To understand a project like Dominick Fernow’s Vatican Shadow (V.S.), you have to have a lot of Big Pictures in mind. V.S. is a project about America, terrorism, war, secrecy, radical/extremist Islam, iconography, iconoclasm, militantism, militarism, poetry, ideology, conspiracy, whispers, death, martyrdom, the East, the West, the Orient, the New World now found in every corner of a globalized Earth. If you’ve ever listened to James Ferraro’s “Far Side Virtual,” then simply flip it and something like V.S. emerges. At once the sound is of industrial techno taken the furthest underground, hymnals for/to/of the profane (reminiscent of Norwegian black metal) and a project that only makes sense w/ a post-9/11 context/label. Fernow’s project V.S. is becoming (for a man already beyond prolific) a major contribution to electronic and experimental music alongside his mainstay project, Prurient. While Prurient might be his most well know project, Fernow leaves almost everything of Prurient behind: if you know “Bermuda Drain,” then V.S. is close, but still totally removed. The project of V.S. may not appear as personal a project (autobiographical is a useless word in this context, but is the only word coming to mind) as Prurient, but V.S. was never meant to be a personal statement from Fernow alone. Beyond anything else, without any relation to the tangible world, it is some of the most gripping electronic music you will hear anytime soon.
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LINKS (Note: Literally the only ones not release-compilation related I could find.)
Discogs entry for Vatican Shadow
The Quietus reviews V.S. live
CVLTNATION reviews V.S. live
Photo-stream of V.S. appearance at Unsound 2012
Tumblr “Vatican Shadow” feed
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CONTEXT(Note: Mostly for the curious who want a few links of interest):
The Architect of 9/11, Slate article on hijacker Atta’s background in architecture
BBC Panorama, “Towards the Zero Hour,” looking closely at Atta (no 4 or 5 parts, but the rest of the information is easy to fill in)
[BBC Panorama, Towards the Zero Hour,]
BOMBLOG interviews Jarett Kobek about his book Atta published by Semiotext(e) in 2011
Wikipedia of Nidal Malik Hasan
NYTimes’ page on Malik Hasan
Wikipedia of bin Laden’s compound(Note: An interesting thing about bin Laden’s compound, at least for me, is that they burned their trash within the compound. If you know anything about Area 51, they do/did the same thing.)
Wikipedia detailing bin Laden’s death
Wikipedia on reactions to bin Laden’s death
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CONCEPT:
Fernow’s work seems to form triptychs, whether intentional or not: bin Laden (“Washington Buries Al Qaeda Leader At Sea”), Atta (“Atta’s Apartment Slated for Demolition,” “Ghosts of Chechnya,” “September Cell”), Nidal Malik Hasan (“Kneel Before Religious Icons,” “Byzantine Private CIA,” “Jordanian Descent”), etc.
Beyond the vinyl editions being released since Type’s reissue of Kneel Before Religious Icons, the only way to acquire any tangible V.S. editions is to obtain cassette editions (of very limited quantity) from Fernow’s lable, Hospital Productions. Otherwise, the only tangible editions left are compilations, reissues or the rare EP from some of the most forward thinking labels in electronic music—Type, Modern Love, Blackest Ever Black, etc. This, beyond anything else, is the most relatable fact to Fernow’s main project, Prurient.
Fernow also performs either in a desert-colored uniform or alongside religious regalia.
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MUSIC:
“Cairo is a Haunted City”:
“Church of All Images”:
“Bin Laden’s Corpse”:
“Wahhabi Money Flows”:
“Operation Neptune Spear Part Three”:
“Snipers as a Breed Tend to be Superstitious”:
“Whitewashed Compound Stealth Helicopter Crash”:
LIVE:
“Live at Los Globos 05 – 05 – 12”:
“Live at Unsound Krakow 2012 (1)”:
Vatican Shadow Live at Unsound Krakow 2012 (2)”:
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p.s. Hey. Today d.l. Will gives us this amazing and conscientious post about the fantastically dreamy and investigative Vatican Shadows, and there's richness galore up there, if you haven't explored the blog headlands yet. Enjoy fully, and thank so very, very much, Will. So, tomorrow morning I head from Tarbes to Poitier where I'll be talking about the theater work instead of making it. What I'm going to do re: the p.s. is that I'm going to respond to as many comments as I can before I have to leave, definitely the ones that get posted here before my bedtime tonight, and then as many of the later ones as time permits. On Thursday, I won't be able to do the p.s. because my travel time happens too early in the morning, so you'll get a hello and rerun post on that day, and then I'll be back in the p.s. business on Saturday, when I'll catch up any comments that accumulated in the meantime, okay? Sorry for the upcoming interruption. ** Misanthrope, Hey. Yeah, the earning money thing, that could be, although it hasn't happened with people I know who who have made a lot of money and are artists or are artistic, so that might factor. Actually, it hasn't happened with people I know who are artists and have children, so maybe that really is a huge factor. How did the fingerprinting go? Was it fun at all? Are your fingertips purple? ** Changeling, Hi! Maybe French truck drivers are a different breed. It's possible. 'Hogg' is a novel by Samuel Delany and it's, well, if you find a description of it, you'll see why I mentioned it, ha ha. Yeah, that is a good attitude about what you've written. I think if you don't put pressure on it, you'll probably be able to tell pretty clearly. I'm good, thanks. It was my birthday, yeah. The number was not a happy number, but I had a really great birthday, so it didn't end up bothering me as much I thought it would. Yeah, I don't feel I'm that much different than I was when I was 13 other than being more confident and focused or something. I could be wrong. You were on escorting's other side, and it was kind of interesting? I imagine that 'kind of' makes a lot of sense. Anyway, yeah, my trip is fruitful, I think. What are you up to, like, today, or for the duration? ** Un Cœur Blanc, Hi! Great to see you! Yeah, I'm traveling. Well, right now I'm settled in this dull small town working, but I'll be traveling again tomorrow. You had the flu! Ugh, I'm sorry. So many people do or have recently, including me. It was a big drag. Hugs. Thank you for thinking of me when you were reading 'RB by RB'. That's a really nice place from where to be thought about. You wrote some very beautiful sentences there, wow, kudos. The very best to you! ** David Ehrenstein, Hi. Yeah, I liked her speech, and I disagree with you on this, but I think you know that already. Sad about Oshima, yes. RIP. ** Postitbreakup, Thanks, buddy. ** Cobaltfram, That makes sense to me about Japan, yes. I'm not sure how one explains French literature's and literary readers' ok-ness with difficult subjects, but it is a quite secular country, so there's that. It doesn't seem crazy to be pumped to see 'Amour' to me, although I don't think you exit the theater pumping your fists, that's for pretty sure. Oh, thanks for wanting to send me books. I'm not sure when exactly I'll get to LA, but it shouldn't be too long. Do you need my LA address? That's very, very nice of you, John. ** MMR, Hey! Yes, cool, I will, and thank you very much! ** Alan, I'll pass along my thoughts once I've seen it. I've had this feeling that I won't like it, which has kept me from going out my way to see it, so, yeah, but I will. ** Empty Frame, Hi. I'll let you about the Manet thing after I get back to Paris. Fascinating story, and you're just making it more fascinating with your knowledge and tidbits. Yeah, I think I'll see the cherries piece. It's free and being performed in the Pompidou foyer, so there's not much excuse not to. I know of the Germaine Greer book, but I haven't read it. Sounds worthy. I haven't read that Rhys bio, but I would really like to read that. I don't think I knew of its existence. God or whoever love her. Hope you get tix for that ATP. It does sound pretty must. ** Ken Baumman, Ken! What is that? I don't know about that movie. Very nice trailer. Like the film's title. I'll look into it. Thanks, Ken! ** Steevee, No problem, I hope it helps. Just read something that made me very intrigued by the A$AP Rocky album, interesting. I'll overhear some. Thanks a bunch. ** 5STRINGS, Dude, you would have a sore dick at the end of that. But what's a few sore inches. More than a few, I'm sure, sorry. I like Emo, and I respect Emos a lot, but, man, I'm not so into the bands they're into. Sexy town oh yeah, this Tarbes place is positively sizzling, ha ha. ** Trees, Hi, T. Yes, yes, please on the book's release and, wow, a copy, obviously, if that's okay. Huh, I feel like there are pretty great lit sites out there all over the place these days, but their scenes are maybe more up my alley. Dreaming about a black square sounds amazing. Yeah, wow. You betcha, not every place swings, and here is among them, but we're here to work, so I guess it's a blessing or some shit. I did check out Nu Sensae! I got me some, and I fucking forgot to put it on my fucking iPhone before I left on this trip, and I'm really regretting that. Thanks a lot for tipping me off. ** Dom Lyne, Hi, Dom! So very nice to see you! Shit, that's intense, a huge groundbreaking, and I hope that the present gains are worth the price that your recent past paid, and it sounds like it. I guess from when you first talked about the new treatment, it seemed like it was going to involve some pretty heavy personal wrenching, so, yeah. And maybe the not understanding is a really positive thing? Confusion, loss of the ability to organize yourself carefully, those do seem like necessary entrances into the transformative, no? I guess I think of a couple of heavy, kind of really terrifying breakdowns I went through when I was younger, and they seem like very major switch points now. I don't know. I'm proud of you, man. You're really fucking strong and brave, and it sounds like you're winning this thing. Love and hugs, D. ** JoeM. Right, that's the album's title. I think I was thinking of that brief band that Eno put together with Phil Manzanera and some other alterna-superstar people. Hunh, Ayers and Blunstone ... their voices could make some odd, probably really nice harmonies together. I've seen that 'Object' thing, yeah. It does seem hoaxy, don't know why, maybe something in the writing itself that just doesn't seem like it would originate in him, I don't know. ** Anonymous, Is that you, Josh? If not, sorry to anonymous, and, if so, hi. Cool that you're into the tense pattern. There is an overriding logic to it, but I don't know it can be figured out outside of its connectivity with the other systems in that novel, but yeah. It would be nice to meet you too. Surely, there's a way. Life is long and all that, even if the length of mine is mostly in the rear view, but, eek, let's not go there. Thanks, thanks. ** Steevee, That is a weird miss on the P&J list, which itself is kind of not so bad of a list, with a few ?!?'s in there, given that it basically mines the center of what's going on. But, yeah, strange that Death Grips didn't make it since one or the other of their albums has been most year-end lists I've read. ** Sypha, Hey. Well, there's a reason why I put that escort at the top. I thought he might get the eyeballs engaged and ready to scroll. France is pretty sweet for that stuff you like, it's true. I'm not so really into churches and stuff, no. I don't know if it's my lack of religious upbringing or not. It's not an 'ugh, a church' thing. It's more like, how different is this one going to be from the last one I saw? That said, Saint-Sulpice is a nice one. Crusty and decrepit vibes from it or something to it. ** Bill, Hi. I think the specificity thing, or my theory on why there are more escorts out there with demands these days, is that there are a lot of young guys are trying escorting out to make money in this Euro economic mess, 'cos the ranks of new escorts has really swollen in the last six months or so. So, I think these guys' demands are kind of like them fantasizing that they're entering the profession aloud, and I wonder how many of them actually accept the offers. That's kind of what I expect from 'Looper', which is enough, I think. Things go well here, thanks! ** Okay. Off I go to work. Lend your brain cells and fingers and eyes to Will's excellent post, please. Like I said, I'll be back tomorrow with as much of a p.s. as I can manage to get down pre-departure. See you then.