One Man, and Unstoppable Force

Zach Hill discusses his new album and his Tao of Drumming
Words by Joe Atkins • Photo by Sean Stout

If Zach Hill is anything, he’s prolific. The definitive characteristic of his drum style is constant movement, an unrelenting source of rhythm. The list of musicians he has performed with extends across the globe. This year alone, his name will accompany a drum credit on five studio releases: Cryptomnesia by El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Ice Capped at Both Ends by Diamond Watch Wrists, by- from the duo Bygones,Aggressively Humble by CHLL PLL, and last but not least Face Tat by Zach Hill himself, scheduled for release Oct. 19, 2010. He plays drums for one out of six groups on Sargent House alone. And there are more recordings pending, the upcoming Hella record being one. Just to catch him for a conversation, Submerge had to squeeze two hours from his week-long break between a tour of South Korea and Japan with Carson McWhirter, and an Australian leg with the Boredoms he left for before we even went to press.

Hill is aware of the all this. “Not to sound pretentious, but I’ve released over 100 records,” he said. Self-taught, he’s become a financially independent musician. He states it simply, “I’m proud of most of what I’ve done.”

But to summarize his catalog is a superficial gloss of what Zach Hill is all about. Behind a quiet demeanor lies a restless mind, stirring constantly like so many endless drum fills. We talked mainly about the process of recording the new album and how his schedule creates a disruptive focus that enables him to participate in so many projects simultaneously. We also discussed the appealing qualities of an expressive live performance and improvisation. And then he left for Australia.

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Total Recall: An Interview With Zach Hill

 
Zach Hill is an innovator. Booming out of Sacramento in the late 90s to make a name for himself playing drums with Hella, Marnie Stern, Wavves, Team Sleep, Boredoms, and countless others, Hill plays the drums like David Lynch writes movies—- frantic, perplexing, troubling—- but ultimately, completely euphoric. Earlier this month, Hill released Face Tat, the follow up to his first official solo album Astrological Straits. 

It’s a bit hard to say what Face Tat sounds like, as its constantly changing forms and songs will take an infinite number of listens to truly grasp, but the feelings one can get from listening to the album make it as addicting as some type of all consuming Entertainment. But this is more than just entertainment, this is Face Tat. And it rocks. And rolls. Really hard. 

I was able to speak with Zach about the album, including where he got the title “Face Tat” from, and some other endeavors 

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Zach Hill - Face Tat  
“The Sun City Girls’ blenderizing of intent and influence, mixing shock and comedy, lies somewhere in the background of “Face Tat,” Zach Hill’s new album on the label Sargent House. Mr. Hill is a virtuosic, hammer-blow, fast-footed drummer who puts his best playing in scuffed, shattered, strobing, overdriven songs and soundscapes. A mind-boggling video of one song from the album, “The Sacto Smile,” came out over the summer and transmits this record’s noisy intensity really well. It tracks a young woman marauding down a suburban street, causing major damage: breaking skateboards, smashing windshields, knocking over garbage cans, setting fire to things. (The cuts in the hand-held camera work are keyed to tiny actions in the music, putting the visual and musical in sync.) “Face Tat” is cartoonishly alive and shape shifting, but the funny thing is that there some are actual tunes here too with Mr. Hill’s enthusiastic singing and big melodies. Hear the album, and buy it, at zachhill.bandcamp.com ” - Ben Ratliff

Pitchfork premieres the latest video from Zach Hill directed by the fantastic Steph D for The Primitives Talk (Free DL on Amazon). Trip out. Best Nail salon ever…

Your upcoming album is called “Face Tat” – why was it named that way?

the title is loosely based on the idea of individual platforms. how we all find them and use them differently . i think  a facial tattoo is a very extreme way to use your own body as a platform. committing to a projection to that degree is something that i find interesting and metaphorical on many levels .

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(Source: ihrtn.com)

Zach Hill will be heading to Asia for some shows in Korea and Japan. Joining him on guitar for the shows will be  Carson McWhirter. check the video of them tracking the song Face Tat from the upcoming new album of the same name.

ZACH HILL feat/ CARSON MCWHIRTER
Sep 16 - Bar Guess - Daegu/Korea 
Sep 17 - Vinyl Underground - Busan/Korea 
Sep 18 - Super Sketch @ Theater 0 - Seoul/Korea 
Sep 22 - Koiwa Bush Bash- Tokyo/Japan 
Sep 24 - Sunsui - Osaka/Japan **
Sep 26 - Huck Finn - Nagoya / Japan **
Sep 27 - O-Nest - Shibuya / Japan ** & soft circle

** w/ High Places, Wildbirds & Peacedrums 

(Source: sargenthouse)

For the whole month of September the new track “The Primitives Talk” from the upcoming Face Tat is a free download and is featured in the Top 30 New Artists to watch. Face Tat will be out on Sargent House on October 19, 2010. And if you missed it you can also Download another new track called ” Memo To The Man”.

In other news, looks like that album  with Wavves might just end up coming out somewhere, sometime….. stay tuned.

Drummer solo albums are rarely good–this much Ringo taught us. But when the drummer in question plays like virtually no one else alive (our only reference point being Keith Moon, if he’d been into prog) and is known as a consummate collaborator (see: Hella, Marnie Stern, Boredoms, Wavves, etc.), those reservations can be comfortably cast aside. Such is the case with Zach Hill’s new solo album, Face Tat, which is out through Sargent House on October 19. Precedent MP3 “Memo To The Man”–a collaboration with Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier that bangs, zig-zags, and dropkicks with expected vigor–is roughly a thousand times more awesome than your local neighborhood drum circle.

CLICK TO GO TO RCRD LBL and download Memo To The Man

“Zach Hill is a well-known drummer of technical skill in the progressive music scene. Over the past decade, he has developed an intense cult following to the magnitude of which he probably doesn’t yet realize. Predictably unpredictable, Mr. Hill is known for being on numerous releases within a year, which sometimes stretch over varying genres and styles. In this interview, I talk to Zach Hill about his collaborations with The Sun Ra Arkestra, his upcoming album ‘Face Tat’ and the meaning behind a couple of song”

The way you describe making this album is like the musical version of maybe readymade art and conceptual artistry. You’re challenging the notions of what is music and what is melodic. Like taking the melody from pissing on a stack of Rolling Stones for example; that’s pretty awesome. What’s your art background like?

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Massively talented and incessantly collaborative drummer Zach Hill (see a semi-comprehensive list of projects here) has announced a fall 2010 release for his second solo album, Face Tat via Sargent House. The 13-track disc features an impressive list of contributors, including Devendra Banhart, No Age (Dean Spunt and Randy Randall), Guillermo Scott Herren (Prefuse 73), Greg Saunier (Deerhoof), Carson McWhirter (Hella), Nick Reinhart (Tera Melos, Bygones) and Robby Moncrieff (Raleigh Moncrieff).

Pitchfork has posted the latest video off the album, featuring a woman on a violent rampage set to the tune “The Sacto Smile”. Watch it HERE. The song features co-writers Spunt and Randall of No Age as well as Tera Melos guitarist Nick Reinhart, who also plays with Hill in Bygones.

Check out the first MP3 download from Face Tat, “Memo To the Man” On Stereogum The song features Greg Saunier of Deerhoof double-drumming with Hill, along with Reinhart on guitar.

Zach Hill explains the origins of Face Tat in his own words:

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DOWNLOAD MP3: Marnie Stern: “For Ash”

Guitar wizard Marnie Stern famously titled her BNM’ed 2008 sophomore album (deep breath) This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That. So copy editors everywhere will breathe a sigh of relief to learn that Stern’s newest album is named simply Marnie Stern. That self-titled album is due October 5 from Kill Rock Stars, and you can download the epic opener “For Ash” above.

The new album finds Stern once again working with longtime collaborator and Hella drum demon Zach Hill. Her boyfriend, Matthew Flegel of Women, plays bass, and The Mars Volta mixer Lars Stalfors also contributes.

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Artist: Zach Hill
Album: Face Tat
Release Date: October 19
Label: Sargent House

Tracklist:

01 Memo to the Man
02 The Primitives Talk
03 Ex-Ravers
04 The Sacto Smile
05 Green Bricks
06 House of Hits
07 Jackers
08 Burner in the Video
09 Dizzy From the Twins
10 Gross Sales
11 Total Recall
12 Face Tat
13 Second Life

“New solo album from this tentacle-armed Hella drummer and prolific indie sideman. Features contributions from No Age, Devendra Barnhart, Prefuse 73’s Guillermo Scott Herren, Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier, Carson McWhirter, Tera Melos’ and bygones collaborator Nick Reinhart among others.”

Watch the destructive video for “Sacto Smile”, featuring No Age, below. Directed by Zach Hill and Sean Stout.