HALO
Body of Light
By: Christian McKenna
Photo: Scott Kinkade
Having punctured the harsh outer skin with 2001's Guattari (From the West Flows Grey Ash & Pestilence), HALO burrow deeper into the corrupt inner flesh of post-industrial depravity and corporate disease with Body of Light. A rumbling diatribe of fear, loathing and pure sonic oppression, Body of Light swallows its listener with the density of a collapsing star. RESOUND cornered Halo’s Skye Klein to find out more about the band’s new wall of sound(s).
RESOUND: You record and mix your own material. How does this effect the overall feel of a Halo record?
Skye Klein: Recording our own material gives us complete creative control that we might otherwise not have with an engineer or producer. Moreover, it creates an insular environment, which keeps us entirely focused on our own sound without the normal constraints of a recording studio, so we can take as long as we like experimenting with sounds, drinking and talking shit.
RESOUND: Are there a lot of overdubs and treatments that go into a Halo record?
SK: All Halo recordings are pretty much live, with little or no overdubs. As far as sound treatment, there is a little in the mixing / post production stage, but its pretty much limited to the standard eq-ing and so forth. We like to concentrate on making all our sounds live.
RESOUND: Have you ever recorded or engineered a band that you were not a member of?
SK: I've done some studio engineering for some other bands, and a lot of live mixing for friends. The live mixing is in a pretty free form, electronic style, so I have a lot of freedom to experiment with sounds and textures, playing the mixing board and outboard effects as another instrument within the band.
RESOUND: Tell us why you decided to call the new record Body of Light. The name almost seems to contradict the walls of sound that the band creates.
SK: It's just a phrase that was stuck in my head for ages, and I knew I wanted to use it as a Halo album title from the start. It's a pretty subjective phrase - I think anyone who hears it will think of different things. To me, it suggests a mental image that fits with the wall of sound.
RESOUND: The artwork for Body of Light is stunning! It reminds me of a drum and bass record. Who was responsible for the layout and design?
SK: Thanks! I did the artwork and design at home. I find it's pretty hard to come up with images for Halo in particular, as our music is so much about sound and intensity. The artwork was a combination of a vague concept and a happy accident with the scanner.
RESOUND: What are your feelings on performing live? I assume that improvising is a large part of what you guys do - due to the nature of the music.
SK: Improvisation is 9/10ths of what Halo is about - since all our records are basically live recordings; I would say live performance is imperative to Halo. Our music is pretty much stream-of-consciousness, building an atmosphere and riding with it, and on a good day I think the live context creates an intensity that would otherwise be difficult to capture. Many songs start with just one sound, like a bit of buzz and rumble stuck in a delay loop, and build from there.
RESOUND: It seems to me that the new record has a bit more structure to it than Guattari (From the West Flows Grey Ash and Pestilence). Is this part of the evolution of Halo?
SK: I'd agree with that observation, although it certainly wasn't a conscious decision. I think its natural process of evolution - we've been playing and recording since 1998, and Guattari was originally recorded in '99, but the recording process was virtually identical. An empty warehouse, a bunch of mics, big amps, a lot of beer, leads fucking everywhere. When we listen back to the multitracks just about everything is a surprise.
RESOUND: Do you have any plans to perform in correlation with the release of the record?
SK: It’s definitely planned, although in what capacity I can't say. We'd love to make it back to the states at some point. The live scene here in Melbourne seems to be finally edging back towards accepting more noise-based rock and stuff, so the future is promising.
RESOUND: Any final words?
SK: Keep an eye on the website (www.halo.antisound.net) for news and live audio snippets that turn up from time to time…and thanks!
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