Interview with Olga Tlen (Cystoblastosis, Infernal Disgust, Thoracopagus Records etc.) 08/2018

Due to a lot of stress and daily life shit I haven't had the time to write for this blog in a very long time. Sorry about that. However,  after a long confusing period it would seem that my life is settling down a bit, and I have quite a few things already lined up for this blog so I hope I will be posting more material here very soon...

In any case, I'm super psyched that I return from this hiatus period with this awesome interview with Olga, whose music has been a huge part of my life this past year and who has really introduced me to the insane Russian grindcore scene!!

Olga is surely one of the most active people in the grind scene that I'm in contact with. In addition to recording and performing with her numerous projects (e.g. Cystoblastosis, Infernal Disgust, Ulcerated Offal, just to name a few), she is also running Thoracopagus Records which is constantly putting out tons of sick releases.

We conducted this interview through email this summer and spoke about Olga's personal history with music, her current projects and future plans, D.I.Y culture, the Russian underground music scene, and most importantly the true essence of grindcore!! ENJOY!!!

PROCRASTINATE: Hello Olga!! Thanks again for taking the time to do this interview. So how are you doing? Anything special going on in your life right now? Has summer arrived to St. Petersburg yet? 

OLGA: Hii! Thank you for your interest! ! I'm great right now I'm working as always and listening to some music. Oh yes, this summer I had a good rest and visited two wonderful festivals OEF and Shallow Grave, now I'm full of energy, it's very cool! Yes, this year it was very hot weather which is very unusual for this city. 

PROCRASTINATE: I know that you have a ton of grind and gore projects at the moment, but I'd love to know how you got into music in the first place? How did you discover your love for grindcore and what kind of stuff did you like before that? Did you have any bands before your current projects? 

OLGA: The first thing I heard was Anal Cunt when I was 13 years old haha. My friend showed it to me and then I started to become more interested in it, it was exciting. I listened to pop punk haha I liked to skate and listen to this music. Now I also listen to a lot of different music. 

Cystoblastosis was my first band, before that, I had nothing. But I remember that I tried to do a noise project.. ok it was my first experience and i didn't have any pedals. 

Phlegmsepsia split with Gastroptosis & Gastric Fluid

PROCRASTINATE: At the moment you are active in the bands Cystoblastosis, Phlegmsepsia, Infernal Disgust and Ulcerated Offal, in addition to which you also have your solo project Neurofibroma. Could you briefly describe the history and maybe some future plans for these projects? Are there any other projects that you are currently in that I don't know about or are there some new projects that you have planned for the future? 

OLGA: Ok, i will try! In 2015, in April, I was sent a pack with gorenoise tapes, we listened to it and went to our rehearsal studio, I was offered to sing, and from that moment on I couldn't stop and tried to do as much as possible. It was very funny!! haha.. 

With Cystoblastosis we planned splits with Sulsa, Cystgurgle, 3-way Necrocannibalistic Vomitorium\Pulsating Cerebral Slime, Gangrene Discharge, with Phlegmsepsia EP, Infernal Disgust Demo and with Neurofibroma a split with Soggy Decomposition and a 3 way split with Nucleus \ Grotesque Bowel Erruption and some new stuff with UxO. Now I have new project Splatter Autopsy Protocols and soon there will be another one. 

Ulcerated Offal / Deep Fried Embryo split

PROCRASTINATE: You also run the label Thoracopagus Records. You've already made a shitload of releases (27 releases since 2016 if the list on discogs is correct). How does running the label fit together with being active with so many bands? I can imagine that managing all of this can be really stressful! I'd also like to know how you divide your time between all of these different projects. Is there for example one band that you are more focused on and the rest are sort of side projects, or how does it work? 

OLGA: A little more, now I'm doing the 33rd release. When there is a great desire, you always find free time for this, this is the most important thing. Yes, sometimes it's really hard, but I know a lot of labels that are even more active than me. I can always take a break when I have really little time. ;) 

Now I have a lot of plans! Im going release Fresh Salad, Metrorrhagia and also I'm printing Neuro Visceral Exhumation official merch!! Yes, now my main band is Infernal Disgust, now we are more focused on shows and practice, but very soon our demo will be ready. 

We try not to rush For me, each project is different in importance and interest! and I want even more new projects, I have many ideas! I hope I will find people who will be just as interested in this as I am.

Thoracopagus Records logo

PROCRASTINATE: Your bands record very actively, so I was wondering how do you organize the recordings and post-production of your material? Is it all D.I.Y or do you ever go to studios to record new tracks? 

OLGA: We have our own rehearsal studio and in the same place, we can record our stuff. And also we did some DIY records earlier, i like how it sounds too! For Cystoblastosis we asked help from a lot of people and also our ex-guitarist helped a lot. For other projects, I do it myself, I like getting practice of this kind! 

PROCRASTINATE: I think all of your bands are pretty much gore-themed. What is it about pathology that interests you in particular? What is it about sickness and death that is so alluring? I'd also be interested to know if you write lyrics for your tracks or whether you just concentrate on the song titles so they will be good enough to work on their own? 

OLGA: Yes, it's very interesting for me, sometimes I read such literature or articles and watch medical videos. I have long been interested in this before I started making any music. In fact, some of my projects already have lyrics! In Ulcerated Offal mostly all the songs have lyrics (except for a couple of releases). Now I'm working on this and I think in Infernal Disgust we'll have lyrics too. 

Upcoming split with Pulmonary Fibrosis, Meatus and Ivan Ooze

by Infernal Disgust

PROCRASTINATE: As your bands are very much influenced by gore and horror stuff, I was wondering if you like to watch these kinds of films as well, or read horror literature / comic books or other stuff like that? Do you have any favorites in this genre? 

OLGA: Honestly no, I'm mostly interested in the medical part of this topic. 

PROCRASTINATE: Who makes the artworks for your bands? I've also seen that Cystoblastosis sometimes has gore videos projected onto the stage when you play live. Is this done by you as well?

OLGA: Basically I did most of the artworks for Cystoblastosis. But sometimes we asked for help when I was too busy. Yes, I did it! It was not difficult for me to do, because I watched a lot of videos and when I started I quickly recalled things so I wanted to add more. By the way, this video is about 1-1.5 hours. 

PROCRASTINATE: What is the grindcore scene like in St. Petersburg? I know there are a lot of awesome bands coming from Russia these days, but I'd be interested to know if you have a lot of gigs and if there is a big audience for grindcore in St. Petersburg. Do you organize a lot of gigs yourself? 

OLGA: We have a very big scene, I think the biggest one in Russia (probably this was one of the reasons why I moved to St. Petersburg) and we also have a lot of shows here. In fact, there is only one, but I have many plans and soon I plan to do another gore show in December, but for now it's a secret. 

Cystoblastosis live @ Moscow, 2017

PROCRASTINATE: Does the grindcore scene there have connections with the punk or metal scenes? How would you describe the St. Petersburg scene with that of other cities, like Moscow for example? 

OLGA: Usually we don't communicate much with guys from other scenes we have our own circle of communication and we have enough of it. Perhaps the exception is only the sludge scene, we have a lot friends there. 

In Moscow, now there is a great gore scene, there are many of my friends and it's always nice to communicate with them. I'm glad that it's active now. I don't know so much about the rest of the country and could only hear a few other bands (Russia is a very large country). 

Neurofibroma trax from an upcoming 4-way split

PROCRASTINATE: What would be the number one thing that you would like to accomplish with your projects? A split LP with Last Days of Humanity perhaps, or a tour in Europe or something like this? 

OLGA: The number one thing its do more stuff and more interesting music for my projects But yes, we have planned to tour in Europe with Infernal Disgust we're working on it now (I hope this will be possible and we will find people who can help us with this!) 

PROCRASTINATE: How do you spend your time when you are not making grindcore? Do you work, study, or do you have some non-music related hobbies that you find particularly interesting? 

OLGA: I work two jobs and study, for anything else there is almost no time left. 

PROCRASTINATE: What are your favorite grind/noise bands at the moment? Any recommendations for our readers? 

OLGA: Rawhead, Incinerated, Heinous, Fresh Salad (btw out soon on Thoracopagus Rec) now it's my favorite! 

Deranging Suppuration by Splatter Autopsy Protocols

PROCRASTINATE: What is the best gig you ever saw and what made it so special and awesome?

OLGA: In fact, there were a lot of shows which were awesome! But I think probably the best was the 3rd Archagathus show in Russia. It was in very DIY place, a lot of free vodka, dust and amazing music there haha Hi, Joe!! it was very fun, but I can't really remember the end of this show haha 

PROCRASTINATE: I had the chance to visit St. Petersburg this winter and I absolutely loved the city! What sites, locations, activities or foods would you recommend for people who would like to visit the city? 

OLGA: I would like to recommend something more, but usually I have the same route in my life work-home-rehearsal studio haha But I really love the architecture and museums here, these are the most interesting things in this city! 

Infernal Disgust live @ St. Petersburg, 2018

PROCRASTINATE: What do you think are the best / worst things about the grind scene or being a grind musician? 

OLGA: I think the worst thing is when someone considers himself a fucking rock star, it's very stupid... Or everywhere they're expressing their very important opinions. high self-esteem is the worst thing! The best thing is honesty! Honestly in music, honesty to each other and the absence of boundaries! 

PROCRASTINATE: I'm all out of questions now, so I'll just ask if you have any final words / cheers / etc. that you'd still like to say?

OLGA: KEEP GRINDING! STAY SICK!! BLEEURGHHH!!! hahah

AAAARGHHH!!! Thank you a thousand times for this interview Olga!!

Oh!! And finally, Thoracopagus records has just released official merch for Neuro-Visceral Exhumation from Brazil. Be sure to check this out!!!

LINKS:

http://thoracopagusrec.blogspot.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ThoracopagusRec/

https://infernaldisgust.bandcamp.com/releases

https://cystoblastosis.bandcamp.com/

https://ulceratedoffal.bandcamp.com/

https://phlegmsepsia.bandcamp.com/
https://ecthymagangrenosum.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/NeurofibromaHarsh/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkFxpqn2rfI0UOpt-urn1Sg