Hi Chris ! How are you ?

I’m full of life and inspiration. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to express myself - it is a gift that I appreciate to no end.

Do you have a specific musical background ?

As a child, the only music in my house was my mother practicing singing and playing piano for church services. She has an angelic voice and that voice is devoted to God. At Sunday Mass and at funerals, I have seen her bring countless people to tears. After years of singing funerals my mother had to stop because it became too difficult for her to handle on an emotional level. Witnessing the power of her voice, the conviction behind it, and how it moved others had and continues to impact my life and work.

Outside of a few months of guitar lessons when I was thirteen years old, I have no formal musical training. All other instruments that I play come from following instinct, not classical ability.

It is important to note that when I was growing up and loving music, the three visionaries that had the most profound impact on me were David Tibet, Steven Stapleton and John Balance and none of them could properly play a single instrument when starting CURRENT 93, NURSE WITH WOUND, and COIl. This did not stop them from creating immensely powerful work - the idea of not needing to do anything correctly was incredibly liberating and gave me a sense of having total freedom with setting out to accomplish what I want to do at any given time.

Pip Proud is a singer-songwriter that I love. He has very limited technical ability but it doesn’t matter at all. Pip’s music is so beautifully poetic and cuts straight to the heart. For the most part, I either love or hate things I hear immediately. Very few artists have made me feel strange or uncertain. When I feel that way, it usually winds up being a work that I admire and moves me in a perplexing way that it is hard to put it into words - Scott Walker’s Tilt is a fine example of this odd feeling. You play various instruments (guitars, tamboura, sitar, chord organ). Is there one you’re particularly fond of ?

On my first three albums, Bloodstained Butterflies, Hideousness and Beauty, and Demons Through Mirrors, I recorded a variety of instruments and sounds to achieve specific tones and atmospheres. Songs often form around simple melodies, repetitious drones and patterns. Simplicity of sound has always been a concern of mine. Regardless of what instrument I’m playing, I try not to think at all when layering sounds over set songs. Hideousness and Beauty is my only album that was made completely on the spot - it was recorded with one microphone and a 4-track in one week. Bloodstained Butterflies and Demons Through Mirrors were a combination of recording spontaneous moments and written songs that had been rehearsed and with which I was more familiar.

On my latest and recently released album, Horizons of Death, all the songs were written on and for acoustic guitar. The other instruments that I play circle around the acoustic guitar and my voice. Horizons of Death is my first album of all vocal-based songs. I had the extreme good fortune of having two of my favorite voices contribute to the album - Sarada of STONE BREATH and Tara Burke who is FURSAXA. The amazingly beautiful vocal work they added elevates the songs to no end. I’ve cried listening to the astonishingly moving violin work from Jennifer Lee of NIAGARA FALLS. Jennifer wrote all of her work in only a few days’ time. My current live band consists of Todd Moore on acoustic bass, Eric Brown on saxophone and banjo, and Mark Durante on clarinet. The three of them worked on the songs I had written a few months before recording Horizons of Death and I couldn’t imagine the album without their deeply felt parts.

What are your main sources of inspiration ?

Light and darkness...the need for balance...the human heart...how fragile we are...the bliss and horror of relationships...the sun and the moon...the importance of not wearing masks...finding truth through embracing mirrors...animals, especially ferrets, rabbits, butterflies, and birds...long, brown hair...Love, which is the most important thing.

It seems you’re a great cinema enthusiast...

Outside of music, film is my greatest passion. The films of Andrey Zulawski, Werner Herzog, Andrie Tarkovsky, Nicolas Roeg, Peter Watkins, Abel Ferrara, David Cronenberg, Lucio Fulci, etc, have inspired some of the music that I make. I feel an intense connection with Zulawski in terms of creating a body of work. In an interview with my favorite cinema writer, Stephen Thrower (author of Beyond Terror : The Films of Lucio Fulci and editor of the amazingly inspired Eyeball Magazine), Zulawski says that when he dies he would like all of his films to be put together and played on an endless loop. I’m drawn to artists and to make art that is of a singular and distinctive vision/experience - intimate and personal to an unusual degree. The first time I saw Zulawski’s Possession, I couldn’t shake it - it monopolized my thoughts for a month straight. For many of the films and albums that mean the most to me I have a hard time returning to because I need to be in a particular mind set to give the work in question the attention it deserves. Peter Watkins’s masterpiece, Edward Munch is another film that stayed with me for such a long time after seeing it - at the same time I felt so close to the film I was seeing - someone who is tortured/obsessed with aspects of their past - variations of haunted memories. The editing of the film is brilliant - it works out to be an extension of the mind - glimpses of memories playing out, repeated, shifting over time. I left the theater changed, moved to the point of needing time to collect my thoughts and what I had just experienced...these are the moments in life that I treasure.

My life has been surrounded by seeking out the paths of outsiders concerned with the human universal. I hope my work has just begun, whenever it ends (which will be with death), I hope that everything that I have done will be seen as a body of work - art and life bleeding into and blurring together.

Which comes first - sound or vision ?

That is always changing. Sometimes, I have lyrics written to put music to and other times, while playing an instrument, words come from out of nowhere and I follow intuition without question. There have been times where I feel a certain way inside and try to articulate it to the best of my ability with sound - magical moments have occurred when channeling something unknown from somewhere unknown.

Have you ever considered working on a soundtrack, and if so, which kind of film would it be ?

It is something I would love to do at some point. The most rewarding and challenging films transcend categories and movements - they exist in a hermetically-sealed world, separated from ordinary experiences, and yet they contain elements that we can relate to. Tarkovsky’s Stalker and Zulawski’s The Silver Globe are otherworldly films that are often placed in the realm of science fiction, which is correct, but the films contain so much beyond standard conventions. Werner Herzog’s mind-blowing Fata Morgana and Lessons of Darkness - what are these films ? I don’t know, but I love them. Both are documentaries that have made up poetic and bizarre narration and contain such unbelievable imagery...as though they were made on another planet. These are just some examples of films I gravitate towards.

My love for Italian Horror is so great - I’ve spent long durations of time watching and rewatching films by the three great masters - Mario Bava, Dario Argento, and Lucio Fulci - films like Inferno and The Beyond contain an overwhelming combination of exceptional visuals, music, atmosphere, and style.

Two years ago, I wrote the skeletal outline to a film I would love to make one day. It is highly autobiographical - the end of a relationship, body horror in the form of the mind following the body, the body following the mind...Film is a dying medium due to the amount of money needed to make films...it is no longer feasible for most without great deals of money. I went to college at the performing arts school, SUNY Purchase (the State University of New York in the town of Purchase), and while attending there, I was fortunate to see prints of countless American Avant Garde films by the likes of Kenneth Anger, Stan Brakhage, Harry Smith, Larry Jordan, Ron Rice, Susan Pitt, among others. Film culture used to be so strong, now it seems, sadly, to be fading. Anyone could make a film at one point - now, anyone can work with video, but it certainly is not the same.

Music is my medium of choice because it is for the people. Large amounts of money aren’t needed to make or record music in most situations. Music also benefits from having immediate and direct results - little to no set up time in comparison with film. That being stated, sound and image working together can be magical : Tarkovsky uses sound brilliantly as does Ingmar Bergman and Pier Paolo Pasolini.

Would you find it accurate if, to a certain extent, I considered you a male answer to FURSAXA ?

I love the music of FURSAXA...what Tara Burke does is beautiful beyond belief. There are similarities with my work and hers, but I think there are more differences. Tara, Christina Carter of CHARALAMBIDES, and LaMonte Young were the biggest influences on my vocal drone, chanting tracks. Christina Carter’s Bastard Wing LP is one of my favorite wordless albums of all time. Oftentimes, I don’t fully understand what I’m doing and where it is coming from - I just follow a natural pulse or drive. When I made my first three records, I was listening to a wide array of music - folk, Japanese noise, minimalist classical, Krautrock, to name some - I think that range comes through in those albums - in the last few years, I’ve been mainly interested in songs where the vocal is the center, whether it’s Tim Buckley or Jandek, vocal music is what I mainly listen to and what I’m interested in making and performing live...this could change, of course, as people constantly change.

Early CURRENT 93 also springs to mind on the experimental tracks...

That is interesting, though nothing I ever noticed. The music of CURRENT 93 has been extremely important to my life and music for ten or so years now. David Tibet’s exquisite poetry and voice provide me with undying inspiration and light filled with shining beauty - the music Michael Cashmore has set to Tibet’s words is nothing short of brilliant. Although I love the entire catalogue, the music from Thunder Perfect Mind until present time make up the chapters of Current that fascinate me the most. Tibet’s vision and voice has a transcendent quality to it to the point that it is music capable of healing others - it has healed me at various points in my life both physically and emotionally.

How do you consider the so-called “wryd folk/americana” scenes ? Do you feel as though you belong to any of these ?

I do enjoy, and even love, some of the music in the so-called “wryd folk” scene, but I am uncomfortable being neatly placed with any set thing. Individual meaning and interpretation can be lost that way. It has made me very happy that most, if not all, of my album reviews have picked up on what I’m getting at and where I’m coming from on some level.

From self-releases to Woven Wheat Whispers to Honeymoon Music, could you please recount your discographic path ?

Inspired by the DIY aesthetic of the self-released CDrs of STONE BREATH, CHARALAMBIDES, and countless others, I knew I wanted to immediately self-release my music as opposed to waiting for a label to officially release it. I found a company in Salt Lake City, Utah, that did the cardboard sleeve case, graphics, and CDr for a dollar a copy no matter how many were made at a time. This unbelievable deal allowed me to put out a very nice looking album for next to nothing. For a few years, I made no attempts to perform live and was content sending my albums out to friends and people who inspired me. Much to my surprise, mostly everyone got back to me with words of warmth and gentle applause. In the summer of 2004, Tara Burke added me to a show she was playing at The Compound in the Fishtown section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (where various members of ESPERS and NIAGARA FALLS live, as well as Sharron Kraus). It was the first show Honeymoon put on and was my first show of note and the first ever NIAGARA FALLS performance. Through this show, I met many wonderful and talented individuals and stayed in touch with Norm and Jeff who run Honeymoon Music. Last summer, I moved nearby The Compound to the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. Last October, I started work on Horizons of Death and completed it by the end of this January. Honeymoon agreed to release the album before it was even completed. Working with Jeff and Norm has been a true pleasure - their generousity is a blessing. Honeymoon is a quickly growing new label that has benefitted from Jeff and Norm’s collective vision of releasing work from divergent artists. Around this time, I was searching the Internet for more information on Perry Leopold’s Christian Lucifer album and I stumbled upon Mark Coyle’s excellent site, theunbrokencircle.com, and was astonished by how much helpful, insightful information was there. I immediately contacted him about reviewing my self-releases and Mark told me about Woven Wheat Whispers that had just started up and said he wanted to carry my albums in digital download format. Demons Through Mirrors never had a CDr release due to the fallout of the company in Salt Lake City and the subsequent burden of finding a comparable deal - my self-releases were more or less out of print. Mark Coyle’s work is important, inspiring, and full of never ending passion for the music he loves. I have total faith and appreciation for the people supporting and releasing my music.

How come your youth and the maturity displayed on your albums so drastically contrast ?

My youth was filled with joy and innocence. I was and am so blessed to have a loving and supportive family and many friends throughout childhood and adulthood. All of my teenage years were spent in and out of hospitals. My lungs have collapsed five times - I’ve had two major surgeries, three minor surgeries. Those emotionally/physically painful years were spent facing various difficult aspects of life and mortality. It was important to me to find some kind of inner and personal spirituality. At first, I could not make sense of why this was happening to me. I was angry at the world and a possible God. These moments in time led me to believe that the world revolves around chaos and chance - that being said, we have this time and we must do our best to help one another and ourselves while we are alive.

Looking back on those years, I am so glad I experienced all of the struggles that took place. It gave me the opportunity to put things into perspective and to look at a larger picture. Although I was never close to death, it made me think about our time in this world, what is important, what isn’t...it made me a strong and sensitive person simultaneously. I also came out of the experience shy and reserved. Large amounts of time during those years were spent alone listening to music, watching films, and reading everything I could find about the things that captivated me. I felt extremely inspired and lonely at the same time. Fortunately, dear friends have always been in my life, but as a teenager, I was so alone with my thoughts and interests - it wasn’t until I was 19 that I met anyone who had similar interests as me. I was doing my first radio show at WPRB (Princeton University Radio, New Jersey) when I met my eventual radio co-host, Brian Farmer (we’ve hosted the radio show, Idiot Control for the past five years) and his girlfriend, Sarada (of STONE BREATH). These were lovely, funny, and wonderful people that actually liked the wide range of things that were important to me - it was a turning point in my life.

Over the last five years, Idiot Control has had live performances from some of my favorite artists of all time - Simon Finn, Christina Carter, SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE, and many others. When I released Bloodstained Butterflies, I was still quite shy, but had to face all of my raw emotions in the most honest way possible. Now I feel great confidence and clarity for the most part. Childhood is so beautiful and I’m at my happiest when I feel childlike and playful, but that is not when I write songs. For me, songwriting is a way to face demons and all the mirrors around every corner or directly facing us. Change has shifted my songwriting - Love has become my current focus and it is such a nice change. I work with children at a school for individuals who are emotionally disturbed and have severe learning disabilities - children who have been in and out of mental institutions, deal with autism and mental retardation, and ambivalent caretakers. It is the most challenging and rewarding work that I’ve done in my life alongside making music. I sought out this type of work after being completely moved by Werner Herzog’s documentary Land of Silence and Darkness, which follows a blind and deaf woman helping other blind and deaf people. The humanity of her actions was touching and gave me a desperate desire to seek out selfless work that benefits neglected people in society.

Most of your lyrics revolve around melancholia - I sense a sadness inside and a permanent, though not prominently exposed, sense of decay. One can easily sense the utter despair nurturing these songs, and yet, an unmistakable and faint ray of light.

Contrast and balance are things that I constantly think about and try to apply to all aspects of my life - light and darkness ; the titles of my first two albums, Bloodstained Butterflies and Hideousness and Beauty, paradox - it’s all there. I find myself writing while experiencing feelings of sadness, despair, and disappointment and I believe I strive, in the midst of writing, for balance, hence the faint ray of light. The light is always there even when drowning in darkness. If that light cannot be found, seen, or felt, there is truly no point in this life. We must feel the love inside our hearts and follow it. Embracing absurdity can also help our sanity. Aspects of life often can be devastating, yet laughable.

Don’t you fear overexposure to strangers via these inner monologues ?

Excellent question and something that I was frightened by early on. It is an attempt to become transparent and strip away all masks. It is hard to reveal and release so many deeply personal feelings, thoughts, and experiences and, yet, it is the only thing I know and happens naturally. It is my sincere hope that my discussions with myself have the ability to help someone, anyone, in some way. As I’ve previously stated, the artists that I love the most have their own ongoing discussions with themselves - themes, obsessions, variations of themes and obsessions : CURRENT 93, Zulawski, Herzog, Edward Ka-Spel, Pasolini, Jandek, etc. Herzog talks about how we all have an inner existence... it’s such a healthy way to grow and change and look at life. There is the individual that people know through words and actions, and there is a deeper existence which we all live through. How we feel inside, how our words become meaningless in trying to articulate what we carry in our hearts and mind each day and night. Demons haunt us all. Some people keep the demons inside whereas I feel as though they must be exorcised through song. Exhausting intensity is what I get the most out of. Zulawski is often depicted as hysterical, yet I find him to be so heartfelt and raw, while also having a sense of humor and acknowledging the absurdity of life while still trying to make sense of it all.

Do you feel that people lack ideals and dreams ? Do many live in a world of illusions ?

I am in no position to answer that question. I do know that I’m a flawed human being, as we all are. Thoughts, actions, efforts of mine are feeble - it is profoundly human. We must strive for glory - failing is part of life. To give into our sadness and give up is the worst possible thing we can do. I try not to judge others (yet fail) and never moralize. Too many layers exist. What I cannot tolerate is lying and deception - there is no excuse for that kind of behavior. Life would be unbearable to me without dreams and passion.

What are your next projects ?

I’ve written the majority of music to my follow up record to Horizons of Death and hope to record all of it by the end of the summer. It is the most light I’ve ever let in and I cannot wait to record the songs and work out arrangements with other musicians. There are possible side projects and collaborations in the works, but it is too early for me to comment beyond saying they are promising and full of possibility.

Any chance of seeing you in Europe ?

One of the things I’d most like to do in the next year is to play shows in Europe - if anyone reading this can help, please contact me.

Anything you would like to add ?

Thank you for the sincerity and tenderness afforded me - it means a great deal. Listening to and making music is one of the most beautiful exchanges I know and feel so fortunate to work with, know, share, and write to so many exceptional people. Making music is something I must do - releasing it into the world is worthwhile whether it reaches five or five hundred people. I’ll forever be thankful for the language of music.