ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Griffin S. is a writer, visual artist and noise musician. You can probably find him manipulating samples, reading James Ellroy or Philip K. Dick and smoking. He lives in Los Angeles.
One artist that I have been a longtime fan of is Pictureplane. He is one of those artists that is so profoundly important to me that I can vividly remember hearing his music for the first time. His melding of genres, deep emotion and catchiness all make for a beautiful combination that is simultaneously dark and gorgeously transcendent.
Pictureplane (real name Travis Egedy) is an electronic musician and visual artist based in New York City. Not only did he coin the genre name “witch house,” but he has proven to be deeply influential in the worlds of alternative/dance music and even underground hip hop. I cannot thank him enough for agreeing to answer some questions.
Pictureplane - AVALANCHE (youtube.com)
Griffin S.: How was it living and creating in, really overall being completely immersed in the DIY warehouse scene when you were coming up?
Pictureplane: Living in a DIY warehouse in Denver was a hugely educational experience for me. booking bands and shows, organizing art exhibitions, running sound boards, being very involved in local community, it was just a very foundational and important time in my life as an artist. It made me who I am today.
Griffin S.: Do you see any possibilities for a similar scene popping up again? DIY scenes certainly still exist but it doesn’t seem like they do in the same capacity that they once did. With cost of living as it stands as well as music shifting to the internet, do you think DIY scenes are as sustainable as they once were?
Pictureplane: Yes the cost of living in cities is so expensive now, my rent in our warehouse in Denver was $300 a month. I lived there from 2006-2012. That allowed me to be able to fully focus on my art and music. That is totally unheard of now, and all that empty warehouse space in cities has been converted to lofts or fancy breweries now. I actually feel bad for the much younger generation because of how expensive everything is now. I’m not sure I would have been able to pursue my musical passions if my rent was like $1000 or something when I was just starting out. So yes it’s much harder now for DIY places now to exist.
POST PHYSICAL - PICTUREPLANE - OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO (youtube.com)
Griffin S.: You have lived in New York City for a while now. It seems like the city has changed a lot, with the closing of venues like 285 Kent and Glasslands (I believe a bit over a decade ago) seeming like the last nail in the coffin for affordable live shows and community. How did you notice the artistic community shift, if it even has, after the closing of those venues years ago and the subsequent changes in the landscape of the city? How has New York changed for you as an artist and have these changes in the musical landscape affected your own relationship towards the city?
Pictureplane: One thing that is constant about NYC are the changes. It’s a very fluid place, it’s always in motion. People and places come and go very quickly. I really miss 285 Kent and Glasslands and that whole era, but the city is still extremely vibrant and alive. So much creativity and talented people everywhere. And so much going on culturally. I just love NYC so much.
Griffin S.: Your new single, Velvet Lies (Metallic Garden) sees you taking your music in a heavily darkwave direction. Your earlier stuff shows a deep affinity towards goth culture and early goth music/post-punk, would you even call this a new direction for your music or is it simply the logical evolution of your sound?
Pictureplane: I do think it is a logical evolution of my sound. I’ve been wanting to make music like “velvet lies” for a long time. So it feels really good to be making it. It’s just coming out of me in a very organic way. I’m not forcing it at all.
Pictureplane - Velvet Lies (Metallic Garden) [Official Video] (youtube.com)
Griffin S.: Hopefully this is not a terrible interpretation, but I see this tension within your music. This kind of balance between technology and the future with a bit of tragedy as to what that may entail. Very cyberpunk. It feels very timeless and pulls from all of your influences in a really striking way. What emotions would you say go into a Pictureplane song?
Pictureplane: I think there is a lot of romance in my music, like a bittersweet longing for some hidden beauty. I’m always exploring and trying to find total bliss and ecstasy through synth. And I think of the music as hopeful and optimistic.
Griffin S.: Let’s talk about dungeon synth. You have a dungeon synth (or Dungeon Trance I believe you call it) side project called Scythe. Is dungeon synth something that has always been of interest to you or is it a newer discovery, and what attracts you as an artist to dungeon synth?
Pictureplane: I’ve been really in to low fi black metal for a long time. And I’m super obsessed with Magic The Gathering, so the fantasy element really drew me in to dungeon synth once I started to really pay attention to it. Its just a really fun and fascinating sub genre and universe to explore. Its all atmosphere, mood, and aesthetics. Dungeon synth is exploding right now, there is so much great weird music being made. Same with underground black metal. It’s very inspiring.
SCYTHE "Candlelit Descent Down the Initiation Well" (youtube.com)
Griffin S.: Favorite deck to run in Magic?
Pictureplane: I play Commander. My favorite colors to play are white and black, or black and green.
Griffin S.: I know you are a big fan of them and I am as well, Black Dice. Would you say hearing their music for the first time was one of those moments where things kind of shifted for you and you knew you had to create music?
Pictureplane: Totally. Black Dice and Wolf Eyes are two bands that really exploded my young brain and showed me that sound and music could be anything. Total sonic freedom. No limits. Their music had a huge impact on me as a person and my philosophical outlook on life and art. Two of the greatest bands ever.
Griffin S.: You are a prolific and talented visual artist, I understand that you went to school for visual art and music kind of came up alongside that. What drew you into visual art and how has your own art evolved alongside your music?
Pictureplane: I’ve just always been an artist. It’s like a lifelong passion. I knew I wanted to go to art school even when I was a kid. Studying contemporary art and learning about art history was also really important for how I approached my career as a musician. For a while early on, I thought of Pictureplane as more of a performance art project. I started making music as a teenager, so I’ve just always done both. Music and visual art. They definitely inform each other and play off each other.
Pictureplane and art from his series “THE DISEASE OF ASTONISHMENT.”
Photos courtesy of his Instagram
Griffin S.: You also run a clothing company, Alien Body. When did Alien Body come about and how has it been navigating the incredibly saturated fashion world?
Pictureplane: Alien Body came about around 2014, just from me really enjoying making crazy shirts for Pictureplane, and realizing that people like buying shirts. I was inspired by independent brands like Mishka and Actual Pain, I saw what they were doing and thought I could do something similar. And it’s a constant learning process! I don’t really know how i navigate an incredibly saturated fashion world. Every day is a challenge. But it’s a lot of fun to figure out. I’m just focused on making cool shit that is of good quality.
Griffin S.: Favorite records of all time and why?
Pictureplane: I don’t even know haha, there are so many. A lot of my all time favorite records are underground rap albums from when I was a teenager. Stuff like “the Cold Vein” by Cannibal Ox or “Funcrusher Plus” by Company Flow. Or “violent by design” by Jedi Mind Tricks. I still listen to that shit all the time.
Pictureplane - Blade Addict (Crimson Mist) (Official Video) (youtube.com)
Griffin S.: Nut Hole is ultimately a literary press. I know you have spoken about books before and seem to have good taste in them. What would you say are some of your all time favorite books or writers and have they influenced you in an artistic sense in any way?
Pictureplane: I read a lot of non fiction stuff, I love books about Native American history, or alternative ancient history stuff like Graham Hancock. “Blood Meridian” by Cormac Mcarthy is one of the greatest works of art by a human being I think.
I want to thank Pictureplane for agreeing to do this interview. Please dive deep into his discography, you will not be disappointed. You can find Pictureplane’s music, as well as Alien Body, in these links as well as Spotify, Apple Music, etc.:
Pictureplane (@_pictureplane_) • Instagram photos and videos
Music | PICTUREPLANE (bandcamp.com)
Weeping Blade / Dungeon Trance | SCYTHE (bandcamp.com)
PICTUREPLANE | 100% Electronica (100percentelectronica.com)
Cool stuff, great music, fun read