise, but we've got an excellent cd by go go gidorha that combines noise and electronic music, plus a noisy-musical 3inch cd by whirr, and various other types of noise (harsh, atmospheric, etc). Any last words before we end. - Thanks for letting me spread my propagandda. My new mail address, also, is Andrew Johnson 1309 8th Ave N Fargo ND 58102 USA D-503 (email: [email protected])
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