The new DDB interview serie is coming really soon.
In the meantime I want to share a recent Q&A session with absolutely the most intriguing (for me, of course) publishing house and tape label based in London. It is led by Marco and Bethania who were extremely kind to send me the following answers.
Enjoy!
1.How did My Dance the Skull appear? Let’s dig in a history!
MDTS: MDTS appeared in a dream. We got the call at dawn. Dogs were barking, cats were running across rooftops... and a horse took our thoughts to My Dance The Skull.
When we woke up we ate the dream and the sweet flavor of flutes and clarinets remained in our mouths.
2.If you allow me, I’ll blurt a secret. You’re planning to publish a book of poetry (with illustrations by artist who have already appeared in your catalogue). Are you going to start publishing verse or it will be rather an exemption?
MDTS: We want to publish written poetry from the very beginning. We have recently met some great poets through our dear friend and fantastic poet Matthew Wascovich and we are looking forward to publishing them all.
The book of poetry you mentioned has just been published. It’s called Fantastic Animals, the poems are by Matthew Wascovich himself with images by the artist Aleksandra Waliszewska.
3.What annoys you most?
MDTS: Our mouths full of sand that bury our cries still alive.
4.A huge bulk of MDTS items comes from Eastern artists. Does it somehow reflect your interests as a publisher?
MDTS: To be honest that has been a coincidence. We are definitely interested in Eastern artists, but not more or less than we are in Western artists.
5.What is that primordial thing that draws your attention in a piece of art or in a song? What makes you nod – “Yeh, I’ll put this stuff out!”?
MDTS: Art that can extract water from the desert. Art that screams humidity in a dry land.
6.Next question I will ask to every person in DDb interview series.
What have changed in independent music world with the developing and spreading of the Web?
Any positive improvements? Any negative repercussions?
MDTS: Oh man, we don’t know exactly what to answer to that. Can we skip the question? (Sorry )
7.In terms of geography, where do you get most of the orders from?
MDTS: Mainly Northern EU, US and Japan. But recently we have been getting more orders from Eastern EU as well.
8.You have done a great interview with Love Cult. Do you enjoy reading interviews? Coz’ I’m a crazy fan of interviews!
MDTS: Yeah, that’s a nice one, glad you enjoyed it. We do like interviews, definitely. We particularly love ‘The Conversation Series’, which is a beautiful collection of dialogues between the curator Hans-Ulrich Obrist and different artists - highly recommended.
9.What a dark, strange name you guys have for your label! Where did it come from?
MDTS: From a drawing by Marco.
(please have a look at the attachment)
Here is this drawing:
10.So, there are two of you doing magical things around images in tapes. Do you have some kind of ‘labor distribution’?
MDTS: Thank you. We do everything together, the two of us work as a team… brainstorming ideas, working on concepts, choosing images, design, etc.
11.When I was in London I was constantly catching myself on a thought that London’s tube smells a bit fishy? Is it true? Or I have some problem with my nostrils?
What transport do you prefer to use?
MDTS: hah! Not sure. There is a breath of alcohol in the tube every now and then, specially early in the morning or late at night. We travel to central London by overground though, which is way nicer than the tube. We get to see green leaves kissing grey industrial buildings, old bridges and abandoned car parks.
12.What’s next? I mean apart from the book of poetry?
Can you reveal more secret info about forthcoming stuff?
MDTS: The next Voice Studies are:
VS 03 - Kommissar Hjuler Und Frau/ Mama Baer;
VS 04 – Andrew Coltrane
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Voice Studies from Thurston Moore, Sindre Bjerga, Architeutis Rex, Mag Resistance (Matthew Wascovich and Mark E. Miller), This is Yvonne Lovejoy (Seymour Glass) and Andrew Klimeyk.
And poetry books by Chris Yarmock and Lauren De Sa Naylor.
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Thanks for your time!
MDTS: Thank you for your interest and enthusiasm J
First of all, I'm in love with cover arts and package design the guys from Already Dead Tapes make for their cassettes. It's so minimally beautiful and tasty!
