Anyone who's really paying attention to underground music has undoubtedly come across China at some point. Odd black metal bands, noise rock, you name it it's starting to thrive. This is interesting, considering the still current political tension in the country. But we all know, when things slacken, people find a way to speak out. Noise is simply another way to do it.
Currently, the noise scene in China, if it can even be called that, consists of a small group of individuals, mostly functioning out of Shanghai. They hold a variety of shows for bands in China and sometimes foreigners. Support seems a little stronger than it ever did in the West, and though still a marginal genre as much as anywhere else, noise in China is slowly developing, mainly taking cues from the heyday of Japanese noise in the 80s and 90s. Eventually, it may start to surprise us, and if it does, you better believe Torturing Nurse is going to be behind it. Arguably China's most important underground band currently, we gave Junky an interview to learn more about them.
DS - Can you tell us a bit about the history of Torturing Nurse?
I (Junky) am a big fan of bands like Merzbow, Hijokaiden, Incapacitants, The Gerogerigegege, and tons of others. I'm always interested in new work being done in noise, so I'm always looking for more influence, but bands like that have always been special to me. I started Torturing Nurse in 2004. The member line-up is changing a lot, I'm really the only static one, but other members join me at shows most of the time. Two are Youki and Arrebato. Youki usually is responsible for various electronic devices and Arrebato engages in performance art during shows.
DS - When were you first exposed to noise? Did you ever play any other type of music before you started Torturing Nurse?
I heard the first noise in 2003 on a CD called Taste Of the Wild West ; a Japanese no wave/noise compilation, the last track over twenty minutes long. It was kind of like Hijokaidan-style, which started to give me an interest in the genre. As for other bands before Torturing Nurse, I used to drum for and founded some post punk/no wave acts, but that's it. Nothing major.
DS - Tell us a little about the first Torturing Nurse release.
The first album was called Junkyisuzu. Torturing Nurse set up in a few weeks to complete the recording, and completed it in about three months. The publisher was our own label, Shasha Records. At that time it was mainly us exploring how to make noise, there's a lot in the first album that shadows traditional instrumental music. We used some guitar from 2004-2008 too and messed around with making noise like Diesel Guitar. Most of what we do now is harsh noise, or pure noise, if you like.
DS - In spite of your short existence, you guys have really released a lot of stuff with tons of different bands and labels. Recently we did a review of your Mind Flare Media album "il comunismo doveva morire". Have any of your experiences been more favorable than others?
We've published a lot of albums and each one involves lots of the time and effort. It's difficult to distinguish between what we like the most and the least. In the early days I just wanted to publish via our own label, but the last couple of years most of our stuff has been published by invitation by other labels and bands. But I'm very grateful to Obscurica (USA). They handled the first overseas release of our material, It's no longer around, but they helped Torturing Nurse to gain an initial reputation overseas.
DS - Is there any particular approach to noise you prefer, any type of instrument or object that you use regularly?
We use a lot of stuff, it often depends on the session or performance. I use a lot of pedals, pick up mics, and tape recorders. For recording I mess around a lot with modifying and mastering the sounds. In general, though, we use a lot of stuff, nothing really consistent. One time a performance didn't even involve any sound at all. Torturing Nurse is about playing noise for noise, we like to do it because we feel it makes our lives meaningful.
DS - Can you explain further the performance without sound you mentioned and a few other shows?
Our live performances are usually pretty intense. One time Arrebato ran around the crowd practically naked and covered in bubble wrap. One time we just tied ourselves up and tied up the crowd while screaming. The meat show involved us purchasing ten pounds of pork because we found out too late that the venue didn't have a PA system. When we performed, we cut it up and threw the minced pieces of meat at the crowd. It was a big mess.
DS - One thing I think Western fans would be interested in is your take on the current underground music scene in China. What's it like? Perhaps you could also comment a bit about how the government has thus far viewed recent developments in Chinese music.
China right now has a pretty strong underground rock movement. But unfortunately, now at least, noise, improvisation, sound art, and the like aren't very popular. So the audience is kind of limited for this sort of thing right now. The Chinese government hasn't taken any notice at all and I don't think they really care. We have a lot of shows with our Shanghai noise collective and post everywhere about them, but they never do anything about it. I don't think we'll ever have any problems, it's just music and performance.
DS - I'm aware a number of Western fans want to see Torturing Nurse do a world tour, especially in America. Any plans for this or have you had any performances abroad?
We're very eager to perform in the United States, but of course that costs money. Currently, we're hoping to get some sort of funding, perhaps through an art collective, to come over. That's how we were able to play a show in Europe. It was in Denmark in 2010 for the Danish Center for Culture and Development, who funded it. They set it up and we came. Hopefully we can get something similar for the US, even if just for a single show.
DS - Thanks a lot for the interview, could you end by telling us what your favorite albums are and some future releases for Torturing Nurse?
Sure, thanks for talking with me! My top five would probably be: 1.Hijokaidan - Tapes 2. Incapacitants - Stupid is Stupid 3. The Gerogerigegege - Endless Humiliation 4. Kaoru Abe - Mort A Credit 5. K2 - Flake Nitro As for what's coming up, here's a list: Torturing Nurse + Aoi Girl - Collaboration 12" + mini booklet (Urashima, Italy) Torturing Nurse/Earth Incubator - Split 7" (Underground Pollution Records, France) Torturing Nurse/Orgasm Denial - Real Noise: From Cannibalism to Karaoke 7" lathe (Shasha Records/Noisoke Records/china) Torturing Nurse - Ikiru CD (Dada Drumming, USA)
DS - Thanks again for the interview, hope to see you guys come over here soon, would be a great experience.
Thanks for the kind words!
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Interview By Arkus
