Throcke
= Christopher Mollineaux Carson
Origins: Charleston SC, Chapel Hill NC
Current Home: Brooklyn NY
Well, first of all, I am not a DJ. I don't spin records or remix anything,
and I don't usually sample from anyone else's music. I do like sampling
from everything else though - speech, airplanes, water, elevators, cellos,
birds. Throcke is basically an ongoing solo "studio project,"
meaning there are no performances (yet). If you live in NYC you can
see me get sweaty on stage playing drums with UMAMI.
Throcke does not mean "The Rock." It's actually a nickname
that dates back to 7th grade when my weird friends and I started a band
called Jimmy and the Rotting Potatoes. No one was named Jimmy (well,
there was an "essence" we called Jimmy, who was responsible
for lights flickering, doors suddenly opening, and other supernatural
occurrances during rehearsals). Anyway we tried to come up with some
ridiculous names for ourselves, like S.L.U.G., Turnip, Big Andy, RigorMortis,
and Throckmorton S. Peagood XVII. What started as a joke became permanent,
and soon older kids at school I didn't know were addressing me (with,
I can only assume, respect) as "The Throcker." Somehow it
has always stuck, evolving into Throcke.
The music also gained momentum after initial expressions of goofiness.
While playing drums for various bands, I was constantly writing experimental
piano pieces. It started with silly 4th grade Casio musings like "The
Day That He-Man Died" which were based on my "random chord
theory," and later developed into elaborate piano compositions,
crammed with as many odd time signatures and key shifts as I could muster.
I wish I could remember some of those songs. In college I began recording
on a borrowed four-track tape recorder, layering drums, guitars, sounds
from household items, drunken yelps, whatever I could think of. Soon
people were asking for copies of the music and passing it along to others.
I bought my own four-track and pushed its limit for years, before it
finally died under a pile of plaster and rubble when my ceiling collapsed.
Today I record mostly in Digital Performer although I sometimes use
a Fostex digital 8-track.
I try to look at the bright side of not having a proper studio or a
lot of equipment. I like to think that it forces me to explore new sounds
and tricks from familiar instruments and setups. I use a lot of junky
instruments - buzzy basses, damaged mics, and an electric guitar someone
gave me (he paid $25) with a neck that bends as soon as you put your
fingers on it, sending it wildly out of tune. On the other hand, I do
have a nice old Roland JX-8P synth (it's a rich sounding analog), and
I play some fantastic custom-made drums by Magstar.
I've been a drummer and songwriter for many bands: Planet Nine, Hurka,
Grasshopper Highway, Exit Ocean, UMAMI (among others). I've also written
scores for several short films. But nowadays the solo project gets the
most attention. I'm currently working on a full length album that I
hope to complete in April.
I'm interested in the interplay between the mechanical and the organic.
I try to write songs that use computer sequenced patterns as well as
live recorded performances. I like to see how natural and unnatural
sounds and progressions either complement each other, or struggle against
each other, or get blurred in the process. Hopefully strong emotions
come through in all of that noise too. Some of the artists I most respect
include John McEntire, Dntel, Bjork, Animal Collective, and Four Tet.
More of what I listen to can be found here.
In addition to the music, sometimes during the day I edit film and video,
mostly for TV commercials.
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