Included below is a brief interview with TRANCE.BIZ
What is your creative process like? How do you approach the task of making music?
I don’t often think of what I do on the level of creative process, and I rarely approach making music as a task. I’ve often described it in private conversations as a therapeutic or psychonautic process, to borrow terms from Scott from Ailanthus Records.
What do you think is the historical and social significance of “the club”?
I’m not the person to ask about the significance of ‘the club’ in any sense, other than the sense in which it alienates me as a disabled, underaged kid living in a rural area. Speaking plainly: there’s just not much going on in Bemidji Minnesota that both appeals to me and allows my access of it, and I view clubs as spaces which appeal to certain people and allow their access of that space.
What made you want to start BEAUTY SUPPLY RECORDS and what do you hope to accomplish with the label?
Beauty Supply Records was a notion which came to me in an absurdly specific moment, context and state of mind, not unlike those related in my email to you re:the mix (who’s contents are displayed on the soundcloud page of this mix).
It was april 4th, 2015, my 17th birthday. I was in the public library robotripping, reading a volume on women artists of the 20th century, fixated particularly on its descriptions of video and film art of the 60s to the 80s. Dan Sexual’s ‘Nashville Nights’ was also a fresh memory, which had me fixated on shortform, ‘traditionalist’ sample-based/’eccojam’ releases (borrowing more terms and ideas from scottmv.)
I was speaking with Chance from dj ways of seeing (also of dontreljams infamy) about all of this, and these were conversation topics that had fascinated Emily (glitter fortress et al.) and I for the good part of our 6 month relationship. Again, specific and complex ideas.
You’ll notice imagery from Nam Jun Paik, Joan Jonas, Daido Moriyama, and Chris Marker in our back catalogue, for example.
There was something politicised about Beauty Supply from the outset as well, by nature of Emily, Chance and I’s shared gay, trans, queer experiences, which alienated the ‘vaporwave’ contingent, although we did get Jeremy to do a great release for us (from heavy systems inc, ex-dmt tapes). Even with the people it alienates and the enemies we’ve made, I personally don’t ever want us to lose sight of that.
what do you think the function of a net label is in 2016 and who do you consider to be your most important peers in the net label game?
I can’t speak on the function of a net label in 2016, I don’t think. It’s a question like yours about the club: I’m uncomfortable with the broadness of its language and its wide-reaching implications. I can say that Emily means the world to me, and Chance, Jeremy, Alex (from magical garage taste, releases as white blackmail), Scott, Robin (fka internet club, who needs no introduction and whose inspiration, guidance and importance on emily and I can’t possibly be overstated, especially considering they introduced us two kiddos <3), Ryan (releases as qualchan, runs peradam tapes, writes for spook city usa), Aaliyah & Saoirse (baby zionov and chansey, from rateyourmusic), d. (releases as gamma adjunct), and $ega are all very close friends. with all the talk of scene politics and not wanting to lose sight of that, I don’t ever want Beauty Supply to be anything else but a space for close friends to share personal, politicised art, and to make friends with shared experiences closer to each other.
I’ve already mentioned Magical Garage Taste and Ailanthus. I’d like to add that I still show love for Ailanthus, but I have to say they sometimes release music that personally alienates me and is very much at odds with the beauty supply and http://trance.biz ideas, 2047 being a glaring recent example, and summer breeze being something in their back catalogue i have no taste for. I’d say that all of it is worth interrupting your day to listen to, however. Scott is no bad curator. I’d also like to show love for Perry’s psalmus diuersae, Chino’s Non Records, $ega’s Wasabi Tapes, and Mrs. Elite’s Fortune 500 (I’m still holding out for a full comeback on the heels of music for the now age iii), all of who’s music, art, presentation, curation communicates itself than i could ever do writing.
I feel bad about forgetting mj’s visual disturbances crew now, even for a second.
I’d like to think that even if the music Beauty Supply releases is strikingly different from that of visual disturbances, we have views in common about music, politics, communication and interpersonal relationships, as well as gendered, queered experience, and an interest in visual art. they do a lot of good for making transfeminine artists visible and respected, in a way we also aim to do.
