What were your beginnings like?
VG: I remember walking along the shores of a tropical island one night. With the roar of a mighty whirlpool, the goddess of the Southsea rose from the briny deep and kissed me. She disappeared immediately after, leaving me to wonder if I had dreamed the whole thing. Ever since, I have felt the urge to muzak.
H: I used to work as a humble merchant when one day a mysterious woman came into my convenience store and cornered me. She kissed and touched me in a bad way.
VG: Are you sure it was a bad touch?
H: Maybe it was a good touch. It is all very blurry, but I can play the bass ever since.
J: I remember driveling and scrabbling on the floor, eating crayons. No mystery woman, though.
VG: Come to speak of our beginnings, there is this whole thing going on in music databases like RateYourMusic and Discogs because if you scroll all the way down on our website I have written "Anatomy of the Heads is a work of fiction" and so on. So people think we are The Star Wars Cantina Band or something. It is either that we don't exist at all, are created by some label, or that we are an AMERICAN BAND!
H: WE'RE AN AMERICAN BAND! WE'RE COMIN' TO YOUR TOWN / WE'LL HELP TO PARTY IT DOWN / WE'RE AN AMERICAN BAND!
J: As an Indonesian, I do enjoy an hour of Grand Funk Railroad. But when will people learn that Exotica is fantasy music?
H: So, let me get this straight. I don't exist?
J: Don't ask me, neither do I, apparently.
VG: According to the internet I do exist, but I am a music producer from L.A., because Google says so. Here, check it out!
J: It says you "composed the music for Whitney Houston’s multi-platinum seller “All The Man That I Need.”
VG: I had no idea.
J: What are you charging for the Whitney Houston special?
VG: I don't know. Like 3000 USD per minute?
H: I'd say you are overpriced.
VG: Be that as it may, but I am all the man you need. Ever.
What inspires you?
J: Dead dingoes and squirrels rotten flat on the asphalt.
VG: Where have you seen Dingoes? There are no Dingos in Indonesia as far as I know.
J: You can't see them, but you know that they are out there eating your babies.
VG: "Oy mate, dingoes ate muh baby."
H: You could have just said Australia.
J: Yeah, but where is the fun in that? I watched Evil Angels yesterday. But anyway, I am inspired by the fleetingness of life, as symbolized by roadkill left to rot. Also, there are Dingoes in Indonesia, you ignoramus.
VG: I tend to be aesthetically offended by my surroundings. That is my main inspiration for everything.
J: So your biggest inspiration is in essence yourself? That's a healthy dose of narcissism.
VG: It is.
J: Modesty is alive and well. How about you?
H: I am inspired by my cat. I like my cat, and it would be great to be a cat. Also, Dinosaur Jr.
J: Oh yeah, I listen to some of their stuff, but I have to say, the dinosaur guy dresses like a middle schooler.
VG: Okay, okay, I'll bite. Here is a list of [band], [movie] and [comic book]. If you would have asked me this question when I was a teenager, I would have given you an intricate list of obscure artists to check out. I did the whole walking-encyclopedia of music thing, but now I am married and don't care anymore. But if you want to check something out cool, search for Oriental Love, Magma (especially Merci), Furze, Martin Denny, Les Baxter, Korla Pandit and Kōenji Hyakkei.
Why do you make music?
VG: We are in it for the money. Our accountants said that we needed some deductions and here we are.
J: Speak for yourself. I make music to have some distraction from the painful sawing noises in my head.
H: Is it like a high pitch sawing or a low pitch?
J: What does it matter?
H: Just curious. Like sawing as in saw-wave or sawing as in cutting through wood.
J: More like cutting wood. It's like an involuntary audible memory.
H: And it's like always there, or does it come and go?
J: Well, sometimes…
VG: HEY, OLD PEOPLE - Focus!
H:. I grew up in a village, and you have to make your own entertainment. So making music was always something that was great to meet new people and bonding with them.
VG: I have changed my mind. We are…
J: YOU are...
VG: WE ARE inspired to make music by the uneasy fragilities of life in the face of paradise.
J: Okay, that's fair.
What's the album or track of yours you're most proud of, and why?
J: 'Bat Pig Medicine' is great. It is the 4th track on our second album, A Banishment of Bloodshed and Superstition. I played it in the kitchen for my grandma. She didn't know what to call it, but she liked it.
VG: We are the only band approved by the elderly. We are going all-in on demographic change.
H: Gimme sum o' that boomer money!
VG: For me, every release has a few nuggets that turned out most exquisitely. But as far as records go, 'Exorcisme Langsung Di Dataran Minahasa' is my favorite. It is the noise record I always wanted to make.
J: Yeah, and you cut out all the drums.
VG: Are you still going on about that?
J: Yes.
VG: Stop living in the past.
H: I like 'Copper Clad Coinage' the most. It is relaxing and meditative. It invokes the sounds of nature, and that works well with me. Also, it is kind of cool conceptually, because it is dungeon synth that takes the genre out of the castle and into the swamp/jungle level.
VG: Yeah, but the dungeon synth community largely ignored it. It is just not 'TRVE' enough.
What are your nearest plans?
VG: Oh, we got a lot of things in the oven. In September 2022 we will release an all new EP called "Unholy Spirits Light Divine". This EP will also receive a limited MC run and in March 2023 we are releasing a compilation album. In September 2023 we might be looking at a new full-length album.
J: March - September - March - September. Gee, I wonder if there is some sort of schedule behind this?
H: It's the attention economy of music streaming at work, people.
VG: Indeed. Even though it is not our style to stay relevant with singles and the like. We try giving the new thing a shot and see where it leads us.
J: Which means a new release every six months.
VG: Yeah, we were supposed to just drop in every now and then, like Dracula rising from the grave once per century…
J: - or when you call your mother once a year and your dad yells something in the background.
H: "Hey son! How's school?"
J: "Congratulations on the wedding!"
VG: Yeah, that was supposed to be us. Well, look at us now. Playing it up like the l 19-year-old's. Skateboards and everything.
J: I don't know if 19-year-olds still have skateboards
VG: What do they have?
H: I don't know... something Fortnite
J: Oh, I heard that. I think it's some kind of hoverboard.
H: Fascinating.
VG: Fascinating indeed.
What would you like to say to the world?
VG: My name is Michael van Gore and I want to tell the world that you should never flush a tampon.
J: Every time. It is such a lame joke.
VG: It is an eternal pearl of wisdom handed down from Frank Zappa to me to the reader of this fine periodical. Let's see what you got!
J: Hi, my name is Jay R. Fish and my pronouns are he/him...
VG: Argh, here we go...
J: ...and sometimes Xall/c'thalrj-zing. I am wearing my birthday suite and I want you to know that you just have to believe in yourself. Think positive thoughts and you will attract
VG: You can laugh as you want at me. Just wait until you are homeowners, you will care about your pipes.
H: Oh, Danny Boy. The pipes, the pipes are calling...
J: Poor Danny, he died in there.
H: Hi, my name is J. Heidenritch and I want you all to know to take it easy. Kick back once in a while, let the clouds pass by and enjoy life.
VG: ... So, to summon up Anatomy of the Heads want you to make life grand! Follow your dreams, build multi-generational wealth and pet the cat.
What is your favorite drink?
J: I have a Fudji please. It's brandy on the rocks with coke and a twist of lemon
H: I only drink milk, because I am straight edge.
VG: Shut up, the both of you. The only thematically correct answer, is the Chi Chi. Vodka mixed coconut milk and pineapple juice. Served with a pinch of nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. Although, I wouldn’t drink it because my wife won’t let me.
J: Any closing words?
VG: It was an honor. Thank you for having us on your blog. Check out our new EP entitled ‘Unholy Spirits Light Divine’. Visit http://www.aoftheh.com for everything related to Anatomy of the Heads. Thank you and have a good day.
***
Grab the music at
http://aoftheh.bandcamp.com/
Anatomy of the Heads - A Banishment of Bloodshed and Superstition (2021) [FULL ALBUM] HQ
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