Ken of Hiddinkulturz zine has kindly let me reprint the interview he did with Warser Gate. No need for me to tell you anything else about the band - the interview should explain all that.
Please introduce yourselves! Who is in the band and what instrument(s) do you play?
Warser Gate are Keith Wardley (guitar, 4-track mixer); Rich Stokes (drums, naked runs); Kev Flynn (vocals, lyrics, networker), Dean (Bassist). Warser Gate produce very raw, organic sounds - recorded on a Fostex 4-track machine in a warehouse on a derelict cycling estate in Nottingham. 4-track sounds are then transferred to vinyl.
How did you get into the music you are now playing?
Our music is extremely varied. It has a definite unique sound from warped pop songs like Buffers Retro Sit off the album All My Hates... to crazed mayhem such as Dig Deep for Hollow Ground or the primitive Your Look Alike off All My Hates... LP. The music has developed over the years. We tend to work things out a little more immediately these days, hence the backlog of hundreds of songs yet to be mixed and released. We work in a very long improvisational way and our music has a very live sound. Something which we will continue doing for a long while to come. As long as our music is fresh and has energy, Warser Gate will exist. Once recording becomes a chore and the songs are stale will be when Warser Gate will call it a day. At the moment the interest in Warser Gate is growing and growing and we are starting to get to some of the best stuff yet. Our music is generally in-your-face - we haven't really worked at developing a particular style - it has come all too naturally. We all have very similar tastes in music, hence the chaos and disorder we put out seems to somehow hold itself together and make sense. We never make a racket for the sake of it. There is always an underlying structure. Noise for the sake of noise is not what appeals to Warser Gate.
How did you start out?
Keith and Rich met up around 1989 and began jamming and recording on the same 4-track machine we use today. Low budget. Kev Flynn joined around 1991/1992 and began putting lyrics to an already emerging Warser Gate sound. Three bassists have come and gone over the years & Dean is here to stay.
Who are your main influences?
Captain Beefheart, The Grifters, Sun City Girls, Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, Polvo, Jesus Lizard, Mission of Burma, Can, Faust, Bitch Magnet, June of 44, Shellac, Wingtip Sloat, Slint, US Maple, Mazey Fade, and loads more - this is the sort of stuff we are all listening to.
Where does the band's name, WARSER GATE originate from?
Our first practise space which we used for years was an old tailors warehouse in the lace market of Nottingham. We could never come up with a name so we decided to use the street name which was Warser Gate and it has since stuck & grown on us all.
What bands would you say are similar to the music of WARSER GATE?
I really feel that we work in a very similar way to Wingtip Sloat, we don't particularly sound like them, their whole philosophy of making music is very close to ours. I really don't think there is any one band that sounds like Warser Gate. I could pick tiny segments of loads of bands and put them together which would be a better more complete picture of where Warser Gate is coming from. Take elements of the bands previously listed would be a good starting point. Warser Gate's music I feel is very unique & original. People have been really baffled as to where to pigeonhole Warser Gate. We are always full of surprises and have many faces.
Any new releases in the pipeline?
Loads and loads of stuff planned. We have a track on a Finnish compilation CD entitled Break Down Hysterics which will be out soon. A track called The Night They Gave You Solace on a compilation 7" on the new Plastic Noise label. Other bands confirmed are 70 Gwen Party and Crocodile God. We are also doing a split 7" with the Can Can Heads later in the year on the Boing Being Finland label. Tapes out on Semi Roar label in Japan & the usual UK cassette labels. Possibly a limited album to be confirmed on a German label & maybe a track on a Ptolemaic Terrascope CD. So very busy.
You like experimenting with different recording techniques. Can you tell us more please?
This is really all Keith Wardley's department. He is always playing around and pushing his Fostex 4-track machine as much as possible. Plans for a digital 8-track machine have been mentioned. He can then clean up our sound a little but still record the same way. We record live usually in one or two takes in a warehouse. Hence the organic rough sound.
Do you play live much?
We are not the most prolific live band really due to work commitments, I know. But yeah, we play a fair few gigs a year. We played Newcastle last week and play with Pram next week. So more gigs are happening at the moment.
Who have you gigged with in the past?
Mazey Fade, Pram, Ligament, Bob Tilton. These are really the only name bands.
Any forthcoming gigs or tours?
Next gig is with Pram. We can't really commit ourselves to tours due to us all having work commitments. I'd love to play with the likes of June of 44, Jesus Lizard, Shellac... Warser Gate would relish this.
Are you happy with the progress of WARSER GATE?
Yeah, things are really picking up. I get loads and loads of mail these days. So keep it coming. Cargo distribution have taken our latest 7" Karneek Temple so that has really helped things. I' d love to put out loads more 7"ers once every two months or something. Gig wise - we should really be getting to better support regularly. So we will be working on that side of things.
Where do you see WARSER GATE going to in the future?
I' d love to play a gig in New York's East Village or at a Ptolemaic Terrascope gig. Generally we expect now to be getting better gigs with bands musically we relate more to. Releases will continue to pour out across the underground. Warser Gate I suppose are still very much an acquired taste so I don't expect Warser Gate records to be sold in the thousands. We hope to eventually mix our backlog of songs and put together more 7"ers and a couple more albums - whether this is on our own label Rafter who knows. A lot of stuff on our cassette releases are also worthy of being converted to Plastic. But yeah, generally continue to keep putting stuff out all over the globe.
You can now plug WARSER GATE, in your own words.
Warped sounds from Nottingham ... Chaos and disorder and a whole manner of wonderful sounds going on ... Freaky, garage noise-pop ... Sonic Youth fighting with The Fall over who will play the next Pixies cover on 4-track recorded instruments ... Skewed, helter skelter guitars ... Crooked execution and a pinch of sheer lunacy ... Pushed over the edge ... Cunning rhythmic misdirection ... There is something on his mind, desperate, disconcerting ... Haphazard and awkward ... Masterful guitar wail and crashing drums ... Things shouldn't make sense but does in a fucked up kinda way ... Lost soul screaming from the abyss ... Noise and collision in a structured chaotic world of sound ... Lo-fi noise clanks forever on the brink of collapse ... A world free of clique and pretension ... Warser Gate exist in a unique world of sound.
As this interview took place a few months ago, I (Kim) asked Kev if there was anything he'd like to add. This is what he said:
Dean left Warser Gate during early 1998, difficulties again with the Warser Gate ways in making music. Warser Gate is currently a threesome. Currently listening to loads of great bands from Finland - Can Can Heads, Deep Turtle, Echo Is Your Love, Jolly Jumpers, Limanarina and the fabulous Larry And The Left Handed. The Blonde Redhead new album is great. Looking forward to listening to the new Cha Cha Cohen LP.
New releases update - Can Can Heads split 7" is now available. Finnish comp CD is out, also The Night They Gave You Solace 7" comp with 70 Gwen Party, Electroscope, Crocodile God. New tapes on Semi Roar (Japan) and Bliss (UK). Our best release I think is our track Shut Eye on the comp CD with the great and second to none fanzine Ptolemaic Terrascope. New LP Endless Run also now out. In the pipeline - track on 12" comp, split 7" with Echo Is Your Love, and plans for a 3rd album. Watch this space, as they say.
Keith has now acquired an 8-track digital. RIP 4-track Fostex.
The original interview also featured a discography, but as Warser Gate are so prolific, once this zine comes out, the discography will be horribly out of date I'm sure. So for a list of all available Warser Gate releases, and contact details of all the labels, send an SAE to Kev Flynn at... (he's gone from that address and I can't recall the new one - anyone know it?)
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