1 - Tell us how
your project(s) were started.
DamageSignal (D
/ s) began in NYC in 2017. I felt a need for such a project in my own life,
as well as in the realm of experimental art and occulture, to express certain
ideas and aesthetics. D / s has facets that are public and facets that are not.
Public aspects include sonic meditation recordings and various visual pieces.
There are also public performances which utilize sound, infrasound, video, lighting,
props, attire, and gesture to create a multisensory rite stimulating known and
unknown senses, in order to bring about contact with harmonic revelations. Public
performances happen only during calculated times, such as solstices, equinoxes,
etc. Other activities that are not open to the public happen at various times.
All of the elements of D / s are meant to conjure a principle that is older
than the most ancient civilization. More info is available at the DamageSignal
website.
A partial archive of my other work can be found at my personal website - including
links to past sound projects as well as two record labels: Arcana Machine -
focusing on occult sound recordings, and NONE records - the only label ever
to release anti-records exclusively. My work with all of these projects has
culminated into DamageSignal.
2 - What does music,
in its entirety, mean to you?
Music/sound is my biggest creative turn on. It is the art form that I most frequently engage with for personal enjoyment, and it has been my primary creative outlet ever since I was six years old. I’ve been involved with music/sound from rock and roll to noise to field recordings, in the roles of writing, recording, performing, and curating. It can be used to alter states of consciousness and to stimulate the mind and the body for a variety of purposes (erotic, meditative, etc.). It can also serve as a time machine to access remembered and forgotten moments, and to travel forward in time as well. It can be used in ritual to bless or to curse. It can accomplish all of these effects by being heard in person or across long distance broadcasts. Music/sound is an important element in most of my important relationships.
3 - What does art,
in its entirety, mean to you?
Art as a whole performs the functions that I mentioned above regarding music, as well as many others.
4 - Who is your
favorite author, and why?
I fall in love with every author whose writings turn me on significantly. A separate interview would be required to discuss all of them and why they are significant. That being said, most of my favorite books contain some kind of mystical connection, though not always in a typical manner.
5 - As your best
friend, describe yourself.
I consider my best friends people who are most beneficial to me (in conversation, company, collaboration, etc.). I think my best friends would say the same about me.
6 - As your worst
enemy, describe yourself.
My experience has been seeing those who consider me an enemy only foul up themselves in an attempt to foul me up, so I think my enemies would say that I am unconcerned about them since they have shown me that they are not capable of any real threat.
7 - If your persona
were immortalized as a cartoon character, who would it be?
I have no idea. I think I would have to invent one.
8 - Do you think
there are conspiracies against the "everyday person"?
In most cases, I think the “everyday person” is a conspiracy against themselves.
9 - What do you
do with your spare or free time?
At this point of my life, I’ve been able to arrange things so that practically all of my time is free from the chains that bind a lot of people. Therefore, I spend most of my time doing whatever I want: working on creative projects of my own or with others in various places, traveling, reading, and so on.
10 - Please give
us your interpretation of "the meaning of life".
Many of the philosophical and mystical systems that I’ve spent time with over the years claim to know the meaning of life. I’ve never been fully convinced by anything that life has a definitive meaning. However, I have been able to find many ways to make life meaningful to me, by working and playing with ideas, practices, etc. which advance the kind of life that I enjoy. I define living as enjoying, and enjoyment is totally personal and subjective according to the faculties of every individual.
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