​Don’t keep that noise down!

“Noise music” might sound like an oxymoron to some. The first word calls to mind the harsh, chaotic, and abrasive, while the second word tends to make one think of the practiced, synchronized, and oftentimes catchy. But to Brandon Wald, the organizer, founder, and promoter of the first ever Fargo Noise Fest, organized under the moniker of ‘Black Ring Rituals Presents’, his record label and radio show on 95.9 FM, nothing could be further from the truth.

Instead, in his words, “It is really the last form of underground music; it cannot be co-opted by corporate media because it denies the catchy hooks and a danceable beat, and at the same time it is the ultimate expression of the DIY ethos, since most people who make it work totally solo.”

The festival, like the music, is an example of the DIY ethos, with Brandon setting it up himself completely free of sponsors, although he says, “I am eternally grateful to the local noise scene and everyone involved for helping me promote however.”

Fargo Noise Fest is a two-day festival taking place at the soon-to-close New Direction, devoted solely to harsh noise, power electronics, and industrial music. While the genre of industrial music might call to mind artists like Marilyn Manson or Trent Reznor, harsh noise and power electronics aren’t as widely known, and as Brandon admits, harder to explain to the uninitiated, although he still gives it the old college try. “A lot of people have a hard time understanding what ‘noise music’ actually is, but it is aptly named. Noise music is like an old cathode ray TV that’s just playing static but then the static became a dynamic force that exited the television and entered reality and is now accelerating the entropy that permeates everything in the universe.” Heavy stuff.

My first exposure to the genre of noise music was in college, when I was introduced to music by Steve Albini and his 1980s band Big Black, which I immediately fell in love with. Steve Albini did the sound engineering on Nirvana’s last album ‘In Utero,’ which is probably the closest the genre has ever flirted with the mainstream. You can also hear the genre over the speakers occasionally at Orange Records.

Otherwise, as Brandon tried to get across, it’s a very esoteric genre.

What about Power Electronics? “[It’s] like that, but with distorted yelling that sounds like a nuclear reactor meltdown is happening and a voice is yelling over a loudspeaker that everyone needs to evacuate but you are panicking and time is standing still so all you understand is that at this very moment your stress reflexes have failed and you could die at any moment.”

I suppose it’s that kind of aesthetic that keeps these projects largely underground with cult followings, which is exactly how their listeners prefer it.

There are twenty projects coming, eleven from out of state and nine from the burgeoning local noise scene in Fargo, which has gone in three years from only three projects (Manchester Bulge, Monowolf, and Braindeer) to around eleven or twelve.

Even though their main hub, The New Direction, is closing its doors, Brandon assures there are various more underground venues that support the efforts of the Fargo noise scene. “I would dare say Noise music is the fastest growing underground genre in the FM area.”

Among the local talent that will be playing at the festival are Monowolf, Edwin Manchester, and Suspicion. The headliners for the festival include Cock ESP, Straight Panic, and Gnawed, who Brandon says are some of the biggest noise acts out of Minneapolis. Also playing will be Satanic Abortion, CBN, and Hoschte from Omaha and Contact Low from Billings.

Despite the extreme-sounding monikers of some of the bands, Fargo Noise Fest is an all-ages event. The New Direction sometimes offers food and drink for these events. As far as the two-day nature of the event, in keeping with the DIY ethos of the music scene, all accommodations are up to the individual. There is camping at Lindenwood Park for those inclined, but Brandon encourages those who go that route to make a reservation for a campsite.

Whether the first Fargo Noise Fest will also end up being the last depends on the turnout for the event, as well as whether another DIY all-ages venue can be found able to accommodate it. Though there’s only so much you can do with regard to the latter, you can help out with the former if you’re either an existing noise music fan or just looking to expand your horizons in the world of underground music.

IF YOU GO:

Fargo Noisefest

August 19-20, 5:30 pm-howling

The New Direction, 14 Roberts St. N, Fargo

$10/day $15 Two day pass