Never Presence Forever is the brainchild of one man and access to various gadgets. Conversant with the tools of the power electronic trade yet mindful of areas already mined a bit too frequently, NPF takes a droning, dark-ambient approach to power electronics that sounds both ominous and oddly beautiful in its clanking metallic coldness. Check out the interview below, then hop over to the site (and its parent site unholyterror.com) for more illuminating balm for the brooding soul....

DEAD ANGEL TALKS ABOUT THE DRONE OF DEATH WITH NEVER PRESENCE FOREVER:

DA: You got into Never Presence Forever from being introduced to noise through the hardcore scene. What do you think of that scene today and what do you think now about the experimental noise artists who inspired you in the first place?

NPF: Hardcore's loose connection to the noise scene is probably more obvious today than it was four years ago when I was getting into noise. There are still a lot of people involved in hardcore bands that have noise projects on the side, but now there are a lot more bands associated with hardcore that are actually integrating electronic noise textures into their music. Of course Neurosis has been doing that for years, but it seems more prevalent now. And in addition to that, there are even hardcore labels that are starting separate divisions to release noise records. In the US there's Hydra Head, who have Double H Noise Industries, and then in Europe Overcome Records has started doing some noise releases using the Bisect Bleep Industries imprint, etc. When I first got into Neurosis and Godflesh long ago I didn't really think of those aspects of what they were doing in terms of "noise" because I didn?t even know that the noise scene existed. It was when Dwid from Integrity started doing Psywarfare, or when bands like Man is the Bastard started directly branching out with Bastard Noise, that I was introduced to the real noise scene. I don't think anything has changed too drastically. More than anything I feel like the D.I.Y. nature of both hardcore and noise can form a strong bond between the two genres, therefore bringing new listeners into the noise fold from the hardcore scene. As for the projects that inspired me in the first place? I've never really been "inspired" by someone else's work, per se. Hearing Psywarfare, Lockweld, Bastard Noise, etc. did inspire me to dig deeper into the genre to see what was out there, and eventually to start my own project, but I never tried to shape my sound in someone else's shadow. I still enjoy their work to this day, of course.

DA: I know you had a bunch of stuff in the pipeline, so bring us up to speed on the current state of the art regarding Never Presence Forever.

NPF: Let's see... things are running a bit slowly, but there is indeed a lot of shit on deck. As always there are a bunch of compilation appearances lingering around, most of which I have no idea as to when they'll be released (if at all). The latest compilation that I've recorded for is THOSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS, which will be coming out on Crionic Mind. I'm really excited about that one because the lineup is fucking phenomenal. The same goes for the Merzbow remix CD that I'll be appearing on. Other than that, I'll be doing a release on PACrec. All I have planned there is to cover Napalm Death's "Multinational Corporations" and then do some short new tracks. I've recorded for a split or two, and I have an entire full-length recorded that was shelved due to manufacturing problems, but I can't afford to release any of that shit right now so I'm not sure what's going to happen there. I'm starting work on a limited edition LP for Misanthropic Agenda soon, though. That's going to be my next big project. A lot of time is going to go into that one, so I don't expect it to be out until at least this time next year.

DA: Do you think the whole power electronics/noise genre is played out? I know some who do, although I?m not in agreement with them?

NPF: Nah. I think some of the themes often explored by power electronics groups are totally played out, but the entire genre? Not at all. As for noise, it's no secret that I?m not the biggest fan of straight harsh noise, and even though I do feel that in some respects that niche is incredibly over-saturated with shitty releases, I don't think the genre is played out in the least. There's always room for solid work. All it takes is a little bit of creativity and some thought behind the music. Many would disagree with me, but that's life.

DA: The genre is notorious for obsessively wallowing in certain themes and images that you pretty much avoid (outside of occasional jabs at religious fanaticism). Are you just personally opposed to the whole ?butchered hooker? (or neo-fascist) style of graphics and content, or are you trying to sidestep what has already become a tedious cliché?

NPF: All of the above. First and foremost I think that type of imagery/subject matter is stupid, I have no interest in it, I'm opposed to it, and therefore I have no desire to explore it. That's not to say that I don't enjoy some groups who do explore those topics, nor do I think that everyone who uses such imagery/subject matter is stupid or anything like that (though some of them are), but you'll never catch a Never Presence Forever record with a "butchered hooker" on the cover. Even if I was interested in that shit, it's so fucking tired and unoriginal that I would still be doing what I?m doing now. I'm not breaking new ground or anything, so please don't think that I'm claiming to be some sort of innovator, but I do put thought into my songs. There are ideas there, it's not just sound.. and I do try to make a conscious effort to avoid running in place or treading the same old worn path of the past.

DA: Speaking of religious fanaticism, what's your take on the march to Armageddon that's happening in the Middle East (and maybe the government here)?

NPF: Fuck the government. I have never voted and I never will. I want nothing to do with contributing to any of that shit. George W. Bush is an arrogant, ignorant puppet, and his jock-like "America is #1" mentality is causing nothing but conflict that is sure to blow up in our faces tenfold if things continue heading down the same road they're on right now. The way this world works is completely fucked, it's just disgusting. And I'm not just talking about all of the turmoil in the Middle East, I mean everywhere. It's all about who you know and how much money you have. That's the equation of power. I'm not saying people shouldn't be proud of their country or whatever, but America is by far the most conceited fucking country on this planet, and it makes me sick.

DA: Back to music -- what's happening with the Merzbow remix CD on Misanthropic Agenda that Never Presence Forever is scheduled to appear on? Is it out?

NPF: It's still in the works. I know that some of the tracks have been completed, and though I've only heard my own submission, I'm told that all of the others that have arrived so far are very nice. The rest of the lineup will include Merzbow, Sunn, Boris, Pita, Hrvatski, House of Low Culture, Hecker, Russell Haswell, Fennesz, Gerritt, Bastard Noise, When, Ulver, Terror Organ, and John Wiese. Needless to say, I can't wait for this one to come out. I'm an enormous fan of many of the contributors, and I never thought in a million years that I'd appear on a collection alongside Ulver!

DA: You once characterized Never Presence Forever as a mix of harsh and ambient electronics. Assuming that continues to be the case, do you find yourself - as time goes on - leaning more in one direction or the other?

NPF: I'd say I always lean more in the dark ambient direction to some degree. As I said before, I'm not really into much of the straight harsh stuff, so when I use really harsh sounds I try to balance them out with contrasting styles to give it more of an atmosphere. In the future I plan to infuse more subtle melody into my work, as can be heard in tracks like "Ethereal Melody -- The Abdication of Existence." I'll probably play guitar a bit more often as well, like with the song "Sluttens Begynnelse."

DA: I think Never Presence Forever has a pretty high drone quotient too, especially on "Disturbed Visceral Nociception.". What do you think? Am I onto something here or have my O-rings blown?

NPF: You could definitely say that. That song in particular is quite minimal, and I'd definitely say that there's a droning quality to many of my tracks that have that really simplistic type of flow. It's not always intentional (though in the case of that track it was), but it is indeed present.

DA: I'm kind of curious about why the release on Crucial Blast and the one on Crionic Mind are so different. Do you deliberately vary the sound so radically from release to release?

NPF: Not necessarily. Even though the APOKALYPSENS UENDELIGE ARSTID cassette on Crucial Blast came out before the CD on Crionic Mind, I actually recorded the cassette a couple of months after completing the CD. But in this particular case, yes, I did intentionally alter the style a bit between the two releases. The entire APOKALYPSENS UENDELIGE ARSTID release was planned out around a theme from the very beginning (which I rarely do), so all three of those songs are trying to convey one unified feeling, even though each of the three tracks are pretty different from one another. "Svekkende Styrke" was actually an old song that I reworked because I thought it would fit well within the mood of the release. Of course I'd rather not repeat myself, though it's probably inevitable from time to time, but with the LP for Misanthropic Agenda I also plan to try and take things in a new direction again, so it might come out sounding a lot different from my previous work, or it might not....

DA: I gather some people think Never Presence Forever is controversial or something, although I'm kind of puzzled as to where they'd get such an idea. (From the site, possibly. The music, I?m not so sure.) What brought that on?

NPF: I'm guessing that you're referring to the interview that I did for Size Matters? If so, that interview was sort of a "devil's advocate" type of thing, I think. Most of the projects interviewed were asked very similar questions to start things off, and since the general tone of the interview dealt with issues of gender in noise, a lot of the questions were formatted in a way that assumed that the work being discussed was somehow controversial. I don't think my work is controversial at all. I'm sure there are people out there that could be offended by the images that I have on my website, but I don't care. I didn't put those images there to be "controversial" or "extreme" -- I put them there because I either find them to have artistic merit, or because they just convey an incredibly powerful message.

DA: Any closer yet to doin' the doom live?

NPF: Nope. I'm not sure I ever will. I have way too many anxiety issues, and I?m just not confident enough to be totally into doing the whole live thing. Who knows...?

DA: How's the art of shaping sound these days? Are you finding it easier with time to get where you're going in translating the sound in your head to zeroes and ones?

NPF: Ha, ha. No. It's never easier. I?m very picky, and a crazy perfectionist, so I?m almost never completely satisfied with my recordings. I do the best that I can with the equipment that I have, but I'm still harder on my own work than anyone else is. I'm my own worst critic.

DA: What kind of equipment are you working with these days anyway? (I'm a gear whore, feel free to elaborate to your heart's content if you so desire...)

NPF: Not much, ha. I really use the bare essentials. I record using my computer, so multi-track recording software and audio editors are very important. Other than that I have the obligatory effects pedals and a few processors, an old delay rack, a guitar, a bass, a very shitty old Casio keyboard that can actually be far more useful than one would ever imagine, etc. I don't have a mixer, I don't have a sampler, I don't have a synthesizer, none of that fancy shit. I wouldn't be complaining if I could afford that sort of gear, but I'm piss poor, so I don't expect to be the proud owner of any of that stuff anytime in the near future.

DA: So what's on the horizon for Never Presence Forever? Anything swank in the works?

NPF: Mainly just the 3" CD on PACrec and the LP on Misanthropic Agenda. If I can pull some money together (fat chance) hopefully some other shit will eventually get released, too. I don't know. I just want to keep recording and hopefully I'll have the opportunity to get more releases out there and the word will spread. The response to the CD on Crionic Mind has been great thus far, so I'm really happy about that.

DA: Last thoughts/observations?

NPF: Thanks a lot for the interview. I really appreciate your interest in what I'm doing, and it means a lot to me that you wanted to take the time out to shoot me some interview questions. If anyone reading is interested, check out the website at http://www.holyterror.com/neverpresenceforever/. There's plenty of worthless information there. And of course feel free to contact me at anti.5@holyterror.com if you have any comments/questions. I still have a few copies of the APOKALYPSENS UENDELIGE ARSTID cassette and thej DISTURBED VISCERAL NOCICEPTION cd if anyone wants 'em. Thanks again.