Interview by Terrorizer Magazine
Former Napalm Death frontman and Scorn mastermind Nik Bullen has joined up with JOHNNY DOOM, ex of Doom and Sore Throat for a special performance at this year’s SUPERSONIC FESTIVAL (Birmingham Custard Factory, July 25-26) under the name LIGHT TRAP. With little information out there other than the promise of ‘blackened and primitive noise rock’, Johnny let us know what’s up.

Introduce Light Trap to us, what’s the story and what’s it like?

“Light Trap is a new collaboration between myself, Nik Bullen and Dougie who drums for a great local atmospheric post rock band called Una Corda. We originally jammed together for a Fluxus art show which was collated by Mr Bullen, where we performed two improvisational pieces especially for that evening. After the show we hooked up and discussed pushing the project further, which we are currently in the process of doing now.”

Have you rehearsed together?

“Yeah, quite a bit actually and I’ve really enjoyed it so far. We have so many ideas and similar influences that we probably have too many ideas at the moment, but it’s the freedom of the guitars that I am enjoying the most. As a three-piece you can really work off each other and there’s a really loose, noisey aspect to it, so I get to go mental.”

Obviously you and Nik probably go back a long way, do you remember first meeting him?

“Of course. He was at the Mermaid all the time when we started Doom in about ’85 and we all hung out, got trashed and listened to music together. I lost touch with him for a while, but then we got back together and made some more music just before he started Scorn. We’ve had our ups and downs over the years, but always kept on a good level.”

A collaboration between Nik Bullen and Johnny Doom is going to bring some crusties out in palpitations, do you reckon any long-term followers of your careers will be into it?

“Yes and no. The stuff we’re working on is quite proggy and noisy and al ot of it is just music with no lyrics. People expecting Napalm Death or Doom will probably find it a bit too arty!” he laughs. “However there is enough sonically that could interest lovers of punk, grind, noise and psychedelics alike. I just hope that people will feel the same freedom from it that I am. Music for me has become so ordered of late, so predictable. Its nice to be creating beautiful chaos again.”

Anyone you’re looking forward to catching at Supersonic?

“Lots…Goblin, Head Of David, Thorr’s Hammer….too many to mention. A lot of the music I’m not even familiar with, but one of the most intriguing things about visiting Supersonic is just ambling around and experiencing new sounds and concepts. It’s a wonderful festival.”

You’ve been quite active in the whole Home Of Metal thing, what kind of impact do you think Supersonic has had on the area’s music scene?

“Supersonic festival and Home Of Metal project are really just an extension of the fantastic work of Jenny and Lisa from Capsule who have been putting on events and gigs in Birmingham for many years now. Their overall mission statement, to bring fresh underground experimental music to Birmingham has been very effective and brought with it so many exciting new aural experiences to starved locals that we are endebted to them for all their hard work. Long may they reign!”
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There is a strong metal presence at this year’s festival as Supersonic embraces Birmingham’s musical heritage.

Home of Metal is a project that has been raising the profile of the West Midlands region as the birthplace of Heavy Metal, citing Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Judas Priest, Napalm Death and Godflesh as key players within this genre who all came out the area.

Festival goers will witness the torturous Japanese ‘funeral doom’ band Corrupted who have embraced their heavy metal influence while twisting the genre to a parallel universe where guttural roars follow extensive harp pieces and atmospheric doom accompanies all out head banging sludge. It is fitting that the first UK show for this now cult band will be in the place where Black Sabbath originally discovered their dark ominous sound which still resonates in the haunting heaviness of Corrupted.

The reformation of Head of David is another reminder of the diverse interpretations that can be born out of Heavy Metal. This Black Country band were one of the first industrial metal bands, the tempo is slowed down and distorted. They create a heavy haze that subsequently poured into the sounds of Godflesh and Ministry.

Ex Napalm Death drummer Mick Harris will be playing the festival as industrial dub act Scorn. The sounds of Scorn take those dark, heavy sounds of Heavy Metal and strip them bare, creating a uniquely mucky minimal sound.

The influence of West Midlands’ Heavy Metal can be made out through the thrashing and pummelling of Kylie Minoise. His hectic bursts of noise a reminder of the early Napalm Death tracks that pound into submission. Kylie Minoise’s reinterpretation of the one second long Napalm Death track ‘You Suffer’ was released in 2007 – it’s over an hour long.

Other Heavy Metal influenced performances at Supersonic 2009 will include grunge doom from Thorr’s Hammer, thrashcore from The Accused, power grind from Iron Lung and a wealth of bands embracing dark, psychedelic and experimental sounds – whether they linger gloomily for eternity or smash into you briefly as a burst of noise.

In addition to these crushing sounds, a number of Home of Metal events will be taking place over the weekend. Catch Kerrang! Radio DJ Johnny Doom in discussion with Greg Anderson and Stephen O’Malley of Sunn0))), discussing the influence of West Midlands’ Heavy Metal. Dr Niall Scott of the University of Central Lancashire will be lecturing on the ‘monstrous male figure’ with Heavy Metal and their will be a screening of the Vice film ‘True Norwegian Black Metal’.

Tickets – Weekend tickets – £70 / Friday Ticket – £15 / Saturday Ticket – £35 /Sunday Ticket – £35

available from: www.theticketsellers.co.uk
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Also available from
Polar Bear + Swordfish – Birmingham
Rough Trade East – London
Plugd Records – Cork

We’re pleased to announce some additions to the line up for Supersonic Festival 09,  24th – 26th of July, taking place in and around the Custard Factory in Birmingham. First up to be added are the beautiful dissonant occult noise act SKULLFLOWER, also joining the line up is SCORN aka Mick Harris (king of the blast beat)  and the new project combining Russell McEwan of Black Sun &  the electronic-vocal attack of Lea Cummings (Kylie Minoise) in the form of ATOMIZED .

To the uninitiated, Skullflower is one of the better-known bands that originated in the early 1980s power-electronics / noise scene, and one of the few to achieve any real recognition outside their homeland, especially in the United States . Unlike most of their contemporaries (such as Whitehouse, Con-Dom, Grey Wolves, etc.), they are an actual band (as opposed to one or two musicians employing a mix of instruments, synths, and tapes), and retained just enough of rock’s basic structure to attract the attention of people beyond the power-electronics genre.

Skullflower’s roots are in the European power-electronics / noise scene taking place in the early 1980s. A number of experimental musicians and bands who had grown bored with punk began experimenting with a more confrontational brand of volume-dependent artistic expression. Bands like Whitehouse, Final, Napalm Death, Con-Dom, Throbbing Gristle, The Grey Wolves, and the like were pushing the boundaries of sonic assault, employing damaged synths, guitar noise, unsettling tapes, and extreme volume to confront audiences. Swiping a page from punk’s DIY manual, most of them were also releasing their own material (and in some cases, the material of a great many others) on cassette and (when they could afford it) vinyl, to be sold at shows or by mail order.

SCORN

Scorn is the project of former Napalm Death drummer Mick Harris. The project was formed in the early ’90s by Harris along with Nic Bullen (one of the founder members of Napalm Death in 1981). Bullen left the group in April 1995 and the projects continues on to this day as an essentially one man show.

Scorn is/was often associated with industrial and experimental music, particularly in their earlier years as a duo with much of their Earache Records era output. Scorn considered a rare example of a successful industrial/downtempo crossover artist. Since the departure of Bullen, much of the output has been minimalist beats with an emphasis on very deep bass lines, often resembling dub and trip-hop in structure.
http://www.myspace.com/mjhscorn

ATOMIZED
Atomized is the what occurs when you combine the tribal percussion and bellows of Lovely Feyde Rautha (Russell McEwan of Black Sun) and the electronic-vocal attack of Lea Cummings (Kylie Minoise) as they reinterpret some well known pop songs from the 80s, or as they describe – “Raped versions of pop classics by Madonna, Visage, Howard Jones, Haircut 100, & Culture Club.” As you can imagine, the songs sound nothing like the original chart toppers, dwelling in a nocturnal grey area between Mummy and Daddy era-Whitehouse (especially on their Madonna and Visage cover) and Swans at their minimal best.

Equal parts industrial, noise and no-wave – it’s a heavy and merciless release from these two, the audio equivalent to Boy George’s night terrors in the clink. This will be released from Lea’s Kovorox Sound label in the not so distant future, be sure to catch their debut performance of this material at Glasgow Implodes this March.
www.kovoroxsound.com/

Initial Supersonic 09 line up – Head Of David/ 65 Days of Static /  Atomized/ Berg Sans Nipple / Caribou / Cave/ Chris Herbert / Diagonal / Earthless /Flower & Corsano Duo / Genghis Tron / Growing / Jarboe / Khyam Allami / Master Musicians Of Bukake/ Nancy Wallace / Pontiak / PRE /  Scorn / Skullflower/  Theo / Venetian Snares /Zu / ZzZ’s

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