No Pain In Pop

Cuffs and Collars

Fuck Buttons blast their nihilistic beat way past eleven

“We,” says Andrew Hung of Fuck Buttons, “are sound fascists”. As the name of his band suggests, he isn’t entirely serious. Or indeed accurate; if a controversial label must be applied to their approach to sound they are clearly “white-noise supremacists”. Formed in Bristol in 2004, the duo, consisting of Hung and Benjamin John Power, plays what Hung describes as “nihilistic noise,” a ferocious weltanschauung of drone, shoegaze and post-rock.

Read On…

Like most successful fascists, they are disdainful of the practical conventions of their contemporaries. Among their many laptops and electronics, the pair’s only traditional instruments are charity-shop kids’ toys with circuits bent, broken and wired through distortion pedals. Vocals, when they appear, are distorted beyond recognition. Though Ben lists only “the loud and the free” as an influence, they are clearly caught somewhere between My Bloody Valentine and Sunn O))). Fuck Buttons sound like God blowing his nose in slow motion.

What sets Fuck Buttons apart is an ability to express this sweeping abrasion as euphoria, not dread. The recent single “Bright Tomorrow” starts with a steady sheet-metal of feedback, then opens a slowly yawning chasm. A melody is eventually revealed, a simple battered nursery rhyme that repeats throughout. “There’s definitely an emotional element to it,” says Andy. “An idealism.”

This idealism is amplified beyond belief through a live sound system. On stage, facing each other over a table messy with gadgetry, the two perform more by telepathy than eye contact, creating a deafening noise that resonates with captured, looped screams. It’s simultaneously uplifting and chaotic, a bizarre half-gig, half-club atmosphere that leaves the audience torn between dancing and covering their ears. As Ben says, they play “as loud as it’ll go.”

Having quit their day jobs and signed to ATP Recordings, the boys’ 2008 is looking increasingly bright. Their debut LP, Street Horrrsing, is out this month. Produced by members of Part Chimp and Mogwai, it is sure to be as loud as it is weird.

Street Horrrsing is out February 11 on ATP.
www.myspace.com/fuckbuttons

By Tom King

Written for the lovely people at
Tank Magazine…

Forza Tank.

Happening

A Lie

Miss, you are losing your book.
If there is a God, let him take me up.

When Good Galaxies Go Bad

Fucked if you live there.

more…

Let’s Raise The…er…An Article About Steak Mtn

‘Steak Mtn’ is the brainchild of New York based illustrator Christopher Norris. Within the context of this twisted moniker Norris has set about creating some truly unique and amazing work that’s never ceased to impress us. Originally from Florida, Norris flew the coup (and his old band Combatwoundedveteran) a few years back to start a new studio in the city. We snagged an interview with the mysterious gent to see how this sea change had affected him and find out what’s hiding in those Mtns.

Read on…

Hello, We’re from a place called the UK, hope you can find us on a map, you ever been?

Yes, I actually have been….once. Yeah, once, I was there about 6 years ago on a small vacation with friends. Last year I was suppose to return for my solo show TEENAGE SWAP MEAT at the Best Gallery, but mountainous complications surrounding the space, my ability to produce & the fascism of time basically handicapped me and us from making it all happen in full bloom. Bummer.

You used to sing in a band. Awesome, give us your most earth shattering lyric.

Really? I mean…alright…..well this is from the (terrible) Combatwoundedveteran song 15 MINUTES ON A FORKLIFT and actually might be the last lyrics I wrote ever…and that was…..7 years ago, so I suppose this might be as good of an example as any other tragically stunted punk rock lyric I could quote for you : “Constructing drag strip coffins for unravel civilians. Whirling around, acting handless, beating on skulls for abbreviation. We are translated from the monaural sounds and turn on in sparks, to build our own lightning and punctuate the old plastic way. Complaining heads are shorting out, spilling vomit and stopping reproduction naked fumbling in the dark, painted silver for reflection. We are translated into pixels, digitized for champion knitters. Fawning fucking idiots over the monaural sound. You got your finger in the gushing hole of the bad years, it’s getting everywhere and you’re painting pictures with the blood. Gross.”

It seems like life for artists in the states is so much better compared to the rest of the world, there’s much more of a thriving, interconnecting and original community who all seem much more well-equipped. Is the grass really greener?

If this was 1994 & the world felt way larger than it actually feels in 2007, I might agree with you. But with the internet now firmly informing almost everything every mom, grocery clerk and artist does, it is harder to accept that train of thought as reality. Meaning, location doesn’t necessarily have the weight as much in these high technology days, you could be Damien Hirst from Lyman, Nebraska, just finished “For The Love of God”, took some digital photos, email blasted every gallery, culture blog and art news satellite that was locatable on the internet and make a million friends, get famous and trudge forward into being a total island unto yourself. It is not so much about just having the ability to create anymore, it is about how much you footwork you are willing to put into getting your mission completed : you have to know how to really harness the arms and legs of “the future” to create or become a part of a community, get your art out there & make the name for yourself that you think you deserve.

So, most of your heroes listed on your myspace come from a cinema or fine art background but the majority of your work is for musicians. How did you find yourself turning to the music arena?

Well, when I was young, punk and hungry to make something of myself & my drawings, I began by looking directly at my inspirations & idols to see how they “made it” (or at least how I perceived and/or if they even made it), guys like Pushead, Gary Panter and Raymond Pettibon used music as their ground zero to getting themselves in a successful position with their art (their actual mindsets in this statement is pure speculation, but the trajectory of their careers is public knowledge, so obviously that was what I was looking at). I thought that if I could position myself working with bands and record labels, that that would eventually translate in me being able to go past the ghetto of band work and into strictly doing my own thing. Essentially I have been looking for my Metallica forever.

What was wrong with Florida?

Nothing at all. Florida is a pretty interesting & odd place if you celebrate the fact that it is America’s human dumpster : a unconsciously organic, fleshed out & greyed over patchwork of high and lows in personality, interaction & function. It is not a bad place to call home or headquarters, that is if you like sweating 16 months out of the year, which I don’t at all, so I moved to New York which is ACTUALLY a terrible horrible stupid place filled with absolute punishers, dinks and goofs. It is the negative to Florida’s relative positive.

Where do most of your clients come from? (don’t tell me! ‘MySpace’)

Well, I do a lot of foot work & cold calling of people/bands/organizations I am either artistically interested in or think may further my standing in being able to make Steak Mtn. all this-island-earth and shit. But, recently a lot of my clients or conspirators have come to me because of Steak Mtn.’s work with Against Me! So no, not Myspace….I actually have not netted any jobs from Myspace at all, that is more of a peer to peer networking thing for me, an ability to happen on interesting artists, hear terrible bands and send tons of fan mail.

What’s on your boombox/ipod/decks/mind-ophone right now?

- Girl Group Sounds Lost And Found (One Kiss Can Lead To Another) Boxset
- Ennio Morricone
- any Paysage D’Hiver I can get my hands on.
- any Pocahaunted I can get my hands on.
- Wooden Shjips S/T
- Goatmoon “Death Before Dishonour”
- Bone Awl “Meaningless Leaning Mess”
- The Films of Jean Rollin Compilation
- Them “The Story of Them”
- Black Dice “Load Blown”
- Against Me! New Wave”
- Bob Dylan “Desire”
- Health S/T

Do you mange to make a living from your art or are you still dancing at that club?

Still dancing at the club for sure. However, in the next year, I should be able to retire from night sweating, pole climbing and dust selling, essentially fulfilling my prophecy of going ankle deep on this art garbage.

What’s next? Where can we get our next Steak Mtn facefull?

Lots? I am finishing up a huge Against Me! t-shirt project, which was doing a shirt design for every song on their recently released “New Wave” record, I am on the last design as we speak. Going into 2008, I will be still working with them a lot because they are about to have that banner year (including working on a video for their song “The Ocean”); I have a solo show (called THE MOST EXPLOSIVE PICTURE EVER!) in Chicago on April 4th at the Threadless Store which will coincide with a shirt I designed for their Threadless Select line; I am hopefully going to be working with the band Pocahaunted on some of their stuff; I am doing the next Fake Problems LP; a new Combatwoundedveteran discography of out of print crap called “Farewell Gaylords” is coming out; a few Steak Mtn. shirts will eventually be available through No Idea Records including the upcoming “YAY! GOD!” shirt; I am working on doing an Alphabet book; I am doing a film related illustration zine with Mark McCoy; I am going to work on a clip art magazine with CSDIV; a shirt for Ryan Russell Photography and hopefully HOPEFULLY I will have some more interesting gallery shows to work towards (hint hint hint hint hint artworld hint hint hint). Now, it is really the crack of dawn on most of these projects/stuff, so none of it may happen or all of it might explode, so don’t hold me completely to any of those creative promises.

www.steakmtn.com
www.myspace.com/steakmtn
www.steakmtn.blogspot.com
www.theliquorice.blogspot.com

Raiders Of The Lost ARC

Remember the ill-fated ‘New Cross scene’ of a few years back kids? Yeah, I know - the underground became the overground and whatever there once was fizzled out in weeks – but it was probably the first time music fans were drawn, both physically and mentally, to New Cross.

Angular Recording Corporation, a label run by two Goldsmiths students, was at the centre of all that. At a time when the area wasn’t at all recognized for music they threw club nights and released compilations of local bands. As a result they are now renowned as the first label to release the then unknown Klaxons, Bloc Party and Art Brut.

It has since expanded to become a hugely influential full time label and is now home to the outstanding These New Puritans, the Violets, and strangely - as each event in the Angular world is given a catalogue number - numerous ordnance survey trig points, websites, an office and a Townace van.

No Pain In Pop met up with one-half of the ARC, summertime Klaxons bassist, and “official inventor of nu-rave” Joe Daniel to discuss the label, the future and how to make moolah from music…

Read on…

Why did you start Angular? Any idea it would become your full-time job?

Well, we just wanted to release something so we could go in Rough Trade and say “we made that”. We had no idea what we were doing, we just read ‘45′ by Bill Drummond and thought it would be a fun thing to do. We liked music a lot and that’s all the experience you need. We wanted to put out bands we loved as a whim, not a business decision. I suppose it was because we think that artists who aspire to be signed to a major label have just bought into a huge scam, and they end up working in a worse relationship than they would have got working down the pub. As long as running Angular continues to be the opposite of work I think we’ll carry on…

How did you make money - both as a student, and for the label?

The best things were those adverts around college for medical tests- a tenner for 15 minutes work! I worked in a call centre for a while and had a job moving old instruments. Once moved a left handed piano- the inventor said he just woke up one day and had this brilliant idea to make a piano but reverse the keys! The money for the label came from a grant from the local council, which is why we originally put out mostly local bands. We put their logo on our first release in exchange for two grand.

Would you have started Angular without coming to Goldsmiths?

Probably not. I mean the fact you only have four hours work in your last year means you can do things outside your degree, which is probably more important than actually doing your degree. But I don’t think it’s as liberal as it thinks it is- we weren’t allowed to do nights at the Union and they didn’t offer practice spaces for bands- but it does defiantly create the framework for you to do things.

Is there something that unites everything done under the label- an Angular ethos?

Yeah defiantly, but I can’t put my finger on it. I guess it’s not wanting to be involved in things that everyone else thinks is cool. We have and have always had a very disdainful attitude towards everything considered fashionable or popular.

Any advice for students looking to start their record label?

Well it’s an ailing industry now, so you’re unlikely to make any money. But if music is the only thing you want to do don’t let it worry you. So go for it, young guns!

What does the future hold for Angular then?

I don’t really think about the future that much, though I’ve just recently had an amazing idea. I can’t talk about it at all though, it will only be revealed when it happens. That’s gonna take up a lot of the future. Aside from the music there’s gonna be a commemorative map as the 50th catalogue number - a map of the UK linking everything we’ve done. And we’re talking now about releasing a stationary set. It’ll be the second ARC set- once we made a one off geometry set and angularised it with our logo and raffled it off as a prize at a gig. It’s probably worth a bit now..