Chatting With A Place To Bury Strangers Before They Rattle Our Eardrums

A Place to Bury Strangers have been touring the UK lately and in Subba-Cultcha's ongoing quest to see as many bands live as possible, Ellie Brown went to along to the Leeds show to see if they really are as "loud" as their reputation suggests.  Just before the gig she managed to grab a few minutes with lead singer and guitarist Oliver Ackermann.

-I have been following the band for a while and the first thing I thought is  - where did the name come from? It’s quite dark.

It’s pretty ridiculous. The old drummer was really into Aleister Crowley and it’s from a story called Aceldama, which is a place to bury strangers. When the old bass player made the first flyer he put the name on and that was the name of our band.

-I guess because the name has a sort of “darkness” about it, and I’ve read a lot of stuff about the band and people like to use the term “loud” a lot. Is there another way you’d rather describe yourself?

I mean sure, I’d rather not describe it [like that]. It’s kind of ridiculous, but we are a really loud band and it’s not really for everyone and if you’re not that into hearing something which is gunna take over your body with music then you should probably stay away. 

-So is 'Transfixiation' about keeping things as pure as possible?

It sort of became that. We were focusing on trying to capture what our live show was. We were experimenting with all these different things, like putting up 100 microphones in a room and doing painstakingly ridiculous stuff to record. Then, when we were writing songs, we’d just throw up some microphones in the room and randomly record our practices. And we found out that some of that stuff sounded so much better than what we’d worked so hard on. There was something really awesome about it; that’s when it just sounded so cool.

-Would you say, then, that the outcome was accidental?

It always is. We always have these different grand ideas for an album. [But] you have to let go because there’s always something that is better than anything you could try to create and that’s what accidentally happens. You have to be willing to let that happen. And that’s also a part of us playing really loud, there’s a sort of uncontrollable element to what’s happening.

-Is every show different then, because it comes about differently?

It totally is, but there are still similarities. We’re playing really loud, and it’s really crazy and there’s lots of distortion and feedback and all these things that we’ve created to make all these different noises. But you know you kind of, you have to adapt to different situations.

-Is there much outside influence that comes into play in Transfixiation?

Not anything necessarily in particular. Where I was living at the time in Brooklyn was where we had a music venue in our house (Death By Audio) and so you just got to see tons of awesome bands all the time. There’s definitely lots of influence from these different bands. Any time you see something inspiring it gives you a little bit of an extra push, so it’s good to get out and do as much as you can. It makes you more aware. It even humbles you and that’ something I really love about living in New York. There’s so much awesome great stuff going on around you that you feel really pathetic and small.

-So are there any bands at the minute that you feel are really important to listen out for?

There’s this band Yonatan Gat, they’re really cool, it’s a really intense, really awesome band. There’s this band, Guardian Alien, with Greg Fox from Liturgy; he’s an amazing drummer. Black Puss, with the drummer from Lightning Bolt. There’s lots of really cool bands.

-With your live shows, besides their notorious loudness, what makes a show good for you?

It can be a couple of different things. You can get lost in the whole moment of music, where it sort of takes over your body and your mind where you almost become one with the music. Also, it’s enjoyable to see people who the same out in the crowd. If any of those things happen it’s just that is really wicked and cool for me. We try to bring as much stuff as we possibly can to actually bring something to people and it requires a lot of extra effort. But I think that you know if you get this opportunity to play a show, I appreciate it when someone really brings something really awesome.

Bearing all of what I have learned in mind, my anticipation to see A Place To Bury Strangers on stage is greater than it was before, and by no means do they disappoint. As the crowd prepares to have their eardrums rattled, the venue is plunged into darkness and images of flowers are projected onto the ceiling. The band comes on stage and… flashing lights and smoke. Lights and smoke play a huge part in the show and I understand what Ackermann means when he speaks of bringing your all to a performance.

Opening with "We’ve Come So Far", it is clear that A Place To Bury Strangers aren’t going to ease their audience gently in to their extremely loud show. The display of lights and looming smoke add an element of mystery; Ackermann occasionally appears amidst the fog, thrashing about on stage. Glimpses of Gonzalez and guitarist Dion Lunadon are even more intermittent from where I experience the show.

Following on with "Now It’s Over" and "Dead Beat", from the 2009 album 'Exploding Head', A Place To Bury Strangers are definitely loud. But loud is a term that implies a lack of coherence to their sound. A Place To Bury Strangers are anything but predictable, but there is a definite refined quality to what they play, in spite of the noise and volume at which they play.

The show is its murkiest and sludgiest with ‘I Will Die’ leading on to ‘Deeper’ and then ‘Drill It Up’, from EP Onwards To The Wall. The two tracks off of 'Transfixiation' are noisier and even more ear shattering than the record allows for. It is clear that A Place To Bury Strangers, who occupy the stage somewhere in the unknown behind the fog, know how to put on a show. When it would seem that the show is coming to a close, following an extended display of red and green lights, even more smoke and fuzz, it becomes clear that it is not over.

The band regroups in amongst the crowd for a few final songs. What is already a thoroughly enjoyable show is amplified to something even more brilliant through this intimacy between crowd and band. The show is deafening loud, but it's more than that. It’s a great show not just because A Place To Bury Strangers have a sophisticated ability to manipulate sound, but also because they know how to then perform their unpredictability with such engagement.

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Words & interview by Ellie Brown

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