A Place To Bury Strangers, Melt Downer

0:12HostWelcome to the third season of the Interceptor Beyond Podcast. My name is Arthur. Why is it the third season? Well, because I finally started uploading videos to Spotify and YouTube. You can check them out, out there. And there will be more and more videos coming. Also, the Interceptor Beyond crew is slowly growing. More on this we'll talk in the upcoming episodes. By the way, in case you haven't noticed, we recently had a Interceptor Beyond live show at Arana Beisel. What is it, you ask? Well, it's a late night trivia talk show with special guests where you have a chance to win prizes and have lots of fun. Music gigs, nerds and freaks of all kinds are more than welcome to join us. The recording of the first show will be available online soon, so you have a chance to check it out. Now you're probably wondering when the next show will be. Well, mark your calendars because it's happening on July 15th. That's right, July 15th, Saturday. Make sure to save the day and come join us if you love music and enjoy having a great time. It's also a fantastic opportunity to meet cool people, so don't miss out. Today we have a special episode where I had an opportunity to speak with talented individuals from a place to bury strangers and meltdowner. We recorded this conversation outside the incredible Fluke venue, both before and after their unforgettable gig. Joining us is Julian, an amazing photographer whose presence you'll hear on the recording. Also, I want to give a big shout out to Data Confused Shows for organizing this phenomenal evening. Make sure to follow our podcast on Spotify, YouTube or your favorite platform, if you dig it. And don't forget to rate and review the show on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. You can also keep up with us on Instagram at Interceptor Beyond. Anyway, without further ado, let's dive into our conversation with the place to bury strangers and meltdowner.

2:07?I'm John Fedowitz.

2:08HostGuys, how are you doing? So, you're right now in the middle of European tour. It's just beginning. I mean, tell me, at what stage are you of the European tour?

2:30?Yeah, where were you yesterday?

2:36HostI'm here to help you out. I have all the dates, all the information. It's normal. Yeah, you started in 2002 for the band, you know, and you joined last year, I think, right?

2:49?Three years almost.

2:52HostThat's a conversation. It's not an interview. It's a debate and discussion also. Yeah, but so it's, you know, like when I asked about the European tour, I was thinking because I know the band from long time ago, like when from the first or second album, right? And then it kind of disappeared from my radar. And then I rediscovered you through Earthquaker YouTube series. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And it was pretty funny because I didn't connect you or face with the band.

3:50?Sure.

4:27HostLuckily, some of the T-shirts from old tours have been, they were given away in 2021 to refugees. Yeah, that's really cool. I support that. Yeah. Or like when you started talking about gear, your eyes lit up, you know, like almost like on drugs. I was like, oh, yeah, all this trash, man. You should see like what I have, like the broken cymbal, three parts and stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's why I wanted to ask because you like you want to bring a lot of stuff, you know, and especially like you're into Jaguars, right? Like the guitars.

5:02HostYeah, that's what I like in the video. Have you seen the video? No. Yeah, yeah, yeah. When he puts them in a cello bag, like three of them, I was like, yeah, that's a cool idea. But it's all based on your mentality of you're using the instruments in a different way, you know, like it's not like you're like you have some instruments that you're precious about. I saw like on one of the videos that you have on the wall and stuff, but the instrument is completely different thing for you. What is it for you?

5:36HostHe finds them all precious to him. He likes all of them. Yeah, yeah. They're all equal, but in a different way. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

6:15HostDo you consider yourself a slave to your junk?

6:32HostYeah, because you do, yeah, it seems, but you're one of the few, no one should think about stealing his stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, we need to like, like, like, I don't know, like, what did you bring today, like, for example, like, like, do you still bring your pedal boards, the one that you usually bring to tours in the United States?

7:17HostI wanted to ask you about this. Like, does a TSA, European TSA gives you shit for what you bring? You know, like, like, because it looks like weird stuff. Are you musicians? You play this? It's like a, like a device for something else. This might break. And we're like, we don't care. And he brought, he had this pedal in his bag that he was like going through security.

7:38?And he put it on the table because he just had it in his backpack. And then he realized that it said on it, death by audio exploding head. So he's like, quick, turn the thing around.

7:49HostNice, nice, nice. You don't want to fuck with them. They don't have sense of humor at all.

8:17HostYeah. Or it's like donation boxes for something like that. Yeah. Yeah. So, all right. So that's, uh, equipment, right? I mean, there's so many interviews with you regarding the equipment. It's all, I mean, you, death by audio, everybody knows it, you rule, rule reads, you know, like in every interview, right? Let's talk about the sound. What is noise for you?

9:01HostI need to know what Wikipedia tells. And they say, but we all think that we have the noise has a connotation of something negative, right? Yeah. But noise is just different frequencies. It's the same thing as music or any kind of sound doesn't mean it's bad. And this is what, what I have the, I have this questions become because recently I was talking to a musician and he said like, yeah, yeah. I mean, this band, they only play like, there are only seven notes, right? Uh, like, I mean, I'm not a musician, so I might be mistaken. I don't know. They limited the amount of notes and that's it, right? And I was like, oh, there's noise and it's not, not like no notes, right? Not musical notes, but it still gives you like some feeling, right? So that's why I wanted to ask this question because for example, noise is completely different thing.

10:44HostDo you have like a preference regarding the frequencies? So why I'm asking is because I have like, my ears are super sensitive to high pitch sounds, right? So I need to always have earplugs because it damages my ears, right? I mean, I came to the wrong answer. No, this band, whatever, right? Yeah. But my preference is for the low frequencies, you know, I get like, physically, like, I love that stuff. But high, it's like, it's like drilling in my head. You have something like that? I mean, I think that it's like the high frequencies have to be a little bit more intentional or something, you know, it's like, you know, I love all the frequencies and you use them in these ways, you know, like you would use color and a painting or a picture or something. And so all of these different things, the contrast is what's so cool. And, you know, the big moments where there's none of those frequencies, and then something emerges in those frequencies and the frequency shift.

12:15HostDo you use silence in your gigs?

12:17?Sure.

12:18HostYeah, because I know that, for example, if you have a constant flow of sound, and then you always, like, even if it's like a background noise, like, for example, around us, it's like a street, but you suddenly cut it, it hits you harder than as if it was like too loud or something.

12:34HostBecause you, with your music, it's like highs and lows and all the waves, it's just like a sinusoid, whatever, right? Like that thing.

13:00HostIt's like, it's not rehearsed. So you have a set list? Not yet. Or approximates?

13:10HostAnd then how it's based on just how you feel or?

13:16HostOr you do a randomizer, you have a pedal for that.

13:43HostIt used to give me grating anxiety. But now I'm just used to it. I just go with the flow. Like in the beginning, right? When you didn't know. It's like, what do you mean we're not, we don't know what we're going to play. We're going on in 10 minutes. You know what I mean? Like, but now I'm just like, yeah, whatever.

14:00HostSo yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a good approach. It's like when I interviewed Clutch, they change the set list every day, but they know in advance, in the beginning of the day, they know. So at the moment, you're the most extreme band that I interviewed regarding the set list. Like, yeah, five minutes before this, this and this. And you're like, what are the chords for that?

14:30HostAnd how do you base, like, do you consider where you are, the venue or everything? Like, how do you make the set list?

14:44HostOh, yeah. It's a subconscious thing. Let's come back to the noise thing, right? Sure. Can we express love with noise?

15:03?Yeah.

15:11HostThere's different kinds of noise. Yeah, there's definitely different kinds of noise, for sure. And things can relate to people.

15:16?Like, you could hear someone in the sounds of ecstasy or something like that. And that would maybe trigger some sort of ideas. Or it could be the sound of a train or something. And that could trigger some ideas. Or it could just be full on a blanket of noise that covers you and tickles your body or something.

15:39HostLet's pretend. Let's make a pedal right now. Let's make a pedal, right? What does a love pedal should have? Right? So it's a tone, right? Volume. Okay. Maybe louder and quieter.

15:57HostMaybe something rhythmical, right? I don't know the components.

16:27HostWe're getting closer. All right. So, yeah, reverb. All right. Maybe. And you need to change. Do we need to? I mean, because it's love, it's uncontrollable. So, you can't really, like, chill. Thank you. Cool, man. Thanks so much. You can't really control it. So, maybe it shouldn't have any dials except one or something like this.

16:53?Good luck.

16:56HostLove in the shape, and it's the pedal in the shape of the heart, and you stomp the heart.

17:03HostIt bleeds. It bleeds. It's the first pedal that bleeds. Yeah, perfect, yeah. And the whole, and you do it once, and the whole kick collapses because there's, like, short somewhere.

17:15HostAll right, guys. I don't want to bother you too much. Time for the music.

20:54HostOh, Muesli. Wait a second.

21:06HostIt's a long story, blah, blah, blah, apparently you decided to change now.

21:13HostWow, you'll hear it a lot. You're in for a ride.

21:27HostMostly, and you play also in, like, 10 projects.

21:32HostOh, we actually, like, because I, I, honestly, I didn't know about you. I didn't know about Meltdowner.

21:38?Yeah.

21:39HostBut it turns out that when I did research, I knew you because you play with Lucia, right?

21:44HostHow's it called properly?

21:47HostExactly, yeah. So, you had Popfest, and I was like, I do your face, and, and, and, and you also, like, did a solo gig there with electronic music.

22:11HostWhat about, you also, you also, like, wait, Windows 95, fuck, I forgot the name.

22:18HostNo, Windows 96, I mean, like, the genre, I forgot.

22:22HostYeah, I also have an album for that.

22:30HostSo, you didn't want to say Vaporwave?

22:45HostBut you're not, that genre.

22:47?Yeah, but, but the funny thing is, I, I really got into, uh, ambient and New Age music because of Vaporwave, and I discovered all those really old, um, ambient tapes and New Age tapes from the 80s, and I, uh, I discovered this one label called Sounds of the Dawn, and they just, they, they re-release, or, or just, they, they upload really awesome, obscure tapes, uh, New Age tapes

23:27HostWhat's the name again?

23:30HostI mean, there are many artists, Vaporwave artists...

26:46?because I was, like, okay, this is just tape, yeah, and I was, like, okay, yeah, and I was, uh, texting me, yeah, I already have something in, in, in petto, I already recorded something, but that, uh, was not the case, and I just started recording in a sphere, which became the second Voyage Futur record, and it really took off, actually, it got some, some buzz on YouTube, and, and, and in the

27:25HostOkay, how did you cut, came from a really gentle, uh, vaporwave kind of music, that is really good for, for, for pregnant people, yeah, to meltdowner, which is, like, more like a face melting music, that you probably want, like, pregnant people to listen to? No, no, no, not, I mean, I guess,

28:17Hostthe noise music, like, the Sonic Youth kind of, yeah, yeah, absolutely, Sonic Youth was, like,

28:30Hostinterviews for today, because I already interviewed other bands, yeah, yeah, yeah, the theme is noise,

29:32HostHow can you express love with noise? That's, that's such a tough question, I don't know,

29:44Hostbecause with, uh, guys from Plays to Very Strangers, I said, like, what kind of pedal can we make to express a pedal, to express love, you know, it's, it's, it's even, it's even harder. Yeah, but I'm just, like, fascinated today with the idea of noise. Yeah. Right? Because noise, uh, uh, normally, uh, has, uh, uh, like, uh, when, when you think noise, something negative, right? But it's not.

30:25HostYou know, recently, like, in the last, I don't know, couple months, something weird happened to me. I, for example, I'm sitting outside and I'm listening to, I hear some nice techno music. Yeah. I was like, okay, what's that? No. And turns out it's a sledgehammer, like, like, oh, it's just, like, grinding something. Yeah. And my brain... Yeah, yeah, that's...

31:01HostYeah, well, first of all, we need to mention that we're recording right after your gig, and it was amazing, you totally destroyed, we really enjoyed it, and I talked to many other people, and they, first time, some people spur yourself first time, but they really love what, what you heard. Thank you so much. So, of course, you're high on adrenaline, and... Yeah, yeah, totally, totally,

31:50HostExactly, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, and now, considering this, you know, what is meltdown for you? Is it a way to express this noise love that we talked about? Is it, like, how, how would you describe what you're trying to, like, maybe not express, but what's this band is for? Because you have, like, many projects, right? Yeah. So, this one is really specific. It's actually, this, this one

33:14Hostdoing much, actually, which is, I wanted to ask you that, like, like, uh, last gig, live gigs. I mean, it happened this year, you did some gigs. Yeah, but last album you had two years ago. Yeah, it's just, um,

33:36Hostevery two years or something, or, or, or, I mean, uh, well, how you were releasing was pretty good, I mean.

33:51HostIt's actually also my favorite. Oh, also, you know how I found you? Like, I later realized that I found you, because around, uh, I wanted to say 2018, but I don't remember, uh, oh yeah, 2018, Clown, the music video Clown. Oh, yeah. Remember that? Yeah, of course. Yeah, I do. But I remember it because 2018, I started doing music videos and I was researching the local scene. Oh, yeah. And I really enjoyed it. I remember it, like, it really was a good stuff. Thanks a lot. Yeah, that was, like,

34:27?was, uh, yeah, that was quite a, quite a thing. I mean, it was for us, it was like, it was so much, so much preparation and stuff. And, and we, we, we, we, at the time we did this, uh, theater play with, with the girls in the video. They're called, uh, they're from this collective called, uh, Planeten Party. And, yeah, we did this, this thing together and we said, yeah, those, uh, those girls are just, just two great actors. We have to, to, like, uh, make a music video with them or something. And, and,

35:40HostUh, Ittercombo. My Elmidev? Ittercombo. Oh, Ittercombo, no.

36:26HostSo what's the plan for more down there now?

37:39HostI slowed down. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. But after this concert, right. Uh, you're going to really like start working on a new album because I think people were a little, really liked what you

38:10HostSo yeah, it's, it's just, just a bunch of shows. Yeah. Yeah. All right. So we can follow still, uh, uh, Meltdowner on Instagram. Yeah. If something comes out, it will come out there. Yeah. Yeah.

38:30HostJust, uh, uh, don't give up, uh, any hope. Yeah. It was fine. After today, you'll, after this interview, you'll definitely consider it. And you can listen to Meltdowner on Spotify and all the platforms on YouTube. Check out the, the, the music video for the clown. That's how I discovered the Meltdowner. Now, what, what, uh, which song are we going to listen, uh, at the end of the interview? A good introduction to Meltdowner. Die out.