Devolution Magazine interviews Zoog Von Rock from Angelspit about their album HELLO MY NAME IS
“We’re pushing the idea of the ‘Occult of the Corporation’ to an extreme – hence the title. ‘Corporate slavery’ is a topic we often touch…but in the new album we’re exploring the idea that it’s an actual cult. It is a religion that allows us to indulge in a wasteful existence while keeping us distracted, unmotivated and exhausted.”
– Zoog Von Rock
[DM]: Angelspit have a very abrasive sound, what is the influence behind it?
[Z]: There’s certain kind of “FUCK YEAH!” that you can only get from music with manic guitars. There’s another certain type of “FUCK YEAH!” you can get from insane synths. We’re mixing the two ‘FUCK YEAHs!” to make something BRUTAL!
[DM]: How was it touring with industrial masters – Lords of Acid?
[Z]: It was brilliant! Praga Khan is the most down-to-Earth guy. He is calm wise and all knowing in the ways of Electro. He’s very Jedi…!
Praga really likes what we do live….plus he’s awesome fun on the tour bus!
The rest of the band and crew were also brilliant fun! Much Rock’n’Roll debauchery was had!
[DM]: How did you and Amelia first come together to work on music? And how would you describe your live show chemistry when sharing the stage?
[Z]: We met through a mutual interest in zines as I ran a zine distro for punk rock zines. We started making zines and other arty things together and music was just the natural progression for our creative collaboration.
Zines are dirty, gritty, lo-fi, bold and honest – we try to make music that follows this ethos. We first started making punk rock zines together and we were involved in each others creative projects and music was the next logical step.
[DM]: What is your musical background, where does your music come from?
[Z]: I’ve been a fan of industrial music for a long time, so my favourite bands would be Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, Nine Inch Nails and so on…
We also really love 90’s music like Rage Against the Machine, Smashing Pumpkins and Sonic Youth. Although we might not sound like these bands at all, we have been influenced by their attitudes.
[DM]: What do you make of the current industrial scene? Do you think it is in decline? Or thriving?
[Z]: There is something new happening. Part is coming from the new crop of “Vampire Bands”. Part is coming from the kids who have left the electro scene because they are too weird. Increasingly we see these people at our gigs and on our social media. Another part is J-Rock.
These kids are not interested in “industrial” or “goth”…they don’t know who Bauhaus is and they don’t care. They just want to dress up and dance wildly.
…it’s really awesome!
Meanwhile, new bands like 16volt, BAAL, Dopestars Inc., Dismantled and Cyanotic are pushing the “industrial genre” back to it’s wild punk roots.
Industrial music is being re-energised from inside and out. This is a good time to be rocking!
[DM]: You’ve released as many remix albums as you have full length alums, why is this?
[Z]: Remix albums are an opportunity for us to pull tracks apart and put them back together with other artists – this is a great way to work with and be influenced by other artists. Our remix albums are more like journals into music experimentation then straight-up remix albums.
Our last two remix albums fueled the new album – which is due for release mid Oct, 2011.
The first remix album from our previous CD (called ‘Hidious and Perfect’) is called ‘Larva Pupa Tank Coffin‘ dabbled in electroclash and contains 4 new tracks which reflect the electro sound of Angelspit.
The second remix album is called ‘Carbon Beauty’ re-visited the punk roots of Industrial. This remix album is much harder and contains 3 new tracks that push the ballistic/electro/punk side of Angelspit.
[DM]: You’ve moved around quite a bit but are now based in London and New York City, why is this and what affect has it had on your sound, touring plans and studio time?
[Z]: We spend a lot of time online making evil plans! Amelia flies over to New York when we need to record or tour. Living trans Atlantic has actually made us more focused!
[DM]: Your new full album is due in October this year, what new material is on the go and what can we expect from it?
[Z]: It’s called “Hello My Name Is” and has 11 new tracks. It was co-produced by New York genius Alan Labiner. We set out to do something very different from our previous albums. It’s beautiful, dark and psychotic. We’re pushing the idea of the ‘Occult of the Corporation’ to an extreme – hence the title.
‘Corporate slavery’ is a topic we often touch…but in the new album we’re exploring the idea that it’s an actual cult. It is a religion that allows us to indulge in a wasteful existence while keeping us distracted, unmotivated and exhausted.
[DM]: You’re about to embark on a UK and European tour, what can the audience expect from a 2011 Angelspit show – referred to as ANGELSPIT V2.0
[Z]: Audiences can expect an ALL OUT RIOT!!! Valerie (guitars) and Chris (drums) bring a turbulence to our already chaotic live show which is EXPLOSIVE!
We had a member of one of the most important punk bands in the USA comment that Angelspit V2.0 made him feel like a “15 year old who was sneaking out to see his first hardcore band”.
We are so excited about this! The Liar (our live video-destroyer) will be uploading living from NYC as we play…so this will be an all out eASSULT!!
[DM]: The music video for Toxic Girl is quite extreme, how did you come up with the concept and can you explain it to us? How has it been received?
[Z]: Tamas Mesmer (the director) and I came up with a concept in which a sex toy killed the user once they…well…used it…
We had so much fun with making a late night TV commercial for it! The video is extremely dark humour! The cast and crew involved took the concept and had so much fun with it! We pay homage to anime porn, horror and the video contains many super-fast subliminal edits.
[DM]: What bands are you personally listening to right now?
[Z]: Huoratron, Sleigh Bells, Bring Me the Horizon, GodFlesh, Meshuggah, Massive Attack, Recoil and Duran Duran.
[DM]: Your aesthetics play a huge part in your band, where do you draw inspiration for this? And how important are the aesthetics to Angelspit?
[Z]: I think it’s important for bands to have a visual image that matches their music. I have a great love of fashion and design, so Angelspit has a pretty big emphasis on our fashion sense because it’s an extension of our creativity.
Our favourite film directors are David Cronenberg, Peter Greenaway, Quentin Tarantino and Ridley Scott. Generally we like visceral and visually rich films. Artists like J.P. Witkin, Orlan (French performance artist), Mathew Barney, David LaChappelle and Bill Henson are awesome.
[DM]: Tell us about the blipverts, why do you like to share information in this way?
[Z]: I like to share everything I know. All my best tricks for making music are freely available to the public – and I go into them with as much details as I can. I want to help evolve Industrial music – and the best way for me to do this is by teaching people how to push the envelope of music creation.
[DM]: How would you describe a typical Angelspit fan?
[Z]: Expressive, intelligent, passionate, web junky, and usually has a random hobby. After each show, we spend hours talking with our supporters about their art, music, comix, paintings, computer games. We really enjoy hanging out with these people!!
[DM]: You guys are still 100% self released and self promoted, has this been the best route for you guys? What have you found are the advantages or biggest challenges of opting for this work method?
[Z]: The workload is massive…sometimes it takes away from writing music , creating art and organizing tours….but at least you know it’s getting done!
[DM]: Do you have any final words to add or a message for Angelspit fans who may be reading this interview?
[Z]: Do not stop making your art! It is so important to have a creative outlet in this day and age. The world wants you to be lulled into a coma of consumerism….make your art, voice your opinion, keep your eyes open and stay alive!
THIS INTERVIEW APPEARED IN ISSUE 30 OF DEVOLUTION MAGAZINE
Website :: http://www.angelspit.net
Twitter :: http://twitter.com/angelspit
Facebook :: http://www.facebook.com/angelspitmusic
MySpace :: http://www.myspace.com/angelspitmusic
Vampire Freaks :: http://vampirefreaks.com/u/angelspit
Forum :: http://www.krankhaus.net/forum/
Youtube :: http://www.youtube.com/user/krankhaus
Sound Cloud :: http://soundcloud.com/angelspit
Band Camp :: http://listn.to/angelspit
