Wow & Flutter 008 | Resonant Press
Ian Franklin on DIY labels, noise, and all the things hiding in plain sight.
I can’t remember how I met Ian, but I have observed firsthand several sonic forms of Ian. He is soft spoken and the kind of person who helps put out straight rows of chairs before shows. I was pretty stunned watching from the small balcony at The Hargrove in Baltimore as the same person who made compositions of frogs and ambient drone layers, now stood making guttural pleas into ringing feedback. We nodded at each other and I went outside to process what I had just heard and inhale the secondhand smoke in the alley.
I think culturally we are often pressed to be one thing— that our entire personhood is digitally forced into a brand, and one should never deviate from the brand. I have never liked that. Here is someone who embodies experimentation and I feel flimsy using Ian’s own admission of “a sense of wonder” to discuss elements of harsh noise— like it does the genre too soft— but that’s my own narrow thinking. So here is Ian to unwire it all for us and return us back to why we do things.
Photo: Lorien Williams
W&F: Hi Ian, thanks for taking time to chat with me. Regionally, where are you writing from? I know when I last saw you perform in Baltimore you were in traffic two hours before your show. I have the same problem when I head south from my house to Rhizome.
Ian: Hey, Carolyn! Thanks very much for having me. I’m writing from Northern Virginia where I’ve lived for the last four years. I’m originally from Wilmington, DE. Yeah— the drive to that show was a rough one. It’s always a crapshoot on 495. There’s an unforeseen chance that your travel time can double at a moment’s notice. I could go on and on about the state of road infrastructure in this area but I’ll stop myself.
W&F: You just played DC's Rhizome, tell our readers about the storied venue in a rental house. We can access that live recording, right?
Ian: Rhizome is a community-led arts and events space in Takoma Park, DC acting as, I think many would agree, the epicenter of experimental/avant-garde/outsider arts in the DMV area. It’s also more than that for many: it’s a meeting space, a place to learn new skills, to see and experience new ideas and modes of being. There are events and shows happening just about every night of the week and it’s accessible and welcoming to all. It really is more than the sum of its parts and has evolved into a unique and special place. I’m so honored to play there the times that I have. They’ve been under increased pressure to vacate the space they’ve been in, a literal house now surrounded by fast approaching newly constructed housing buildings, and the spot feels a bit like a haven for me at the moment.
I played a really great show there under my noise project As Surviving Total last month alongside Jeremy Young who was on an East Coast tour, Guillermo Pizarro who runs the fantastic label Flag Day Recordings, and Moth Bucket, a killer sax/bass/drums trio from Central Pennsylvania. I performed with a small modular synth focused setup which I think really fit well with the other performers. I’m a firm believer in the space we make music has a direct effect on the music itself and how we experience it. There’s something special about playing in a place that feels hidden in plain sight.
Yep, that show recording can be heard here:
W&F: I know this is a cassette substack, but I have a couple of your Resonant Press CD-Rs. How's it going at Resonant Press— what's next for releases, who does your art? It always stands out to me. What motivates you to distribute music?
Ian: I’ve been mostly focused on CD-R’s for the last few years but I got my start in tapes and hold a deep love for them in my heart. I would make more tapes for Resonant Press but truthfully, after my third working deck for dubbing bit the dust I lost the heart to replace it. During early pandemic times there were tons of amazing noise CD’s coming out and I was really energized to make something— I started burning CD-R’s on my work computer.
Things are going really well with the label! Just released an excellent album from Heavenworld & Kagami Smile called Axation; working on some amazing new things both musically and in print. I would love to do more zines and maybe even longer form print works— we’ll see what the future brings. My excitement to start new projects outweighs my energy to finish them [laughter].
Thanks for the kind words on the art! I do most of it but I’ve done a few releases with musicians who are also accomplished visual artists, and it just felt right to use their artwork. Regardless if I create the art or not I do all of the layout design on the CD covers. It’s been an important aspect of the label for me to keep this consistent from release to release.
I’m not sure what motivates me. I just love making music, making zines, putting together cover art layouts, all those little pieces of doing a DIY label. Keeping it small means I keep having fun.
W&F: Resonant Press recordings come out of unexpected places— decommissioned radar domes, a public pool in Mexico, overgrown former DuPont sites where the land has returned. What are some of your favorite locations for work?
Ian: My favorite locations are those that resonate something within me (literally or figuratively), or sites and places that contain a certain power. I realize that’s a bit nebulous but I think most people can understand or feel when they’re in a place or environment which feels interesting or exciting, though they might not be able to explain why. I’m drawn to those places.
I like hidden areas. A sense of mystery. I have a few ideas for site specific recordings which I don’t know if they will ever happen— probably not likely— but even just the thought of it motivates and inspires me.
W&F: Is it poor form to let your aliases out? I won't name them— but you often pendulum swing between harsh noise and ambient. Are we getting two sides of yourself being expressed? Or is the experimentation motivated by curiosity around technique?
Photo: Eli Woodbridge
Ian: No, I don’t mind. For a long time I felt hesitant to talk about other aliases for some reason. I suppose I thought the mystery was interesting— although I’m maybe the only one that thought so. [Laughter] My main project for at least 10 years has been shredderghost, primarily working in the general sphere of ambient. Mostly synth and guitar samples, heavy emphasis on loops, and structurally very scene based— which as I think of it now can approach a collage type territory. But recently I’ve been recording and performing more of my noise project As Surviving Total, which is completely different in instrumentation and structure. It definitely represents different parts of myself (cue the “two wolves inside” jokes). Technique and aesthetics always inform what we do, and that’s definitely part of the equation for me, but As Surviving Total exists for specific reasons and is a way to process those things.
W&F: Why are you so weird, Ian? We celebrate it. Let me rephrase— what do you think informs your relentless curiosity and processing of your world?
Ian: Am I? [laughter] I often feel like I’m too weird for some and not weird enough for others. It can be a strange zone sometimes. I think I try to keep an open sense of wonder. I think a large part is being inspired by my dad, a lifelong artist and musician who’s always working on something new, thinking about new things, refining, practicing. That definitely rubbed off on me and just feels like normal. If I didn’t create something I think I’d wither away.
W&F: The first time I saw a BugBrand system, you toted one to the DC Modular Society meetup, and I was into it. How are those explorations going?
Ian: They are going really well I love the Bugbrand. I’ve been slowly adding some Serge modular to pair with it and it’s been fantastic, they complement each other so well. I’ve made a small push recently to focus more on modular synth as my main instrument. I played three shows this month (which is a lot for me) with the modular, each very different from each other. I think they went well. It feels like I’m hitting a comfortable point with my instrumentation for live shows, with just small variations and adjustments for the type of show and venue.
W&F: Let's say I drop you off at Art Sound Language, DC's best record store and give you a briefcase of cash— what are you buying this week?
Oh wow, that’s a dream scenario. I would grab everything they have from the Faitiche label, anything Editions Mego. There were a couple Pita records last time I was there that I regret not getting. I’d pick up any publications from Blank Forms Editions I don’t already have (I just got their Maryanne Amacher book; fantastic). I’m cleaning out the Noise section. Maybe drift over to Jazz, which I’ve purposely avoided when I’ve been in there, it’s just too much. I’d also probably ask PJ what he’s been jamming lately, he hears and sees a lot. ➿
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Visit Ian’s multitudes:
Resonant Press IG, shredderghost IG or pick up a CD-R
Nice interview!