I haven't done a lot of interviews in the last months. I never saw any reason for it. But a few weeks ago a big package of cool CDs filled with beautiful electronic noise (mostly) reached my doorstep. After listening to them, I decided I wanted to know more about where they came from. So I contacted them with the intention of writing a bigger piece on that label. But since the answers to my questions turned out so well, I decided to take the easy way and bring them to you unabridged. So this is it, an interview with Chris Jeely from my new favorite noise-label: : Scarcelight records.

>Usually, people who start labels such as Scarcelight have a history within

>that range of music themselves, so – what have you done? Please tell me

>about Accelera Deck and your “long” history of music?

Currently I record as ACCELERA DECK and YOUR FAVORITE HORSE. I have a collaboration with Scott Allison (aka sc.all, who records for scarcelight) called SUNSLUGG, and a collaboration with drummer Brad Davis (who also plays in the "rock and yell" trio Plate Six) called SLINGER.

Accelera Deck is mostly guitar based ambience, could be noisy, could be pretty, anything goes really.

Your Favorite Horse is kind of like Accelera Deck with more structure and vocals. Something for the future is working on music with my band "Skulllike". I have in the past done several releases under a variety of names and some of the Scarcelight releases are me and other folks in disguise, usually trying something new and testing the waters. Plus its fun to make up band names, ... like the Robert Pollard of noise. Scarcelight started in 2001, but really became active in 2003.

Previous to Scarcelight I ran a label called aiifm with friend Tony Boggs (tony records as Joshua Treble and is one half of Desoramis) This was in 1999. aiifm was one of only a handful of mp3 only labels (we took our cues from Falsch, No Type, and Monotonik). In 1996 I co-founded Pitchcadet Records with Aaron Tweedy (aka M-Tec).

Pitchcadet released 12"s by Jake Mandell and Novel 23 and split 12" by Yunx, and Datathief, also the debut CD's by Joshua Treble, and Jetone (aka Tim Hecker). So yeah I guess history is kind of long.

My personal history is really a bunch of zig-zagging lines with the guitar as the only steady thing.

The first Accelera Deck album "Naroctic Beats" was pretty much described in the press as shoegazer guitars w/ drum and bass. I moved towards more abstract beats for next album "Conviction & Crack" and dabbled in hip hop on "Addict". "Disquieting" and "Digital Headrest" were very much IDM influenced and the guitars were much more texture-like and sampled rather than played. "Shadow Land" is completely acoustic w/ vocals, and "Ipsissima Vox" is all guitars (electric or acoustic) very noisy, with moments of melody and acoustic guitars. In between all these albums I've done a handful of 7" singles and a few 12" ep's.

Accelera Deck full-length Discography:

1997 Narcotic Beats. CD/2xLP

1998 Conviction & Crack. LP

1999 Addict. CD/2xLP

2000 Disquieting. LP

2001 Digital Headrest. CD/LP

2001 Shadow Land. CD

2003 Ipsissima Vox. CD

>Where is Scarcelight located (still Birmingham, Alabama)? Do you see the

>internet / the globe as your location or is there a definite local centre?

>How does the place you are in or have grown up in influence your music /

>your work?

I was born in Birmingham and plan on staying here. Without the internet it would be much harder, but not impossible to do Scarcelight. With Accelera Deck I caught other labels attention the old fashioned way, by mailing them tapes. There isn't a scene here in Birmingham at all for what I do, so I guess that is an influence of sorts. Although there is a great punk rock scene, and i do find inspiration from the energy of the scene. I use the internet as one tool to help get the word out, but I still do ads in magazines. and send out print catalogues to anyone who is interested.

>Is Scarcelight a one-man-enterprise? Is it possible for you to make a

>living by making music? What are your interests beside the label and music?

Yes it is a one-man-enterprise. I work best by myself, with occasional guidance from a few friends and my wife. I am able to make a living (a very small one) through music for going on 3 years now.

>How do you decide what to release? If you are about to answer: “whatever I

>like”, please tell me what it is that you like?

I like music that has contradictions. Like some really beautiful melodies that are "distorted" or have been manipulated in some way. Or to have some wall of noise where melodies are peeking out, or it seems like there is some pattern in the chaos. I think all of the Scarcelight releases have this in some way or another. Thats just how it seems to have worked out so far. Additionally, more often than not I’m interested to work with certain artists. Every release has been either me contacting an artist, or recommended by someone who already records for the label. So I rarely know before hand what the recording will sound like, but I know the general m.o. of the artist and that's what I’m attracted to.

>Is there a goal or target you want to reach with Scarcelight, like

>supporting a scene of like-minded musicians?

well the immediate goal is to just put out good music. but yeah I like to see the label as contributing something to listeners and musicians. Hopefully helping an artist be able to further their work.

>In 2005 Floodlight will start, as far as I saw a distro for likeminded

>labels – what is the idea behind that step?

This is what will eventually appear on the Floodlight webpage once it is all set up.

"The purpose of Floodlight is simple. It is to make available records from labels, mostly outside the US, that are run by Scarcelight artists, & to do it in an affordable way. If you are visiting this page and you find something you would like to order, but aren't from the US then we encourage you to visit the labels and order direct from them."

Thats basically it, nothing real fancy. just an attempt to get the stuff available here without insane import price or expensive shipping.

>I found the slogan “new noise for a new day” in your catalogue (yet nowhere

>in the rest of the website) – can you explain that? What will that “new

>day” bring? What is the political side of Scarcelight?

ah the political side of Scarcelight.... my personal political position has only been noted with the Shark, Shark, Shark 3"CDR.

There isn't any unifying theme because of the diversity of artists who are from different countries. New noise for a new day is just a tag line. But its purpose is to signify continual movement in a forward direction. The word "new" best captures that I think.

New in this context doesn't mean "novel".

>How do you differ between noise that is aesthetically modified in a way

>that you like it and will release it and noise that is just, well, noise?

well in a subjective sense I just know it when I hear it, and its a totally personal thing. i mean some reviews of Evol's "Punani Shell" said it was just noise, and some reviews seem to be saying the same thing I felt when I first heard it, which is that it (punani shell) is beautiful in a really terrifying way, but there is a playfulness to it as well........so beautiful, terrifying and playful.....that's the contradiction I referred to earlier.

>One thing I remarked upon your releases is that the noise on them has a lot

>of variation, lots of subtle atmosphere and changes and is not made to

>impress by sheer volume and harshness. So, no shock-tactics. How does that

>come about? Is it just personal taste or is there a bigger idea behind it?

Even the harshest moments of noise on Scarcelight are balanced in a larger picture. This is hopefully a by-product of artist maturity. I am very picky about who I work with. So I would have to chalk it up to the artists and give them all the credit for it.

>Is there a rule at Scarcelight against music with a clearly defined rhythm?

>Are there any rules concerning music?

nope, no rules. the living ornaments 3"CDR "klonten" (which I dont think I sent) has rhythms on it.

>What is the “best-selling”-release on Scarcelight? How many of each release

>are produced / sold?

It’s pretty much a tie between Birchville Cat Motel's "With Maples Ablaze" CD and "Sunstrings ep" by Accelera Deck. 500 for 1st pressing, represses if needed.

>Some releases are on 3”CDRs, others come with fully printed covers, and so

>on. How do you decide what each release gets?

I flip a coin. No, its usually just kind of unspoken. New artists who've never released anything will defintely be on CDR, and my personal side-projects and collaborations will be CDR. All of the current CD releases are by artists who play live, are very hardworking, and usually active for other labels. The only exception is the forthcoming Aidan Baker CDR. It will be on CDR because I just didnt have room to add it to the schedule as a CD, but wanted to do it. I pretty much won't do a CD release by an artist who doesn't play live and doesnt have a good idea where they are headed.

Now having said all of that, it looks like i am saying the CDR releases are somehow less legit. Which is of course not true, but the CDR's function on a totally different level than CD. First of all hardly any distributors will pay attention to CDR's, some stores do...but its mostly mailorder, or sold at shows by the artist. CDR's are lowkey and offer a way to expose either a new(ish) artist (like Lim, EBSK or Bridle Wire), or to display some kind work that might be a live recording (like Mikroknytes), or a reissue of a tour single or something along that line (like the upcoming Maria Chavez)

Accelera Deck aka Chris Jeely

>What is the perfect relationship between artist – label – listener?

the relationship between artists and Scarcelight isn't so difficult to navigate because I am an artist as well. I have a very open relationship with each artist, and pretty much keep them informed about the label, and/or progress of a release to the point of..."here is where the promos went", "here is the status of the art", "such and such distributor ordered this many" and so forth. seems pretty obvious to do that, but my experience as an artist working for other labels is that this isn't always the case.

Hopefully the listener is willing to engage in the experience created by the music. By this I mean to "get something out of it", doesn't matter what they get as long as something is contributed. I hope that as time goes on folks will be attracted to the label because they know that it will be quality stuff.

>I told you, that I put in some of your CDs at my workplace – to the

>astonishment and irritation of my colleagues – and I was asked: “Why do

>people produce such music?” and “Why do people listen / buy it?” Do you

>have an answer?

I make that kind of music because I think noise meets melody is the best to communicate paradox, its that contradiction thing resurfacing again. Now a larger question is why try to communicate paradox? Life is a paradox, life is full of contradictions, and as an artist I want to engage the listener, rather than create an escape from the "real" world. The music embraces itself, the buzz and hum of the guitar amp, tape saturation, etc... and then it's all processed artificially with a computer. There is an insert in the Hearse 3"CDR that sums up what I'm getting at, it says "unplug your computer, write someone a letter, the irony is we just booked a tour - all by email. life and everything about it involves a contradiction and therein lies its beauty. every revolution begins with a raised fist."

>It seems as if everyone making this kind of music is also running a label

>releasing that kind of music (and at times as if even everyone who listens

>to such music also makes this kind of music) – so is the whole “scene” just

>one self-inducing circuit? Or is it just a matter of progression and

>necessity for growth within that “scene”?

it does seem to be self-inducing doesn't it? I guess alot of indie labels have been run by artists who want control over their art. and now you take it to a smaller level with micro-indie labels, and it just kind of grows and grows. what you have is alot of really small fish in a very small pond. maybe one day there won't be enough food, and the fish will eat each other or maybe one of those fish will flop out onto the ground and sprout legs.

>What is it that interests you personally in the kind of music you release?

I release records that I would like to be heard. There seems to be this notion in the "scene" sometimes that everything has to be completely innovative and cutting edge. But a good song is a good song no matter how you cut it.

>There are a lot of labels around the planet that have a lot in common with

>Scarcelight, e.g. the small size, the limited output, the consequent

>program that is situated far beyond whatever the mainstream is, the

>connections to other labels in far away places, and so on. Do you feel part

>of a global avant-garde? Do these other people – that you surely know –

>follow ideas and ideologies that are close to yours?

I think there are some ideas that overlap. I do feel part of the global scene which is stitched together by the internet, but good old fashioned touring can't be beat for making connections that are more solid. Scarcelight is a micro-indie label as far as size, but one thing that I think sets it apart amongst other small labels is that nearly all the active roster play live on a regular basis, and not just in their respective hometowns, but getting out there and touring. Evol have toured Northeast of the US, and Switzerland. Birchville Cat Motel has toured UK, and is on tour now for a month in the US. I've done 4 tours in the past two years, one of which was nearly a month long.

18 CDR's and 7 CD's in two years isn't exactly limited output, unless you mean limited availabilty, to which I say "if youre a distributor or store, please get in touch!"

> When moving from making music to running a label, what were your experiences? I mean, if you

>start to get into the logistic and organisational side of things, usually your focus starts to shift,

>because you start to learn "how the business" runs. As far as a business is concerned, Scarcelight

>is obviously a rather small one, but since you have to live off the music the question remains

>important: How does the "business side" influence the "artistic side"? How do you keep them

>seperated?

My greatest influence on how to run a label has been without a doubt Dischord, closely followed by Mego. Dischord in the fact that they are just some genuine guys who believe in what they do and work hard. Mego because they always seem to be evolving. Although I havent loved every record either label has put out, I can defintely appreciate it and see the bigger picture. I had some learning warm up with Pitchcadet, which taught me alot about distribution. I’m grateful for that. also there are certain distributors who were/are familiar with accelera deck and were interested to carry the label right off the bat. so the experience of getting distribution hasn't been as hard as i imagined it, on the other hand it is difficult to get folks to pay attention to a new artist no matter how great the record is, so the business side has to be balanced with the desire to put out a "new" artist. sometimes I’m to crazy to really understand just how fine the line is separating being able to continue moving  forward versus having to call it a day because money is tight or whatever. I’m of the belief that "if you build it, they will come", just gotta keep building.

>What is the ultimate goal you can think of that you'd like to reach with your music and label? What

>seems possible? Or plainly spoken, what are your future plans?

I defintely want to explore releasing some stuff that wouldn’t be characterized as "electronic", got a few things going in that direction. i would be interested to do some reissues one day, especially if it were to document some private press LP. I've also thought about issuing some better packaged versions (like quality of printing, liner notes, etc) of some of the early pre War Mississippi Delta Blues  artists, like Tommy Johnson, or Skip James.....who knows that is just a possibility and more of a dream, but who knows. 

Immediate future for Accelera Deck is to finalize the songs that will appear on my next album and to play some shows coming up to try out the new material and gear up for a larger tour in spring 2005.

Some upcoming releases for the label are; a 3"CD titled "{flying}" by Freiband; a full-length CD by New Zealand group Black Boned Angel, and CDR's by Aidan Baker (canadian guitarist), and Maria Chavez  (turntablist from texas), as well as a CD by Merzbow titled "Ruttus ruttus".

for updates and more information please visit: www.scarcelight.org

Georg Cracked, January 2005

Chris Jeely aka Accelera Deck w/ Evol