Slogun
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Slogun, real name John Balistreri, is a music performer usually associated with bands like Sickness, Control, Skm-Etr and Bloodyminded in the "Harsh", or "Power Electronics" genre. He has released approximately 15 full length albums on various labels including Bloodlust!, Death Factory, and Slaughter Productions and has performed in countries such as Japan, and Russia.
Contents |
[edit] Beginnings
Born out of the early 90's New York City noise scene (Intrinsic Action, Bloodyminded, Hydra, Woe is Me), Slogun was in fact a member of Intrinsic Action before starting his own project, as well as his label, Circle Of Shit, in 1996. Originally concentrating on America's obsession with the celebrity of serial killers, Slogun has in the last few years expanded his writing to a more biographical point of view, covering topics such as street crime, gangs, and the aggressive surroundings of his upbringing in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, a largely Sicilian community in the southern end of Brooklyn, NY.
A DJ in the New York City Goth/Industrial scene in the late 80's/ early 90's, John became friends with Mark Solotroff of long time Power Electronics act Intrinsic Action when they both worked at the NYC record store, Bleeker Bob's in the early 90's. After joining Intrinsic Action for a few shows in the summer of 1994, and after constant encouragement from Solotroff, John began the Slogun project which lead to his first release, not coincidentally on Solotroff's newly formed Bloodlust! label, "Sacrifice Unto Me" in 1996.
[edit] Two Distinct Periods
2006 marks the tenth year of the Slogun project and it can be broken down into two distinct parts: 1996-1999 and 2000-2006.
[edit] 1996-1999
The first part was a period of constant recording for Slogun, producing a total of nine full length releases and four singles. At the same time Slogun refused to perform live, stating in some interviews he felt live performances would never capture the true feeling of the material recorded. With this constant recording and experimenting it was here that the "Slogun" sound was being created, moving away from the more ambient, droney noise-scapes that made up the early releases to the walls of noise accompanied by the trademark over-the-top vocal style. With each new release the material was stripped down more and more until the formula was established: a layer of harsh noise, with a layer of samples (such as serial killer confession, victim testimonies, etc), and the vocal delivery above it all.
[edit] 2000-2006
Beginning in late 2000, John's stance on performing live all changed as he was offered a slot at the legendary two-day noise-festival, "Deadly Actions", in Lille, France. So, the first ever Slogun live performance was alongside bands like Genocide Organ, Militia, Ex Order and Club Moral. Since then, Slogun slowed down the recording pace and began performing live every year, usually a small tour of about three to five shows overseas. In 2001 it was Germany, 2003 it was Japan, 2004 was England, Lithuania and Latvia, and 2005 saw Slogun perform in Germany, Poland and Russia.
His live performances are known for being excessively violent and absolutely improvised, ditching any lyrics from actual Slogun pieces in lieu of a spontaneous verbal and physical attack on those in attendance. For example, during certain performances Slogun has done things like: demand the audience leave, stand with his back to the crowd, arms folded, refusing to do or say anything, attack people in attendance, and even tell those in the audience to go on Ebay and sell off every Slogun release they had. Subsequently, during this "live" period from 2000 to the present day, there have only been four full length releases along with some singles and mini ep's. However, beginning in April, 2006 Slogun, along with Bloodlust! began releasing the long talked about "History of Violence" re-issue CD series, encompassing six CD's covering the project's first seven long out of print full length cassettes from 1996-98.
[edit] Beyond Slogun
This latter period also saw John branch out with two other projects: Self and Incinerator Intl.. Self is the tamer, more dark ambient project while Incinerator Intl. was a Power Electronic collaboration project with Swedish noise/black metal legend Henrik N. Bjorkk from MZ412/Folkstorm, resulting in the full length CD, "Head On". It was also in this period that saw John begin working on a series of drawings under the name Sick At Home, focusing on a childhood obsession with the all-American ideal of a home with a white picket fence and backyard, something which he never had growing up in New York City.
[edit] Live Participation
Although the Slogun project is in fact just one person, when performing live through the years John has had many friends participate, sometimes as many as ten people in one show. They include the following people in the noise/power electronics world: Mark/Bloodyminded, Chris/Sickness, Sasha/Noizeguild, Shane/Noizeguild, Viesturs/Noizeguild, Lee/NTT, Chris/Skm-Etr, Thomas/Control, Brian/Viodre, Xavier/Timeless Magazine, Mike/Fire In The Head, Jonathan/Deathpile, and Ed/Bloodyminded.
