I recently had the pleasure of reviewing quite a unique piece of noise material by Razing Darkness. I found this artist’s work to be so compelling that I had no choice but to dig a little deeper into his cerebral cortex. So here, for your edification, I present to you Jason Danielson of Razing Darkness. More information can be found at: http://www.myspace.com/razingdarkness

Please introduce yourself; who are you and what do you do?

      I am Jason Danielson, I have been recording and experimenting with sound under the name Razing Darkness for close to 10 years now. I make ambient/noise textures from various electronic and acoustic sources.  I have self-released six CDs and been a member of a few other projects.

What is Razing Darkness and what compelled you to start this project?

      Razing Darkness is my complete escape and immersion into sound and is my outlet for both positive and negative expression.  I played bass and keyboards in a garage band as a teenager and I soon tired of having to compromise in order to play and make music.  In the summer of '97 I made a one minute drone piece on my computer which became the first Razing Darkness track.  Soon after I bought my own 4-track recorder and found it much more exciting and rewarding to record the music I want to make alone.

10 years is an impressive amount of time to have been working on this

project. Walk me through the history and evolution of Razing Darkness.

      It doesn't seem that long.  It's hard to say what drives me to keep making music, but it just seems a necessity.  I do have long stretches where I don't record anything at all, but I always end up coming back to it.

      My first cassette release "Retina Voices" resulted from sound experiments made in '97 to '99.  I pretty much used whatever was at hand with little effects (I think I used Cool Edit Pro on two tracks).  I had a loaned guitar that barely worked, a Casio keyboard, a distortion pedal, a snare drum, and a midi keyboard on my computer.  I would record random sounds like breathing, heartbeats, wind, rain, doors creaking, etc.  The track "Inside" is the sound of a mic in a running refrigerator with a roll of masking tape rolling across the top and foil crunching in the background.  It was fun and refreshing to record this way after having just played standard rock music. I proved to myself that I could make interesting sounds with junk gear and everyday objects.

      For my second release "The Anxious Journey," I began using loops and effects processors more.  Around this time (2000-2003) I was splitting my time with Tapegerm.  I had some close friends help out on a few tracks (live drumming and some wordless vocals).  I did some spoken word and attempts at rhythm which didn't really work and I probably will never repeat.  It has three stages of sound grouped by five tracks each; beginning with the noisy and confrontational, shifting into the murky and ambiguous, and ending in the ethereal.  This release was a kind of "sonic diary" and more personal to me.

      "Aether Current" (2003-2005) I recorded with more minimal sources and less overdubbing.   It was more of an exercise in pulling sounds out of the aether and getting them down directly instead of wasting time doing numerous failed mixes like I had with the last CD.  There was little to no premeditation of the overall sound and structure for each piece.  Sources were mainly an Airsynth, drum machine, Korg Electribe, and an old-fashioned handheld AM radio.  My effects setups were the most important part of getting the more "multi-dimensional" sound I was going for.  I used three to four units at a time which I would rearrange every so often.  "Black Galaxy" is my longest piece so far (17 minutes) and was an homage to cold sound.  I can enjoy listening to this release more subjectively because it was made so quickly and without me having to edit and tweak the material over and over again.  It is almost as if someone else made it.

      Terraform" (2006) focused more on shortwave radio textures, sampling, and densely distorted synths.  During this time I began using the computer for mixing.  I probably have 50 master cassette tapes from my multitrack machine.  Now all my raw sounds and mixes are on minidisc; I just transfer them to WAV files to mix on the computer.

What do you hope to accomplish with Razing Darkness?

      I attempt to make abstract, "visual" music that the listener can be fully enveloped in.  I try to create a deep or at least active listening space. Sometimes I try to set my more vivid dreams to a soundtrack but this is difficult.  Also I am a very nostalgic person and recording music is a way for me to preserve these points in time.  Essentially I just make music that I like to hear and hopefully anyone else who hears it will be able to enjoy it too.

Your latest album "Terraform" has unique packaging. What is the

symbolism or purpose behind the presentation of cloth and chain?

      Since I self-release my music I only end up making a handful of copies, so I wanted to make a sort of raw, "readymade" type package that would reflect the music.  I love the packaging materials of the old Zoviet France records and wanted to do something similar.  My girlfriend hand-sewed these for me which turned out to be very time consuming but they turned out nicely.

Your material is all self released, why do you choose this method as

opposed to releasing though a label?

      I have made many submissions to labels all over the world but have never heard anything back.  It may be because my music is too varied stylistically and I don't have one "pure sound" that it is difficult to fit into the idea of what a specific label is looking for.  I guess I haven't really bent over backward trying to get signed though.  I just self-release as a practical and immediate means to get my music heard by the handful of people who show interest.  I don't long to be on a label, but I probably wouldn't refuse an offer either.

What gear do you use to mangle and compose your sounds?

      I mainly use analog synths and effects processors, though I incorporate found sound and some acoustic and percussive instruments as well.  Effects units are my most vital tools.  I'm not a "gearhead" by any means.  I find music software programs to be pretty sterile and boring to use.  I do however use the computer for mixing.  Up until the last year or so I had been recording everything on a 4-track.

      My process consists of recording and effects-filtering large amounts of "live" source material to minidisc.  I will usually first have an idea for a piece from a specific title, mood, or overall sound.  I then go back to the source material to begin editing and blending sounds together to realize and give shape to the idea/theme/title in mind.  I usually do not alter the original source material after it has been recorded, I do a more or less straightforward mix using the original (heavily processed) sounds.  This process may be closer to painting than actual song writing in that I am making textures by selecting palettes and "mixing colors" rather than composing chords, notes and rhythms that work together.

Does the psychedelic experience carry any influence on your sounds?

      Yes, significantly.  Razing Darkness has always been an exercise in pulling back the layers and exploring inner space for better or worse.  I think escapism can be a positive thing as long as it does not consume you.  I have never recorded under any influence however.  Pieces like "My White Void" and "Dissociative Reaction" are specific interpretations of this kind of experience.

Do you have other outlets of expression; how do these bleed into your

music writing process?

      I have a book filled with cut-up writings and dream images, but this is nothing I take seriously.  Music is and probably will always be my source of personal expression.

You were a member of the Tapegerm Collective for three years. What is

this and what were your experiences with the group?

      Tapegerm is an online music collective where members from around the world (between 25-40 at the time) upload loop-based sounds to an FTP.  They then collect material from this huge sound pool at their discretion and make individual mixes of any style or substance they may choose, either completely altering the original sounds or leaving them untouched.  Each member had to fill a monthly quota of production to keep things moving; we all communicated through an email group.  It was a great melting pot of musical styles and personalities, it definitely expanded my own mixing capabilities significantly.  It was a fun and inspiring group to be a part of; I wish I had the self discipline to be as productive on a regular basis now as I was then.

What is Foreign Body and what is the direction of this project?

      Foreign Body is my project split with DeVico who I met in Tapegerm.  We began in Fall of 2004 and have been working together on and off since.  It is a long distance collaboration, but still an in-depth and thorough one. We upload our material to an FTP server and make mixes using our own as well as the other member's sounds.  One of us will begin a rough mix and the other will add layers and metamorphose it along the way.  Usually by two or three versions a track will be completed, though it's hard to say when to stop because the sound of a given piece just gets better as it goes.  It differs from Razing Darkness in that it has a denser and more complex sound; there is more of a menacing undercurrent.  We have enough material for a full release but I'm not sure what will come of it.  It can be difficult to find a time when we can both devote ourselves to it.  Also we no longer have access to an FTP, so it is at a standstill right now.

What are some artists/bands that influence you?

      Coil, Cyclobe, Zoviet France, the Cold Meat Industry Label, Aphex Twin, Brian Eno, Legendary Pink Dots, Swans, Nurse With Wound, C17H19NO3, Steve Roach, Volcano the Bear, NON, Hafler Trio, early Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Controlled Bleeding, Goblin, Jesu, as well as black metal and krautrock.  Lately I've been listening to This Heat and some old Killing Joke.

What are some authors/literature that influence you?

      Thomas Ligotti, HP Lovecraft, Philip K. Dick, Mark Danielewski, Bret Easton Ellis, Kurt Vonnegut, Harlan Wilson, Carlton Mellick, Aldous Huxley, Algernon Blackwood, Bruno Schulz, British & American Romanticism, Edward Gorey.

What are your thoughts on piracy?

Since so many people are downloading music for free, record labels keep raising their prices to compensate.  This really just gives people more justification to pirate; it is a vicious cycle.  I prefer to buy original albums, though a good deal of the music I buy is used (I'm a sucker for used CD/LP bins).  CDs should not cost 16-17 bucks.  I feel good about buying music at live shows because the sales go right into the artists' pockets.  I think downloading to get rare music or to discover new artists is ok.  Feed the starving artists, starve the divas.

What can we expect from Razing Darkness in the future?

      I would love to release something on vinyl.  I am always looking out for labels that press vinyl, but these are few and far between.  I have some ideas for a double CD with the first being more layered and abstract and the second more ambient oriented.  We'll see.

Care to share any final thoughts?

      "To become truly immortal, a work of art must escape all human limits: logic and common sense will only interfere. But once these barriers are broken, it will enter the realms of childhood visions and dreams." -- Giorgio De Chirico

- April 2007 by Jason