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Lustmord

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This article is about the dark ambient musician. For the crime, see Lust murder.

Lustmord
Lustmord playing at Norbergfestival, 2011.
Lustmord playing at Norbergfestival, 2011.
Background information
Birth nameBrian Williams
OriginNorth Wales[1][2]
GenresDark ambient
OccupationMusician
Instrument(s)Synthesizer, programming
Years active1980–present[2]
LabelsHydra Head, Soleilmoon
Websitelustmord.com

Brian Williams is a Welsh musician, sound designer and film score composer.[3] He has released albums under the name Lustmord starting in the 1980s and through the present.

Williams began as a recording artist within the industrial genre, working with Chris & Cosey and SPK. Shifting his work to Lustmord, Williams continued to employ the threatening aesthetics of industrial, while employing reverb and similar effects to evoke an atmosphere of cosmic horror.[4][5] Starting with the 1989 album Heresy, Lustmord albums have been centered on manipulating sampled recordings with a computer. These samples infamously included field recordings made in locations such as crypts, caves, and slaughterhouses. Williams now downplays the sinister connotations of these locations and says they were picked for "acoustics".[6]

The influence of Williams work on subsequent artists has led critics to call him "a reluctant pioneer of the dark ambient genre who regards his music as neither dark nor ambient."[7]

Biography

Williams was raised in the town of Bethesda, Gwynedd in Wales in a family of working class origin. He moved to London, living in a Lambeth squat.[8] There he befriended Throbbing Gristle members Cosey Fanni Tutti and Chris Carter, who urged him to make his own music.[1]

As Lustmord

Williams began releasing records as Lustmord with a self-titled debut (as "Lustmørd") in 1980.[9] "Lustmord" in German translates literally as “lust murder,” and alludes to a painting tradition in Weimar-era Germany, in which artists like Otto Dix and George Grosz painted scenes of rape and mutilated female bodies that captured the nihilism of the interwar period.[10]

Williams released Lustmord's sophomore album Paradise Disowned in 1984 on which he continued to refine his sound. Critics and Williams himself considered his Lustmord third album, 1989's Heresy, to be his breakthrough work. Williams has attributed Heresy's success to his use of an Atari computer as a digital audio workstation.[7] In retrospectives of Lustmord's work and the dark ambient genre, critics have called Heresy a milestone.[7][11][12]

Lustmord has extracted field recordings made in crypts, caves, and slaughterhouses, and combined it with occasional ritualistic incantations and Tibetan horns. His treatments of acoustic phenomena encased in digitally expanded bass rumbles have a dark-ambient quality. Some of Lustmord's most notable collaborations include Robert Rich on the critically acclaimed[13] Stalker, Jarboe, John Balance of Coil, Monte Cazazza, Clock DVA, Chris & Cosey, Paul Haslinger, and experimental sludge group Melvins on Pigs of the Roman Empire. He worked with Tool again in 2019, providing the ocean and wave sound effects on the track "Descending" on their album Fear Inoculum.

Williams collaborated with Graeme Revell and Paul Haslinger to contribute as "musical sound designer"[4] and occasionally as an additional composer on 44 Hollywood film soundtracks, most notably on The Crow and Underworld.

Black Star
Sample of "Black Star", from Strange Attractor (extended play – 1996) also on the compilation album Purifying Fire (2000)
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Lustmord worked on Tool's DVD singles and remixed versions of "Schism" and "Parabola," which were released on 20 December 2005. Lustmord also contributed to Tool's 2006 album 10,000 Days with the atmospheric storm sounds on the title track, "10,000 Days". He later worked again with Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan, collaborating on Keenan's project Puscifer debut album "V" is for Vagina, as well as providing several remixes for "V" is for Viagra. The Remixes. Lustmord eventually generated a collection of dub remixes of several tracks from "V" is for Vagina known as "D" Is for Dubby - The Lustmord Dub Mixes. The nine-track LP was released as a digital download on 17 October 2008, available directly from the Puscifer website. He also did some additional music including the track "The Western Approaches" feat. Wes Borland on guitar for the documentary Blood into Wine.

Lustmord released the album [ O T H E R ] on California-based label Hydra Head Records in July 2008. It features guest appearances by Adam Jones, King Buzzo, and Aaron Turner.

Live performances

Lustmord appeared live for the first time in 25 years as part of the high mass observance by the Church of Satan. The ceremony took place on 6 June 2006.[1][14] A recording of the performance titled Rising was released. Lustmord himself noted that the offer was "one of those things that was just too funny to say 'no' to".[15]

Lustmord performed for the second time in 29 years at Unsound Festival Kraków on 22 October 2010.[16]

Lustmord performed at Art's Birthday celebration (initiated by Robert Filliou) at Södra Teatern in Stockholm, Sweden, on 15 January 2011.[17] He performed in New York for the first time on 9 and 10 April 2011 at the Unsound Festival, coming to the attention of the New York Times.[18][11] Lustmord's first performance in the Netherlands was in September 2011 at the Incubate Festival.

Lustmord played for the first time in Moscow, Russia, on 8 April 2012, at Cinema 35mm. Bad Sector played the first act of the show.

Video games

Around 1999, Lustmord was also involved with the video game Planescape: Torment—his work eventually went unused when the project changed direction.[19] He provided music and sound design for a variety of other projects since, such as Far Cry Instincts, Underworld and NVIDIA demos, many of which include collaborations with Haslinger.[20] He was also involved with the 2003 game Master of Orion. In 2015 he composed the soundtrack for Evolve with Jason Graves.,[21][22] and composed the soundtrack of the horror game Scorn together with Aethek.

Films

Lustmord composed the soundtrack of the 2017 film First Reformed[23] and the 2020 film The Empty Man.[24]

Lustmord had two songs used in the TV show Vikings: Valhalla seasons one and two: “Babel” and “Y Gair.”

Personal life

In early 1990s, Williams relocated to California from London with his wife Tracey, who is a fabricator at Legacy Effects. He is an atheist[1] and has noted that while his ominous music gives an impression to some people that he's "somehow dark and [he] live[s] in a castle or in a dungeon", and that although he's "very serious about certain aspects of [his] work", he's "not that serious about [himself]".[15]

Discography

Year Title Label
1981 Lustmørd Sterile Records SR 3
1982 Lustmordekay Sterile Records cassette SRC 6
1984 CTI (with Chris & Cosey)
1985 Vhutemas / Arechetypi (with Graeme Revell)
1986 Paradise Disowned Soleilmoon
1990 White Stains (as T. G. T.)
1990 Heresy Soleilmoon
1991 A Document of Early Acoustic & Tactical Experimentation
1992 The Monstrous Soul Soleilmoon
1992 Psychological Warfare Technology Systems (as Terror Against Terror) (originally recorded in 1989, not released until 1992)
1993 Crash Injury Trauma (as Isolrubin BK)
1994 The Place Where the Black Stars Hang Soleilmoon
1994 Trans Plutonian Transmissions (as Arecibo)
1995 Stalker (with Robert Rich) Fathom/Hearts of Space
1996 Strange Attractor/Black Star
1997 Lustmord vs. Metal Beast (with Shad Scott)
2000 Purifying Fire (collected Works 1996–1998) Soleilmoon
2001 Metavoid Nextera
2002 Law of the Battle of Conquest (with Hecate)
2004 Carbon/Core
2004 Pigs of the Roman Empire (with Melvins)
2007 Juggernaut (with King Buzzo)
2008 [ O T H E R ]
2008 "D" is for Dubby – The Lustmord Dub Mixes (by Puscifer)
2010 Heretic
2011 Songs of Gods And Demons (Collected Works 1994–2007) (Compilation)
2013 Things That Were (Compilation)
2013 The Word as Power
2016 Dark Matter
2020 Trinity
2020 The Fall / Dennis Johnson's November Deconstructed (with Nicolas Horvath) Sub Rosa
2021 Alter (with Karin Park) Pelagic Records
2024 Much Unseen Is Also Here (LP)
Singles
1988 Machine Gun (as T. G. T.) (single)
1989 Revo (as T. G. T.) (single)
2021 Twin Flames (Single) (with Karin Park)
2021 Hiraeth (Single) (with Karin Park)
2021 Song Of Sol (Single) (with Karin Park)
2022 Ashen (Single) (with Godflesh)
2022 Plateau (Single) (with Bohren & der Club of Gore)
2022 Dark Awakening (Single) (with Ihsahn)
2022 Testament (Single) (with Harvestman)
2022 Prime (Single) (with Zola Jesus)
2022 Primal (State of Being) (Single) (with The Ocean)
2023 Host - Hiding From Tomorrow (Lustmord Remix)
Remix albums
2009 [ THE DARK PLACES OF THE EARTH ] (remixes)
2009 [ T R A N S M U T E D ] (remixes)
2009 [ B E Y O N D ] (remixes)
2009 [ O T H E R D U B ] (remixes)
2015 Vampillia Meets Lustmord (remixes)
2022 The Others (Lustmord Deconstructed) Pelagic Records
Live albums
2006 Rising (live album)
2013 Kraków (22 October 2010) (live album)
2014 Stockholm (15 January 2011) (live album)
2017 Hobart (12 June 2011) (live album)
2017 Maschinenfest (2 October 2011) (live album)
2020 Lublin (10 December 2016) (live album)
2020 Berlin (25 March 2018) (live album)
Soundtracks
2002 Zoetrope Nextera
2003 Master of Orion 3 Infogrames / Quicksilver
2017 First Reformed
2020 The Empty Man
2022 Scorn (with Aethek)

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Needham, Alex (16 March 2013). "Lustmord: ambient's dark star". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  2. ^ a b Neyland, Nick (12 June 2013). "Lustmord – "Chorazin" (Extract)". Pitchfork. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  3. ^ "Brian Williams | Music Department, Composer, Sound Department". IMDb. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  4. ^ a b Richardson, John; Gorbman, Claudia; Vernallis, Carol (2013), The Oxford Handbook of New Audiovisual Aesthetics, Oxford University Press, p. 367, ISBN 978-0-19-973386-6
  5. ^ "The Quietus | Features | Strange World Of... | Mysterium Tremendum: The Strange World Of Lustmord". The Quietus. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  6. ^ "Lustmord Discusses Three Decades of Dark Ambient Music". self | centered. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  7. ^ a b c "Where to Begin With Lustmord's Cosmic Ambient". Bandcamp Daily. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  8. ^ Williams, Brian (27 September 2021). "Tone Glow 080: Lustmord" (Interview). Interviewed by Joshua Minsoo Kim. Tone Glow. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2024 – via Substack.
  9. ^ "Lustmord: The Last Heretic". Fact. 3 November 2010. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  10. ^ Bender, Stephanie (2011). "Lady Killers and Lust-Murderers: The Lustmord Paintings of Weimar Germany". Athanor. 29: 77–83. ISSN 2690-0181.
  11. ^ a b "Lustmord – Heresy (album review)". Sputnikmusic. 26 October 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  12. ^ "What is Dark Ambient?". Micro Genre Music. 14 January 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  13. ^ Brenholts, Jim. "Stalker – Lustmord". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  14. ^ Lustmord Rising, 26 June 2006. "Tool : News". Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  15. ^ a b "Lustmord: By the throat". Resident Advisor.
  16. ^ Lustmord to perform for the second time in 29 years at Unsound Festival Krakow Archived 9 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 19 July 2010.
  17. ^ Lustmord performance, recorded by Swedish national radio. Sverigesradio.se, Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  18. ^ "Unsound". Unsound.pl. Archived from the original on 11 March 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  19. ^ "L U S T M O R D". L U S T M O R D. 31 July 2001. Archived from the original on 4 May 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  20. ^ "L U S T M O R D". L U S T M O R D. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  21. ^ "Lustmord: Evolve". 24 September 2014. Archived from the original on 11 October 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  22. ^ "A Conversation With Lustmord, The Man Behind The Unique Soundscapes For Evolve". 10 January 2014. Archived from the original on 18 March 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  23. ^ Samuel Wigley (19 July 2018). "How experimental musicians are reinventing the film score". Bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 21 July 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  24. ^ Gingold, Michael (22 October 2020). ""The Empty Man" Goes to Strange, Unexpected Places". Rue Morgue. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
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