Last Things

Visual artist turned music video director, Zev Deans, has been responsible for some of the most iconic visuals in heavy music since 2010, including work with Portal and Behemoth, as well as mainstream artists like St. Vincent. He has also done film restoration work with the HR Giger estate, and fabrication work for Matthew Barney. Zev is a deeply respected and beloved fixture in my corner of culture.

Zev and I talk about gentlemen duels, Polish catacombs, deepfakes, the role of AI in his recent work, the legacy of Kenneth Anger, and some upcoming projects that he's a bit skittish about detailing.

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Jesse Moynihan is a cartoonist, storyboard artist, and writer who has worked on Adventure Time, Midnight Gospel and his own critically acclaimed graphic novel series, Forming. Our conversation gets into Jesse's roots in the Philadelphia experimental music scene, the connection of prog rock to animation, the meaning of visual noise, Ai anxiety in art and music, the wackness of '00s New Atheism, and Jesse's newest personal project, Jesus 2.

👉 Many thanks to my patrons! Consider becoming one here: https://www.patreon.com/lastthingspodcast

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Colin Marston is a prolific multi-instrumentalist and record producer, who has been a vital fixture in the worlds of metal and experimental music since the 00s. Between his bands Krallice, Behold...the Arctopus, and Dysrhythmia, his studio, Menegroth the Thousand Caves, his numerous solo projects and collaborations, and his membership of the reunion line-up of tech-death legends Gorguts, his body of work is immense and many-tentacled. Colin joins me to talk about Gorguts' 1998 avant-garde masterpiece, 'Obscura', regarded as one of the most important records in the history of death metal.

👉 Many thanks to my patrons! Consider becoming one here: https://www.patreon.com/lastthingspodcast

👉 If you'd like to join my Discord server, you can request an invitation here: https://www.charlielooker.com/join

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'The Believer' (2001) is Ryan Gosling's first movie, about a neo-Nazi who's secretly Jewish. It sounds like a Chappelle sketch, but it's a truly deep meditation on both anti- and philo-semitism. Billy Zane plays a Yarvin-esque highbrow reactionary hottie. Jeremiah and I have been obsessed with this film for years. Our discussion takes us through a lesser-known midrash on Isaac vs Jesus, the incomprehensible vs the idiotic, questioning as mystical practice, Marxism, and nothingness-without-end.

Many thanks to my patrons! Consider becoming one here: https://www.patreon.com/lastthingspodcast

If you'd like to join my Discord server, you can request an invitation here: https://www.charlielooker.com/join

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Peter Evans is recognized as one of the world's leading voices on the trumpet, a true innovator on the instrument, as well as an important composer. He's worked with experimental luminaries including John Zorn, Brian Ferneyhough, and Kanye West, and his own music has been performed around the globe to great acclaim. We talk about Peter's wild new compositions for MIDI piano, AI anxiety, Bach, Onlyfans, the African clave rhythm, and defending Truth and Beauty.

Check out Peter's music here

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Dylan Reznick is a cloud-rap pioneer, known for his projects FRIENDZONE and Chlorine Mist, as well as his beats and production for A$AP Rocky, Main Attrakionz, Yung Lean, and Mykki Blanco. I've known Dylan since his early days in the amazing weirdo noise crew Religious Girls.

We talk about early '10s micro-genres, the collapse of the music press, AI, chopping up vocals, and Dylan's fantastic brand new releases under his Birthplace moniker.

M Lamar, the incomparable composer, artist, operatic countertenor, coiner of the term "negrogothic", good friend, and long-time collaborator of mine, graces the live stream to discuss Diamanda Galas' 1990 live record, 'Plague Mass'. Lamar's work spans opera, metal, performance, video, sculpture and installation to craft sprawling narratives of radical becomings.

We talk about mourning, the Devil, how Lamar got to know Diamanda, and questions about the definition of the word "avant garde" This stream was our first collaboration since our short-lived 2018 podcast, 'Fluid Exchange'!

Karl D'Silva is a fascinating figure in the UK underground music scene. His dark electronic pop songs are both subtly slippery and crushingly direct, and he's blessed with the kind of powerhouse singing voice that you just have to hear to believe. He's also prolific as a saxophonist and collaborator in far more overtly experimental contexts, working with Helm, VANISHING, Rian Treanor, Ex-Easter Island Head, and a million others.

Here, Karl and I talk a lot about the voice: finding one's own, overcoming shame, and some of Karl's unusual warm-ups and recording techniques. We also talk about Glenn Branca, early industrial music, and the unique realm of the Northern UK.

Tyondai Braxton is a world-renowned composer of orchestral and electronic music, whose body of work has cut across minimalism, dance music, prog rock, film scores, and improvisation. From his accolades as a member of the band Battles in the 00s, to his recent appointment as a professor at Princeton, Ty has remained a brilliant maverick, as well as a truly stand-up person. We talk about the conceptual and compositional foundations of Ty's crushing new orchestral record, 'Telekinesis', his evolution as an artist, and what it means to experience awe.

Se'nam Palmer describes himself as a 29-year-old black person, musician and faux-losopher. His main band is Crispin Wah. He came by to talk about Kendrick Lamar's 2015 chart-topper, 'To Pimp a Butterfly', which takes us through issues of inner conflict, hoteps, and the joys of being a session musician.