Interview with NUDECONSUMER
NUDECONSUMER is a harsh noise project by Daniel Hurt (they/them). They also perform under GUTTING.
Seattle Noise: How did you get started making noise? Did you play before in a band? How would you describe your sound?
NUDECONSUMER: NUDECONSUMER started during the Pandemic. At the time, I was heavily involved in a Buddhist-inspired addiction recovery program with a great emphasis on meditation practice. Recovery / Meditation & Noise will always go hand-in-hand to me. I was also playing Dungeons and Dragons weekly. The entire idea started from a D&D character idea of a disgusting old man that collects and eats explicit images in his basement as his only form of gratification. I’ve never played in a serious band— I find commitment to working with others extremely difficult and prefer to explore sound in other ways.
It’s pure harsh noise in whatever I do. 90% of my setup is distortion or fuzz pedals. It’s raw, it’s grim, it’s not fun. Shrieking textures and feedback. I’ve never been a fan of “joyful” noise. No fucking “beeps” or computer sounds or goofy shit throughout it… noise to me is trauma art, and I have always had a taste for darker sounds. I don’t think of noise as music—the term “noise music” is fucking weird to me. I don’t try to make music and I never have. It’s more about the textural experience and the willingness to embrace complete discomfort while experiencing your surroundings. It’s improvisation / curiosity while bringing light to the areas of reality most people want to cover up or turn away from.
Seattle Noise: When I first saw you perform (December 31, 2022 at Lucky Liquor), you were performing solo. But by now you have a number of different collaborations with others . How have those evolved? You also perform under GUTTING. How is that different from NC?
NUDECONSUMER: NUDECONSUMER & GUTTING really refer to the headspace I’m in during the recording / creative path. GUTTING began as a HNW project—letting a set signal run with no interference from myself to the sound source or effects I chose to use. The initial idea for GUTTING was to sit still with sound as a grieving and healing process in memorial to my mother who had passed away (unexpectedly) during a surgery. The name GUTTING also refers to feeling completely “gutted” from that experience. It has long strayed away from a HNW project once I began bringing it out live. NUDECONSUMER is more of a concept / exploration experience depending on what inspires me at the time. The main source live in GUTTING is now a hunting knife and specific pedals, while NUDECONSUMER is typically a thick metal chain and a different mix of pedals.
XSHITCONSUMERX ( NUDECONSUMER + TAKESHITA ) - XSCX is a collaborative project with Tim Burkland (Imploding Sounds). I met Tim early on while playing some of my first shows out here. One of the greatest friends I’ve ever met in this lifetime. XSHITCONSUMERX is us getting together doing whatever we want to do. EAT SHIT AND DIE.
CRANIAL KEY ( NUDECONSUMER + CZ ) - Cranial Key is a collaborative project between Crystal (CZ) and I. This one is quite different, as we let the project form its own ideas. We constantly agree that Cranial Key has a mind of its own and the two of us are just the vessels used to unearth the sound. This project is entirely focused on mental health struggles and how the most extreme sounds seem to help us both clear and quiet our own minds.
I am also in the beginning stages of working on a new collaboration project with a brilliant artist / very close friend from Spain.
Seattle Noise: You also release stuff under OPEN ORGAN MEAT MARKET, what are your plans for that?
NUDECONSUMER: Open Organ Meat Market is the name for my visual art that doesn’t necessarily fall or fit into whichever noise project I’m working on at the time. Specifically but not limited to, Death / Kink Art. The main influences for everything I am involved in. Two subjects that are continually censored, yet a very raw and real part of human existence, which also happen to take up a large part of my past and present realities. Plans are in place for Open Organ to continue as an outsider-art outlet as well as expanding into an actual noise label / distro once I’m back in the Midwest. I want to be able to give back to others that are creating noise, not only put my own shit out.
Seattle Noise: One thing I’ve noticed is you often have visuals playing in the background when you perform. How do you go about finding footage for that and creating those?
NUDECONSUMER: I spend hours / days searching for vintage footage from a handful of sources. There is something about old documentaries that I find fascinating, from the aging visual quality of the film, to the way the audio has degraded over time. The clips I use in my videos are carefully chosen and stitched together by me depending on the project I am creating for.
Seattle Noise: Another thing I’ve noticed is you often play on punk & grind bills, which is a natural bridge between noise and other genres. Any thoughts on that?
NUDECONSUMER: I didn’t know a single local noise artist when I started NUDECONSUMER. I grew up in the punk & grind scene, both in Ohio and Seattle. My older brother played in some pretty dope bands (the [OG] Decrepit / State Of Fear / Consume / Cop on Fire… etc) and introduced me to a lot of the people making music out here. I’ve been involved and going to local shows since I decided to call Seattle “home” in 2009. Through those scenes themselves & friends / artists I have met along the way that knew how serious I was with working on this project kind of built the foundation of how NC began. Most of my first bills were punk and grind shows until I met more artists involved with actual noise out here. It is all extreme / abrasive art and I love the fact that I see more and more of those mixed shows happening in Seattle. It’s not for everyone and was never meant to be. It’s always a varied response after my sets, even on these mixed bills—but that is totally expected. To be asked to jump on these shows means a fuckin lot to me though. Thanks to everyone out here that gave me the opportunity to do so. It’s a great feeling of trying to offer something different to people who may not have experienced pure noise before.
I also—as a major side note—want to give a huge thank you to Riley (Woodland Theater) & Holly (The Pool House) for their continual support in offering true DIY spaces for these shows.
Y’all have done so fucking much, and my appreciation is endless for the time and space you both have held for noise here in the PNW.
Seattle Noise: What do you think has been the most memorable show you’ve played so far?
NUDECONSUMER: My most memorable show was a generator bill I played in PDX last year. The sound was beyond incredible and carried throughout the entire park. S/O to Dave (Quivering Lip) for setting that show up. There was a massive… like… MASSIVE group of bicyclists for some charity event or something, riding by through my set. From what I was told, the looks on their faces were priceless. Just me in the bondage mask under the bridge… in the middle of the afternoon… creating hellscapes.
Seattle Noise: Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
NUDECONSUMER: Yeah, definitely. Everything has been incredible. I get to do what I do, however I wish to do it & explore my creativity / take out aggression in a healthy way. I don’t really want anything more in life. Through these projects, I’ve also met some of the realest fucking people / artists / friends I could ever meet, and I am extremely grateful.
I think the struggle I’ve faced the most is my own personal challenge of … “This album / this show wasn’t good enough… you can do better” which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, that can be flipped into motivation to get out there and keep trying. There have been plenty of shows that I’ve been hard on myself for… and that may sound ridiculous for people that don’t make noise themselves… it’s everything to me. It’s one of the only things I truly care about. Whether you like what I do or not, I love what I do—and the presentation of myself & what I offer into the world, as small or weird as it is—matters a lot to me.
Seattle Noise: Out of all the releases you have done so far, is there one you feel stands out people should listen to first?
NUDECONSUMER: The first GUTTING release. It’s online as a self-titled album dedicated to the passing of my mother. No physicals were ever made. That album and the recording process that went into it were (and are) extremely sentimental to me. Each of the two tracks are raw recordings that do not change. It’s an album you’re meant to sit completely still, and meditate on.
Seattle Noise: Do you have any plans for the future? How can people best follow you?
NUDECONSUMER: In about a month, I’m heading back out to Ohio where I grew up. A lot has changed within myself over the last few years with what I want to do and where I am at in my life. I was a 24/7 drunk-punk in my youth and carried that out way too long. Now I’m just a sober noise-nerd that wants to head back out to the cornfields. Open Organ will continue to grow as an actual label / art archive. All of the projects I am involved in will continue as well. I have a few releases actively in progress… Crystal and I have a few final shows coming up in April with Feed Fatigue & Quivering Lip that we are both very excited for. I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing, I don’t ever see myself not making noise. This entire life is a forever project.
A farewell show will happen on Friday, April 18 at Woodland Theater with CZ, Starvation Cage (from California), Spawn, Feed Fatigue, Casey Adams, Quivering Lip, and 9-5 Hyperfuck.
Follow @open_organ.meat_market and @nudeconsumer on Instagram and listen to them on Bandcamp.