7. VomirProanomie
Did you listen to it? It’s not for everyone. Does it just go like this [makes extreme static noise] and does nothing but that? Vomir is French, he’s ultra prolific and pretty much everything he does sounds like that. He’s made about 700 albums, and I’m probably not exaggerating, and every album is a variation on that theme.
I’ve always been very obsessive with noise music – early industrial music and what lead to the power electronics thing. I’m fairly well versed in and excited by, still, extreme noise. I have a very select taste for it, believe it or not, and Vomir is the finest exponent of what’s called ‘HNW’ which is harsh noise wall, and the whole concept is that it’s one huge, monolithic, static wall of noise and that’s it. And its function is however you wish to approach it. I have used it in a number of ways – if you play it at a low enough volume, it’s ambient, I can write with it, it’s a good trigger for thought. At a louder volume it’s about being consumed because it’s an unwavering static wall of noise but for me there’s absolutely beauty in such uncompromising singularity – I can’t help but admire something so fucking monolithic. It’s like a never-ending brick wall. It is the ultimate black hole, it is the fucking void of birth and death right before you, you know what I mean? I love this dude, I love this shit. Like I said, it’s a movement in itself. People say, "Well anyone can do that" and I often say: "Try it then". And usually it doesn’t have the finesse or create the same sense of void.
After this interview, check out Vomir on YouTube. He stands there with about eight million pedals on a desk with a plastic bag over his head and lies down behind the stage, and stays there motionless for about 60 minutes, presses stop and walks off. I haven’t had the pleasure… but I can’t wait – I know some people who’ve toured with him and they said he’s the loveliest guy.
I don’t have the album you bought but I’m going to rush out and get it. I’ve got at least five hours of the same static noise to look forward to and I can’t wait! As a one-off, as a party trick, when you’re entertaining friends who have no concept of music like that, it’s a good one to pop in between Coldplay and Kanye. Nice melody and a nice beat.
