WHITE DENIM RECORDS
Interview by Brohammer

Do names like My Name Is Rar Rar, Small Rocks, Hair Police and Door Mouse
ring a bell? Maybe not, but put the Closet Full Of Clothes compilation on
your turntable and they will definitely break your cartridge.
Since initiating the label in 2001, Matthew Kosloff of Allentown,
Pennsylvania, has released records with Menstruation Sisters, Nice Nice, Pay
toilets, Leprechaun Catering, Air Conditioning and a few more.
Experimentally screwed up electronics and rhythmically bent punk rock that's
been chewed on and spit out by freeze-dried fricatives, the sounds from
White Denim vinyl are likely to cause a fender-bender on the sonic highway
to heel.
The latest release is a picture 7" with British Aufgehoben, which came out
early February this year.

Maybe you could start off by explaining a little bit about the "Closet Full
Of Clothes" compilation (White Denim # 4) and the bands/music featured on
it... + why they caught your ears, what draws you to a band in the first
place?

Well, at the time it was conceived, I was in the tail end of my college
career, and naturally I spent plenty of time daydreaming in class about
records I'd love to release. The idea of a compilation came up because I am
a big fan of genre-defining, scene-documenting compilations, and hoped I
could do something similar. Specifically, "Let Them Eat Jellybeans", "Fear
of Smell", "No New York" and "Not So Quiet on the Western Front" all came to
mind as excellent documents that not just serve as a blueprint for a "scene"
but also stand on their own musically. I was and am very much into a lot of
the stranger, more esoteric artists that are currently active, and while the
music of "Closet Full of Clothes" may be disparate, I think all the artists
are similar in the fact that they all have specific, creative visions that
ignore genre boundaries. To me that's the most exciting music being created.
I think one of the best decisions I made with "Closet Full of Clothes" was
limiting it to eight artists; too often I see compilations overloaded with
bands and stuffed with as much music and information as possible. I truly
believe in quality over quantity. It was also a great stroke of luck that
each of the eight featured artists were my first eight choices, somehow they
were all able to do it and contribute previously unreleased material, which
was one of my conditions for the record, as I hate compilations that feature
previously released material. I guess each artist caught my ear for a
different reason. Some of them I knew personally, others I took a chance and
sent an email to, but I think it all worked out really well. I'm definitely
proud of that record.

"Stranger, more esoteric" is not an understatement. Can you trace these
artists approach (disparate as it may seem) a generation or two back? Like -
who's the grandparents of My Name Is Rar Rar or Black Eyes?

I'd hate to speak for the artists themselves, but with both My Name Is Rar
Rar and Black Eyes, I sensed that they were influenced by a lot of the
original No Wave groups, like DNA, Contortions, Liquid Liquid, that sort of
thing. However, My Name Is Rar Rar seemed more interested in the
absurd/frantic aspect of that sound, while Black Eyes were more rhythmic and
dubbed out. Honestly though, I think both of those bands were just doing
their own thing, with their specific singular visions. This is probably what
I found most appealing about them, just like the original No Wave bands that
were basically creating their own musical language without specifically
relying on older bands as a blueprint. And sadly, none of these bands are
still around today!

Allentown, PA… What's happening there? Is White Denim releasing local bands or do they come from all around?

Allentown is a small city, big on chain restaurants and strip malls and
small on independent culture and art. However, there's a good number of kids interested in creating and maintaining interesting bands and scenes, which all takes place far below the radar of the local media. There's Jeff the
Pigeon, an amazingly intense and Bacchanalian music venue where pretty much anything goes, and Double Decker Records, a fantastic record shop that has helped turn me onto to countless bands and records. The kids who manage to grow up with Jeff the Pigeon and Double Decker as their regular hang-outs are incredibly lucky.
I've released music by four bands local to the Allentown area, Air
Conditioning, the GTC, the Ultimate Warriors and Pearls & Brass; all other
groups have been from across the globe at this point. I'm not so much
interested in fostering a local music scene with White Denim so much as
providing an outlet to artists that I feel are totally amazing,
underappreciated and otherwise not being offered to release something on
vinyl. If they happen to be local bands, that's cool with me!

Please tell us a little bit about your musical "evolution" - what steered
you in the direction/place you're in today?

As a pre-teen, I was a big fan of what was marketed as alternative music, as
well as hip-hop. I discovered punk rock by chance when I was 12, buying
Pennywise's "Unknown Road" and falling in love. From there, I ended up
digging through the Epitaph mail-order catalog, reading the thanks lists of
bands to dig deeper into the punk underground. I met some kids freshman year of high school who were also interested in this stuff, who ended up turning me on to a lot of the classics (Negative Approach, SOA, Agnostic Front, Crossed Out) and consequently playing in bands together, which I still do to this day, same group of friends! I found out about the local punk scene, and gravitated towards the more extreme forms of punk, specifically grind-core and power-violence. Through countless hours at Double Decker, I just
continued to be exposed to all sorts of music, from Gamelan to Reggae and
Italo Disco. I really love discovering new music, especially music that
legitimately confounds or surprises me. It still happens on a regular basis,
which is great.

But expensive! You admit being an anal retentive record guy. Please describe
the motions you go through when you learn of some new (to you) sort of
music. Do you head for the local record shop, or the terminal and totally
doomed record collector Internet forum to find out more? Are you willing to
borrow money from Russian gangsters if you're broke, but NEED vinyl badly?

Honestly, I'll find out about new music anywhere! The Internet is great, but
I find it much more enjoyable to just dig at a record store and listen to
any records that look interesting. I've accidentally stumbled upon so much
great music that way, just taking a chance based on the record cover or
thanks list or whatever. And of course, I love talking about records with my
friends, and just turning each other on to new stuff. Luckily, I've never
been that addicted or broke that I needed to turn to shady record-buying
practices.

What's up your sleeve regarding new releases? Have you got anything planned?

By the time this interview's printed, there will be a new picture disc 7"
single by Aufgehoben available. They're a great band from the UK; they make
a really focused but totally blown-out racket that I can't get enough of.
After that, there's nothing specifically planned that I can talk about, but
I will definitely keep doing records. There's always new bands and artists
that I'd love to work with.

Oh, I almost forgot. Please explain why you chose the name Closet Full Of
Clothes for the compilation.

Closet full of clothes doesn't really come from anything in particular. I was brainstorming titles, and I thought it was fitting for the bands involved, plus the clothing connection with the label name, and I liked the sound of the phrase if you say it out loud. I wanted it to be a phrase that stood on its own, because I think titles like "Fear of Smell" and "Let Them Eat Jellybeans" are way more notable and cool than something with a more obvious meaning.

This interview was conducted via email during December and January
2006/2007.
Check White Denim out at: http://www.whitedenim.com