"Low Standards": A Quick One With Equipment Pointed Ankh/End Of An Ear Recording Studio's Jim Marlowe
I first met Jim Marlowe in the early 2000’s through my connection with Louisville, Kentucky's Cropped Out Festival/Sophomore Lounge Records. Along with many others in this river city creative camp, Jim and I became fast friends. Shared a lotta shit talks, laughs, and sound making. Jim's has had his hands in many projects throughout the years including Equipment Pointed Ankh, Tropical Trash, Electric Drywall Band, Sapat, Autopsy Bros., Roadhouse, Technique Street, Mazozma, Teal Grapefruit, Journey, Kansas, etc. When I initially crossed paths with Jim, his music was more loud noise/rock guitar driven but as the years have passed, Marlowe’s output has grown wiser and weirder (not to say loud isn't wise, YOU ALL KNOW WHAT I MEAN). I 'spose we'll see where Jim will go next?! He is definitely a contemporary/pal that I look up to in terms of pushing what can be done with everyday objects and instrumentation. Jim continues to transcend and my ears/spirit are grateful for that fact.
This interview is only four questions because Jim stopped responding to interviewer Nigel Meyer’s emails*. This is because either he a) got bored talking about himself, b) lost his computer privileges in jail, c) was too far up a ladder, d) is busy running his studio End Of An Ear or e), is working on yet another Equipment Pointed Ankh album. Right choice gets a free pair of Bugle Boy dungarees and two tickets to see P.S, Dump Your Boyfriend at the Toy Tiger in 1986.
*Nigel Meyer was not harmed in the duration or outcome of said email exchange.
Thanks to Jim and Nigel for gracing FOTS with your time and effort. It is much appreciated.
Love and Gratitude,
Mikey
10/2022
Nigel: Thanks again for emailing with me. The history of Equipment Pointed Ankh is sort of well documented on the bandcamp page for Without Human Permission, but could you explain how the consistent group of yourself, Chris Bush, Shutaro Noguchi, Dan Davis, and Ryan Davis coalesced out of your flurry of collaborations in 2016-17?
Jim: Hey Nigel! When EPA started out it was just me recording stuff at our space alone. I had been listening to Ashtray Navigations and Vibracathedral Orchestra, a little David Behrman. I was really energized by how boundless and stretchy the time on those Ashtray and VO recordings feel. Occasionally someone would come by the practice space and drink some beers, wind up on some tracks. Chris was there one morning with his modular rig and Shutaro had left his Korg Wave Drum that had all these tabla sounds on it and the two together had this cool, peaceful Robert Ashley thing going. Eventually Shu started playing with the two of us, and then Dan asked if we'd play a show with some friends from Philly at his shop in West Virginia. We drove down there and Dan jammed with us for the show and that recording (done on a zoom recorder sitting on a metal box in the middle of the room) became the first LP. The first time Ryan played with us is when we drove up to make Without Human Permission in Rhode Island.
N: So it seems to have come together pretty naturally, as I suspected. EPA's earlier releases, including the live record, were much noisier and harsher. Was it the solidification of the group that sort of solidified the improvisations into the cleaner, more melodic and rhythmic music of Without Human Permission?
J: Yeah, it was definitely the people involved. Ryan and Dan just naturally became the main compositional catalysts this time around and the mix of what those sounds were and the group improvisations added up in an interesting way. Making this record with Seth Manchester was also a big change. He has a unique ear for things and his studio, Machines With Magnets, is this legit hifi spot but he's not afraid to use the space and the gear in very creative, imaginative ways. He's a great cheerleader, too, when your brain is melted and all the notes sound the same. We squeezed about everything we had time for in six days out of the studio-as-instrument methodology. No DI'd bass tone was too stupid to use. It was kinda like a Ouija board with six people's hands on the fader, one of which via semi-live email. Almost every time a track got played back it was different than before and that went on all week up until the very end. No one got their shorts in a bunch if their synth part or drums or whatever got turned off and replaced with a clarinet or a vacuum cleaner hose. It was very much a whatever works situation, just trying to make something that's fun and interesting to listen to for ourselves. We got a lot of laughs in and drank about a million beers. A true group effort!
N: You can hear that hi-fi essence in the record. Every little blip and scratch sounds like it’s growing out of the headphones. One thing I love about EPA is guessing to myself who thought of what first. What are your thoughts on the group getting dubbed an experimental music supergroup (in Blastitude)?
J: I think the standards for what constitutes a supergroup must have lowered considerably over the years.
N: So you guys were back at Machines with Magnets in April, right? How are you feeling about what came out of those sessions?
J: Yeah, we made two albums when we were up there last time, one of which Torn Light is putting out next year. It's more confident, sturdier when taking turns. Bigger grooves and some new moves with the same crew as WHP. The second record we did up there [Changing Legs] is a series of short duets between the six of us. But wait! We have a record coming out this fall on Bruit Direct Disques called "From Inside The House" that we made at Electrical Audio and our home studio last fall. Our friend Jenny Rose does some vocals on this long serge and vibraphone piece and I really love the way it turned out. Probably the most different vibe out of all of our recordings so far.
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