PBK Correspondence Archive

Edward Artemiev, 1999: " I ... heard your track "Outside Of Time"... I must say that it's very unusual & interesting"

2010-06-06T17:35:00.000-07:00

14 January, 1999

Dear Phillip,

Thank You very much for Your letter and warm words about my music. I'm very glad to hear that You received CD & liked my work for "The Odyssey" TV series.

My son Artemy told me about Your activities & about collaboration music project "Dream In Moving Space". He said that he is going to publish it on his "Electroshock Records" label in September '99.

Meanwhile I asked Artemy to give me Your CDs. I'm curious to hear Your music as my son said that Your music is very interesting & very special. Moreover I have already heard your track "Outside Of Time" that was presented by Artemy in his lecture in our Association last year. I must say that it's very unusual & interesting. Now I hope to get acquainted with Your activity more closer.

I hope that soon Artemy will provide You with two more CDs of my works published on his label - "Solaris. The Mirror. Stalker" (my music for three films of Andrey Tarkovsky) and "Limita & Mother" (my music for two films of Denis Evstigneev).

Hoping to hearing You soon,
Take care,
Yours truly,

Edward Artemyev

Jim O'Rourke, 1997: "I only make about 10 minutes of finished electronic music a year now..."

2010-06-06T17:17:00.000-07:00

From Jim O'Rourke, a few years before he joined up with Sonic Youth (envelope dated 06 Nov 1997):

Phil-

hey, nice to hear from you. Sorry for the delay. I get mail from my old address infrequently.

Good to see you're back in the continental states. Why the move from Puerto Rico to Flint? And how was the time in P.R.?

Here it's been so busy, it's crazy. but good! I recently changed some work things, getting more time to work on my own things again. I only make about 10 minutes of finished electronic music a year now, but that's ok, i can also pursue my other interests...

A remix? That'd be fun. Any way is fine. However, I wouldn't be able to start on it until february, i have a lot of work between now and then, but i'd be definitely into it!

I hope all is well -Best- Jim

Carl Howard, 1998: "The figure of Sonny Blount looms very large around this house- the man who took no shit and offered no compromise"

2010-06-05T19:58:00.000-07:00

Carl Howard, label owner of Audiofile Tapes, and electronic musician, aka Nomuzic (envelope dated 30 June 1998):

Ahh, Lad...

I have to apologize for not responding more quickly. I did however get to listen to "The Mescaline Tracks" the other night, and I thought it was the most exciting collection of roots-styled electronics I've heard in quite a while. I still like to beat the drum for the idea of electronic music as a viable improvised performance music, not simply something with odd sounds used to achieve a particular atmospheric aim or some pre-arranged emotional state.

In these tracks I'm hearing an assured and confident approach to textures and dynamics. The closest (or analog - ha ha)to it's sound that I can think of is the Context tape by Stefan Schwab. I think he still runs the Tonspur label, but I don't hear from him anymore.

You mention Sun Ra as being more of an inspiration to "Goonz II" than the Berlin electronic musicians. I can tell you for certain that the figure of Sonny Blount looms very large around this house- the man who took no shit and offered no compromise.

Jeff Greinke > PBK, 1989: I, too, enjoyed your music... Your handling of those rich, dense noise textures I found quite tasteful"

2010-06-05T19:40:00.000-07:00

Ambient-electronic composer, Jeff Greinke writes about Verfall, my first collaboration with Jeph Jerman:

10-22-89

Dear Phillip,

I, too, enjoyed your music, i.e. "Verfall". Your handling of those rich, dense noise textures I found quite tasteful; a deep pool in which to dive into, swim around, and explore. And you shape it and give it form; I like that also. So, thanks for sharing your music with me. Best of luck in continued success.

Sincerely,
Jeff Greinke

Paul Lemos > PBK, 1989: "I ... think that dynamic shifts and fairly frequent textural shifts would make your work more compelling"

2010-06-05T19:22:00.001-07:00

From Paul Lemos of Controlled Bleeding. (mailing envelope dated 6 Apr 1989):

Regarding our discussion of "track length", well, you are right it's often a conceptual thing, depending upon what you want the listener to gain/feel/perceive-

Certainly I do not wish to provide criticism that is negative or uninvited- But i do think that dynamic shifts and fairly frequent textural shifts would make your work more compelling - length works sometimes, but when it becomes a predictable factor, then it must be varied-

Okay, that's all for now- Good luck with your work-

Sincerely-
Paul Lemos

Asmus Tietchens > PBK, 1997: "(your source) material resisted all my methods and ideas. In short: I failed."

2010-06-05T18:50:00.000-07:00

13. 8. 97

Lieber Phillip,

First of all many thanks for "Life-Sense Revoked". The CD arrived exactly three days before I started to work with your material you've sent last October. So I decide not to listen to the CD before I have finished the treatments of your basic material. It could have been a certain kind of influence. - So I started working with your stuff. Of course I already knew that this material differed totally from the one of our first collab, because I've listened to the two cassettes very carefully before I went in the studio. Well, the material resisted all my methods and ideas. In short: I failed. I tried very hard for a week. Tried again three weeks later with the same result. I became very frustrated because your basic material firstly seemed to be very convenient. Finally I had to accept that I'm not able to react on your recent stuff in a constructive way. And then I listened to "Life-Sense Revoked" and that enlightened me. This wonderful CD (I actually like every track) shows that we walk on different ways. Very simple. My frustration disappeared. But I was still a bit disappointed to finish the collab before it really started. But meanwhile also the disappointment dissolved, you and I developed our own good ways and that is no reason to be saddened. What do you think? I only hope that you are not too disappointed. Please let me know. - All the best, dear Phillip. Answer soon. Asmus

M.Gira > PBK, 1997: "I'd like to ask your permission to use some sounds from one of your CD's in an upcoming project of mine, called the Body Lovers"

2010-06-05T16:56:00.000-07:00

April 26, 1997

Dear Phillip,

Greetings. As Jarboe might have mentioned to you I've very much enjoyed the music you have sent her over the years. I think she's also mentioned to you that I'm now (since the demise of Swans) beginning to look at my record label Young God Records as a venue for music I appreciate other than/in addition to music by Jarboe or myself. I'll be until probably the middle of next year before I'm in a strong enough financial position vis a vis the label, but I'd like you to consider doing a release for the label - either new material or a compilation of previously released work... whatever suits you best... Please give it your consideration.

In the meantime I'd like to ask your permission to use some sounds from one of your CD's in an upcoming project of mine, called the Body Lovers. This project consists of CD-length continuous musical pieces comprised of found sounds, samples, new studio recordings, field recordings (all source material heavily manipulated by me) In other words a very diverse assortment of sound sources, which I will then collage and further mutilate in computer as I "compose" the finished work in the mastering studio. I would very much appreciate your permission to use the piece (or sections of it) Shadow Of Prophecy- the fourth piece on Shadows Of Prophecy In His Throes. What I would do is play it simultaneously in the mix with a highly repetitive 12 string guitar, circular picked mantra. I also project using a hammered dulcimer on the piece, as well as a single drum played along with the groove, and some modulated drones. In addition I think I'm going to sing along in a kind of demented falsetto... All-in-all it should be a laugh a minute... Please let me know if I have your approval as soon as possible... Naturally you'll be credited for your contribution... I'm also asking several other people to contribute sounds as well...

Until then, I await your reply - and as always, am anxious to hear what you're up to musically...

Best wishes,
Michael R. Gira

PS- I go into the studio May 15, so please let me know before then.

Ben Gilbert, 1991: "(M.) Sanderson does not exist... He proved to be nothing more than... Mark Solotroff of Intrinsic Action"

2010-06-02T06:48:00.000-07:00

Ben Gilbert was publisher of the noise-music zine called "Chemical Castration"(1988-89), later he ran the short-lived label, Zabriskie Point, which released some of Jeph Jerman's noise and free jazz projects. Chemical Castration featured an interview with the racist noise-artist, M. Sanderson(Terre Blanche), head of the label AWB Recordings in Chicago. In the next issue, Gilbert published my response and criticisms to some of the things stated by Sanderson in his interview(for instance, that his music was "racial", not "racist"!), and then expanded this into an entire article about racism and fascism in noise and industrial music. In this letter, dated 3-5-1991, Gilbert reveals the events that led him to discover that white supremacist, "M. Sanderson", was actually Mark Solotroff. Solotroff , better known today for his noise project, Bloodyminded, is the the person behind the hoax that was Terre Blanche/AWB :

Now then, let me address some of this AWB stuff (which frankly, I think is getting way out of hand, especially in light of the information that I long suspected to be true, and have only recently had confirmed to me by reliable sources as being true). I can now only talk about Terre Blanche as a concept and not as an actual entity. Allow me to explain.

My disgust/eventual fedupdness with Mr. Sanderson began to take hold in early 1989. This had to do with the fact that he (Sanderson) began to deflect serious, specific questions I had for him by giving me extremely lame/vague answers. Specifically, I challenged him on his assertion of the thought/opinion that black power/pride and the group, Public Enemy, were not incomparable to (if not just like) white power/pride and groups like Skrewdriver (a side he vaguely claimed not to support either). I thought that such a belief has no basis in any sound facts that could be rationally backed up. Seeing as how Sanderson had previously demonstrated himself as not being an irrational hate-ranter, I thought that I could rationally and intelligently debate/challenge him on that assertion. I wasn't challenging him on how he felt emotionally about certain people (as there is no correct or incorrect way, I believe, to feel emotionally about anything). I was only challenging him on an opinion that would have to be backed up with a reasonable argument and case of facts.

I began my argument by detailing verifiable facts about the (basic) purpose and history of the Black Panthers and other such groups of their time (such as Chicago's Vice Lords), and then detailed my views on what I thought "black pride" currently means and why it is positive and necessary for those involved. I also gave my opinions on what I thought the group Public Enemy represents (it was in fact Sanderson's claim that people had compared his group to Public Enemy that spurred my desire to debate him on this issue). I then did the same sort of factual rundown on past and present so-called "white power" groups, what I think "white power" is about and what the group Skrewdriver represent. I don't have to repeat for you the full argument that I gave to Sanderson because I'm sure that you would be in agreement with (for the most part anyway) what I had to say. In short, I basically said that black and white "pride/power" exist for two very different reasons: black pride existing as not only an end in itself but as a means to demolish the self-defeating feelings of worthlessness and helplessness that exists in the black community and replacing it (via education of a group's productive, worthy and positive past) with the foundations (self-worth, confidence, positive mental outlook and hope for a better future, etc.) that give people the ability to realize one's goals and be productive and happy (a very basic summary), whereas "white pride" basically exists as a means to justify in certain people (losers, haters, misanthropes and basic all-around knuckleheads whose only feelings of worth are based solely on the fact that they have white skin and feel they have some sort of "superiority" over others because of this) a hatred of other people who do not look like they do (again, a basic summation). A white pride that would be comparable to what black pride is doesn't need to exist: whites have never had the mental (not to mention physical) obstacles placed in front of them from the type of oppression that blacks in this country faced at one point. We (people with white skin) can do what we want and don't need to build ourselves up because we are already up.

I then demonstrated (through citing various cases) how it is so-called "white power" groups who have been the ones to have waged unprovoked attacks on innocent people (the cowardly attackers always outnumbering the attacked, of course - so much for their so-called "power") whereas there has never been such a case of an unprovoked attack on innocent people by any groups who were known to actively identify themselves with "black pride/power". I then cited the differences in what Public Enemy and Skrewdriver represent (but I won't get into that). So, in total, I argued that the "black power" side is a positive, progressive movement that addresses the needs of it's community, while the "white power" folks are (essentially) nothing but unproductive, violent, cowardly, crybaby fuckhead losers who do nothing positive for anybody (and I went deeper than that too, Phil, but I'm just trying to put everything in a nutshell here). Anyway, with all this meat I threw to Sanderson I was sure he would have something to say. His response? He said that while he agreed with me on many points, he was still not convinced that there weren't similarities between the two sides, and that he was still wary of the black power side.

The fact that he wouldn't cite any specific examples (save for some superficial tokens like Public Enemy's toy Uzis, but that was mentioned by him in a letter months previous to this exchange) to back up his argument angered me. Either he was playing vague and stupid because he could not back himself up, or he just wasn't really committed to the so-called "anger" he had for a people who he thought were a daily threat to his well being. After receiving this lame response I asked him directly to make a specific case to back up his opinions (to give specific examples of factual occurrences, entities, whatever). Again, he failed to be anything but dodgey and lame. Rather than waste my time with him any longer, I decided to sever all ties and walk away in disgust.

This current lameness on Sanderson's part started to make me wonder, but there was a lot more behind it. When Jeph traveled to Chicago to do shows with IOS and Eric Lunde, I wrote to Sanderson and told him to go see Jeph perform. Jeph told me he saw and met various Chicago industrial (for lack of a better word) types, but not Sanderson. Sanderson wrote me later saying that he was out of town during the week Jeph was there. That's not unlikely but it still seemed more than coincidental that he would be gone during that week. Jeph asked IOS and other people about Sanderson but the people he talked to said they had never seen the person. The thing that really started to make me wonder though was certain inconsistencies in letters I had received from Sanderson and another person from Chicago. To make a long story short, Sanderson does not exist. He is the product of another person who I had contact with and then ceased communication with after he proved to be nothing more than a complete bore: Mark Solotroff of Intrinsic Action.

AWB and Terre Blanche are completely bogus entities created by Solotroff for reasons I do not know. His inspiration for the whole idea came after reading a small booklet (about Eugene Terre Blanche of the Afrikaaner Weirstaan Beweging that Thomas Thorn of the Arbeit Group had put out). To make AWB Recordings look like a real entity, and also to cover his own tracks, Solotroff went as far as getting another p.o. box at another post office for AWB, started a separate bank account at another bank for AWB, and adopted a whole other, and always unseen persona (M. Sanderson) to be the head of AWB. What fooled me (and probably a number of others) into thinking it was an actual group was the fact that there was a review of two TB cassettes in Thorn's zine U-Bahn, and Eric Lunde had printed an interview with them in his old publication, RAKE (even though both Thorn and Lunde knew the whole thing was bogus). I had to think to myself when suspicious of the existence of M. Sanderson: how could he not be real if both Thorn and Lunde had direct face-to-face contact with the guy? Thorn and Lunde helped the lie seem otherwise. Why Thorn and Lunde (especially Lunde) would be accomplices in making AWB look like an actual entity remains a mystery to me. I will definitely question Lunde, if I ever meet up with him, on his part in making this hoax seem legitimate. Anyway, I figured out for myself that something did not add up. When I finally received word from certain individuals that Sanderson and Solotroff were one and the same, my suspicions were finally confirmed.

Due to the fact that I had dismissed and disregarded Sanderson long ago, I was not really outraged (like I really could have been) upon hearing the news of this farce. I was expecting this outcome, which helped temper my anger when the truth was confirmed. I am angered that I was lied to and that my time was wasted. I am angered that Solotroff had the nerve to play around with an issue that I take very seriously. The way I figure it, Solotroff will eventually wind up paying back in some way for this hoax- a way which will make him wish he had never perpetrated it in the first place. If that happens, it will be his just desserts.

In the past and in the meantime, I'm sure that he has enjoyed all the negative attention, condemnation and debate that has occurred in various zines, and this is why I think you should cancel your plans for an anti-racist compilation with them in mind because it would only be playing into the hands of Solotroff and whatever immature and foolish amusement/satisfaction that he gains form such attention (Solotroff, by the way, is still not aware yet that he has been busted).

Certainly, I am not opposed to the idea for such a comp. I just don't think that it should be done with AWB in mind, seeing as how what they appeared to represent isn't as noxious as some of the other more notable persons in the "industrial" scene who, seemingly, no on has the balls to confront or take issue with. I'm talking about people such as that overrated asshole, Boyd Rice (plus other pinheads like Death In June, Radio Werewolf, etc). Here is a guy who poses with knives alongside Robert Heik of the racist American Front, and yet everyone overlooks this (or simply doesn't care) and kisses the guy's ass, choosing instead to direct their ire at other small-time players (as an aside: though I do like and respect Frans De Waard, I find it interesting and somewhat peculiar that he is one of the most vocal in condemning Terre Blanche, yet he puts out an anti-record that is a tribute to Boyd Rice. Pretty ironic if you ask me).

Enough. This issue of racism is still a relevant topic though (TB or no TB) and I take pride in the fact that, although I was taken for a ride, I never sacrificed my views, beliefs or integrity. I still stand behind the main points that I made in our article (though I have reconsidered and revised a few positions, and have abandoned altogether one or two). I am proud of the manner in which you and I conducted our printed exchange (an exchange that is none the weaker, even in light of this hoax). It has definitely been a productive learning experience, one that I am all the stronger and richer from.