I have a history like anybody has a history but I choose not to think on this but to constantly move in one of many directions and none at all. I am a human trying to locate things and crack them.
SA: Please introduce yourself to us…
RM: Rob Mazurek here. I make sound and visions. I play cornet, computer, collect sound from various sources including electric eels, I construct and play in various formations including the Chicago Underground, Solo, Mandarin Movie, Sao Paulo Underground and I collaborate with many folks in different areas.. I paint and do visual transformations. Currently living in Manus Brasil, I am trying to find those frequencies that project both visually and sonically. I have a history like anybody has a history but I choose not to think on this but to constantly move in one of many directions and none at all. I am a human trying to locate things and crack them.
SA: About your pedigree… which portion of it in particular do you love to speak of?
RM: the constuctor-deconstructor period which is now. I enjoy very much building sonic sheets of sound and then deconstructing them very much like the way I paint and see things. Shattered Light Boxes-destruction=enlightenment etc... These are distorted times and its about time to really distort the shit to come back to some kind of reality or un reality before its too late.
SA: Where do you position yourself within artistic scene?
RM: I position myself anywhere and everywhere. If folks are interested in my shit then I will rock it. I have people I work with in Chicago, New York, Paris, Sao Paulo, Vienna etc.... I am living on this planet and I am positioned right where I am right now and when I move I am positioned there, at least physically, but that is also debateable.
SA: Can you speak a little bit about your evolution on music approach? Who or what was an influence for your evolution?
RM: the idea of sound is sound is most important. This hit me a few years back through of course Cage but others like Kevin Drumm, Autechre, Morton Feldman, Pan Sonic, Fennez, Pita, Sun Ra etc... It goes back to the whole question of frequency dispersion, how to evolve that and get to an area that is wide as it is tall as small as it is big and dense as all hell and not at all. Evolution seems to be of the all directions kind. A thing with time not really existing but perhaps constantly folding on itself or in on itself etc...
SA: Do you work only on music or do you experiment with images, film or video, theatre? If yes how do you mix your music with other artistic rings?
RM: Light Box projects. I am trying to integrate the stuff so there is no line between what is heard and what is seen. I have no idea how to finally get this but I try through digital morphing through sound etc.. Like the installation of mine "Music For Shattered Light Box and 7 Posters" which you can hear on the German Bottrop-Boy label which is a shattered Light box where the light source is controlled by the frequency of the sound. Also through digital rendering of paintings of mine (posters) where the colour effects certain parameters of the sound and sound returns to the colours etc.. Transforming them. Frequencies man, frequencies through video media and intense looping and re-looping and transformation. Also Electric Eel Light Box which is controlled by the sound of electric eels
SA: How do you think electronic music scene is going to interact with other forms of art in the future?
RM: I think the universe is gonna become one huge filter. On a small level you can watch your tv and effect it any way you like. Transform the image the sound the text. A kind of digital or bio digital area where the human race does not have to be subjected to ass hole corporate power political structures, but have the option to rock the thing like it was your personal playground of information transgression units but sophisticated so at some point you can actually confront these mad-men on a kind of same level and then things would just fold in on themselves and all this information that means nothing would turn into a huge gorgeous frequency with the rate of light speed as slow as a walk in the park. My friend and excellent Drummer etc.. In the Sao Paulo band Hurtmold Mauricio Tanaka said something like this in SP when we were driving, because you know SP is so densely populated and cars like you would not believe. He said at some point the cars just will not be able to move any more. A kind of final grid-lock. Then every body will just have to leave their cars where they are walk out into the real world and deal with real human frequency. But filtering, yes filtering will be the future. It already is, we need to project real loud feedback on the very humans that would destroy us.
SA: Peppermint swash, pink lakritz, green blocks, distinctive, sunsplash, edelstreif, blue neutral, brown out, American hero…?
RM: The MEGO site is brilliant. It’s all good. Depends on the day and the mood. I like to go to the site as much as possible just because it looks so fucking cool.
SA: Rob Mazurek, from Chicago, Illinois, how did you come to release your work on Mego, a European label? - I'm asking 'cause we are always interested in focusing the actual context for a musical production: how has it come to us, listeners, getting out from producer's own studio; also we try to understand how a label could come to define an own style and aesthetic through its policy, therefore I ask you about your own idea on Mego, its musical identity at the present, whether are there some artists you feel closer among the others which publish their work for this label.
RM: The MEGO label is one of those rare places you can go and always be surprised for better or worse. It's absolutely the most interesting pushers of frequency I know of. It's exactly what I search for in this wide world. I met Peter R in Chicago while he was doing a concert there as Pita. I think the first thing I said to him was " man do you want me to go around the corner and get some vodka so we can rock some red bull and vodka?" I think that was the start of our relationship. Kevin Drumm introduced me to him. Soon after, I had finished my second record under the name Orton Socket. The first Orton Socket record "99 Explosions" was put out by Jim O’Rourke on his Moikai label. Jim decided at this point not to continue the label so I talked with Kevin Drumm and he mentioned that Peter at Mego said that if I ever had something then send it to him. So I did. Pita, Hecker, Fenn O'Berg, Fennez, Merzbow, Kevin Drumm, Farmers Manual etc. etc. etc... Fucking great stuff.
SA: Coming to your work on Mego: "Sweet and Vicious like Frankenstein" is a multi-shifting work, two tracks comprise... How long did it take to you to come up with "Sweet and Vicious like Frankenstein", was that a long work? Why did you make it of two parts, consisting of these two long streams? Is that due to a particular attitude you have to composition?
RM: Well this thing took the better part of a year. Was real difficult to find this one. The first part especially. The second part came together quite fast in my home in Brasilia where I was living at the time. The first part is very composed the second almost a pure improvisation utilizing a bunch of sound rockin at once ie.. computer-minidisc-tone generator. I made each track long because I wanted to confront the listener with the possibility of not thinking in terms of time. An object that is sonic which kind of just floats in space. You have the built in silences also that are quite important or not important at all. Shit happens so quickly these days. Just wanted to offer the folks something more than a couple minutes of something. But maybe there are only a couple minutes in there anyway. I read a comment by some fucking writer that nobody has time to listen to something this "long". Fuck! Long! What is long. Obviously his concept of time is severely distorted. Or mine is! It takes me 6 minutes to shit! Maybe it takes him 2 seconds so he can get on with his life.
SA: Coming to your music... There was a sort of multi-layered structure in your "Sweet and Vicious like Frankenstein", that I could appreciate, I mean it's like you created your music superimposing different soundlayers - starting up from field sometime, as the ground level of your work — then having great care in balancing relative opacity, presence, in between the layers (don't worry, I know it's not Photoshop we are talking about...), do you agree with my opinion?
RM: You explained it quite beautifully and perfectly.
SA: I can feel, also, the sensation of an overall transparency throughout the whole sound construction, as resulting from the juxtapositions you did - I can listen, for example, to almost any environmental sound while listening, at the same time, to your music too, without getting disturbed - what about? Am I right in my impression? And if I'm not, please, try to explain us how do you intend your approach to sound design in the work you made.
RM: Yes I think balance is the key. I like transparency and layers. I like very much when there is a density that almost equals a kind of opaqueness that is only attainable through correct or in-correct interval or sound placement. I also like those areas where there is almost nothing happening and that’s where it really starts to open up. As far as getting disturbed.... I like getting disturbed but that happens in the second part of the story. One must remember that the monster was a quite gentle creature until he was abused. But this kind of for-shadowing is certainly prevalent. The fore-shadowing of doom is quite exciting. Or maybe it will turn.
SA: Let's make a point now about the way your music flow along the time, rather than the way you get into the construction of sound - it seems to me there are a lot of events in the music you compose - lots of properly audio events, I mean - if it is so, how did you use these events? Are they used just as a sort of punctuation within the body of "musical abstractions"? Or are they to be seen as the surface of a story?
RM: Well there is certainly a story going on here both literal and abstract. The monster was made of many different parts that finally gelled into a cohesive or not so cohesive whole, also there must have been many silent nights contemplating the next move and waiting for that inspiration that sometimes only comes in the middle of the night. The mouse runs across the floor, the fire device for heating regenerative water supply is boiling softly to the side, the great doctor sribbles some notes on his pad and a thunder far in the distance can be heard. The electric eels beneath there respective rocks are sleeping sideways waiting... waiting....then BAM! The world becomes light and things move a little quicker, the doctor spins in his chair, looks at his great apparatus and ... Time is not time at these moments. Time folds in on itself and a day becomes a week a week a month a month a year and then you have it. Maybe 1 hour has passed.
SA: Suppose it's actually a story that you're telling us, what kind it could be? And what kind of emotions you expected in your listeners - if you expected any particular one - same as yours? Quite different ones?
RM: Well FRANKENSTEIN man. The story is all emotion. There is this anxiety and waiting and eventually disgust and sadness and destruction. But I get a head of myself. That will be volume 2. Volume 1 deals with the construction of man. The pursuit of a higher system or lower system of re-generation that is sorely missing in today’s society unless you are talking about corporate chaos etc... But I am talking about the individual stepping up and creating a magnificent thing. Face the facts, the monster in all its description could not have been so hideous. And what is hideous! This was a beautiful creature seeking truth and a dignified life which very few would allow him, even the great doctor. Lose your shit! Open your ears and mind and heart and soul. Put it on the line or not at all. Come on now. Time is eternal. If time exists at all.
SA: What about the art cover in "Sweet and Vicious like Frankenstein"?
RM: Well, I sent Tina Frank 2 paintings of mine. The paintings are from a set of 4 paintings titled "Four For Argento" that I finished in tandem with doing the music for S&V. I am a huge Dario Argento fan to say the least. These paintings fit the mood of the music very well. They were inspired by Mr. Argento's fantastic forays into the world of horror, and I asked Tina to take the paintings and morph them, transform them however she liked. So you have the painting in the background that is a kind of color x-ray of a monsters head and you have the juxtaposition of the black heart and face in the heart. Quite fantastic. For volume 2 we will probably use all 4 paintings and make large posters. That would be quite nice. Scary. But beautiful.
SA: And what about impro, instead, are you also experienced in such a kind of musical performance? Is there a difference to you between play live and play in studio? Do you leave space to improvisation or everything is studied to be perfectly the same like on record?
RM: The first part of S&V is completely structured and took a long time. The second part was an improvisation in my house in Brasilia where I was living at the time. I have spent the better part of my years improvising. I came up musically playing jazz then free jazz then all kinds of other forms of improvisation and composition. I studied 20th century and minimalist composition with private teachers in Chicago and I went to architecture school for a year. With my group Chicago Underground we certainly explore the idea of improvisation and composition. For me it's balance again. But that is also bull shit because when you get right down to it, it either sounds good to you or it doesn't or it sounds kind of good or real good or real bad etc..... it's just sound any way you play it or don't play it. I suppose we set up these "ways" of playing to tap into some other kind of world.
SA: Does audience understand your performance in general? What do you aspect from the audience?
RM: I expect folks to listen. That would be good. Of course there are many reasons why people come to a show. In general I think people are cool at my shows.
SA: Next concerts or festivals will you play in which? Which festival would you like to play tomorrow? Which festival do you suggest us to go and listen too?
RM: Next concerts you can see on my website at: www.robmazurek.com I just played at Sonar festival in Sao Paulo with the band HURTMOLD. That was fantastic. Will play at Ankbar Festival in Istanbul for the 2nd time. Rumor festival through Holland is real cool. The concerts in Firenze are always super cool. Lisbon Jazz Festival is excellent. Would like to play at Sonar Barcelona, Rome Jazz festival again and this little festival in Napoli where I had the most intense pizza experience of all time. Padova would be excellent also. I think we will do a kind of workshop there this coming year. Japan is always amazing. So many places. KSET in Zagreb and I am looking forward to rockin in Belgrade for the first time in October.
SA: Do you work with your music or do you have other jobs? Would you like to speak about any of your future projects? Is Italy on your future project? Any other place in this world to go and rec?
RM: I make my so called living playing. I also paint and make installations. I have my Light Box scenarios that I like working on very much. "Music for Shattered Light Box and 7 Posters" is an installation of a shattered light box where the light source is controlled by sound + 7 large format posters of paintings of mine. This is on the Bottrop-boy label out of Germany. A new light box scenario will be "Electric Eel Light Box" where the light source is controlled by the sound of electric eels. I have a new band called "Mandarin Movie" which is quite powerful and loud and nasty but beautiful. That will be released February 2005 on the Aesthetics label. I very much love Italy and am hoping to do the workshop/concert in Padova and of course play for my friends Giusseppe and Nando in Firenze. Would love to play in Sicily also. I was there a year a go with a group of Architects from Paris "Sub/Sas". I mostly painted and collected sound at that time and I hope to do more work with this group of architects, sound designers, landscape artists etc.. Beautiful place. I am also interested in recording sound of the Matanza which I heard did not go so well this year. Will do some recording with my friend Joao Simoes in Lisbon. He is a fantastic multi media artist from there. We have a group called "naked Animal". Will record new Chicago Underground records in January 2005 in Chicago for Thrill Jockey Records. Sam Prekop is finishing his second solo record on Thrill Jockey which I am a part of, so touring for that will be coming in Spring. I am currently collaborating with some musicians from Brasilie... Jorge de Peixe from Nacau Zumbi and Mauricio Tanaka from Hurtmold. Concerts in Brasil beginning of December and spring. And of course I have the 2nd volume of "Sweet and Vicious Like Frankenstein" that I hope will come out on Mego sometime in 2005.
SA: Your breakfast in tour…
RM: Well I'll tell you what. The food in Italy is astounding. I am happy just to be there to eat. The food from Tuscany amazing. The pizza from Napoli from this small place that is said to be the first pizza place. A dream. Pizza Margarita! Very simple. Anchovies in the market in Palermo. Wild boar with polenta and veal soup and stuffed chicken neck at Cibrao in Firenze. Home cooking from Nando and Giuseppe in Firenze. Amarone Risotto in Verona with my friend Nicola. For breakfast there is this little place for coffee and small sandwiches in Padova. Gelato, Grappa, Wine, Ovali Mushrooms with exquisite olive oil, everything. Giant deep fried pig foot in Paris with my friend Marc. Steak Rossini (big steak with slab of foi gras on top). Smoked Fish from the river in Osak Croatia. Fish soup in Marabor Slovenia. Pato no Tucape in Manaus Brasil. Mortadella sandwich in Sao Paulo. Sausages in Germany especially in Wurzburg. Anything in Japan! Sushi in Tokyo, Soba in Kyoto, Tokyo style that cures you immediately. KPauls kitchen in New Orleans = Crawfish Etouffe! The best cajun cuisine. The best breakfast in Chicago is at Lula's Cafe in Logan Square.
SA: I would like to ask you about your place and your history : just tell us about your previous works and releases, your training, and your relationship with your city, its present scene in music and its great and various musical traditions, you had aacm there, like you had traxx, and then you had nineties, "post-rockers..." (weird expression, I know...)
RM: Well I recorded my first record in December 1994 in Chicago. Since then I have released 20 records. From jazz-free jazz-free improvisation-post funk Punk whatever-Post Rock whatever-Electronics-what the Wire recently said: "Post Industrial, Post Digital Psychedilia"!-installations and who knows what's next. I lived in Chicago for the better part of 20 years and have certainly been inspired by various folks and movements - art-sound- -Sam Prekop-Fred Anderson- guys like Jason Ajemian, Frank Rosaly, Aram Shelton, Josh Berman people like Jim O'Rourke, Jeff Parker, Ken Vamdermark, David Boykins, Nikki Mithell, Jebb Bishop, Josh Abrams, Johnny Herndon-folks like Fred Hopkins, Jodi Christian, Erma Thompson- Kevin Drumm, John McEntire, Tortoise, Joan of Arc, The Dishes, Eleventh Dream Day, The Eternals, David Grubbs, Wilco, The Alluminum group, Azita, Town and Country, Brokeback, Jim O'Rourke, the Chicago Symphony, it goes on and on and on. I Have 8 records now with Chicago Underground groups, 4 with Isotope 217, 2 with Tigersmilk, 6 solo records and still going. The first Mandarin Movie in Feb. 2005.
SA: what do you think about European electronic music scene? And American? And Japanese? Other…?
RM: I either like it or not. Otima Yoshida, Nobukazu Takemura, Radian, Hecker, Pita, StereoLab, Mouse on Mars, Oval, Sachiko M, Fennesz etc...
SA: Could you suggest a playlist of 30 (the number you like, I don’t want to stress you with 30) records to all people who would like to get nearest to the music you like? What are the records that influenced Rob Mazurek but don't sound like Rob Mazurek?
RM: Merzbow "24 hours-a day of seals", Chet Baker "deep in a dream", Jorge Ben "a tabua de esmeralda", Autechre "draft 7.30", Otimo Yoshida + Nobukazu Takemura "turntables and computers", Norah Jones "feels like home", Bjork "vespertine", Vincent Gallo "recordings of music for film", BusRatch "memorium", Ratos de Porao "sistemados pelo crucifa", Fennesz "hotel paralel", Jim O'Rourke " 2 organs", Cartola "cartola", Jemeel Moondoc "revenge of the negro lawn jockey's", Mika Vainio "kajo", LD Brown "guitar", Morton Feldman "rothko chapel" Kevin Drumm "land of lurches", A Grape Dope, Art Ensemble of Chicago "Urban bushman", Bill Dixon "vade mecum", Tortoise "it's all around you", David Byrne "lead us not into temptation", Erik Satie "Mystical pieces" , Pierre Armengoud "the russian avante guard", OOIOO "kila kila kila", Hutmold "mestro" , Pierre Boulez "notations 1-12", Sun Ra "nothing is", Guilherme Vaz "anhanguera paranaiba".
SA: Would you like to say anything in particular or speak of someone you love to SuccoAcido readers?
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