Industrial Lifestyle...
Some words by John Murphy of Knife Ladder, Shining Vril and former SPK
This interview was conducted by Maria Nicoli via Email in December and January 2004/2005.
HOW DID YOUR INVOLVEMENT IN THE BEGINNING OF YOUR CAREER
AS A MUSICIAN COME ABOUT ??..
I have had over 30 years of professional musical experience in many differing
musical styles and areas in Australasia , Europe and North America..performing
many roles such as drummer/percussionist , songwriter and composer and
also veteran recording session musician...creating many different styles
of music and composition.. My musical career started at an early age ..learning
drums and percussion from the age of approx 4 years old onwards ..in my
home town of Melbbourne ,Australia ..To cut down a very long and complicated
story rather short ..I progressed thru my teenage years playing and performing
in classical school orchestras, military and scottish style pipe bands
..as well as local teenage garage rock bands ..as well as a bit of jazz
and blues ..so I had a fairly rounded out young musical education...
I then progressed ..as I grew older into the emerging local punk and new wave scene of the late 1970s where I played drums with local punk acts and then went onto one of the earliest Australian electronica acts ..named WHIRLYWIRLD..which had a few Australian only releases on vinyl..late 1970s ..
I then left Australia at the very beginning of 1980 and
travelled to London ..where I subsequently over the next few years worked
with many different sorts of acts ,musical styles and artists ..from more
commercial rock acts such as the Associates , Gene Luves Jezebel and Shriekback
thru to solo artists such as Nico and The The ...as well as various other
session work when it came my way....While I was doing this ..I also had
a ongoing interest and appreciation of Industrial and experimental music
and especially the associated scenes going on in London ..and Europe in
general in the early 1980s ..and this is how I became quite quickly involved
musically in this general area and culture ..and ended up working and
collaborating with many differing artists of the era ..such as SPK, Whitehouse,Lustmord
and Current 93...for example ..This is basically just a sort of thumb
nail sketch of my overall career ..and to properly do it a sort of justice
I would suggest readers check out the extremely long and detailed interview
with me at the UK based website
www.compulsiononline.com and go to the reviews
section ..in which I go into pretty much everything I have been involved
with over the years in quite bewildering detail and look on the Knifeladder
CD review..and subsequent interview with me ..even I have got confused
when going thru this ...and have forgotten a few little things....
WOULD YOU DESCRIBE INDUSTRIAL CULTURE AS A LIFESTYLE ,AN
ALTERNATIVE WAY OF LIFE CONCERNING YOUR OWN HISTORY?
Yes I suppose that would sort of be the case ..in regards to myself ..I
could have chosen many different lifestyle paths which might have perhaps
been a lot easier ,less time consuming, far more financially and materially
rewarding and gentler on my health and psyche ..but somehow for good or
for ill I didn't ....I have a few regrets ..but nothing I am going to
overly torture myself mentally over
COULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR INVOLVEMENT IN THE WORK OF SPK?
To make a very long story short..as I have spoken about
this in much greater depth elsewhere.
I had known of SPK since early 1979 ..when I 1st heard about them from
a friend who saw their original performance at a small punk venue in central
Sydney ..I had followed their subsequent career both in Australia and
Europe in the early 1980s and had seen them perform a number of times
around London.. In 1982/83 I got to know Graeme Revell and Dominik Guerin
socially and somehow or other was asked to play live metal percussion
and industrial chainsaws etc with SPK on a number of UK and European shows
in 1983/84..as well as the odd recording session..Graeme said to me that
he was quite a fan of the Associates and had enjoyed my percussion/drumming
on their various albums and releases
..Quite a few people had gone thru the SPK treadmill by this stage (mid
1983)and I was really just a minor percussive cog in the wheel..I was
playing with SPK for on and off ..around 8 months or so ..though it may
have been slightly longer perhaps ..my memory has become a bit vague on
this matter
ARE YOU IN CONTACT WITH GRAEME REVELL OR BRIAN WILLIAMS UP TO THIS TIME
?
I have not personally been in contact with Graeme for some years ..though I do keep a cursory eye on his overall career ..in the Hollywood film soundtrack field ..rather difficult not to ..if you enjoy regularly going to the movies ..as I do. I am still technically friendly with Brian Williams /Lustmord and intermittently send him the odd email or so on occasions ..we may even one day end up working together again ..only time will tell..
SPK HAD MANY INCARNATIONS . COULD ONE SEE REVELL AS THE CREATIVE CENTRE OF THIS PROJECT ? OR DID THIS CHANGE OVER THE YEARS ?
I am not really in a definite position to answer this question..but as one of the few remaining ex members to be still somewhat involved with music I will attempt to give it a go...Quite a few people went thru SPK over the years ..in their many incarnations but I suppose the one constant member was Graeme ..from beginning to end ..Originally he was one of 3 founders in late 1978..the others being Dominik Guerin and Nihil ..Essentially because of strength of personality and overall dominance Graeme sort of took over the reins ..creatively speaking ..but originally it was equally the 3 of them it seems ...This is what I have been told by people who were there ..and have no reason to disbelieve them .. This sort of thing often happens in musical acts ..after a period of time ..musical and personal differences and someone decides to carry on without the others ..alone ..and reap all the benefit ..or otherwise
ONE COULD DESCRIBE KNIFELADDER AS "SHAMANISTIC INDUSTRIAL
ROCK" WOULD YOU AGREE TO THIS DESCRIPTION??
Yes I suppose that description is sort of correct but people may find
that there is a bit more to the overall concept and sound of Knifeladder
than immeditely meets the eye and ear of the listener/punter ..We have
a few sides (musically and aestheticly) to us that may not be so obvious
to the uninitiated so our next full length release may cause a bit of
surprise ..I can only speak from my personal opinion .. The other members
of Knifeladder may feel somewhat differently but as this band is actually
a democracy (fairly rare in realitynow) we agree to disagree about these
sort of things without tearing our hair out in the process
WHAT IS THE CONCEPT OF KNIFELADDER AND WHO IS BEHIND THIS BAND??
KNIFELADDER is a 3 industrial piece act..which basically consists of myself on drums/percussion ,voice, found sounds , some electronics, drones and loops , ANDREW TRAIL on samplers ,electronics ,synthesisers, loops, vocals and arabic, moroccan horn, and HUNTER BARR ,on bass guitar ,treatments and loops ,engineering and production.. We have been in existence since towards the end of 1997 ..and are based in and around London in the UK...Our sound has been at many times over the last few years referred to as Voodoo Industrial Power Electronics ..which may have been sort of accurate early on in our band history..but now I feel our sound has advanced/progressed quite a way ..and we are now far more rounded out, varied ,dynamic and subtle in our music :: compositions,stagecraft and live performance .We have learned at times .that less can indeed be more .on all fronts..There is also a bit of humour there as well ..though it may be a bit obscure and 'Anglospheric ' for many worldwide...one could say this for Shining Vril as well incidently.
The name (Knifeladder).. incidently is inspired by a photograph
of a sort of ladder of swords observed by a mutual friend of mine and
Andrew Trail"s in a Taoist Temple in China in the early 1990s
..I should also say ..by the way ..that the performance we did at the
end of May 2004 at the GOTIK TREFFEN in Leipzig ..was one of our better
ones .but it was in also many ways .a sort of 'greatest hits ' show ..one
that concentrated on our more rhythmic and aggressive material ..as we
had only a limited amount of time to play ..Usually when we perform now
..we have more elements of light and shade..and a sense of ever changing
dynamics ..there is also room for more abstract .non rhythmically based
pieces to be performed ..as well as the more traditional rhythmic based
tunes as well.
There is no real overall concise concept behind Knifeladder...
except to say that we enter the'O' mind and swallow all misery whole..Tuned
in 'Iggy and the Stooges' fans take note ...In some ways we are just a
bit like a more conventially orientated ..old fashioned 'Band' perhaps
..which in my subtle jaundiced mind .is possibly considered by some to
be a bit of novelty in the gimmick strewn area of 'Industrial music "
populated as it currently is by large numbers of boffin like non musicians
..who are content to stand or sit behind lap tops ( and maybe too inhibited
to live the Rockn Roll life)..and let the videos or light show do the
entertainment stage show and talking ..
All members of Knifeladder can play their chosen instruments
conventionally well ..as each of us have had wide experience in many differing
styles of music and we have the added bonus of knowing how to perform
onstage ..maybe a rarity nowdays ..
We love performing live .. and there is a certain amount of inter group
dynamic ,cyclic vocal repetition cum chant and live improvisation onstage
..and at times in the studio recordings as well....We all bring our varying
influences to the table ..and out if it a Knifeladder musical stew rears
it's unusual head ..Contrary to what a few people have thought ..we do
know what we are doing and are indeed aware of our sound and roles within
it ..A successful Knifeladder performance is meant to be a emotionally
draining and cathartic,, trance like ,transforming experience for both
performer and audience/listener.. It is meant to be an emotive gut wrenching
cerebal and visceral event for all and a short circuit/suspension of the
rational mind ..for a short while at least ..Sort of a gnostic"To
find the God within you ..release the fiend and animal within" perhaps
..with a dollop of warped humour and fun too ..It doesn't always happen
but if there are no equipment problems or hassles then it can indeed become
a shamanistic 'experience' for everyone ..A friend of mine once described
our sound and overall performance approach as sort of "like being
confronted by the ancient Scythian hordes rampaging over the Eurasian
steppes at the end of the Bronze age ..1200 BC.." well it was words
to that effect anyway .. I hope this goes someway of trying to explain
the overall concept of KNIFELADDER ..I am still trying to work it out
for myself .not being overly given to concise rational sort of concepts
in most things ..and other band members may differ somewhat in what they
believe and feel about this ..
ON YOUR LIVE ACTS/SHOWS YOU APPEAR IN BLACK SLAUGHTERHOUSE -GEAR HOW IMPORTANT IS IMAGE TO YOU??
Actually there is a degree of black oddball humour behind
this look.and it is not meant to be seriously threatening ....All 3 members
of Knifeladder have a rather warped/perverse, dry eccentric sense of humour
and fun. myself in particular..Anyone who hangs around us for awhile would
no doubt become aware of this.. .We also believe in not short changing
the audience when performing live and try and give 100% in our stage show
..the so called Texas chainsaw slaughterhouse meets the local Freemasons
chapter on bad LSD look came about purely by chance ..Andrew Trail of
Knifeladder as it happens ..currently works in an arts supply company
outlet in inner London..and they sell these black PVC aprons which we
all thought looked rather appealing and groovy ..We believe it is reasonably
important that we all share some sort of united look onstage ..makes you
look a little more professional perhaps and gives the audience something
to remember you by ..
.many acts seem to be slipping back to just the jeans and T-shirt look and just standing there behind laptops onstage ..not really a performance in my humble opinion.....Before we discovered the Slaughterhouse look we used to dress up in black suits and ties for live gigs ..slightly too hot when you are drumming I used to feel..
WOULD YOU DEFINE SHINING VRIL AS A SPIRITUAL PROJECT ?? IF YES IN WHAT WAY??
Having given this a bit of thought I will have to say it
is not easy to convey into words what the ultimate intention and defintion
of SHINING VRIL is all about .. Netherless it sort of goes like this::
Shining Vril is essentially the outward musical aesthetic and presentation
of my own ongoing spiritual path and life journey..a slow going esoteric
spiritual and personal journey with no end in sight or even crystal clear
objectives...as it is all encompassing and ever changing ..like the Pleroma/Otherworld/Dreamtime
perhaps .that has the ultimate aim of somehow or other realising a sort
of inner personal spiritual gnosis and illumination...I should also say
that intense lucid dreaming frequent occurances of deja vu and the "dubious"
ability..for good or for ill..since childhood to sort of "dream true"
on certain occasions about other eras of civilization and worlds have
also shaped the overall development of Shining Vril and little me
Others may say it is my own personal way of somehow musically
and artistically"wanking in the wind"..especially certain pals
of mine (mainly old friends .here in Australia) who think I should just
shut up and stick to playing the drums .. All jokes aside it is essentially
about my own inner journey into spiritual self illumination and gnosis..currently
thru the medium of music/soundscapes...though this may change over time
as my life and art has navigated many highs and lows over the years ..and
will robably continue to do so ..something I am quite resigned to....Who
knows how it (Shining Vril) may indeed end up in decades to come ??! ...There
is no specific SV musical style ..being a conscious decision to keep all
things changing, hopefully hidden and indistinct,obscure and fluid ...though
I will admit up until now ..without really intending to do this ..compositions
and sounds have generally been in the the more extreme ritualistic end
of the dark ambient genre.... Perhaps I'll have to vary my options ..so
as to speak ...
SHINING VRIL TAKES IT'S NAME FROM THE VRIL ENERGY INTRODUCED IN THE NOVEL
'THE COMING RACE' BY EDWARD BULWER- LYTTON COULD YOU COMMENT ON THIS??
Yes, the name Shining Vril partially comes from reading this novel which
I first came across many years ago in an old second hand bookstore .It
has some interesting concepts even though I don't actually think that
it ..and pretty much most of his other works by the way ..were very well
written ..I have gathered by certain history books that Bulwer Lytton
was considered a bit of a pompous ass and figure of fun in certain literary
and metaphysical circles in the London of the late 19th century...whether
this was actually true can only be conjecture for now .. I had also read
various other spurious books ,the odd badly made video about UFOs and
the Fourth Reich and whatnot and New Age metaphysical orientated material
that sometimes used the term along with mainly eastern orientated terms
.or western equivalents like Odic Force , Orgone , The Force and whathave
you ..sometimes you would also discover a mention of Vril and the like
in the various printed works of occultists like Kenneth Grant and similar
writers. There was some influence from all this ..but the main reason
I eventually picked the name Shining Vril..instead of another (which was
sort of similar anyway ) was to do with my overall interest and experiences
with a variety of worldwide metaphysical Healing and inner massage techniques
and harmonic throat/vocal sound therapies that I learnt from different
sources and teachers thru out the late 1980s/early 1990s ...some of these
were quite costly and I'll admit I did at times waste a bit of money .but
I also did gain some sort of overall personal insight/cum gnosis to this
general area as well..which has only increased over time ..for instance
there are some parallels in some of the eastern healing and "energy"
techniques with runic Yoga and meditation...I don't claim to be any sort
of authority in these areas only an interested student ..
There was one particular event that helped me decide on
the name "Shining Vril" ..I was studying a course in Korean
"Chi energy in Australia (with centres all over the world ..including
Germany!)..in 1992 /93 or wherabouts ..with an organisation I subsequently
learnt was a sort of south Korean "cult" and therefore left
..I disliked the authoritarian aspects of these people and their general
contempt and dislike for western society and individualism.and their money
obsession ..common to many cults...but I cannot deny that their Chi energy
techniques were indeed impressive ..especially the one time when the so
called "Master" produced a sort of Shining Chi energy and hot
air ball and directed it at me ..from about 5 feet away..instantly producing
a feeling of intense energy cum , orgasmic kundalini pleasure within..difficult
to adequately describe in mere words ..you would have had to be there
and also experience this.. It kept me awake for the next 2 days ..It certainly
left an impression to be sure ..to be sure ..the best acupuncture was
10th rate compared to this ..
As I was born in a western land and culture I personally prefer to use
the word Vril instead of Chi..
ON A RING YOU WEAR THE SYMBOL KNOWN AS SANTUR, OR THE BLACK
SUN. WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ABOUT THIS SPIRITUAL COMPLEX?
Yes, I have been known to sometimes wear a ring containing this symbol..
I originally found the ring in question approx 18 months ago ..with my
girlfriend Evelyn Overholser of Projekt Thule ..in a New Age cum asian
handicrafts store in Portland, Oregon ..on the north west coast of the
USA. I have worn quite a few different bits of esoteric jewellery ..over
the years .including hermetic and gnostic symbols ..as well as runic rings
on occasion. I also used to wear a ring of very similar design to that
of the Black Sun for some years..which in fact was actually a symbol from
the ancient Mayan culture ..a sort of burning inner fire /sacred sun image
..made by a Chilean friend of mine in Australia ..that somehow ..sort
of "spoke" to me and perhaps reflected my personal inner mystical
state at the time
Anyway to get down to the question ..I am only really interested in the
esoteric,illuminated spiritual side to the whole Black Sun mythos ..sort
of similar to the alchemical occlusion idea of the inner "Midnight
Sun"..as it is a powerful symbol..it is also many sided .The idea
of a central point unseen and mysterious..the hidden centre of attraction
for us all ..in our universe /or galaxy, this dark central sun represents
the mass of potential energy prior to the Big Bang of cosmology.. The
source of of creative light and the centre of Universal life..an invisible
"primal fire" perhaps..
What "speaks" to me personally is the idea of the black sun/santur
as the source of of spiritual inner light and salvation..a symbol of divine
inner gnosis and illumination..and coming salvation if you like .. Can't
really say much more than this ..as I certainly don't claim to be any
sort of authority on this area ..and mere words can't really express my
inner thoughts and feelings on this subject..
DO YOU SEE THIS MYTH AS AN INSPIRATIONAL SOURCE FOR YOUR WORK?
Yes ..it inspires me somewhat ..but only in the creative and spiritual sense. no actual definite influence ..just a sort of "Gut feeling " ..which is how I really approach things and perhaps life in general ..
..My work overall is inspired by many varied things ..lots
of literature ...Arthur Machen, H.P Lovecraft and similar writers from
all over .. are just some examples ,.sounds that I come across in my travels
., interesting people that I have met from all over the world , all sorts
of film and cinema ..childhood experiences.. the list is pretty endless
actually ..
THE TESCO LABEL PUBLISHED SOME OLD TAPES BY LAST DOMINION LOST ..WHO IS
SUPPOSED TO BE IN THIS ??
LAST DOMINION LOST consisted of myself , Dominik Guerin ..one of the 3
founding and main members of SPK in the late 1970s in Sydney, Australia...and
Jon Evans, who was a well known member of the Sydney underground experimental
music scene ..He now lives in Berlin and teaches at a university there..
Each of us had known one another for quite a number of years ..since SPK
days ..
HOW DID THE LATE PROJECT COME ABOUT ??
If my tattered memory serves me correctly . After some months of mucking
about for various people's amusement .we (LDL) had done some live shows
together in Sydney around 1991/ 1992 ..to mostly underwelming audience
response ..and some recordings were made in Domink's home studio ..around
march 1992 ..just before Jon Evans decided to leave Australia and head
back for the more geneal and artistic climate of northern Europe.Most
of these home recordings ended up on the CD ..but I couldn't locate everything
..including some live tracks I wanted to put there as well...There were
vague plans to get the LDL recordings released locally ..and by a supposed
acquaintance in the USA ..but as usual ..in the case of Australian experimental
music nothing ever came of it ...so the tapes of these home studio recordings
were left on the shelf .so as to speak ..and quietly and conveniently
forgotten over the years ..by just about everyone ..except myself ...
It had always been in the back of my mind to somehow one day get this music out there in the global industrial music market place ..as I had a definite feeling that SPK fans all over the globe in particular would be interested .. this seems to have become true ..as more than a few have referred to the Last Dominion Lost release ..as sort of like an unknown and suddenly uncovered mid period SPK album....the overall repsonse has been pretty positive .
COULD YOU COMMENT ON THIS SUPPOSEDLY CLOSED DOWN PROJECT??
First of all I would like to point out that I was not on
every track .only most of them ..The whole thing of this work being released
thru TESCO came about purely by chance ..when I 1rst mentioned the tape
to Klaus from Tesco .in mid 1999 or whereabouts .as he was interested
to know whatever happened to various past SPK people ....and expressed
interest in hearing the only old tape I had .back in a box in Queensland
, Australia.
It had always peeved me over the years that most people who liked SPK
..especially in Germany .thought that only Graeme Revell was the only
creative force behind SPK...and that my good friend Dominik Guerin had
been conveniently forgotten and ignored ..Since he was one of the 3 founders
of SPK I thought he deserved better ..and getting these tapes out was
one step in that direction...My role in SPK was really only a glorified
sheet metal and glass basher for approx 1 year (1983/4)..whereas his was
so much more ..as many of the original concepts were his ..and Graeme
may have subsequently taken the credit ..I'll leave that up to the reader.
There was a lot of painfull and hard work put in..in remastering these
primitive tapes ..on my behalf .and also Hunter Barr from Knifeladder
..over a period of a few months or so in 2002...whenever Hunter had some
spare time ..as he was a professional sound engineer at this point with
a studio in south London to run..At times both of us were literally banging
our heads against the studio walls in dispair ..It took a long time to
clean up the original master cassette tape .and remaster it .as the only
surviving original dub had lots of gliches ,hiss etc ..due to the fautly
recording machine it was dubbed on to in 1992 ..Plus I also had lots of
problems with the artwork ..which I won't go into ..photos mysteriously
disappearing and the like ..so at times I thought the whole thing was
perhaps cursed and wasn't meant to be ...One of things that kept me going
in all this is that at many various times over the past decade or so ..whilst
I have been on tour with Death In June in Europe and North America .people
have asked me about SPK ..and whatever happened to various ex members
.and more importantly ..is there any unknown SPK related material /music
still out ther??..since I seem to be the only ex SPK member who actually
speaks with old fans I naively felt that I somehow had a duty ..to show
them ..that well "Yes, there sort of is actually !! ..and this (LDL)
is what it is !!
There are a few points I'd like to make about the whole Last Dominion
Lost thing . Firstly for the interest of European and North American readers
The title "Tyranny of Distance" is one that many Australian
and New Zealanders would be quite familiar with ..as it refers to our
cultural , physical and psychological isolation from our mainly european
heritage ..That is the general aesthetic and (I hestitate to use the word)
"concept "that underpins the whole CD and album..especially
the song titles if you bother to look...though I'd tried to not be too
obvious about it ..Most of the tunes originally had no names when they
were created.
LDL was not really a band at all..in the normal sense .There was no actual
proper name for LDL when it actually existed in 1991/92 ..at that time
..band names like DOMINION , DOM and MERGE were used on various occasions
.."Dominion" has been subsequently used by many ..in various
forms .as has DOM..(such as in CON-DOM).so I certainly couldn't use this
for a band title .. and "Merge" I had completely forgotten about
(there certainly has been a lot of water and memories under the bridge
for me since the early 1990s )..until I was reminded late last year ..2004....Frankly
I would have preferred to stick with Last Dominion Lost anyway ..as Merge
as a band name doesn't really do it for me I'm afraid ..and I don't think
Klaus and Joachim from TESCO would have gone for it as well ...The whole
thing was very haphazard, part time and chaotic when it actually existed
.and the actuall recording sessions were quite over the top ...when I
was there anyway in general bad, and decadent behaviour ..lots of brain
cells went AWOL ..put it that way ..so it was no wonder that tapes went
missing and the like .. And yes if various readers are asking the project
is indeed closed down ..as it is a one off sort of thing/event if you
like ...the whole thing was meant to be like a sort of "retrospective"
and document sort of release ....as I felt ..and certainly still do that
the music that LDL made ..originally made under no name ..or whatever
title you prefer ..was 'too good' not to somehow or other get out there
to a potential audience ..It's my little bit at helping document previously
unknown Australian underground experimental musical history if you like
... If anyone wants to contact me and ask further more detailed questions
about LDL please do..I'll be happy to explain as much as I can ..
ON SEVERAL TOURS OF THE NEOFOLK/MILITARYPOP-BANDS DEATH
IN JUNE , NON AND DER BLUTHARSCH YOU WERE THE DRUMMER/PERCUSSIONIST. WHAT
DO THEIR CONCEPTS MEAN TO YOU PERSONALLY??
In regards to their so called concepts/aesthetics and the like ...I don't
have any problems with these ..That is all I am going to say about this
.. I have lots of other things currently to worry and fret about ..mainly
in non artistic areas such as long term health issues ..which cause me
more than a little anguish at times
WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO THEM??
My relationship to these artists and bands is basically
that I personally know and respect the various people involved ..
I like them as people and enjoy the music and concepts designed, made
and performed by all of them over the years ..and that is the basic reason
why I, at various times over the past decade or so ..have performed and
recorded with them all..as a supporting ,backing musician on drums and
percussion
WHAT WERE THE TOUR EXPERIENCES LIKE?? DEATH IN JUNE SEEM
TO HAVE ALOT OF ENEMIES - ESPECIALLY IN GERMANY WHERE THEIR CAMOUFLAGE
AESTHETICS AND AMBIVALENT LYRICS ARE TAKEN AS A RIGHT WING POLITICAL STATEMENT
I am going to speak about myself personally here and this may ..or may
not answer your question..For me the tour experiences have been 100 %
positive ..around the globe ..I have made a lot of good friends and acquaintances
thru out the world ( which I might not have otherwise done .if I hadn't
come into contact with them whilst on tour) ..and have a lot of good memories
..that I would prefer to keep to myself ..There haven't been any negatives
..as I feel honoured to do this and travel the globe
In regard to "Enemies " and the like I am not going to really comment except to say it seems that in all spheres of western society over the past few years there seems to be an upsurge in general intolerance for different personal viewpoints, the growth of religious and political extremism cum fundamentalism..people who make it their business to pry into other's personal morality and lives and the growth of PC style "Thought Police cum Stalinist like /Authoritarians....My way is the only way and all that sort of thing.. I am totally against this (and always have been)..and anything..or anyone that attempts to restrict one's personal liberty, thoughts and overall freedom in any form whatsoever.....I knew people of this sort many years ago in my home country (Australia) and they were all pretty much emotionally disturbed and damaged individuals ..usually their own worst enemy actually ..
A visit to the Gulags and jails of North Korea, Saudi Arabia and areas still controlled by extemists such as the Taliban might be a bit of a real eye opener for many of these people ..safely living in western nations .they might just discover who the real long term enemy is .. Anyway that is my little rant for now ..Make of it what you will..
Even though it is somewhat off the question and topic ..
I would like to point out that pretty much all of my "Bad' experiences
as a musician ..session and otherwise ..over the past 2 decades or so
..have been with people involved in the more "commercial" side
of the straight music industry...not so much the actual artists ..but
more the background and back room people who manage and produce them...It
is a world and lifestyle that attracts alot of parasites and damaged folk..with
egos to match
DO YOU SEE DEATH IN JUNE MAINLY AS A SPIRITUAL , A SEXUAL -FETISHISTIC OR A POLITICAL PROJECT??
You would have to ask Douglas P these questions ..for an overall answer.as only he could properly do them justice ..This of course would be entirely up to him
..I think I had better clarify my position in regards to my role in the live shows of Death In June ..as there often seems to be some sort of confusion there ..for many people ..around the world who attend the shows
FOR THE RECORD:: There is only one actual member of Death In June and that is Douglas P...no one else ..He is totally responsible for all the songs , sounds , image , concept and general aesthetics
My particular role in regard to DIJ live shows is one of
a supporting,backing musician..who provides backing drums/percussion and
some background vocals on various songs .. maybe something slightly more
than your average session musician (who often don't give a damn about
what they are playing so as long as the session fees flow ) perhaps ..as
I enjoy what I do and attempt to do it as well as possible for DIJ live
performances ..I have appeared on a few live releases over the years ..and
also appear playing various forms of percussion on the recently released
ALARM AGENTS album and CD
WHAT WILL THE FUTURE BRING ??
Hopefully a feeling of contentment , success in overall
career, large bank balance and a long term luxurious place of abode ..
On a slightly more serious note ..It would mean further Knifeladder releases
., a proper Shining Vril release ..hopefully on a label somewhere in Europe
and/or North America ..more collaborations and releases with both Foresta
Di Ferro and Sword Volcano Complex ...and also Naevus ..
also some recording work with a new sort of "supergroup " outfit
..featuring both Lloyd James of Naevus and David EWilliams and 2 fellows
from the Finnish act Two Witches ..provisionally titled Molto Molto
Plus I am also contributing some sounds to the USA based experimental dark ambient act WYRM who have a few releases out ..
I also did some recordings late last year .October .2004 with Markus Wolf (Waldteufal)and Scott from Romulus/Remus whilst I was staying in Portland , Oregon.in a ritualistic ambient percussive sort of vein.hopefully something may eventually come of this ..thru some USA based labels perhaps
WHAT ARE YOUR CURRENT PROJECTS ??
My main concern at the moment is finshing off the new KNIFELADDER
full length CD release .which is provisionally titled "The Spectacle"
This should be released thru Old Europa Cafe sometime in the not too distant
future if all goes well.. It is indeed a further step in the overall sound,
concept and development of Knifeladder if I may be so bold ...and I think
it will certainly surprise quite a few people and add to our reputation
which seems to be growing ..We also hope to perform again once again in
Northern Europe ..besides London ..Germany and Scandinavia perhaps .thought
there is nothing definite right now ..as yet .. There should also be some
European compilations coming out that feature both Knifeladder and Shining
Vril on them ..including one due out on Nail Records of Italy
Right now I am limiting myself to compilations with Shining Vril..as I
currently have limited facilities and time to record ..I have to do it
on the run ..so as to speak .especially when I am doing live touring and
shows with other acts ..or doing session work ..
I hope to record a full length Shining Vril release in the not too distant
future ..probably with the overall help of my friend Lloyd James of Naevus
who has also given me a helping hand in the past on quite a few tracks
..This will also partially depend on finding an interested and decent
label ..hopefully in northern Europe and/or North America as there doesn't
seem much going on here (Australia) right now in this musical cul de sac..I
have had some interest from various quarters around the globe ..which
I will have to chase up..once I feel ready
I am also considering recording a long delayed new KRAANG(myoriginal solo
industrial noise project from early 1980s) album ..after many years on
the sideline so stay tuned and be prepared ..This will also partially
be determined on whether I can get my old trusty EMS AKS modular synth
mended properly and up and running once again..to destroy everones's eardrums
and the like
I am also contributing soundscapes ..bleepes, samples , loops and extraneous
noises , vocals and the like to new releases by both SWORD VOLCANO COMPLEX
and FORESTA DI FERRO ..also some percussion for the latest recordings
by ANDREW KING and the recently released CD "Perfection is a Process
" by NAEVUS....out thru Old Europa Cafe
AND FINALLY :: WHAT IS THE SECRET BEHIND THE WAY OF SPELLING JOHN MURPHY "JONH" ??
Actually this has caused more than a little confusion with
many people ..especially those whose command of english is not so good
in many different countries ..so I have sort of stopped doing this ..to
avoid confusion.. There is a bit of a story behind me originally doing
this ..which goes back quite a few years ..
Originally as a teenager in the late 1970s in Melbourne, Australia I used
to play drums with many local punk acts ..and we all had our own "punk
"names ..mine being "JONH SMITH FROM THE SUBURBS".. I was
the only member of these acts to actually live in the suburbs .hence the
nick name .. I stopped doing this around mid 1979 or whereabouts. It was
only a few years ago..around 1997 that I again gave this some sort of
thought ..as I had travelled around Europe and places like Ireland in
particular ..where I kept bumping into various John Murphys ..I have also
been confused more than once with an Irish soundtrack composer ..also
named John Murphy ...there is a well known writer plus a few journalists
.. also another Australian musician with the same name plus a local Australian
politician and probably quite a few others ..enough to make you want to
change your name perhaps ..
I think I perhaps underestimated the possible confusion that changing my first name (from JOHN to JONH) might cause amongst many people ..especially those whose understanding of english grammar is not so good ..so a short while ago I decided to sort of curtail this ...It was actually Bruce La Fountain of Sword Volcano Complex who sort of brought this to my attention .as he begged me to let him spell my name the normal way on his last CD release ..so as to not confuse people
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS INTERESTING INSIGHT INTO YOUR WORLD...
Maria Nicoli
