Clockdva Interview Culture Asylum Magazine Los Angeles 2010 In the late 70s around 1978/1979 a project like no other orchestrated by Adi Newton came into being and it was called Clock DVA. This project was unlike any other and was so original that it got people’s attention. Without disclosing to much because that would take away from the interview it appears that Clock DVA has made their return and working on new material. Being that Clock DVA was a favorite project of mine I decided to contact Adi Newton and Jane Newton and ask them about the return of Clock DVA, the new CD, and the changes in today’s sub cultured scene. This is the interview that will blow all others out of the water. Readers, Ladies and gentlemen I give to you the interview with Clock DVA.
Buried Dreams and Visionary Schemes Brought To You By Clock DVA
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1.CAM: First of all I want to thank you for talking with us and say I personally loved all your work. Officially how did the inception of Clock DVA come into being? Adi Newton. - CLOCKDVA immerged from the ashes of the Electronic Trio The Future an electronic Trio Comprising of Myself = Vocals Tapes, Loops & Treatments, Ian Craig Marsh Synthesizer and Martyn Ware Synthesizer. Due to what was a clash of ideas , one group can not contain 2 lead personalities and Martyn Ware had a very strong idea as to the direction he wanted to take and I had mine. Martyn and Ian went on to form The Human League, one need only to look at The Human leagues Gordon’s Gin theme and Rock and Roll pt.II to understand the commercial pop orientation that was their orientation, obviously not mine. The clash of lead personalities I believe was also the reason why the Human League split into B.E.F / Heaven 17 and Phil Oakey then went on to produce the successful Album DARE a great commercial success which again I believe Martyn had strove to achieve. I on the other hand had no desire to develop pop music, my intension was always to go beyond the formats on convention and try to create something new, something outside of orthodoxy to challenge myself, to stretch the frontiers and so l formed my own group ClockDVA with founding partner Steven J Turner aka Jud. After the pure and synthetic sound of the future, Mine and Juds intension was to create a music of a different order, a visceral and harder electronic music that would confront the audience both psychically and mentaly and to challenge their perceptions ,a powerful barrage of sound and visuals that would wake up the complacency of their mind. Something that would go on in the subconscious that would expand and grow and change the way they would think about music.
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2.CAM: Who were the original members of Clock DVA?
JUD Steven J Turner RIP
Adi Newton -The original core was myself and Steven J Turner aka Jud who sadly deceased Sept 1981 due to an accidental drugs OD. We began by developing our experimental material and recording all of our sound experiments using chance as a Magickal process to build up a large archive of recordings. I had some E.M.S synthesizers and processors and about 6 / 7 reel to reels then, some where used as loop playback devices the other tape recorders where used as just tape playback also I used a main Open Reel as a master recorder, all of these archival recordings have been digitally transferred and archived and a collection of this material has been edited and digitally mastered and will be released on the DVA MUTE CD Album “Horology” which are the first ClockDVA recordings ,our original sound was very electronic nearer to Buried Dreams with shades of early electronic pioneers such as John Cage ,Pierre Schaefer, Stockhausen than the first “official” release “White Souls in Black Suits “(Industrial records 1980) which many mistakenly believe to be the first sound and release of DVA again most people are only aware of DVA from The White Souls / Thirst period and so are not aware of the original Electronic beginnings,(This will be fully addressed in the extensive inner sleeve Booket that will accompany the Audio content of the Horology CD due for release 1 st part of JAN 2011, we hope that every box is ticked at this time as it has been a long process as there were many III
aspects to consider & produce ,Jane and I have worked intensely over many years on new designs and digital transference and mastering of rare material on the verge of deteriorating .There was only a very limited amount of material released during the early period of 77 to 79 theses where private cassette editions produced by DVA and only very few people heard that material, One very Notable and supportive individual was Jhonn Balance of Coil another very creative and talented individual sadly not with us any longer ,a true Friend who will always be greatly missed and fondly remembered, In fact the name Coil was the name of an early DVA track, one day Jhonn wrote to me asking if I had any objection for him to use the name of the track for his new group project off course I was happy for him to use it and the rest is history, Coil was born ,I still have all the extensive and hand written communications Johnn wrote to me over the many years . Johnn was always a great supporter of myself and DVA and we spoke many times of a collaboration unfortunately time devoured our chances a rare and wondrous opportunity that death took with it but more so a beautiful, unique and talented man. During the early period we auditioned numerous individuals but they proved to be unsuitable in many ways, The third real member of DVA was D J TYME AKA David James Hammond ,Guitar and Treatments, David was and is a great guitarist he really was an important element in the early DVA, a number of the recordings featuring David will be on the Album CD “Horology” David was also a key contributor to “Whit Souls in Black Suits ,and the Tracks “4 Hours” and “Blue Tone” on the Album “Thirst” but his credit for these two tracks has gone unrecognized, I am currently readdressing this situation as this credit is due concerning his contribution to those works. Simon Kemp was brought in to do Electronic Rhythms but also provided some synthesizer work on some of the early DVA period recordings again the details and specifics of these will be fully detailed in the Booklet within “Horology” This Line up was the first DVA group per say, as technically Jud and I where a Duo and consequently all additional members where invited into the group format. Myself and Jud where The DVA core founders who set the precedent of all DVA ideas then and progressively .These details and history will be further expanded and documented on in the 120 page book that comes with the DVA MUTE BOX SET currently being finalized. (It is unfortunate that is has become necessary to inform the DVA/TAGC appreciators that there is “a nest” of EX -members who have and are being very difficult to deal with and who have tried to selfishly sabotage the Mute release with unfounded & invented claims stemming from ego, resentment and the need to hide actions and inventions deliberately used for what can only be described as despicable activities that they were behind. May I warn readers here that there are two CDS out there that have been released, one an unsanctioned Buried Dreams on NXT ERA and the fabricated TAGC album on Die Stadt entitled Psychoegoautocratical Auditory Physiogomy Delineated this CD is a complete invention claiming to be an actual TAGC release in reality it was instigated by disgraced former TAGC member Robert Baker and one time associate Andrew McKenzie (Hafler trio) being the culprits behind its creation and release, it is beyond what most people would ever conceive even consider,to deliberately exploit another artists original creation by alluding to be that creation in order to release what is essentially some of
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Andrew Mackenzie’s weak recordings . There is also the systematic spreading of disinformation and “stories” that need and will to be addressed publicly in future to obliterate all fabrications once and for all.
3.CAM: Your release Buried Dreams which incidentally was a masterpiece in my book. Was that a conceptual release and if so what was the concept behind it?
Adi Newton.- As I said in the beginning of my involvement in music my aim was to break down the boundaries, to experiment with form and content re invent re-evaluate the possibilities to create new forms I was driven by a desire primary as a painter to express that which was unseen as well as that which could be seen, this has always been the central idea that I follow and before I began work on Buried Dreams circa 1987 I was working within the TAGC project (see Question 20. ) using the first tentative digital computer sampling systems ,experimenting with the possibility’s that this new technology was opening, one of the tracks I was developing was a piece that later Developed into The Hacker which at that stage I entitled “Diamond Bullet” a reference made by Kurtz’s (Marlon Brando’s characters monologue in Francis Ford Coppola’s
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Film “Apocalypse Now� ) this was used as a sample in the track , however this was superseded as I felt it was limiting in its context, and a little to obvious. I was looking for more sophisticated and symbolic analogous and connective elements. What interested me was the use of sampling atmospheric elements and utilizing them with precision and control in order to build and create a tangible feeling and a sonic audio, coupled with occult systems of esoteric philosophy and Alchemy, exploring the darker aspects of the psychological and psychosexual realms of the Human Psyche. I alone was researching and reading a lot of material ranging from DeSade / Bataille / Dr Iwan Bloch / Rabelais, Lautreamont, Artaud ,I was also archiving source material and writing, arranging the lyrical content and vocalization which is vital to the process of creating the feel and essence of the constructed work this provides the conceptual basis and gives it its content and form. I think in light of the way certain former members are inventing and over elaborating their true role and actual input into Buried Dreams and other albums its important to state for the record my obvious (for those who know me and the history of DVA/TAGC) core role. I am not in any way trying to undermine P. Browse or D. Dennis contribution but establishing the true ratio and depth of that contributory relationship. You see neither P.Browse nor D.Dennis where involved or contributed to the conceptualization, research or sample finding that resulted in the unique sound and depth of Buried Dreams, their roles where purely technical in the process and could have been replaced by anyone, that’s why they can not speak about the inner soul of DVA only their roles as musicians on the particular albums they where involved with. You see a track like The Hacker refers to ancient arcane systems as well as current day technologies. The Statement I wrote prior to the release of Buried Dreams "We envisage a paradoxical marriage between the beautiful and the diseased, occult and technology" Adi Newton ClockDVA Publicity Document 1988. summarizes what I alone envisaged and researched for Buried Dreams, The very title itself relates to the idea of the hidden or unseen, the notion of submerged or sub-conscious desires, which tie into my long time interest in De Sade and his philosophical and anthropological theories I think that De Sade has been greatly misunderstood and misinterpreted, De Sade never actually advocated sadistic action but employed it as a literary devise to extend the dimensions of his philosophical concepts. Two of his most famous novels, Justine Ou Les Malheurs de la Vertu (1788) and Juliette Ou Les Prosperites du Vice (1797) are based on anti-heroines and in this respect he was one of the first to place a woman in a predominate sexual role. It is quite interesting to note that only quite recently De Sade has been accepted in French academies as part of philosophical studies, having been banned and denied his status for 170 years or thereabouts.
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De Sade is also the first existential philosopher. This can be seen clearly in his Dialogue Entre un Pretre et us Moribund(1782) And there can be little doubt on his influence on the surrealist movement. Appolinaire re-published and brought about a new awareness and appraisal of De Sade very early on in the beginnings of the surrealist movement. Coincidentally it was also Appollinaire who coined the term surreality.Stevenson's Jekyll and Hyde could be seen in the light of right/left brain experiments, Freuds ego/id etc. Sexuality also within the context of horror is a very large subject and particularly in Valerian Borowczyk's "Doctor Jekyll et les Femmes", where the full sexuality of Hyde is unleashed in a series of psycho-sexual murders, perpetrated against men, women and children. This particular film is probably the finest example of pure derangement of the senses, and so is a fulfilment of the DeSadian surrealist raison d'etre. I think it is difficult and also dangerous to categorise work of Lautreamonts or J.K. Huysmans , merely as sadistic, satanic,horror, when really they encompass diverse and complex symbolic metaphysics. I have always felt a great affinity to this area from an early age. I can remember being interested in any film within this category. Films like Robert Wise's 'The Haunting' were very influential upon me at an early age, this particular films contains strong psychological, as well as visual and sonic effects that create an intense atmosphere within the story. Is Buried Dreams Industrial Music? There was mention earlier of being too closed in ones thinking, limiting oneself in one dimensional levels. Rabelais is an early influence, I think a number of things have all been within me and Rabelais got to the marrow of them, one of the first great thinkers and visionaries. Lautreamont we find also to be an unending source of inspiration, the fact that he only wrote two pieces, one for the exploration of extreme sensations and one against in the form of 'Poesies' (1868) and his mysterious death/life leads one to a mystery that is always fascinating. Einstein and Ballard on the opposite end, yet represent extremes again in thought. Einstein’s magnetic field theory is still very ahead of today's exploration of time travel theorem; in fact Einstein himself deemed the theory too dangerous and abandoned it voluntarily so as not to unleash its power. Ballard's 'Atrocity Exhibition' is I would say, one of the ultimate books, a synthesis of quantum-surrealist occult-pataphysical and psychosexual visions/concepts since kraaft-Ebbings 'Psychopathia Sexualis' . It has always been my own personal inner interest, cerebral, emotional direction that has lead to the creation of all past DVA/TAGC releases.
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4.CAM: Each release such as Thirst, White Souls In Black Suits, Advantage, Buried Dreams, and Man –Amplified were very different from each other what influences did you draw from for these releases?
White Souls Booklet Industrial Rec 1980 White Souls in Black Suits Adi Newton. - The extract from white Souls below gives a good indication of the areas of interest and ideas. Jud and I were inspired by and that I tried to encapsulate in White Souls. The DADA & Surrealist movements which gave rise to many of my initial interests, great artists and works such a those Vache,Craven,Appollinaire,Jarry,Duchamp,Man Ray, although obviously these influences and their philosophy began much earlier than our awareness Jud and I had
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an innate understanding of the conceptual desire to want to create an Anti Art of contradictory elements. This conflict of opposites as expressed in Alchemy has always been a focus of attention and has continuously been carried through into my ideas and works throughout the many years. “Balance between heaven and hell, a new unity combining chance end design. We have adopted chance, the voice of the unconscious - the soul, if you like - as a protest against the rigidity of straight line thinking. We are ready to embrace, or be embraced by the unconscious. All this grew out of the true. A situation of conflict. This was the reality In which we worked. Press cutting poems fluttering scraps of paper. And tzara received chaos with open arms, they complimented each other, like belief and unbelief; they belonged together like good and evil, art and anti art.” Cut up by Adi Newton 1978
original 4 Hours Sleeve by Neville Brody Thirst Adi Newton- I think with Thirst I was attempting to use the format of the Song to create something new with the standard, the recognizable form of the song Verse / chorus / mid break etc with the unfamiliar and surreal lyrical content,”4 Hours “is a good example, the use of a subconscious nightmarish Lynch like scenarios, juxtapositions of image thrown into the realm of convention, a subversion of that pattern we are all
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familiar with. We used a conventional line up of instruments but pushing them to do things outside of there perceived role. Each track on the album treats a specific theme or idea “White Cell� is concerned with the Ideas and life of De Sade an exploration of the restriction of the will that De Sade found himself within, as the distance from his ideal and the restrictions the philosophical and religious morality of societies conventions forced upon him. In the end his will was completely ignored because it went beyond that which could be understood by his generation, and even now many fail to grasp his humanist insight. Thirst is about that struggle that conflict between what we are told we are, and the true nature of what we can become, again the instrumentation is conventional but it is stretched and distorted providing that edge, the convention of the song format is there but is subverted and distorted.
Still from Resistance (Advantage ) Peter Anderson
ADVANTAGE Adi Newton- With Advantage I made a mistake in that I wanted to create an album that would be more accessible to a larger audience, and I involved musicians who desired
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this kind of fame and image and who in retrospect I would never have invited into my work apart from Nick Sanderson who sadly passed away last year. Through this loss of touch with the central core of my values and interests this desire to produce something “sophisticated” overtook my deeper instincts, at a cost. At that time I had become interested in the use of Jazz and the area of Noir and hard boiled crime fiction such as Jim Thomson the film works of Orson Wells “Touch of Evil” etc and the more obscure works of Noir writers such as Cornell Woolridge. I do think the tracks Tortured Heroine, Beautiful losers, Eternity in Paris, Dark Encounter work well they convey the atmosphere I wanted to achieve, but overall for me it is a flawed production in many ways and brought in parasitical, ego led personalities into my work as the albums commercial premise drew in such characters and diluted my sense of choice and value.
Buried Dreams Adi Newton - I have covered the philosophical and creative themes and intensions for Buried Dreams in question 3 above
El Lissitzky
Man-Amplified
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Adi Newton –The central theme is one of man-machine symbiosis the cybernetics of spirit and technology, mans relationship with science, art and the mechanistic extension of self, again the themes of going beyond our convention of the imposed limits that nature as placed upon us. Human kind’s attempts to create and become a technological god against the cost of our own nature, a Faustian deal that can take away much more than we believe it gives. Man Amplified uses the precision of the audio to create a synthetic and organic sound chemistry, a contradiction in form but ultimately one we are moving towards. Jane Radion Newton – Humanity and its Social structure is fastly becoming a Ballardian scenario, with the growth of myspace,facebook we are literally losing the touch of one another, will we begin to hate the smell of another human being I wonder. The instinctual and non-verbal communication that passes between us unconsciously will be lost, eye contact, soul contact. The very meaning of our vocabulary is being undermined and subverted to have empty meaning, the word “friend” now becoming a description of an anonymous profile stranger,” in the beginning was the word”. There has to be an inner consciousness evolution before humanity can use any technological advancement with true spiritual and emotional intelligence, if this change does not occur we are only enabling a crippled sleep-walking psyche to do and cause more damage to itself than any possible good.
5.CAM: What prompt you to return after such a long hiatus? JANE RADION NEWTON The Desire to try to create something new, something which is challenging, it is the experiment that is interesting, the process of andragogy that gives us a sense of discovery. If we are not being stretched or challenged or live by our proclamations, our intent, then we remain the same, static. We wanted to explore beyond ourselves, and by going beyond the limitations we set ourselves to develop and expand our possibilities and enlarge our arena of knowledge and by this process evolve further. We were never “away” but experiencing another more essential part of creativity and inner growth that is not a part of a “production line” release system, is this how creativity is judged ?. We both practice with occult,Magickal systems and these are organic,psychological,emotional processes that involve many paths, they are part of being, living and of a Becoming. DVA/TAGC is a vehicle in which we create and express those ideas, discoveries and belief, it is part of a larger ALL a Magickal description of a cosmic unity and consciousness, and it is of this becoming which we express through our research, practice and exploration of these realms. TAGC/DVA being sound and visual mediums but again we also employ other more private
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Magickal processes which are not of the “stage” and of ego therefore not being merely musicians only involved in the values of music/album production our work being more integral to our inner and outer life we cannot be judged from this shallow, limited “album Sell” mind set, we set ourselves apart from this and hope that those with greater understanding of higher values know that work which contains depth and quality does not emerge from constant album releases.
6.CAM: What philosophies or ideals do you believe in and does it come across in your music?
Alistair Crowley by Austin Osman Spare
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The idea of True will as expounded by Crowley and in many ways De Sade as they both where concerned by mans true nature in that the will is central and that we should follow our desires, our dreams our inner psyche, but this is not a simple act and involves the uncovering and discovery of the true self which is a raw and difficult path. Other great thinkers have come to similar ideas and referred to this journey in different ways, as self motivation, or positive psychology. What we are, what is born within us, the masses, the majority never awake being sleepwalkers of life and their actions as P.D.Ouspensky and G.I. Gurdgieff explored. So To try and encapsulate all our beliefs here would be impossible within the context of a simple answer but we do expound our believes with more descriptive quality within our work and we can not say there is one single philosophical theory or ideal as there are many thinkers and magus who have expounded great truths as previously mentioned and quoted such as Francois Rabelaise, Marcel Duchamp Albert Camus ,Fredrick Nietzsche,Alister Crowley, De Sade ,Antonin Artaud,George Bataille, to name but a very few. Jane Radion Newton. – You could say that one mouth is not enough to speak of all worlds. Adi Newton – Ahhh Jane’s philosophical intelligence. “Great is the mind which rejoices in the greatness of other minds. Max Heindel's tribute to the memory and work of Blavatsky and her Masters is a truly beautiful gesture in a world little given, alas, to such gentle impulses.”~ Manly P. Hall.
JANE RADION NEWTON – We practice Magikal systems,techniques be they ritual, sigil or psychological and emotional,utilizing the work of Austin Osman Spare, Crowley, Wilhelm Reich,Gurdjieff and P.D Ouspensky to aid and expand consciousness, becoming more receptive to other sub-atomic realms within and without “ as above so below”. A state of BECOMING. All our work, research and philosophy ultimately lead’s back to the self, enabling inner growth and cosmic awareness. I am extremely wary and watchful when meeting other artists within this field who I see use The Great Work as an aesthetic, a vehicle to promote only themselves outwardly and appeal to a particular buying audience, alchemically speaking “all that glitters” is not the gold. The only evidence of true intent and “success”! within this field is to look for the depth of nature, personality and spiritual awareness of the particular artist(s) behind the work promoted under the banner of Magick and the many various, labels and paths that lead from it. Is the work, imagery or extensive occult terminology used a “cd cover philosophy” a true extension of that
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artists inner being?, is the work = working for them on deep integral levels as it should be, this is the true evidence of creative, inner integrity, one should always be looking for what an artist IS not what they promote and try to sell through image and association. There are many “Wizards of Oz� hiding behind drapes of pretence.
7.CAM: We know your in the studio right now creating new material what studio are you recording out of? Since Buried Dreams, we rarely work in what can be termed a commercial Studio as we prefer to work with a system tailored to ourselves, an open environment that allows time to explore production and experimentation ,but we are not opposed to using other studios if needs determine an advantage in doing so. We have our own recording facility with equipment and technologies built up over many years ,we are employing devices that originate at the onset of DVA namely E.M.S Electronic Music Systems famous for the AKS and Synthi A Synthesizers , we think it speaks volumes that a 30 year old Synthesizer system can still be used to create original sounds E.M.S created very advanced equipment it was always very Scientific and designed for experimental use not something you switch on and away you go with pre factory samples and sounds with E.M.S you have to build each sound a new tailored for more personal sound expression .We also have VRT Systems and DAW,so we utilize a full range of technology analogue and digital as we see no advantage in limiting our possible palette.
8.CAM: Who is engineering the new material? Adi Newton. We engineer all our own productions, together, but we may consider using other collaborations at some stage in the future to experiment with certain material or arrangements depending on what is required. Jane has an innate talent for music production and video, I am constantly amazed by her.
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9.CAM: Is there a working title for the new CD? Jane Radion Newton We don’t currently wish to promote any of our ideas with regards to new material. Once it is released then we will be happy to speak about it, Adi has made tremendous mistake in his past by openly discussing with former colleagues and ex associates his ideas then seeing those ideas emerge claimed as an artists own without credit to the true source and in a version that is frankly not what he had envisioned but a bad interpretation. It is an unfortunate state we operate in but ideas are collateral and there’s a lot of people in music and art that have no ideas of depth and so act as parasitical vampires, they feed from others work in order to evolve there own ambitions. We have encountered many of this kind during our time and also the fragile personalities that peruse collaboration but do not achieve it and then turn resentful. There are two Nietzsche quotes that for any one working within our field or any other for that matter with all the pit falls that will happen on its course, Nietzsche’s words are a warning of great power and of foreboding, please those with integrity and the naivety of just beginning, take note. “It is the weak that are the most dangerous” “There is only true friendship amongst equals” Both have meaning referring to the state and potential dangers of an individual’s psychological nature and abilities.
10.CAM : Who did the cover art for Buried Dreams, Thirst, Man-Amplified, and Advantage?
Adi Newton. I began as a painter starting at School, my interest in art specifically painting has never left me, and throughout these years I’ve always been creating work either Painting, Drawing, etc. I have recently returned with added passion to painting drawing on ideas I’ve been formulating for many years that have kept with me. I have always seen the Artwork as an essential element in the whole concept of creating an album not as a separate element not to be attached adhoc afterwards, so I’ve always devised, created and sourced the visualization of each album to create an overall theme and feel so that the visual presence were an equal extension of the audio which connected conceptually with the ideas / philosophies that are integral to the work as a whole.
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Again I have always directed the creative visuals whether theses were the Art work / Sleeves /Films / videos or through live performance. The exceptions are with Graphic designer Neville Brody who designed the sleeves for THIRST and 4 HOURS and all of the FETISH LABEL releases. I worked with Peter Barrett on ADVANTAGE but it was under my supervision so it was essentially my ideas / images and directions. BURIED DREAMS and MAN AMPLIFIED again where also my conceptual ideas and based on the images I alone researched and sourced. The technical aspects of the design layout were by Eddie Gill. Jane now mostly works on our design; layout and art direction as her tastes, eye and understanding for our work is exceptional, personal and has meaning more than being a transient member just following a lead or direction. I trust and respect her implicitly. "Art is not about itself but the attention we bring to it." Marcel Duchamp "The individual, man as a man, man as a brain, if you like, interests me more than what he makes, because I've noticed that most artists only repeat themselves. " Marcel Duchamp
11.CAM: What is the meaning behind the name Clock DVA?
Adi Newton. -I devised the name on two elements the first on the symbolic representation of Time, The Clock, a mechanical machine developed to chronologically measure the quadrants of solar and lunar movements developed throughout evolution and recently found to pre date our previous theories of its origination. The idea inherent in Horology is concerned with quantum mechanics and astro physics as well as Magick & Surrealism The Roto , Taro cyclic wheel of eternal reoccurrence. The 2 ND element DVA equals the number 2 and this element is based on numerology, the kabalistic system of numbers that hold the mathematical formula and meanings behind all words. The sum of DVA is 11 which is the master number and the number of Magick,or energy tending to change,see Buried Dreams sleeve note‌..
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12.CAM: With the current industrial scene do you see a return to the old school methods or has industrial mutated into a completely different animal? Jane Radion Newton. - We don’t involve ourselves with any musical “scene” and don’t consider DVA/TAGC to be Industrial or whatever tag is currently applied. Clock DVA /TAGC are unique and individual creative projects that go beyond categorization.
13.CAM: Did you ever perform live under the moniker of Clock DVA and if so what were the shows like? ADI NEWTON- YES too many to list here, over the years DVA has performed extensively throughout Europe and a number of performances in the US. We were one of the first of the so called “New Wave” to use visuals live and have maintained and developed this through out my work ,I always believed as in the artwork that the visuals employed in live performance were integral to the audio, the same way as sound effects and music integral to Film an art that has inspired me throughout is this marriage and symbiosis of sound and vision, one needs only to look and listen to the work and philosophical ideas of Tarkovsky,Lynch,Kubrick,to understand and appreciate the importance of this relationship between the marriage of the visual and the audio. JANE RADION NEWTON - I will not compromise live between the visual and audio presentation, both mediums are art forms that we work upon to feed into and support the presentation of our ideas with equal depth and power, we wish to present our work live as a total auditory/visual experience. Any musical Organizers please take note of this. 14.CAM: Have you personally notice a larger fan base with the return of Clock DVA? Jane Radion Newton. - We can’t say that we are looking at this aspect too closely; it is not our intention to merely increase a buying fan base as many others strive to do. There is a vast amount of our incoming mail/friends requests on myspace, it is substantial and many are young, new bands/individuals saying that they have discovered Adi’s past work and our new work (videos etc) so yes there is certainly indication of a new growing interest in DVA / TAGC but off course we have the ardent fans too. The mail we receive can be overwhelming at times being only two of us; we have still yet to launch the extensive ClockDVA/TAGC web site, many more grey hairs to come mainly for me being the multi-tasker in this outfit. XVIII
15.CAM: How many releases does Clock DVA have under their belts at this immediate moment in time?
HOROLOGY WHITE SOULS IN BLACK SUITS THIRST ADVANTAGE BURIED DREAMS MAN-AMPLIFIED DIGITAL SOUNDTRACKS SIGN
FUTURE RELEASES / CLOCKDVA /TAGC /ADI NEWTON Anterior Research Communications --------------------------------------------------------------------------MUTE / EMI RE ISSUE 8 CDS / SPEACIL BOX EDITION WITH 120 PAGE BOOK
Mute records 2011 CLOCKDVA (archival) HOROLOGY CD PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED ARCHIVE MATERIAL FROM THE PERIOD 1977-1979 IN BOX EDITION AND AS SEPERATE CD RELEASEDITION
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16.CAM: How did you come to be signed by the infamous label Wax Trax back in the day?
Adi Newton. - This was due to one of the original founders of Wax Trax Jim Nash Interest in DVA. At the time we were then signed to the Berlin Based Label Interfisch. Dimitri Hegermann the Founder of Interfisch visited Chicago and while there organized a deal with Wax Trax to release some of the DVA material. That’s basically what happened.
17.CAM: Was there an over all message you were trying to covey through your music?
Jane Radion Newton. - “Was”! - IS would be a more appropriate beginning to your question as DVA/TAGC is on going. “The medium is the message” We can only express personal meaning and creative direction within our work without the need or want to portray a message, we seek those who instinctually connect with our ideas and work, the message being already within themselves so to speak and our work hopefully adds and expands to that inner understanding and thirst for a particular knowledge. Ultimately we create to explore our own desires, ideas, creative drive and expression, as Austin Osman Spare said “we walk towards ourselves”. To create only to “Appeal” on a entertainment level is far from our intention, this leads to music being an empty product, the sphere of “ easy listening “ or “empty listening” no matter what genre or experimental label this kind of music/artist masquerades under, an act not an extension of a truthful belief. Yes we have a belief contained in our work but again this is our own personal path which we develop throughout our life and Magickal practice. I believe on listening to our work those who connect with it instinctually and knowledgably understand the messages woven within it. Adi Newton – I think Jane expressed it well in her answer; the message is fundamentally woven in our work and is best expressed and portrayed through the listening and viewing of it, the whole experience. Jane Radion Newton – Why would an artist create through visual/sound mediums if believing an adequate expression and meaning could be easily conveyed alone through words? There is an unconscious communication that can only be drawn upon through art, it is from this unconscious sub – atomic realm that we try to source and express our ideas and meaning from and to others.
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18.CAM: How would describe your music to a first time listener? Adi Newton- This is a difficult and impossible it would really depend on the particular album, How can one summaries or describe music in words, the best kind of descriptions are often poetic or prose so we feel this is a rather hard one to answer and with the huge amount of responses I have received over the many years of how my work has been interpreted and felt by individual listeners is vast and varied, each having very personal interpretation and descriptions of how my work has effected them when listening. JANE RADION NEWTON - Perhaps it is best to actually ask this question to the listener, after the listening.
19.CAM: Were there specific topics you dealt with in concern with certain CDs or did the topics vary? ADI NEWTON - I covered this question in Q 4 as explained each album has a different theme / idea and this was explored within each album, I would not call them concept albums as this has too many “progressive� connotations but there is certainly a continuity of ideas and imagery within each separate album.
20.CAM: Any other projects apart from Clock DVA you happen to be involved with be it musical or non musical?
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The Anti Group
Jane Radion Newton -Yes -The Anti Group Communication ( T.A.G.C) which we are working on new material to be released,plus live performance and sound art installations to come. Adi Newton- It’s probably easier to answer this question by including the information below .The Anti Group T.A.G.C being a separate and individual project more or less conceived in the same time and breath with the creation of CLOCK DVA. This is the most current biography available about to be published along side a new Article “The Denizens” and new track under the same name “The Denizens” soon to be released in the publication ANTIBODIES. We have had many collaborative offers and plans for the future both DVA/TAGC but again we are reticent to divulge until the times are near. Our excitement is contained. The original idea for the Anti Group was devised by A. Newton & S.J. Turner (R.I.P) as early as 1978, with the intention of the formation of a multi-dimensional research & development project active in many related areas. Research and Development of sound/film/video/performance and the documentation of each project was the fundamental "Modus Operandi". Strictly speaking TAGC are not a group, but a variable collection of individuals contributing under invitation and the directorship of Adi Newton, Underlining this basic idea lays the deeper philosophical and theoretical work of TAGC; The C derived from Communications and to also infer the DNA code of genetics. The primary concern of TAGC is the systematic research and development and documentation and the ,expansion of the connections and concepts that are explored and experimented within the fabric of sound, and its theoretical possibilities and its XXII
advancement..Also the expansion of Consciousness whether via applied use of computers and audio-visual technology or via arcane systems of Magick or other Occult or esoteric sciences. The last recorded works of TAGC concerned with A.S.B. audio stimulation of the brain, particularly the pieces under the title "A.A.A." & A.A.A.(Audio Alpha Activity & Accelerated Audio Alpha Activity ) respectively These recordings are available on "Meontological Research Recording Record 1" and "Meontological Research Recording Record 2 - 'Teste Tones". Recording number three in the series, which takes the research further into the role of frequencies and rhythms, particularly the codification of rhythmic structures employed in Voodoo rituals to attain trance states is being scheduled for release.The first non theoretical action devised by TAGC was the Film "The Delivery", a 16mm celluloid dual screen film projection and soundtrack, and the Anti theatre performance piece "The Discussion" designed for five tape recorders and multi-video projection systems a anti theatre piece devised / edited and mixed solely by Adi Newton,it involved 5 open reel Revox taperecorders arranged round a table similar to that which would be arranged for a meeting. The 5 TAPES where physically edited from several hours of documents representing different aspects of the Discussion, performed once as it was based purely on aleotory procedures as it was devised to allow maximum chance occurrences and the emergence of new semantic relationships similar techniques where applied to the 16mm dual screen version of The Delivery that was also premiered at the same event a live Audio Visual recording was made and plans to produce a documentary about these and other TAGC live works are also planned.
These two works were first presented at the "Der Doelen" center in Rotterdam on Sat. Sep 22nd, 1985. "The delivery" has been exhibited at the "2nd Atonal festival" in "The Ballhaus Tiergarten" Berlin, Feb 18th 1985 where the soundtrack was recorded on a mobile 24 track system. This document was released as the recording "The delivery" on Atonal Records. After these initial performances TAG concentrated on Audio development. it was during this period 1985-1987 that the above recordings were realized along with the highly acclaimed Ambisonic Album "Digitaria" (Ambisonics a 360 degree soundfield based on psychoacoustic theory that represents a true periphonic sound field) Digitaria is a Technological and Ethnological work based on the ideas of the Sabean cults of ancient Khem and the Dogon tribe of Mali and the research by the French anthropologist Marcel Griaule Also the work of Robert temple and ideas and Occult systems expressed in Kenneth Grants work ,Having worked through these areas, it became the next logical step to move into the application of Psychophysics developing the use of frequencies and Psychoacoustics with computer aided technology.Exploring the theoretical ideas of Harry Grindal Mathews,Vladimir Gavreau Gustave Fechnor et all. Performance of these ideas took place at the 3rd Atonal Festival at "TU Mensa" Berlin on Dec 13th 1986 and "SO 36" Berlin on Feb 14th 1987 and at the "Museum of Contemporary Art" Prato, Italy on Sept 23rd 1988. it was at this time also that TAG screened their first Meontological visual experiment "Burning Water". The recordings utilized in these performances were released as part of a series of recordings entitled Meontological Research Recordings
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1+2. based on the pioneering experiments conducted by Michael Bertiaux of the OTOA and the 'La Couleuvre Noire'. Bertiaux has developed a system of esoteric engineering - a form of metamathematical reality. The Meontological series is based on Bertiaux's neologism MEON. Ontology is the science of the metaphysics of being - MEONTOLOGY, therefore, goes beyond this to a fourth-dimensional extension of parapsychology, and concerns areas beyond current maps and explore ideas that seem to have existed anterior to modern man and from ultraterrestrial origins . Currently, "Burning Water" has been re digitally enhanced and finalized for release and will be available in DVD format. TAG performances were held at the ElectroAcoustic Music Academy Stockholm, Aug 23rd 1990 and at the ARS Electronica symposium on Virtual Reality held in Linz Sep 8th 1990 Austria. Currently in preparation are Meontological Research Recordings 3+4. Recording 3 explores the central ideas expressed in the Micheal Bertiaux Coulier Noire and Kenneth Grants Cult of Lam and recording 4 centers around research into the development of methods and techniques to aid expanded consciousness following techniques derived from W .Walter Grey that influenced Bryon Gysons work on the flicker frequencies and the work by Tony Conrad .The Anti Group are only represented by Adi Newton and Jane Radion Newton who for the last decade have been researching and experimenting in different areas and studying theoretical concepts also in order to prepare for new works , a series of published works have also been in preparation. Currently working on a number of new TAGC releases and have recently contributed an abridged research document and sound piece for the next issue of Antibodies. Currently preparing for Live performance and installation events as well as a series of artefacts for release during 2009,
Performance and exhibition details
Pandoras Box "Der Doelen" center in Rotterdam, Holland, Sat. Sep 22nd, 1985 2nd Atonal festival “The Ballhaus Tiergarten" Berlin, Germany. Feb 18th 1985 3rd Atonal Festival “TU Mensa" Berlin ,Germany on Dec 13th 1986 The Pump Station SO 36" Berlin, Germany Feb 14th 1987 Museum of Contemporary Art" Prato, Italy Sept 23rd 1988 Electro-Acoustic Music Academy Stockholm, Sweden Aug 23rd 1990 ARS Electronica symposium on Virtual Reality Sep 8th 1990 Linz, Austria. National Art Gallery V&A inclusion .Smile Classified a magazine of multiple origins March/August 1992 London .UK I.C.A. Art Futura Museo Nacional Centro De Arte Reina Sofia Madrid Spain Sept 1994
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Equinox Festival Conway Hall 14 June 2009
21.CAM: How will the new material differ from the previous releases?
Jane Radion Newton. There is no deliberate intention to “differ”. Adi was the “soul” constant and instigator of all the creative ideas and the integrity of DVA/TAGC through out all of its many changes regardless of the different musicians who have been employed along the way. DVA I would say has under gone a metamorphosis back in some senses to its core beginnings as an intuitive and Magickly connected duo with a more empathic & equal symbiotic creative balance and nature than it has ever been since the tragic death of Jud. ADI NEWTON…Yes Jane is correct ,further more if one compares for example an Album such as THIRST with BURIED DREAMS then superficially there is a vast difference between the two but theirs is a constant integral theme of an on going constant personal creative expression behind them. JANE RADION NEWTON. Is growth, change and mutation a “differ” when it is a continuation of ones own creative self? Can one again “differ” from ones own path? No it is an essential process which is all encompassing and connected.
22.CAM: What equipment was used in the making of the Clock DVA sound? Adi Newton. - This being a purely technical question making it difficult to answer accurately as there have been so many albums / studios / and musicians over the many periods. In one sense I think it’s not the equipment per say but how one uses or utilizes the technology or sound whether this is the technique of the Instrumentalist or how the instruments are arranged and produced. I would also say that there are certain technologies that can effect the sound such as the advent of Digital Computer systems and albums such as Buried Dreams / Man-Amplified / Digital Soundtracks for these I must express that the Technology’s of Apple Mac / Emulator / Sound Designer / Performer where central to there creation. But again we would reinforce it’s the IDEAS the creative originality that is the source of the resultant sound. Jane Radion Newton. - I believe the creation of sound and music is an instinctual and individual creative exploration (an art) that one can only and should be discovered for oneself. If your desire is to XXV
communicate a feeling, idea or atmosphere of individual artistry and nature then to copy or ask another’s technique negates this exploration and homogenizes. Personal artistry must find and use its own voice from which to speak, technically or otherwise. I despair to hear music being made more and more through a “painted by numbers” process not driven by a belief or passion. Programmable fabrications of “gearhead” techniques devoid of any true depth or individuality. The joy and artistry should come from personal experimentation and discovery, that journey should be your own. 23.CAM: Any final words you wish to impart on us? JANE RADION NEWTON - It has been a pleasure.
Photo of Jane Radion Newton
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ADI NEWTON - I appreciate greatly all those who have stood behind and supported myself and my work over the many years and those who have and can decipher the difference between the integral and the invented, I apologize knowing that some of my statements here can come across as egocentric when having to state contribution facts and details but I would be completely silent if there had not been Ex members who’s truly despicable acts have tried to reinvent and distort my own group history and inflate their true contributions and status within DVA/ TAGC. Their total and utter lies and acts have forced me into an uncomfortable position to readdress these ex-members inventions that have deliberately tried to sabotage and exploit my own work and life history.
“Art is an outlet toward regions which are not ruled by time and space�.- Marcel Duchamp.
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Marcel Duchamp
Thank you to Adi and Jane for the interview Clock DVA is an amazing project unlike any ever done before. It is thought provoking and exercises of the mind on a conscious and subconscious level. Culture Asylum Magazine supports Clock DVA and all their endeavors. The new material we are eagerly waiting for since it has been to long that Clock DVA has been away from the music arena. Adi Newton is a visionary that surpasses even the normal criteria for industrial music from yesterday and beyond. We are glad for their return. If you haven’t experienced their music I highly recommend the aforementioned CDs Buried Dreams, Advantage, Thirst, Man- Amplified as well as Sign and Bitstream. Hopefully Clock DVA is here to stay and more people can experience how incredible they truly are. Since this interview hostilities between DVA / TAGC and former members has been relaxed Adi Newton Wishes to progress with positive actions rather than negative ones as long as there are no further proliferations of the nature which was originally instigated as ultimately it serves no one to engage in these kind of activities.
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