Contact: james(at)keraunograph(dot)org
Angelicate | Star 418 | C60 | Dystonia AVO-001 | December 1989
Philosophy of Angelicate
(Scene: room of your average goofy philosophy major, complete with Bambi poster, letters to the former occupant of the house [now deceased] pinned to the wall, emergency access to the bathroom, rubber chicken and the ever-omniscient shrine to Mozart.)
(Enter: aforementioned goofy philosophy major [Kilrbes] and Weaselfeces, a university drop-out with bad posture and a huge planters wart on his thumb. They sit down and put a tape in the ghettoblaster. For the next 60 minutes their conversation is limited to utterings of "holy cow", "wow man", "that's really weird" and " ". When tape ends, a bizarre conversation commences...)
K: My good man, never have my eardrums shook so. I felt the intensity from my innards to the hair on my chinny chin chin.
W. Verily, I say unto thee, t'was heavy.
K: So tell me o most just one, who in Hades was that?
W. Verily, I say unto thee, o most Omni-present seeker of truth, t'was Angelicate.
K: Enlighten me please, for I know nothing of such strange and unusual things.
W: Verily I say unto thee, Angelicate consists of two beings, one James Hamilton and one David Strorm. The latter, so far as I know, has his dwelling in Halifax, while the former abides in Fredericton in a house not far from here. Mr.Hamilton is in fact the primary creative force behind the sounds which just a few minutes ago, assaulted our minds, you may remember him as the paladin guitarist/drummer/keyboard player/vocalist of Dresden'45. Indeed, it must be said that Mr.Hamilton is an amazing and multi-faceted musician. Of David Strorm and his role in the band, I know very little.
K: I understand all of this, and yet I must say that still I am tongue tied to describe what you would call this variation of music. Please, if you will, entertain me once again and answer that which I cannot put into words.
W: Not to be derogatory, for that is far from my intent, but I would venture that "music" is not an altogether appropriate term, not in its conventional definition. Permit me, for a moment, to speak in broader terms not only of Angelicate, but of the genre to which it belongs, which is commonly termed "industrial". This particular branch of audio expression either dreastically expands or lies completely outside of the conventional definitions of music; whwn one things of melodies, harmonies, verses, choruses, a good beat you can dance to, etc. You may notice the tape we just listened to was distinctly lacking in these areas, the emphasis is instead placed on sounds, specifically sound of a harsh and grating nature.
K: Besides this apparent lack of conventional musicality, I must admit that for some unknown reason, it struck me as strongly appealing.
W: Indeed, there is no reason why sounds should not be appealing for beauty is in the ear of the listener and nowhere else. After all, I find little beauty in horror movies, yet many of my friends enjoy them immensely. There is beauty found in ugliness if one only takes the time to look.
K: Amast wisdom that abides in you is so Weaselfeces! The tape was very good and so you have proven many things to me that I (and you in Aquinian land) never knew before.
(They part and each are left with a sense of achievement that [verily I say unto thee] I hope you also feel. May the blessings of the gods be with you, challenge that which you are forbidden, and I am outta here.)
— Andrew Titus and Sam Petite, The Brunswickan, 1990.I.31