PlaylistMachinedrum ecstasy, a mix from No-Tech's Ciarra Black
Appetite's Ciarra Black talks pop music, shitty art fans, and the warehouses where she first got the techno bug.
CIARRA BLACK IS A WOMAN OF MANY HATS; one half of the melodically industrial duo Appetite (alongside photographer and noise enthusiast Jane Chardiet), co-founder of the Brooklyn-based experimental techno party No-Tech, and a stellar DJ in her own right. This coming weekend, Appetite plays Summer Scum, a two-day noise festival at Queens venue Trans Pecos.
In between rehearsals, DJ nights, malfunctioning samplers, and waiting for Drew McDowall to email her some fresh tracks, she made us a playlist. This playlist serves as a perfect primer for the uninitiated; repping living legends (see: Adam X, Cybotron), stride hitters (Profligate, Bookworms), and local heroes (Pvre Matrix, Cienfeugos), this playlist will have you tapping your feet and pulling out your hair as you wait for day to turn to night so you can go out and waste away.
1. Side A of “Mode of Transportation” CS —Bookworms
2. Side A of forthcoming tape release on Ascetic House — Drew McDowall
3. Track 1 (DEMO) for forthcoming Anòmia tape release — Gene Pick
4. The Track of A Storm — Antenes
5. Magma (Orphyx Remix) — Michal Wolski
6. Fixed Point — S/N
7. Slow Drilling — Motiv-A
8. c45p — Helena Hauff
9. Good Humor — Profligate
10. Anxiety (DUST Remix) — Appetite
11. Robot Rebellion in 2071 — Adam X
12. Burning Sulfur -- Pvre Matrix
13. MS 200 -- Ciarra Black
14. Mould, Damp, Love — Pär Grindvik
15. 7.4.15 -- Latrines
16. What Time Is Now — Joe Farr
17. Architecture of Time (Original Mix) — Realmz
18. Rot — Phase Fatale
19. Clear — Cybotron
20. What is Real (Dreamtime Mix) — Cabaret Voltaire
21. Close My Tab — Cienfuegos
We caught up with Ciarra and talked Jersey roots, Savage Weekends, and how n00bs just want to hear trap music all the fucking time.
HOPES&FEARS: Where are you from originally?
CIARRA BLACK: South Jersey, right outside of Philly.
H&F: How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard it before?
CB: I’m not entirely sure. I learned how to play the drums before I ever touched a drum machine, so that has influenced how I create beats and patterns for sure. I definitely have some noise influences and can be a bit harsh and aggressive with my music, but I'm also a sucker for pop and dancefloor jams.
H&F: What are the most clueless things people have asked you while you were DJing?
CB: One of the worst, surprisingly enough, was when I DJ’d at the Print Shop at MoMA PS1. A girl got my attention from the booth and asked if I could play trap music instead.
H&F: What sort of gear do you use?
CB: For live music, my current set up is an Elektron Machinedrum, a MS-20 mini, an Electribe ES-1 Sampler, some pedals, and a mixer. Although, I’d like to upgrade my sampler in the very near future… my next purchase.
H&F: What city do you want to play that you’ve never been to?
CB: I’ve surprisingly never been to Chicago. I hope to play there at some point.
H&F: When did you first get into electronic music?
CB: I first got into electronic music mostly through friends involved in the noise scene and through the Chardiet sisters. I got into techno and dance music during my last few years living in Philly when I started DJing. Spots like Medusa, which is an underground dance club, and Inciting HQ, which was a warehouse that threw pretty killer techno parties, were pretty influential to me at the time.
H&F: What’s your favorite underground party to go to?
CB: I think the Long Count is probably killing it the hardest right now. And, of course, Nothing Changes.
H&F: How did you meet Jane? What have been some of your favorite Appetite shows?
CB: Jane and I met at college at Temple University in Philadelphia when we were 18 and 19 through mutual friends in the punk and hardcore scene. My favorite Appetite shows have all occurred at Savage Weekend, a noise fest that we’ve played the past few years in Chapel Hill, NC.
H&F: Have you met anyone who left you starstruck?
CB: I have never met him but watching Jeff Mills at Output a few months ago was pretty mind blowing.
H&F: What bangers do you keep in your emergency drawer?
CB: Voiski’s "From White to Red" can pretty much always save the dance floor for any type of crowd. The second is probably Adam X "Robot Rebellion in 2071," which is also on this mix.