A Kvlt of Personality Interviews: Josh Doughty

Josh Doughty, based somewhere in the sticky, heatblown city of Houston Texas, is a big believer in noise for its own sake.

Besides heading experimental audio entities Funeral Parlor and Female Pedophile, Josh  co-runs  Dumpster Noise Records, a tape label that puts out a handful of limited releases each year. 

When he's not making noise, he's writing about it, running Axisflowers, a blog dedicated to reviewing the best of the underground.

Because of these excursions, he's gained some clout in the noise underground, a position that makes his regular use of controversial themes, overtly sexual and violent album art, the name "Female Pedophile,"etc., all the more unnerving. Not that it matters to him. Noise for its own sake, remember?

The following text is a transcription of an interview I conducted with Mr. Doughty.

Much like my Kim Carlsson interview, this interview was conducted many months ago, but a certain publisher dipped out on actually putting it out.

Hello, Josh. How are you?

Good. The Christmas season is over along with the travelling. 

Why noise?

I have tampered/listened to a lot of genres and noise seems like a genre that yields a lot of innovation and creativity. I am constantly challenging myself. It's easy to get started and you don't have to necessarily be musically inclined to make noise. Seems like a smart choice. 

I previously reviewed "The Brocks," a Female Pedophile album. I wrote about its compositional strength, how it sounded unified and dynamic. What kind of role does structure play in your noise?

Thank you for the review, by the way! I believe structure can make or break a project. Why? It separates one from the endless sprawl of projects day in and day out. With that being said, it can be good and bad. Good if you have your own structure for writing purposes. Bad if you end up sounding like everything else. 

What's the future for Female Pedophile? Any new releases?         

There are quite a few things in the works for the project in the upcoming year. I won't spoil anything, but lately I have been looking for projects of different genres to collaborate with. My idea of something different perhaps. Hopefully slow down on releases and play a few shows throughout the year. 

You also head Funeral Parlor, which sounds, at least to me, a little bit less depraved than Female Pedophile. What does Funeral Parlor offer you that Female Pedophile does not?  

Funeral Parlor does not offer much social awareness like Female Pedophile does. Funeral Parlor is much more intimate. Some songs are warm. Some are very depressing, or perhaps depraved. Funeral Parlor incorporates synths and a lot of experimentation. 

What is Dumpster Noise? Whose music do you release? What is your goal in disseminating these works?   

Dumpster Noise is a tape label originally made to release our (Garbage Mask, Funeral Parlor, The Hague, and Female Pedophile) tapes and it seems to have lifted off of the dirty floor we lived in afterwards. 

We release what we like, not what we should like. We just want our home for these tapes and for people to give these projects a listen. Best-case scenario: you have something new to jam. Worst case scenario:you have a new tape to dub over. 

What are your non-musical influences for your work?   

Me personally? Nature, sex, finality. 

The aesthetic for Dumpster Noise releases is very uniform. Lots of monochrome and disturbing imagery. Do you think noise has room for more positivity?  

I never saw it as uniform. I guess it just worked out that way. It may be that everyone chose their own artwork (minus one release). I think the monochrome stuff is because it was cheaper to print ink without color. 

I think noise has the potential to do anything. Noise is definitely bigger than us. Noise breeds off awareness and I think that is a very positive thing.   

If you could pick two upcoming Dumpster Noise releases that you're most excited about, what are they and why did you pick them?

There is only one release coming out that I am aware of and that is the Dumpster City Vol. 2 Compilation. This will be two hours worth of new and established experimental projects. This sold out in the first hour so we are making a large-scale run for this particular release.

Any final words? 

Just thank you for the interview and be on the lookout for new releases from all projects stated above and that I wish everyone a bright and safe new year.