Interviews: C2 + Control.org
- Dark Electronic Industrial PowerNoise

In this episode we hear from the mystery man behind the underground dark music projects titled C2 and Control.org; based in New Zealand. Firstly, you can download a free copy of the track: "Four on the Floor". It is featured on the "S.I.N.G.E.D. 2" compilation album. There are links to more C2 music further below.

Interview by DJ Robot Citizen:

To start with, if you had to sum up what C2 is about in, say, 30 words...?

C2: In non-promotional wording: unapologetically dirty. introspective. confronting horror yet not afraid to dance. challenging. a document of my guts laid out over time from tape to binary. open for examination, interpretation, inclusion, healing.

DJ Citizen: Are there any guiding philosophies/idealogies/subject-matters for your recordings and/or performances? If so please feel free to share about those.

C2: C2 is nebulously dark. Sonically it has always been my palette to write noisescapes and scores to films I can't make, to exorcise my angels, and of course to make extreme dance music in the absolutely no commercial potential vein. Sometimes I am torn and yell out loud in the studio "nope that's too nice to be C2". The subject matter of C2 is very interpretable but for the most part it is an examination of ignored, induced or prescribed mental health, manifestation as murderous oppression of people and planet, and the frightening consideration if we are complicit or complacent in these terrible progressions. C2 has always been about live drumming and video. On the 2016 NZ tour we took out 3 synced projections with visual material from the QUADRANTS series and web and graphic novel collateral to celebrate the final release in that series. I'm not sure anyone cared, but to be honest it seems good to have a visual option to the sweating and bleeding crazed old man bashing things.

DJ Citizen: What are the main items you've released and where are they available from?

C2: In late 2016 I released the final EP, PHLEGMATIC EP in the QUADRANTS series which between 2013 and 2016 included 4 EPS, a 16 track album, a remix single, and a photo based graphic mini comic novel type booklet. The project literally saved my life. I collaborated with old friends for vocals and spoken word, sound, and some amazing visuals and while we couldn't afford to subsidise higher end printing or moving pictures, I was able to tell the nightmare in the best way I know how, through a sonic journey. In reverse order, the previous full-lengths were cubed, second wave and initial control. Everything is available for free or donation at https://control.bandcamp.com

DJ Citizen: What's the background to C2? How did the project come in to being?

C2: On accident. I was gleefully making the more synth heavy stylings of control.org as well as some techno and jungle projects but kept making things that were just way too noisy and dark. Then one late night in the studio in 1998 I was getting really scary cordless phone interference on a 5" black and white mini TV I used for sampling and VHS monitoring. I stopped fighting it and assembled the "initial control" album. It is very theatrical and noisescape orientated, a bit ambient with a splash of militant and many of the sounds from those sessions are hidden and strewn amongst every C2 release and performance since. I know people love the more dance friendly C2 that evolved - hear the Choleric EP (bandcamp) - and there is a core support group that has been with me for ages because of that, but I appreciate that the raw and honest dirt and filth in it or even a full EP with minimal to no beats - hear the Melancholic EP (bandcamp) - now and then doesn't scare them away.

DJ Citizen: What are your plans and ambitions for the near future?

C2: I still intend to marry one of the Minogue sisters when I grow up. Outside of that, working on some installation and theatrical type applications for C2 works and releasing new material from some of the old house and techno side projects - SP UNITED (bandcamp) - including reworking some 20 year old white label releases.

DJ Citizen: :-)... Do you have other related media projects?

C2: on and off, some technical, research and social projects from time to time linked at www.control.org

DJ Citizen: In recent times who/what is inspiring you to make music?

C2: Healing mental and physical health and personal examination. I still like to vent my spleen on the state of humanity via combined sound and word, but hold no delusion it is for anything other than my health. I mean seriously, "disillusionment" is continually containerised, sanitised and commodified to unprecedented levels and allowed to roam the curated digital tracking marketplace.

DJ Citizen: What do you feel are some key challenges that independent/underground musicians face today; overall/worldwide and, if anything, anything that seems specific to being in our region?

C2: I only speak from my 25 years in industrial and electronic realms and with zero fashion sense, so of course many people with more palatable looks or sounds or an interest in calculating these elements may disagree. Caveat being that of course there are much more apex and root issues to address than finding the diaspora of some remaining underground in which to share music, but here are a few observations/pitfalls.

Inequality: Until we have a living wage and/or a maximum wage along with a viable fourth estate in place I'm not bothering to ponder how we might not have to subsidise presenting our art to possibly inspire someone to go and download it. But I acknowledge for now, in the consumer West, it is a big ask to subsidise the creation, distribution, travel, hosting and performance of music while subsisting to then fight a rigged corporate shallow web for anyone to join you. While the current digital landscape has made many lazy and ignorant, at the same time I won't bash the downtrodden for not understanding an exciting past that involved seeking, waiting, anticipation, personal contact and sometimes almost breaking even on project/performance etc.

Saturation, aggregation and control : The social web is just too curated and algorithmed to death. It's not worth the full-time effort to woo people who fancy themselves as alt clothes wearers or anarchists or whatever their corporate tracking device feed tells them this week, yet will only attend an event if their mates are involved, maybe... the revolution is ring-fenced? I won't bore you with the statistical and technical analysis but in summary, for recent releases I spent literally weeks of time working facebook and got overwhelming "response" to “it’s coming” and approaching nothing at all to “it’s here”. Transience is taken to all new levels on the corporate social web. Interestingly, in case of attention span arguments, I performed the same experiment leaving out the "it's coming" and only focused on the "it's available now" and still approaching radio silence ensued in terms of actual activity of listens and downloads, even for free.
Do call bullshit to anyone who claims that the myriad of corporate download and streaming sites will bring audience. It's a hollow argument that in truth requires importing an audience from another platform to build inertia to penetrate the noise on the new platform. Snake eating tail, good luck. On principle, I have and will never deal with digital aggregators and the corporate streamers. It is simply a kick to the groin to anyone thinking they are doing a solid to an artist by paying for music when most of the time, the artist truly gets fuck all and I’d rather give away which ironically, social media makes it exceptionally hard to do! And in terms of getting new people to even listen to our shit, the free or donation model feels much less dirty than dealing with schysters and middle-men so at the end of the day, requires less showers. I honestly don’t know how exactly to invite others to join me because neither the big corporates nor the transient giant killer apps/sites have been on balance, anything other than a waste of time for me. Certainly a few awesome people get connected via corporate social media, but in my experience at a ridiculous price of time and sanity thus relegating the ideas, art and culture you might have shared with them to the backseat while you constantly manage online promotion. I will retreat to the broken VHS deck and make my noises and if anyone wants to come along for the ride, cool potatoes! re: https://control.org/blog/manifesto/

So my response has been to go back to ground, reconnect organically, delete the social web. For now, just having a basic band(s) site and blog that is there to be pulled but never pushed like social media and frankly subject to deletion at any time. Simply getting back to making my noise without the added hassle of chasing the digital version of the jagged remnants of a "crowd" that essentially equates to the broom closet of the sub-basement of long dead underground scenes. And of course for our region, prohibitive travel costs when everyone wants to pay 5 dollars or zero at the door if they go out at all. It's grim down south.

DJ Citizen: Are there any particular recent or forthcoming positive developments that you're excited about?

C2: "I write this on the precipice of what I can only describe as the most dangerous collision I've ever been party to, even by the standard I've set as a complete and total fuck up. I've given up on my soul. What is about to ensue will either redeem a small portion of my being or finish the shell that with whatever feeling I have left, I call my body. Either way, I am dead. We must expose the included transmissions..." That response is the teaser for a C2 release titled "PENTALOGY" that we are currently working on guest vocals for and should be out this year.

DJ Citizen: Wishing you all best with navigating those waters. Thank-you for taking the time to share with us about the projects. To close, here are some of those links where the music of C2, SP United & Control.org can be heard: control.bandcamp.com - control.org - youtube - soundcloud