0036 // Chookiessss

Chookiessss is the name of a Youtube broadcasting platform that is, in the owner’s own words,  “celebrat[ing] shit that’s different and worth listening to”. This is perhaps something of an overly modest manifesto, as Chookiessss has an achingly meticulous style carved out for itself, each upload grasping at an indescribable mood and exacted aesthetic. One way in which Chookiessss has established itself in this way is the careful attention paid to the accompanying artwork – snippets of obscure films, distorted digital art and fuzzy visuals all colour and actualize the message of the music. “I think the experience of listening to music is made so much more powerful and immersive by the accompaniment of visuals, and vice versa”, the channel’s owner muses, noting one particular example used from Gasper Noe’s ‘Enter the Void’, “I love that movie. It’s rare to watch something that leaves you feeling so hollowed out, or at least affects you to that extent (particularly so with Irreversible)”. The channel’s owner is also an established producer in his own right, with an EP release on the horizon, “The EP is called Closed Mouths. I’m really proud of it, so I hope people can hear it at some stage. In terms of what people can expect to hear, it’s quite cinematic, and pretty abstract, but it has an arc, at least in my mind.”

Despite the unmistakably niche quality that the channel holds, the selections cover a wide range of techno, noise, ambient, industrial and dub. This is reflected in the latest installment of our podcast series, which snakes around the many disparate influences of the channel, all the way from Grindcore Occultists NAILS to the pensive hymns of John Cohen. “I love heavy stuff, like techno and metal, but ambient music has always resonated with me the most, right since when I was little, so the later half of the mix is quite reflective”, he explains. “I’ve grown to love noise, so a lot of that mix is quite abrasive and people might find it hard to listen to. But to me music should be challenging, even if it’s not amazing. Good production goes so far beyond mixing and mastering. It’s about taking risks, and it becomes pretty apparent when you produce who is taking risks and who is playing it safe. The bitter irony is that invariably the people who aren’t taking risks get recognised, and the ones who are making genuinely interesting music largely get overlooked.”

He’s absolutely right, of course. The majority of the artists featured on the site will likely never get the day in the sun that they deserve. All we can do is be thankful channels like Chookies take the time to champion the dark corners of the Internet, and value the courage it takes to be original.

Check out the Chookiessss Youtube channel here.

Tracklist

1. The Haxan Cloak // Consumed [Tri Angle Records]
2. Blawan // Breathe Them Kness In [Black Sun Records]
3. Dead Fader // Ja [Robot Elephant]
4. Aphex Twin // Gwely Mernans [Warp]
5. Paul Jebanasam // Rites IV [Subtext]
6. Dead Fader // Askanes [Murder Channel]
7. Pan Sonic // Louhi [Mute]
8. Emptyset // Limit [Raster Noton]
9. Nails // Unsilent Death [Self-released]
10. John Cohen // juxd } [Broken20]
11. Ben Frost & Daníel Bjarnason // Simulacra I [Bedroom Community]
12. ??? // From Memory [Unknown]
13. Underworld // Trey’s Fate [Unknown]

0036 // Chookiessss by Stray Landings on Mixcloud

• Published
• Nov 4, 2014

• Credits
• Words by Georgie_McVicar