Grinderteeth
DJ | VJ
Oozing from eerie soundscapes drenched in pounding rhythms and echoing vocals, Grinderteeth’s approach to producing reflects a mind that is unafraid to tap into the subconscious of both herself and her audience.
Based in Berlin, Veslemøy Rustad Holseter aka Grinderteeth illustrates the art of live improvisation through a web of hardware, mapping and Max MSP to build noise and downtempo soundscapes along with syncopated beats and vocals - often her own - to create multilayered and chilling aural experiences. Her sets range from bizarre to electrifying and aren’t typical to one sound as she adapts to particular surroundings and audiences, be it inside HÖR’s tiled cubicle space or an old train station in Paris. Either way, Grinderteeth delivers sets that are very much her own. Through the medium of electronic music, she explores themes of intersectional feminism, gender, and sexuality which draw inspiration from sources of hyper-emotionality, mythology and current politics.
Veslemøy is an artist in every sense of the word. Under her Grinderteeth moniker, she has played in Griessmuehle (RIP), Unit 26, Kunstfabrik HB55, CTM Festival, and has travelled to perform National Jazzscene in Oslo, Peyote in Istanbul, and Multitest in Vienna. Last year she was selected as Berlin Amplify’s artist resident and mentored by Born in Flamez where she finalised her debut Album ‘Bitchdoctrine’.
A core member of the No Shade collective, she also mentors female, non-binary and trans individuals who want to learn the skills of DJing and VJing in a welcoming and inclusive environment. She has also played a plethora of the collective’s parties at various venues dotted around Berlin, and she continues to work on projects within the group even though all club-based events are on hold at the moment.
The pandemic has ripped through Veslemøy’s sources of income and shone a light on problematic parts of the music industry. She shares her thoughts on the last few months below, as well a poignant memory from CTM festival earlier this year…
Where was this photo taken and why did you choose it?
This photo is a photo of the visuals from my CTM-Festival show in February.
I chose it because it symbolises the energy of playing live to me and being at a certain place with your artistic expression, the power of collaboration, and when someone completely connects with your vision. It was the first time I had a visual artist (it's bad juju), with me on stage and we did all these sick 3D-scans of me in advance of the show, one of which you can see here. Everything was in sync, the sound was great, the lights were great, the visuals were great and it felt like a level up really, that it was the start of a new phase.
Of course also just being at CTM and seeing so many amazing artists and shows from all over the world, right before the pandemic hit, was really lucky and has been a memory I'm really grateful for as well.
How have you been over the last few months and what's life like in Berlin at the moment?
I've gone through three phases. Being sick and exhausted after traveling back an alternative route via Greece during the lockdown, after playing some shows in Istanbul.
Not doing anything since all my work got cancelled and it was all total chaos. And now being back on grind and feeling in control, as much as that's possible.
In the last months things have started picking back up a little. I did some freelance jobs such as doing lights at a Drive-in Cinema Deadhype’s recent launch and Magic Island’s concert for Arte France and we’ve been doing some small scale events in Trauma. I played at HÖR Radio some weeks ago and did mixes for Macao, Yeoja, and European girls alliance.
Everything is still very uncertain, yet I'm in this time-wise weird state of feeling physically and mentally the strongest I've ever been at the moment.
Part of your work as a lighting technician (amongst other many other things) involves training femme, trans and non-binary individuals to also become light technicians. Have you continued to train during the pandemic or are you working on a new way to stay connected and educate those who are interested in learning the ropes?
Our last No Shade training was actually the first time we involved teaching lights, and visuals as well as DJing. I have a definite plan to do a lot more training programs like that cause I see the need for more diversity, in tech particularly. Yet as I'm currently doing an artist residency at Monom, we are working on a new project with No Shade and I need to do my freelance gigs and find ways to make a living and stay afloat during this pandemic, for the moment I don't have capacity.
Know that it is coming though. I'm taking advantage of this period until the time is right, expanding on my technical skills to be a better teacher.
Another still from Grinderteeth’s CTM show
In terms of music, what have you been listening to recently and have you discovered any particular sounds or artists that have helped to inspire or creatively motivate you since the pandemic was declared?
I've been listening a lot to Tzusing, Amnesia Scanner, as well as some new releases coming out from Nyege Nyege. Since I have less work I’ve spent a lot of time at home just diving into Bandcamp and Soundcloud-internet holes. So recently I really discovered a lot of productions that were new to me, but Miss Jay is one artist I’d like to highlight. I'm really into her remixes ATM.
I also recommend this Midland - NYC Downlow 2017 mix on Soundcloud from Block9. It will give you a shock of energy for sure, if you have no motivation a day or are feeling low.
At this moment in time, how do you feel about the future?
I think one of the reasons why I'm still doing what I do is that I'm really stubborn with a kamikaze-mindset, so I'm not really feeling too discouraged by the future, yet also not hopeful. Even if there is no hope, if I believe in the cause I'm gonna keep charging full power, so that's kinda my mindset. Maybe just living with the hardships of supporting yourself financially as an artist and the constant uncertainty of freelance life was good preparation to deal with this moment in time.
In terms of the future of industry though, I feel like right now is dire for sure, yet it could also be an opportunity for a much necessary change and to cut some dead weight. To create something new you first need to destroy your attachment to the old. And there are so many archaic or downright harmful structures with how our industry operates at the moment. Payment from Spotify or streaming is a joke unless you are in the top percentage of what is commercial. That's also why so many people have lost almost all their income now that they can’t play gigs any longer. People are not willing to pay for a track, what they pay for a coffee, which is just downright fucked up, and social media following has gotten too much power in my eyes. Feels like to me that a large part of our industry is stuck in a never-ending feedback-loop with the same people on top and same stale thing being repeated over and over. It's a capitalist model. Just look at the current criticism being (rightfully in my eyes), leveraged at 'Business techno'.
This could be the chance to rethink and create new ways in which we operate as a community and how we run our business, but of course, that's gonna be coming from the grassroots and people who really live and breathe for this with their lifeblood. Perhaps if there's a shift on the ground that makes enough impact, eventually, the commercial/big industry actors have to follow.
What’s the one thing that has remained a constant source of comfort for you throughout the last few months?
Movement for sure. Building muscle, splits, handstands, whatever that may look like or so. I think when you feel strong in your body it's so much easier to feel fierce in the world and tackle what is thrown at you also. As an unfocused person who has to create my own work structure, since your body and mind are connected, moving around in some way daily provides me with comfort, energy and focus.
I also have a strong community here and really feel like I was held in the womb of the queer fam here in Berlin these last months as well. In all this chaos there was a lot of love and what is life if not living it with each other.
Listen to Grinderteeth’s latest mix for European Girls Alliance here and follow her below: