It is one of the best interviews. I think I mentioned repeatedly to Noisextra guys that while they have done huge job for noise culture with podcast and like Greh here kind of mentions that "people hear too much of me", in reality, I would guess we never heard Greh interview like this? And as Noisextra is meant primarily for the 90's and older, what he has been doing starts right where their usual coverage ends.
There are so many different points that could be commented and so many topics that would be good to return in future interviews.
Man talks very openly about the problems of life in past, including the first year in LA. Everybody being pissed off about not getting orders and Greh being homeless couch surfing, living on foodstamps trying to get by. Of course customers will be mad anyways, but certain situations one may understand why it is happening. Good story of Wiese being catalyst of "lets get it done" -days, just meet and get some collective energy to assemble releases and ship them to people you owe them.
Talk about the splintered scene, in ways of nowhere exists forum like Troniks/Chondritic forum was. We got couple forums, sure, but all different chat services and platforms. messanger, whatsup, telegram,.. fb, ig, x, twitch, discord, youtube, reddit, whatever... Tons of small private circles of people using their preferred platform, and everything splintered in a way that the sense of "something big happening" and somewhat centralized information. He mentions opening forum now would be difficult. May be. I would guess it became harder after the "real" social media took over. This also changed nature of forum. I don't think forums could be what they used to be before social media. Just like TAPE now is not what it was in 80's or 90's. Neither is CD or LP. Even if these formats are no longer only viable option to spread noise, I think their role is not less important. Just like you wouldn't expect 1000x noise CD spread into scene like wildfire and everybody knowing and owning it, you got the "CD crowd", just like you got the "forum crowd" who appreciate certain qualities that format allows. Lets say, like where would you find discussion about noise podcasts if not forums? I don't know, but I have been told by others that there is no discussion at IG or FB or such. You may got hundreds, if not thousands of followers, but no actual discussion? Forums may not be THE most popular and THE most followed information source, but it has some good properties why they remain relevant. This is the thing I wouldn't necessarily agree on notion of industrial-noise artists taking the new ways of expression into use.
It is fact, that all the tech and "platforms" that was used by noise / industrial / experimental, and true it was once the latest new tech and welcomed with open arms. But, I will strongly suggest, that it was also because it was GOOD and POSITIVE and kind of in-spirit-of expression itself. Now when artists fetishize c-cassette, vinyl LP, compact disc, vhs tapes, or whatever supposedly for nostalgic reasons, I don't think it is entirely true. I would suggest that at least part of it, is not due nostalgic reasons, but simply because many of qualities are simply unbeatable. They may be also still the revolutionary expression, that embodies the spirit of independent creation. (Like Greh sighs about twitch service that yeah, now its owned by Amazon, not ideal place, but that's the reality one got to live with) Indeed, one would think as industrial noise creators, welcoming the new tech and new possibilities and new platforms is good, but as easy example one can conclude that atleast fraction of our culture can not be there. It is counter productive and changes the nature of expression into some sort of compromise. For some it is advancement, for some this shift would appear as step backwards. When artists already decades ago got out of the suffocating grip of corporation dictating what and how to do, I wouldn't necessary like idea of entering into world of regulations and feeding corporate business models. Of course fully acknowledging many people do not care, nor they are effected in any way.
From my perspective, some supposedly "nostalgic ways" or still the route that leads forward into better direction. For interaction in the physical world, human interaction, the necessity of hands-on-approach and tactile qualities of expression, there simply is not replacement for some of these things. Indeed, one can make fb live stream, but it is not "noise gig" like is the collective, almost ritualistic meeting of fanatics. Some sort of noise objects and culture that builds around it is VASTLY different from someone announcing he got 100 HWN files at bandcamp.
My assumption, is also, that despite Greh is very very international character. Huge spokesman for Japanese noise, big promoter of euro heavy electronics, admirer or original power electronics, far more educated in experimental synth and rhythmic stuff that I could be... When discussion is for example what caused the downfall of noise at some point, he does analyze it very much from USA perspective? There certainly is peak every time that some bigger label threw money in. At some point Relapse. At some point Subpop. etc. He concludes it is just matter of people coming and going, and tends to happen in waves. Which is true, but to me it appears as if the waves are somewhat localized. Or used to be. Tesco stuff suddenly would not be the hot seller of RRR and Ron mentioning that you used to be able to move any euro heavy electronics in blink of an eye, but suddenly its new wave of USA noise that sells. Despite the "downfall", Tesco pressed more than ever, selling more than ever? Sweden flourishing bigger than ever, Denmark having huge wave of activity. Lithuanian festivals, Poland having labels flooding countless releases. Even after Vulcaning Tongue and such falling down UK continued with several labels, distributors, gigs etc for years. Not all harsh, but noisy nevertheless.
The longer one is around, the waves format of scenes is obvious. Still it is not something that is global phenomena and it would feel neat that we just check out what is currently happening, how to advance good things in it. I think that was how the waves originally happened. Like the flourishing Japanese noise scene could have been something enjoyed by 20 locals attending to gigs and buying tapes, but there was people are distributors who wanted to get involved and suddenly dozens of labels worldwide would be putting out new interesting Japanese noise, making it worldwide phenomena. Or work of Relapse and Subpop etc. I doubt the really created anything per se, just noticed there was something great going on, and thought this would be great to promote and distribute. And organizers feeling we need to get these artists play shows etc.
To me it always seems to be that there is merely someone who feels "this is too good to remain unnoticed, I got to tell my friends and anyone I can reach".
This would be perhaps also idea for podcasts. As opposed to emphasis on artists career, like what would be like "currently happening in Japanese noise" -episode! I would suggest people to visit for example Scream & Writhe forum and mr. Junkyard Shaman writing message after message about current Japanese artists and thing happening there. Of course making episode of him as artist could be good, but also theme of lets tell something to people when very few seem to know what is happening. Some may still assume there is quiet times over there, but when talking to some specific Japanese guys, they are saying scene is living one of the busy peak moments as we speak!
Excuse the non twitter length feedback, hah... advantages and dangers of forums. The Wall of text...
