Issue #1 - Interview with RMF Noir

RMF NOIR – SUMMER LOVE SONGS….



RMF Noir is the art-noise project of Rob Fenner. Sonically, it is extremely difficult to pigeonhole (partly the point) but it draws equally from cold wave, noise, electronica and punk. A limited edition EP, ‘Summer Love Songs’, is out at the moment. Previously, Rob has worked as No Kisses (an Adult-influenced electropop outfit) and as keyboardist for Sub-Culture and The Firm, who he has been known to moonlight for in recent times.

Clearly a very busy man (he has also done the odd soundtrack and score, more of which later), we wonder quite how the EP came about. ‘I’m surprised I managed to put anything out in the end, considering the amount of cancelled projects and unreleased material I’ve had under my belt since 2005’s A Girl Strife EP,’ he muses. ‘There was never an initial plan though – this was very spur of the moment. It’s all brand-new material that I’ve written over the Summer, with each song following the overlying theme of love’s more unpleasant aspects.’

When quizzed on who or what inspires him to make the punishing and hard-edged sounds he does, his response paints a pessimistic (but probably quite accurate) picture of the world today. ‘It’s a sliding scale, really. Things are getting more and more apocalyptic each year. The mavens said the world is going to end in 2012. Lately we’ve had bird flu, terror moral panic, and 2007’s revelation about bees losing their navigational abilities due to interference from cellular signals and dying out….they say that when the bees go, man has only five years left…which brings us back to 2012. Short answer? “The lighter side of hopelessness” is a big theme in my work. As for who inspires me? Just about every single person I meet. And my family.’

Listening to Summer Love Songs, you can certainly detect a cinematic quality within the music. So it should come as no surprise that Rob has more than dipped his toe in the waters of scores and soundtracks. ‘I wrote the score and created the sound effects for a deaf animation student’s cartoon this year, and I’m currently putting the finishing touches on a rescore of Jan Svankmajer’s Alice. On that horizon, I’ve been asked to write the music for a few amateur computer games, namely a fan-made remake of Falcon classic “Brandish.” Work on that is beginning in the next few weeks.’

RMF Noir is certainly a far cry from the lively beats and dark catchiness of No Kisses. Although not occupying Rob’s time at the moment, the latter is certainly far from dead. ‘No Kisses was/is basically my pop music, or ‘misanthropop’ as I prefer to call it,’ he says. ‘A single called “Swastika Sally/The Smoking Room” was briefly in distribution during Spring 2006, but I became preoccupied with other projects – as well as real life – and no other material was ever released. That doesn’t mean the project is dead though.’ When asked when we might expect to hear a follow-up to the aforementioned single, ‘early to mid 2008 at the latest’ is his response.

So what is next on the horizon? ‘Anarchy at your local Pret-a-Manger. Oh, and I’m also part of a two-piece dark ambient project called The Hostile Takeovers, alongside a key member of Patricide. Watch out for that.’

Like we said, a busy man….

SUMMER LOVE SONGS – THE RUNDOWN

‘Basically, as abstract as its contents is, the EP is an autobiographical account of recent events. It begins with “Done Me Wrong”, a bleak, to-the-point omen of things to come. “Things Stay the Same” is a howling descent into a tale of love gone stale and awry. A new, dreamlike romance is detailed in “Our Love”, but quickly takes a surreal, nightmarish turn. Things finish off with “Stray”, an angry cautionary tale, or warning. Bookending each of these songs are short, disorienting compositions which fit the theme and compliment each piece nicely. It’s all quite angsty, really…but it’s just as tongue-in-cheek as all of my releases.’


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