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experimenthaywire's Journal
Crushing and Killing in Lala Land
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Will Obama actually create change?
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November 09, 2008, 05:25:am
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Let's hear your opinions.
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Happy Halloween to all!
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October 31, 2008, 06:34:pm
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The real question is:
How many Jokers and Sarah Palin's will we see this year?
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***Interview with They Fell Up***
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September 29, 2008, 08:03:pm
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Original interview:
Interview with Experiment Haywire
September 29, 2008
Interview with Experiment Haywire's Rachel Haywire
**You're involved in quite a bit: you're a musician, label manager, and even a
published writer. What keeps you going?
All the people who want me to quit. For every person who tries to run me off I work harder and harder. If so many people didn't have a problem with me I am sure I would have quit a long time ago. It's not like I'm supporting myself through any of this. I have a masochistic determination to get my ideas out there by any means necessary. Continuing to work in this industry doesn't make any logical sort of sense based on everything I've gone through. I don't know a single other person who wouldn't have quit if they were in my position. Yet I have an intense passion to turn my visions into a reality. If I'm not going to do this who will?
**Experiment Haywire started as an experimental noise project, and then switched
into something more structured and rhythmic. Was that a controlled or spontaneous
evolution?
A little bit of both. I was starting to feel that experimental noise was too easy to make while simultaneously feeling a desire to subvert the dance floor. I wanted to cross the bridge between experimental noise and dark electronic to socially disturb the more avant-garde-than-thou people while giving the scenester club kids a run for their money. Somehow I have people from both camps who like what I'm doing though the majority of my fans are loners and outcasts who don't connect with either of these groups. The idea of Experiment Haywire was to create a new platform entirely. I needed the musical challenge of giving myself structure and rhythm. Being chaotic comes naturally to me and I felt that I wasn't pushing my own limits with my earlier material.
**You're writing is featured in Disinformation's Generation Hex anthology. For those
who haven't read it, what was your contribution?
My contribution is a collection of my thoughts and ideas on chaos magick and the occult. I talk about being a transhumanist, street kid, and all around freak while referencing everyone from Robert Anton Wilson to Aleister Crowley. I did a free-flow exercise on the dark side of consciousness which got me a lot of shit from new age types who said that I was being too negative. They still don't realize how weak their minds are. If I could write the essay again I'd take out the parts on cyber-shamanism because they seem pretty ridiculous now. Since I'm no longer a street kid I look at the book with a weird sense of nostalgia. I've become a boring adult with responsibilities. Yet somehow my mission of disturbing the peace and upsetting the herd have remained the same.
**Your novel, Acidexia, is a autobiographical coming-of-age story. What prompted you to write it?
Acidexia started out as a blog. When I was living on the streets I was in a very manic state and decided to write about every adventure I experienced after escaping the mental institution. I traveled from city and city and got into some of the most fucked up situations I could begin to imagine. My blog gained a huge following (lovers, haters, the usual) and people kept telling me that I needed to turn it into a book. I figured why the hell not and took the best parts of the blog to prepare them for publication. I'm still in the process of getting Acidexia in print. I existed as Acidexia before I became a musician and I'd like fans of Experiment Haywire to know about my past.
**Why did you start machineKUNT, and where would you like to see it go?
I started machineKUNT because I wanted to help promote female artists who were making this sort of music. Very few of us were getting any recognition because we weren't on certain record labels that had the right connections. I wanted to become a new connection. Right now machineKUNT is pretty underground but I'd like to see it evolve into more than a record label. I want all creative and independent women who are into the darker aspects of reality (whether they are musicians, artists, writers, photographers, or models) to become a part of this network. I want machineKUNT to become an entirely new subculture full of young and angry women who refuse to conform the standards of modern day society. Right now the main focus is music because there are so many talented new artists who need to be heard.
**What are you looking for in machineKUNT musicians?
Innovation. Originality. Something different in every artist. I don't want to limit anyone in what they create. I hate how labels sign 6 bands that sound exactly the same. I want all the artists on machinKUNT to bring something new and unique to the music world. It's important for them to have an independent attitude as opposed to being generic clones of other artists. This is about creating new territory.
**You've said you're not thrilled about the current state of the industrial scene.
Where do you think the problem is, and what can be done about it?
I don't wanna blame it all on one group of people but I'd say the people who got kicked out of the punk scene for being boneheads and decided to hide in the corners or industrial are a huge part of it. For some reason people were apathetic enough to let this happen and we now have a subculture full of clueless idiots who have no idea about the original message. Throbbing Gristle was about social confrontation. They dissected fascism in an ironic way. Einstürzende Neubauten was inspired by dadaism. These bands were about performance art and audience interaction. They had a social and political message that was actually important. These days it's just a sausage fest full of jocks who lack anything to share except the names of their annoying friends. They do not like anyone who isn't white and male unless those people act as white and male as possible. There's a lot that can be done about this but I don't think that taking a violent approach is the answer. We just need to represent the scene in a positive manner and show that not all of us are name dropping boneheads who spend our time reading Mein Kampf and trolling people on the internet. Lead by example.
**Who is an inspiration in the scene today?
yelworC. He started his own record label, managed to get his music recognized by a lot of people when it was about the occult as opposed to dirty grrls and dirty bois, and continues to release albums after all these years while performing live shows. Babyland. They are fucking genius. Nobody sounds like Babyland except for Babyland and you will never forget their live performances. Emilie Autumn. She created her own alternative reality, turned it into a music project, and inspired thousands of young women to live in her world. Angelspit. They are the true definition of cyberpunk in a musical sense. Their music is highly enjoyable, their social commentary on the club scene is hilarious, and they are an all around fun band.
**It's seemed that since its beginning, industrial music has been more accepting of
women musicians than in many other genres. So why does there seem to be such a defecit of women in industrial music?
In the beginning there were people like Cosey Fanni Tutti, Diamanda Galas, and even Lydia Lunch who kept the scene full of creative women... yet suddenly those bonehead types began to spread like the plague after the punk scene got sick of their bullshit. They started putting out messages about hitting women, made jokes about rape being cool, and thought that panzer tanks were somehow a ticket to musical success. This alienated more creative women than I can count. Why would women want to make music in a genre full of that sort of idiocy? The only girls that came out to the clubs were complete tools. Thankfully things are changing now. More women are starting to speak out, create their own projects, and bring forth a new evolution. When the riot grrl movement died out and a bunch of independent women were left with nowhere to go. Now they are starting to realize that they're welcome in the industrial scene. We are opening the doors for them that were once closed.
**You've stayed away from the sex-saturated image that's so prevalent. Do you think women can project that image and still be taken seriously?
For their music? Absolutely not. People may buy their music and jack off to it though. They can be taken seriously as business people.
**What would you tell the women that think the only way to be successful is to
project that image?
Nothing. I'd rather not have them in my presence.
**You wrote a pretty scathing blog post called "How to make it as a female
industrial musician ". Do you think the industry or the women themselves are more
to blame for the way they're treated (or some would say used)?
I don't want to victim blame but some women in the music industry are only thinking in terms of making money. They're intentionally making themselves out to be sex objects so they can sell records. It's not their fault that sex is what sells but you can't say they aren't aware of what they're doing. I see them as victims of a sexist industry but victims who are choosing to use their bodies to sell their songs. It's actually very sad.
**Do you think that the women who project that image ultimately hurt other women
trying to make it in industrial muic?
Yes, and this is exactly what I'm changing. There are so many talented female industrial artists who do not have "the right look" and they never get picked up by the leading scene labels. I don't care what you look like. I care if you make good music. If you look at metal you see Otep. If you look at hardcore you see Walls of Jericho. Neither of these bands used sex appeal to sell records and they both managed to make it. There's no reason the same thing can't happen with industrial.
**What advice would you give to the women out there wanting to break into electronic music?
Just make it happen. Don't let anything stop you no matter how many people give you shit. Focus on the music. Things are changing now. This is our time to get heard.
**What can we expect from Rachel Haywire next?
My first remix album which is called "Remix Riot" should be coming out at the end of the year. It's an honor to have artists like Leather Strip, Ambassador 21, and Soman on there. A new Experiment Haywire full length called "Grrrl Interrupted" should be coming out in 2009. It's a very personal album that deals with everything from recurrent trauma to high functioning autism. I'm also focusing on other activities like directing plays and hosting events. A lot is going into machineKUNT. A lot is going into my daily existence.
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If you could tell the world one thing...
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September 23, 2008, 03:23:am
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How to make it as a female industrial musician
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September 08, 2008, 12:48:am
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Are you a female industrial musician having trouble getting your music out there? Are you getting treated like shit because you aren't signed to a trendy scene label? Have no fear! Help is here!
Here are a few things you need to do as a female to make it with industrial music:
#1: Don't ever say what you really feel. This will be considered "acting out" and get you blacklisted from various events and festivals. You must constantly bite your tongue when people make sexist remarks about you or your friends. Always kiss a bunch of ass so "important people" will accept you into their elite social circles.
#2: Make all of your songs about relationships. People love to hear women sing about bad breakups because women were meant to be vapid one-dimensional creatures who have nothing to say besides "how dare you break my heart?" or "do you know that I hate you?" or "do you know that I hate you for breaking my heart?"
#3: Wear clothes that are as skimpy as possible. Remember that sex sells and that your entire musical identity is based on how hot you are. If you aren't physically attractive you might as well give up. If people don't want to fuck you when they see a picture of you then forget about selling any records.
#4: Get signed to a trendy scene label. Really now... how else are you going to get any promotion on sites like this one? How will anyone know of your existence if you aren't on a trendy scene label? Don't make music without being signed. People will automatically think that you suck, your songs will never get played on the dance floor, and you will have to spend hours of your day promoting yourself.
#5: Never let anyone know that you don't like their music if you feel it's generic crap that became popular because they knew the right people. Not only will this get you blacklisted but it will get you death threats, hate mail, and all sorts of other fun stuff that is sure to give you a positive opinion of the industrial scene as a whole. If a band is popular generic crap you should buy the lead singer a drink as you stick out your breasts and giggle like an anime girl. This is a lot like rule #1 but deals with the specifics of forcing yourself to be a liar.
If you follow these 5 tips you are sure to make it as a female industrial musician. There will be featured articles of you on all sorts of websites, plays of your music at the dance clubs, (remember it's about sex appeal not passion or meaning) and a bunch of people viewing you as some hot musical goddess... even if someone else writes all of your songs for you.
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