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Corpus Hermeticum

The KindaMuzik gang was fed up with doing it straight up. We went down under, to New Zealand. If a question mark appears before your eyes, then it's time to check out the swirling noise produced by bands like Dead C, This Kind Of Punishment and Plagal Grind. We picked BRUCE RUSSELL of the amazing Dead C and also headman of Corpus Hermeticum, a recordlabel focusing on all sounds experimental and improvisational.

Tekst: Nathalie Claeys

Publicatiedatum: 28 november 1999

Before you started Corpus Hermeticum, you ran the X-Pressway cassette label. Why did you stop that label and start up the current label?
"Tax reasons (Xway was 'black', no one paid any tax), meant that if I wanted to make any money, I had to start something new, also Xway was a non-profit collective effort. I wanted to do something myself, without answering to anyone, and making some money for me and my family. I felt it was wrong to keep using the name (and profit from it) if the new label was going to do something quite different."

If I remember well you named the X-Pressway label after the Sonic Youth song 'Expressway To Your Skull'. But can you tell us the story behind the Corpus Hermeticum name?
"I was reading a lot of books about Renaissance Neo-platonism, and found that this collection of books called the Corpus Hermeticum exerted a huge influence over European philosophy and theology for a very long time, while still being completely misunderstood and misdated by about copyright years. That amused me, also the fact that they were ascribed to Hermes Trismegistus, who is associated with Thoth, the inventor of heiroglyphics, which seemed very pleasingly esoteric and also indicative of confusion of meaning and language, which links in with the sort of 'music' on the label."

For the ignorami, can you put into words what they can expect to hear if they put an Corpus Hermeticum released CD in their stereo?
"Many people just say...'what's that awful racket?'. The label releases mainly live-recorded improvised noise made with electric, acoustic and electronic instruments. Everything is 'home' recorded, so no 'slick' sounds, just true sounds."

Are there parallels with X-Pressway label?
"Both co-ordinated by me, and based in New Zealand, and involving some of the same people. Otherwise not really. Both aiming to release music of uncompromising quality made by artists who love the stuff themselves. Both pretty near the fringes of what is acceptable in their own spheres of music, I guess - hcorp more so!"

Why did you start up Corpus Hermeticum? Your label is like the complete opposite of Flying Nun. Is it in some ways trying to make a point, that lo-fi noise and improvisation or whatever is also part of New Zealand?
"Hcorp has no releationship to Flying Nun. I certainly never measure what I do against them. However, you are right, I am trying to reveal an otherwise under-heard part of the music scene here, I guess, though hcorp is much more international than either Xway or F Nun, in that a fair share of the artists are from the USA, Norway, UK, where-ever. I started the label to release my own stuff, but found that if I was to run it for a profit (and for a time 3 years ago it was my main source of income), I had to release other stuff as well."

There is no denying the artwork is a big part of the record. Are the simple use of colours a way of keeping the costs as low as possible. Or is it mainly to make an artistic point?
"Both. The covers are designed to look good. The card packet was necessary because I hate jewel boxes. It is fairly cheap to print and also light, which reduces shipping costs. But the aesthetic is the main thing. I love deigning and laying out cover art, seeing the stuff printed up in multiple editions is every bit as appealing as producing the music. I make no secret of that!"

Is it a conscious decision to torture the fans by releasing the records in limited editions?
"Really I don't. The few lathe-cut singles and cassettes have been limited, I agree. But the CDs are not. I make as many as I can sell, which is usually 500-1000. I try to distribute as widely as I can. I want them to go everywhere, and I don't limit numbers to push up prices or whatever, my prices are reasonable."

On what basis do you decide what gets released and what not? Are there rules in the Corpus Hermeticum handbook or do you just follow your own taste?
"Both. My own taste is the main determinant, but I also aim to release stuff that somehow 'goes' with the overall shape of the label. I don't release albums with proper 'songs', though the Shadow Ring album comes close. I don't release stuff recorded in proper studios, and I prefer it to be as 'difficult' and preferably improvised as possible."

Your X-Pressway label was mentioned in the Spin Guide, there was a big Dead C-article in Wire, Thurston Moore released a record on your label,... The list goes on and on. Do people in the States and Europe have a distorted view on the noise rock scene in New Zealand?
"I have no real idea if their view is distorted. I think most people are aware that there is a small scene here, and it is not fully documented. That said, some things get a lot of attention overseas, as you point out. These things are relatively well known outside of NZ. This is not 'distorted', its just how things are."

You have total control over the records you release. Which must be a blessing in some ways. But how viable is the record label. Having Thurston Moore and Flying Saucer Attack releasing records must have helped tons.
"Yes, total control makes my life easier, I call the shots. Those high profile releases have helped make many more people aware of the label and have made money which has made other releases possible. The label is viable but will never really make me a living, I think. There is a ceiling beyond which this sort of stuff does not sell. I learnt that with the Dead C. It is easier now I know this and can plan with that in mind."

The record label seems to be a hobby, if I remember well. Do you single-handedly run the label? If it is indeed a hobby, in what field do you work professionally?
"I pretty much do everything, though my wife does lend a hand with stuff and sometimes my other friends help put CDs in sleeves and so on. I also have an accountant! I work as a radio sound archivist for public (state) radio in NZ. I've been an archivist for 11 years."

How much is Internet a part of Corpus Hermeticum?
"Having the catalogue online helps attract new shoppers. I also use email a lot for doing business and the newsgroups are a great way to advertise new products and to promote understanding of what we are about. I think there is much potential for independent musicians and labels to use this medium to undercut the industry-driven traditional print media. Obviously the future for direct selling is o the internet and at some point I may start doing financial transactions that way, at present I don't want to get into it."

» Visit Corpus Hermeticum's website

http://www.kindamuzik.net/label/709/corpus-hermeticum/519/
Meer op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/709