Darsombra Interview

I've been a fan of Brian Daniloski's music since his days in Meatjack, who were a staple of both CBGB's and my college all-nighters. With Darsombra, he took the slow menace of Meatjack and distilled it into something meditative and transcendental - coinciding with my own growing interest in doom/drone. I'm a sucker for music that pushes boundaries, so I e-mailed some questions to Brian, which he was kind enough to answer.

Mixtape 13: Kevin Hufnagel of Dysrhythmia, Gorguts, and Vaura PART TWO

Mixtape 13: Kevin Hufnagel of Dysrhythmia, Gorguts, and Vaura PART TWO by Dreams Of Consciousness on Mixcloud

Here is the thirteenth installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring part two of an interview with Kevin Hufnagel, the guitarist for Dysrhythmia, Gorguts, and Vaura (among others).

Mixtape 12: Kevin Hufnagel of Dysrhythmia, Gorguts, and Vaura PART ONE

Mixtape 12: Kevin Hufnagel (Dysrhythmia, Gorguts, Vaura) PART ONE by Dreams Of Consciousness on Mixcloud

Here is the twelfth installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring part one of an interview with Kevin Hufnagel, the guitarist for Dysrhythmia, Gorguts, and Vaura (among others). I ran into Kevin while leaving the Red Bull Hardcore Activity in Progress event, when we were both waiting for the shuttle to take us from the venue back to the subway station. I've been listening to Gorguts since I was a teenager, so I asked him if he was interested in doing an interview. We met the following week at a coffee shop in Queens, and talked for over an hour.

Mixtape 11: Noisem

Mixtape 11: Noisem by Dreams Of Consciousness on Mixcloud

Here is the 11th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring Noisem. My buddy Lucas is friends with the band, and was responsible for organizing the interview after their set at the Acheron. Our talk took place in the cozy confines of their van, with all the members present, plus Lucas, and members of Jarhead Fertilizer dropping in as well. It was pretty chaotic, to say the least.

Unkured Interview

Sometime in the middle of my recent NY trip, I decided to walk across the Williamsburg Bridge, and came across a trio of young heshers. I flashed them the horns, as required by law. Imagine my surprise when I saw those same young heshers play a set at Saint Vitus Bar that night. And that's how I discovered Unkured; I was blown away by their chops and after the set asked if they wanted to do an interview. The result is as follows:

Mixtape 10: Saint Vitus Detritus

Mixtape 10: Saint Vitus Detritus by Dreams Of Consciousness on Mixcloud

Here is the tenth installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring a few interviews I did with bands I saw at Saint Vitus Bar in Brooklyn this past May.

Swans @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, 05.19.2014

As is so often the case these days, bands I never thought I'd get a chance to see are experiencing a second career with new audiences. Swans are one such band, and since my trip to NY coincided with hometown shows in support of their new album To Be Kind, my presence was all but certain before I even set foot in the country.

I'd seen Swans once before when the band reunited for shows at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple, an appropriate venue for a band that inspires such religious fervour. What was memorable about the experience was that the guitars were so loud that they made my skin vibrate as I stood at the front of the stage; and a woman yelling incoherently throughout the set proved that "drunken douchebag" need not be gender specific.

Napalm Death @ Red Bull Music Academy Festival: Hardcore Activity in Progress

A kind of spiritual successor to the House of Vans shows that ran a few years back, Red Bull sponsored a number music events in New York over the summer. The highlight for me was obviously the one with Napalm Death. It seems strange for bands like Napalm and Bastard Noise to glad hand with, ahem, "multinational corporations"; and frankly, what companies like Red Bull and Scion see in sponsoring extreme metal events is baffling. But with extreme music being split into smaller and smaller pieces by increasingly niche scenes, and very little money going around any of them, metal can use all the help it can get. I say we take their sickly sweet energy drink money and run while we still can.

Mixtape 9: Grey Skies Fallen

Mixtape 9: Grey Skies Fallen by Dreams Of Consciousness on Mixcloud

Here is the 9th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with New York's own Grey Skies Fallen. The band was playing a show at Saint Vitus Bar while I was in town, so I used the opportunity to interview guitarist/vocalist Rick Habeeb before their set. We talked about the band's newest album, The Many Sides of Truth, their history, their influences, and their plans for the future.

Ulcerate, Inter Arma @ Saint Vitus, 05.10.2014

It's a rare and heartless city that makes you choose between death metal shows on a Saturday night. At the same time Ulcerate were playing Saint Vitus in Brooklyn, hometown heroes Suffocation were doing a show at Blackthorn 51 in Queens. Not that it was a hard choice for me: Though I love classic Suffocation, their last album was a dog and Ulcerate's Vermis was one of the most important records of 2013. Why wallow in lazy nostalgia for death's past when given a chance to see a glimpse of the genre as it's yet to be?

Sadistic Intent and Deathhammer, 05.09.14

Any day that starts with jiu jitsu and ends with death metal is a good day in my book. But fill that day with old friends, new friends (hi, Josh from Limbs Bin!), and vegan pizza, and you have a contender for the best day I've had in the last three years.

The Body, Whitehorse, Gnaw, and Theologian @ Saint Vitus, 05.08.2014

I turned 35 on this 8th of May, 2014. Most of my afternoon was spent standing in front of The Colbert Report studios hoping for stand by tickets. I ended up not getting in, but those three hours I spent waiting were in the greatest city in the world, talking to interesting people. And there was a metal gig for me to go to right after. It could have been worse. I could have spent my birthday in Malaysia.

City of ghosts

Being back in NY has been a little strange this time around. On one hand, I don't feel the constant rage and alienation that I experience in KL. But there's also a sadness I never felt before as I walk down old streets that are rapidly changing and I sometimes can't recognize.

One of my close friends told me that seeing me back here is like seeing a ghost.

Floor, Darsombra, Hot Victory @ Saint Vitus, 5.5.14

Floor wasn't particularly high on the list of bands I wanted to see while in New York - I'd heard a total of one song prior to seeing them, and aren't particularly a fan of Steve Brooks' other band Torche. But the show afforded me an opportunity to see Darsombra, who I'd only ever seen once back in 2008. (It also afforded me the first trip back to my old neighbourhood of Greenpoint, and an excuse to visit my old BJJ gym and grab something at my usual Chinese take out, as well as pine for the days when my training, banking, and metal gigs were all within a 15 minute walk). Plus, I'm going to be spending a lot of time at Saint Vitus this month - I might as well break the ice.