cough cool

scissoringallnight:

SCISSORING got interviewed by the NERVVEGAS BLOG.

Read it here:

“Scissoring is me and Dan from cough cool.” - William Cody Watson.

this would be Dan A Svizeny. i only recently got round to listening to cough cool, and really kicked myself for not checking it out sooner.

William Cody Watson is known for his solo project’s pink priest, gremlynz & malibu wands, all of which i’m now familliar with, but he has recently decided to put his newer recordings under his own name.

i was privileged to be sent a sneak preview of the yet to be released work ‘Nuclear Wet Earth’ and also to have them chat about it, and the whole scissoring project.

N - scissoring is a relatively new project. what’s out there for people to get hold of?

WCW - Our first release was on no kings records. We have a new release dropping soon on skrot up, and we are planning on releasing another tape thru give up’s label (sisster ssound).

N - you sent me a link to No Dreams/No Regreats & Nuclear Wet Earth. it’s pretty amazing stuff. i kind of had an idea of what to expect, but there’s a few pieces that took me by surprise. negative viper for one with it’s repetitive melody played on what sounds like a accordion, and then the crushing guitar the pales out to some shot’s of static at the end. it kind of reminded me of Phase3 era EARTH. is this a coincidence?

WCW - No, you’re pretty spot on. Earth is a huge influence on Scissoring, most def. I mean, speaking for myself, and maybe Dan would agree, I’d have to say “Pentastar” by Earth and “Loveless” by My Bloody Valentine might be the biggest influences we have, especially on the “Nuclear Wet Earth” stuff.

Dan - Guitar and the tones are kind of my job. ‘Loveless’ is my biggest guitar tone influence. Not going to be super-fan about it, but its the gold standard. The wet earth stuff is really warped, like really roomy - but also trying to have that suffocating kind of effect.

N - yeah, it’s definitely got that sinking in quick sand feeling about it. and the narative samples you used, where are they from?

WCW - All the vocal samples on the “Nuclear Wet Earth” material is me talking.

N - it all paints a pretty dark picture as a whole, and the title Nuclear Wet Earth conjures up images of a very bleak landscape. what was the initial concept behind this?

WCW - I think initially we just wanted to make a desert record; something that sounded like a motorcycle fucking shit up in the desert. Demon Bikers, Drug Dealer Shamans, Junkie Werewolves, Beautiful Girls With Criminal Records… Those were concepts.

Dan - Yeah - desert. Coming up with a concept like “Dirtnap” or “Spiderweb Tats on Prison Elbows” sets the tone for what we’re doing sonically. It’s like soundtracking a 70’s biker photoblog or some shit.

N - yeah man, i get the picture. like easy rider meet’s the devil’s rejects?

WCW - Haha, yeah something like that… I wanted to make something that was raw, something bleak, but also that had a mystical swirl to it. I’ve always been inspired by cinema just as much as music, and I think for me, for Scissoring, there was some draw to 70s exploitation films, Alejandro Jodorowsky, and even weird documentaries about gangs and prison. I had a lot of these types of things going on my head at the time the music was coming together, and somehow it all seemed to find a bond.

Dan - You can be whatever you want to be. I take a lot of cues from WCW. We talk a lot and really nail down a vibe. it’s not like we get together and jam on noise, our brains just align on some things well and we ride from there.

WCW - I think the entire vibe of Scissoring, especially with “Nuclear Wet Earth” — with that album having a very specific tone and aesthetic, just of comes out of the general shit that me and Dan dig.

N - and so how did the two of you get to hook up and start working under the ‘scissoring’ name?

WCW - We’ve known each other since I contacted Dan about doing a Cough Cool tape for Bathetic. Since then, we’ve just always been in contact. He lives in Philly, I’m in Arkansas, but we live in the internet age, maaaaaaaaaan, so this shit works. We wanted to collaborate for a long time, and had a few different ideas. I guess we started talking about collaborating like a year ago, and it’s just now started finally coming together.

Dan - We talk all the time. I have no idea like how tall he is or anything. I also don’t know what he sounds like. Everything is strictly text and tones.

WCW - All part of the vibe.

N - and why ‘scissoring’?

WCW - I have no idea.

Dan - Scissoring sounded harsh. i don’t tell anyone about it, or really talk about it at all.

N - oh right. so you’ve never actually met, it’s all done totally in cyberspace? just passing each other files of samples and ideas by email?

WCW - Yeah, it’d be a motherfucker to describe the process in super detal… But basically, Dan will send me over a shitload of riffs, then I’ll take those, coat them in magic, tweak and craft and tone; sometimes I’ll completely warp the riff to some other thing entirely. Sometimes, y’know, the riff just rolls. Then I might add in some synth stuff, field recordings, whatever. “Nuclear Wet Earth” actually felt like we were crafting songs, whereas for me, “No Dreams/No Regrets” felt like a weird, cool collage process. Mostly though it’s just turning your brain off and shitting sonic magic.

Dan - It’s all about getting motivated and actually doing it. WCW does most of the ‘work’ - I can just riff out.

WCW - He’s being modest.

N - so is there any plans to take scissoring to the public, live?

WCW - I think we’ve mentioned it a little bit. It would definitely be fun. I’m not into playing ambient material live, like my own solo shit, but this is an entirely different vibe. I think if time and location and all that would work out, we’d totally be into giving it a go. Just fucking alpha-male it up, maybe have some dudes skateboarding around us, some girls passing out cigarettes, merch table full of teeshirts tie-dyed in goat blood, just weird shit like that.

Dan - I’m onboard with all of the above. I’ve hit the live circuit with Cough Cool and it’s just stale. Im sure it’s different if you’re David Bowie or something, but for noise/ambient/downer stuff it needs to be done right. Stock a bedroom with College freshman in New York, play live from a mattress on the floor, complete darkness. Maybe a hologram of a peace sign or something. 

WCW - Yeah, Scissoring live show would require stocking a gravel pit full of dudes who find fighting very zen.

N - a real carnival atmosphere then?

WCW - If you’re gonna do something, might as well do it right.

N - well when this takes off be sure to drop me a goat blood tie die. i’ll wear it with pride.
i’ve also been informed that you both have other new projects in the works. what can you tell me about those?

WCW - I have an LP that’s getting mastered right now. It’s a solo LP under my own name. It’s called “Bill Murray’ and it’s dropping on Bathetic in the next couple months, probably. Also, I’m in the process of starting a hardcore band with some old friends of mine. I’m pretty stoked on that. I can’t wait to start kicking entire town’s teeth in. I’ll probably start work on a Henry Rollins tribute album soon; all spoken word.

Dan - Cough Cool just released the debut LP ‘Lately’ on Bathetic. We are going to start working on LP2 in the spring.

N - @ WCW - 

1 - yeah, you mentioned about the hardcore band in the previous interview we did. so this is going to happen?

WCW - Yeah, it’s in the works, fleshing out details, and trying to work out writing, practicing times. The line-up is getting fleshed out, but we’re all spread out across two states, but still kinda in, vaguely, the same area. We just have to work our schedules out and get it going.

2 - i’m guessing this would be bill murray the actor of ghostbusters fame?

WCW - Yeah… That Bill Murray. There’s a lot to why I’m doing an album that’s related to him. It’s a record dedicated to him, out at night, being Bill Murray.

3 - what’s the idea for the rollins tribute? will this be a solo project?

WCW - I was just joking. I’d love to do a project like that though. Rollins is a huge influence on me.

N - @ dan -

cough cool is new to me. that said i’ve had it on repeat for a good few hours, and i like it a lot. i’m getting a feel of 70’s/80’s brit pop going on, like the cure, joy division, and also some shoe gaze sounds going on. a real mix of styles. would this be a fair comment to make?

Dan - For sure. I like the 70s and 80s and all that. I agree with your “mix of styles” comment the most.

N - @ WCW -

i look forward to hearing the hardcore when you have some recordings to share.
i hope bill murry appreciates what your doing in his honour.
and the rollins thing should be seriously concidered.

N - and so when’s the sisster ssounds tape due to go up?

WCW - Not sure. The details are still pretty vague. We’re just waiting and working it out. I’m stoked to work with Give Up on this, though. There’s labels popping up every other day, and sometimes it just gets ridiculous… But Give Up definitely has the class and cred and vibe to do something unique. I respect that. We don’t want to work with just anyone… 

Dan - It’s so hard to hype this. It’s all a mood. No bullshit. Trying to keep this a world class operation.

N - yeah, that is true. and what do you know of the other artists that have been approached by sisster ssounds?

WCW - Honestly, maybe ashamedly, not much… I haven’t really spoken to Give Up too much about it, and I’ve been kind of so busy with other sounds I haven’t really delved too far into the upcoming roster.

Dan - no idea.

N -ok then. i don’t really know where to go from there, haha. is there anything you feel hasn’t been covered that you’d like to add?

WCW - Keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming Scissoring releases. Listen to Void and Spacemen 3, like, right at the same time. Don’t be scared to get wild. The world is probably going to end, and you don’t wanna say you didn’t fuck anything up.

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