Relapse Recording Artist- Agoraphobic Nosebleed Interview is up




1.So with arc there is a very major stylistic change in sound to a much more sludge and Nola Hardcore sound. I hear band like Melvin's and Noothgrush ?
It’s not a stylistic change in terms of what ANb sounds like, because Arc is a solo record. It was all Kat and Scott Hull. Yeah, Scott is heavily influenced by The Melvins. Some other bands he was thinking about when writing the music for Arc was Black Sabbath and Eyehategod. Noothgrush is a brutal band, but I don’t know whether that was on his list or not.
2. Will each ep very stylistically diverse?
Very much so.
3. Will Agoraphobic Nosebleed be touring and playing material off each ep as the come out?
We don’t have any plans for touring right now. It’s all one-offs for the time being. We want to play a track off Arc for sure, and we know fans of the EP will be wanting to hear that live.
4.You been a long time Relapse artist what makes you stay and what special about the label to band?
Yeah, I think Agoraphobic Nosebleed was on Relapse first, and then they signed Pig Destroyer after that. We have an awesome working relationship with the label, and I always love seeing those folks in person, like at shows in Philadelphia or at Maryland Deathfest. They’re enthusiastic about putting out ANb records, so it’s great.
5. Where do you see extreme metal and Hardcore music moving towards in 2016 . There seems to be a rebirth in these styles in last few years were people are really supporting the music again.
The thing that struck me the last several years was the new wave of powerviolence. I don’t know what the next trend will be. I don’t pay attention to hardcore as much as I used to in my younger days. As far as metal goes, you know, more and more sick-ass drummers keep coming out, pushing up the BPMs and the technicality, like with friendly competition. What I don’t like about that is the overreliance on triggers and quantizing in the studio. When records sound too digital as far as the drums go, it takes away from the brutality.
6. What bands are impressing the members currently any bands or artists that would throw us for a loop?
We all listen to different stuff, and I suppose that goes for a lot of bands. Nothing really comes to mind as far as being a surprise, as in, “People are like, ‘god, you listen to that?’” (to quote Mick Harris from the “Live Corruption” video.)
7. Will there be a proper new full length or does the new ep route seem better in this digital age?
That’s the next thing we’re going to do, is work on a full-length album. I don’t think album length makes any difference in terms of the format—digital versus physical.
8. I know the members of Agoraphobic Nosebleed all have other projects what's going on with them as well?
Yeah, John plays in several bands, and I can’t even say how many. The most high-profile one besides being in Piggy D with Scott must be Scour. Jay has different noise projects also, and he must be coming out with different stuff all the time. He also has his digital record label. At the moment Kat isn’t doing anything musical outside of ANb—she’s been painting and going to college. Scott masters lots of albums and also does some mixing. I have Drugs of Faith.
9. I know arc is the ep for Kats tastes but who's up next and what styles are we looking at?
After we do the full-length, Jay’s is going to be next. It’s going to sound like Black Flag or something like that. Mine is going to be “industrial.”
10. Does social media seem like the new tape trading? I almost feel its this generations fanzines and tape trading. What's your thought?
I always think it’s great when someone still does a physical zine on paper, but I guess blogs and websites that do the same types of interviews, reviews and features on bands are what’s replacing zines. And when someone does a blog where they push out stuff they like for people to check out, that’s awesome too. I don’t support blogs adding download links for things independent labels and bands are trying to sell, though.
11. How does the artwork for arc play into the themes and sounds of the ep?
It fits really well and it’s open to interpretation. Some fans I think have applied their own way of looking at it. The artist is one of Kat’s favorites, and she wrote all the lyrics and chose the artwork, so it all ties together.
12. Does imagery play a role in underground music anymore or are we all just so desensitized now?
It’s rare that when you buy an album digitally you’ll get a PDF of the booklet or insert, right? So that’s the thing that’s lacking. I suppose part of the incentive to buy the physical version is you get the packaging. Although you can add the lyrics to your Bandcamp version, I still think in terms of the physical album instead of the Bandcamp page or iTunes.
13. If you were not making music what would be the next best creative outlet for the band members?
I have a blog—that used to be a physical zine—and I still do that. So I’d concentrate more on writing about bands if I wasn’t playing music. Kat would write poetry and paint more I would guess, and John manages tours on the side, so he could in theory do more of that. And Scott could always do more producing.
14. Thank you for the time any closing thoughts here.
Thanks for the interview. And I always say thank you to ANb fans who have been coming to see us play and will do so in the future. They’ve been impatient with us about taking so long to put out a record, but that just shows that they want more music from us, so that’s awesome. And we’re very happy about the overwhelmingly positive response we’ve gotten for Arc.

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