Charles Butler is an experimental musician based in Scotland who’s quickly become one of the most prolific artists going today.
You can hear Butlers recent compositions including two new tracks “Radiant Damage” & “Cure Wounds” here.
I caught up with Butler to talk about his earliest musical influences, how he started making music and the recording process of the new songs.
CMM- What was the first music that really made an impact on you as a kid and what artist or band did you enjoy the most?
Butler-The first music that really made an impact on me at a very young age (must’ve lasted from when I was about 5 – 9) was the Pet Shop Boys. I was absolutely obsessed with them and I even got to go and see them play at the Birmingham N.E.C in 1989 when I was 8 years old. I think their music, and particularly their extravagant, dramatic and provocative live show, left a really big impression on me in terms of broadening my horizons and making me aware of things beyond the norm, something I didn’t really appreciate until later in life. I drifted away from them as I discovered and got more into rock music (hearing my dad play Queen and Meat Loaf tapes in the car had a big effect on my in my early teens), but very much re-embraced them in my 20s and 30s when I remembered how great they were, particularly their first 3 albums.
CMM-When did you first start creating sounds and how did you get into experimental music and noise?
Butler-I’ve played drums and guitar in bands since about 1998 (most notably in Mothertrucker, the Hubble Constant and Cody Noon) but didn’t start creating solo sounds, like many people, until the Covid lockdown in 2020. I took the opportunity to get into home recording and try creating less band-focused music in a more minimal, weird, droning, abstract style. I’ve enjoyed experimental music for a long time, mainly after getting exposed to some incredible gigs put on by Birmingham promoters Capsule in the 2000’s. I was drawn in by them putting on great post rock stuff like Do May Say Think & A Silver Mount Zion and this eventually led to me getting more into metal, noise rock and electronic / dance music. I remember seeing shows by Black Dice and Merzbow during this time and finding them particularly confusing and exciting and acting as a gateway into experimental and noise music. With both of these gigs there was kind of a starting point of “What’s going on? This is formless racket” which quickly shifted to me being completely enraptured and realizing whatever is going on rules and I want more of it.
CMM-You recently released two amazing tracks “Radiant Damage” and “Cure Wounds” What was your inspiration to make these pieces? What gear and instruments did you use during the sessions?
Butler-Both of these tracks were improvisations recorded live during practice then mixed and layered at home last year. Inspiration wise, I was trying to push my songwriting and composition into new territory by concentrating more on improvisation and letting things flow slower and freer. This was an attempt to loosen up my existing, quite rigid and predetermined approach to songwriting and I was happy with the results which I think opened up new possibilities and broke new ground for me. Moodwise, for “Radiant Damage” I think I was trying to channel a slow-burning, controlled protective attack and “Cure Wounds” was attempting to focus on creating a healing and soothing atmosphere.
In terms of gear, these tracks were recorded live using my guitar (Gibson SG) and keyboard (Casio SA-78) going through my pedal board (at this time it probably consisted of a Boss Blues Driver & Digital Delay 3, EHX Holy Grail, Cathedral & Freeze and a very cheap but great unbranded analogue delay pedal I got off eBay a few years ago) looped and layered using a Boss RC-30 loop pedal. I think there may be some field recordings played on my phone through the guitar pick-ups on “Radiant Damage” too.
CMM-If you could do a score for any film director, who would it be and what would the film be about?
Butler-I must admit that while I do enjoy watching films, I don’t watch that many as I’m generally more of a books and comics fan so am struggling to have a good answer to this one without cheating heh.
My two favourite films are The Rocky Horror Picture Show (gets an annual viewing sometime around Halloween) and Oldboy, however I think I’d struggle to come up with a good score that fit the vibe of either of these gems. My ideal film score situation would be for an adaptation of either the comics of Alan Moore or Grant Morrison or the fantasy and sci-fi novels of N.K Jemisin or Ann Leckie. Some kind of emotional sci fi / fantasy epic would be right up my street.
CMM-What do you have coming up next? Any new recordings or shows?
Butler-I have a new solo album called “Full Beam” coming out on tape and digital via Cruel Nature Records in August. Particularly happy with this album, I think it’s my best solo release to date, certainly the one I am most proud of. It is similar in inspiration, approach and recording style to “Radiant Damage / Cure Wounds” but has a wider variety of tracks, in terms of length, scope and mood.
I also have new releases from my Pocket Dimension synth / electronic and Colossal Letdown drone / noise / weird projects coming out in May via Reverb Worship / Sleep Fuse and Luddite Tapes respectively, looking forward to these too. Hopefully there will be a few more releases coming in 2025, I’ve got quite a bit of stuff recorded and am working on more.
Next confirmed show is supporting the incredible Tangerinecat in Edinburgh at The Voodoo Rooms on Saturday 18th October. I was fortunate to support Tangerinecat in Dumfries back in 2022 and am very grateful for them having me support them again. They are an incredible act both live and on record, check them out.
