We spoke with Electronic/Experimental artist Chuck W. about his inspirations as an artist, his latest release, the Electronic Curiosity Collective, and more. Read the full interview below.
When did you start making music and what inspired you to pursue it more seriously?
I actually just passed the anniversary of when my Mother got me started on my First Drum Kit at the age of eight. It’s rough trying to peg that year down. I’m going to say I’ve been a Drummer for … 24 years. That’s the number I was looking for.
She was a failed Musician herself, we were poor, Elementary School Band was close to asking Students what instrument they wanted to play going on past that year soon and she knew she couldn’t afford the $250 for the Sax mouthpiece she knew I had my eye on. Knowing the impending expense, nothing stopped her from pulling to the side of the road and literally yanking my first set from the garbage. The truck to haul it away was around the block.
From there, she got me lessons and ideas of quitting were met with harsh Jewish Mom guilt the likes no one should ever be forced to endure. It was honestly easier to just practice, haha.
It took me a few years to get going, I’ll admit. Plenty of time came and went during the timeframe when I could still have been deemed a child prodigy. I want to say around 13(?) I got my first guitar. The dichotomy between the instruments clued me in to how vast a universe this ‘music’ thing was now, I was hooked. I wanted to know all of it. As much as possible.
We love your latest project ‘Heavy Metal Dust Bunny Cynicism.’ What inspired you to create it’?
A desire to strip things down to a more simplistic level led to what we saw as this EP manifest. Really, I grew weary of my own bullshit quickly. I’m unsure if you know but Small World (released February 2020) is somewhat disturbing if you look into the art and backstory I put to paper for it. This is was my own frustration and tribulations boiling out from a real terrible car wreck I was in, nearly a year to the day now, that permanently damaged my right arm. The anger was just seething, anxious and uncertain.
It only took me six weeks to get sick of said ‘Debbie Downer’ material. I was still really injured at this point, don’t get me wrong. However, friends were quick with suggestions. The Arturia V7 Collection went on masssssive discount one week and I just got it, to hell with the money. And, I’ll be god damned –
That SoftSynth was the most fun I had writing in forever. One day I looked up from my Project Screen in Logic and said, “Those are five solid tracks. Haven’t done an EP before. I’m doing an EP!” Then, before I could talk myself out of it, I shipped the files to my good buddy, confidant, Canadian and Engineer, Dan Fur (@DanFurMusic). Once in the hands of the wizard they don’t come back unfinished, so I’d made quite a snap decision that I hope I genuinely believed in. This better fucking be good, I told myself over and over. So, yeah! That’s the story behind ‘Heavy Metal Dust Bunny Cynicism’ – Write fast, don’t think and have a good Engineer always on standby.
What’s the background behind the name ‘Heavy Metal Dust Bunny Cynicism’?
Honestly, shower thought. I put five random words together and confirmed with my Wife, yes, this is absolutely the best Record name …. Ever, correct? I went from there, haha.
It sounded as though it was a bit of a darker departure from your last album Small World. Could you tell us about your growth since the last project and if you took a different approach?
Actually, quite the opposite, but the question shows you’re paying attention and I appreciate that! Before ever even thinking of obtaining the Arturia Collection something inside me said ‘Dust Bunny’ needed to be my ‘happy record.’
Did I achieve this? I’m still unsure, since naturally some of that haunting, droning, spaced out vibe inevitably pulses brain to fingers with time. It’s just how I play; where my hands feel comfortable approaching the Machines. Naturally, some of the dour nature of Small World leaked into Heavy Metal Dust Bunny Cynicism. I think I kept my negative tendencies at bay enough, though, that this is some of my most generally approachable material as a solo artist yet.
What is the Electronic Curiosity Collective and how did it come about?
The Electronic Curiosity Collective is a grouping of like-minded (and for the most part, not entirely) electronic musicians, seeking a safe space to convene and grow. Our literal only rule is the Golden one. Break that and you’re out.
As far as the Genesis of the Group – I am Co-Founder, along with my dearly departed best buddy and fellow Synth-Head, Casey Platt (AKA Shelfblack). The both of us are/were just the type to wish to help every single other Musician possible with no conditions, no money, no conditions, just growth. His desire towards this was striking and guides how I speak with my peers daily.
We really got rolling after he began to troll me a bit based off a reddit post, where I said, “Hey, I’m a Musician looking to share resources and chat – Shall we get together online somehow?” In that time, I started a few failed Discord channels which he always lurked in but didn’t speak much, so I was becoming aware some weirdo was hanging about.
Finally, after we actually spoke with one another, we tried Slack. It failed like the rest but finally we were banging around Instagram, making enough noise, that people were starting to enjoy the notion of a friendly collective and following our lead to wherever we went next. In a hurried fashion, we slapped up a Discord server, just to have somewhere to fulfill the promised of ‘having somewhere to chat’ and that is still our main haunt to this day. Same Server and all.
Casey left us shortly before the release of Small World and things will never be the same, but the Electronic Curiosity Collective forges on, if for no other reason than out of respect to his memory.
What can our followers do to support you?
That is a very kind and thought-provoking question! Not one I can say I consider all too often. It’s always how may I support X? So, thank you for asking. We’ve recently re-imagined the idea of the Electronic Curiosity Collective into a Bandcamp Label that’s cruising along. If any Roster members have releases forthcoming at the time of this publication whom you’d enjoy, I’d encourage you to buy directly from them via Bandcamp. It is the Artists’ decision as far as what to do with their money, but we’re finding more and more that want to simply donate their proceeds back into what we’re doing and, at the end of the day, what can induce a smile ear-to-ear more than hearing that?
Aside from that, just come chat! I love helping other artists, discussing music and helping you further your own artistry. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll do my damndest to find you one! Thanks for your time and hearing me out here today, Anderson. This was refreshing and interesting for me to view my material from this perspective. Be well!
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