{"id":1835,"date":"2025-03-03T22:15:55","date_gmt":"2025-03-03T23:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/demoslotrupiah.com\/?p=1835"},"modified":"2025-03-05T19:44:18","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T19:44:18","slug":"hardcore-queen-kilbourne-talks-with-hannah-baer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/demoslotrupiah.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/03\/hardcore-queen-kilbourne-talks-with-hannah-baer\/","title":{"rendered":"Hardcore Queen Kilbourne Talks With Hannah Baer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/assets.rebelmouse.io\/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy81NjYxNzA5Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTc4OTU4NTgwNX0.hmqkNKYrJ7IuFkOSidJRaz8OQuomxkvnLaDvfraDNFI\/img.jpg?width=4480&amp;height=5227&amp;coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0\"><\/p>\n<p>Ashe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/kilbourne2themax\/?hl=en\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><u>Kilbourne<\/u><\/a> is loving \u201cuncomfortably empty\u201d soundscapes. The hardcore queen, who\u2019s been a staple of New York\u2019s underground for years, gives her signature industrial bend this sense of restraint on the seven-track album <em><em>If Not to Give a Fantasy<\/em><\/em>. Out on her own label <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/hammerhead.hardcore\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><u>Hammerhead Records<\/u><\/a>, Kilbourne\u2019s latest project interrogates listeners\u2019 relationships to the artists they love, encouraging a more spiritual connection that transcends quick hit, modern club music. <\/p>\n<p>Whether it\u2019s the solemn bird song of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=VlHbs_1QT_M\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><u>\u201cLoon Call\u201d<\/u><\/a> that rattles spontaneously or the acidic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=BRR8PjpX51E&amp;t=3s\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><u>\u201cDouble BBL\u201d<\/u><\/a> that oscillates between regular and double time with a mind of its own, Kilbourne pushes deeper with this material and strives for intimate experiences on the dancefloor. \u201cI\u2019m really interested in finding a sound that is my own and exists outside of essentially commercial ways of understanding music and divisions within it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>Below for <em><em>PAPER<\/em><\/em>, Kilbourne chats with author and personal friend <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/malefragility\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><u>Hannah Baer<\/u><\/a> about dance music, subculture and the &#8220;sexy, psychedelic&#8221; possibilities of hardcore.<\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>As we&#8217;re catching up today, you&#8217;re putting new speakers in your car and it made me curious: what music have you been listening to lately?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve been listening heavy to the 2025 soca season. It\u2019s exciting having new music out every week, it reminds me of high school when I knew the release dates of bands. I\u2019ve also been listening to 2000s Italian hardcore, I love how trancey the melodies are. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Wow, I bet the two sound really good together, or at least complementary. I want to hear about your new album and the sonic palette you drew from this time around. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>They sound heavenly together. My last release I was a little more techno-pilled. I was really moved by the experiences \u2014 many of which we\u2019ve shared \u2014 in non-hardcore environments, dancing to music that was way slower and more restrained than what I make or play. I wanted to transmute that into hardcore. I am still interested in this conversation, but I\u2019m also feeling much more expansive in what I\u2019m drawing on. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Yes, totally. I feel like one thing I really associate with you is a kind of disciplined relationship to the legacy of the genre of hardcore. And I&#8217;m curious what that&#8217;s like in a music landscape that can feel very &#8220;flavor of the month.&#8221; <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s obviously lots of influence from industrial hardcore of the last 20 years, but I also tried capturing some of the energy I used to feel working on Philly and Jersey club tracks when I first started making music in 2011, and playing with real minimal soundscapes \u2014 like uncomfortably empty. <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m such a nerd for [the history of hardcore], but I feel like I\u2019ve horseshoed a bit. This is the least interested I\u2019ve been in genre \u2014 at least for my own production \u2014 in a long time. I care deeply about my influences, but I\u2019m really interested in finding a sound that is my own and exists outside of essentially commercial ways of understanding music and divisions within it. <\/p>\n<p>You and I were chatting recently a lot about <em>Nosferatu <\/em>and how <em>The Witch <\/em>is totally beyond, and I reckon while <em>Nosferatu <\/em>is a beautiful movie, its power is restricted in that it is a tribute to previous incredible works of art that the director loves. <\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p><span class=\"rm-shortcode\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"1601004af34f239e98862a00cbfe1057\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%\"><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Kilbourne - Loon Call\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VlHbs_1QT_M?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>Yes, the anxiety of influence. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>So it\u2019s a beautiful piece of art that honors his influences, yet it doesn\u2019t necessarily transcend or reinterpret them. <\/p>\n<p><strong>It sounds like you feel freer to fuck with your influences at this point in your trajectory than maybe you felt on earlier records. I&#8217;m thinking about <em>NJ Terror<\/em>, which was the first EP of yours that I really listened to. And I got so obsessed before we even knew each other. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Aw, definitely. I feel like around <em>NJ Terror <\/em>I started becoming really interested in articulating something grounded in history. It was my second release on a hardcore label, and I think I wanted to prove to myself and others that I could make music like the records that influenced me. <\/p>\n<p><strong>You&#8217;ve paid your dues in that regard, at least that\u2019s my sense. One thing we&#8217;ve talked about over the years is the audience around hardcore music in the US versus other places. You tour a lot internationally and in countries with much larger hardcore scenes than New York. I&#8217;m curious what your sense is of the culture around hardcore in the US right now?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s exploding in a way it hasn\u2019t in years. Ten years ago I felt like I knew practically every person my age who DJ\u2019d or was obsessed with hardcore in NYC. Now there are so many events and collectives I\u2019m always learning about and meeting new heads, most of whom are younger than me, which makes me think the scene will continue to grow.<\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p><img alt=\"\" class=\"rm-shortcode lazyload\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"276af3abb20fd0de5d70b14ccbbaa55c\" data-rm-shortcode-name=\"rebelmouse-image\" id=\"4e601\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"http:\/\/demoslotrupiah.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/img-2.jpg\"><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>I was going to ask something about electronic music and queer culture in NYC.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I was about to say something about hardcore being really gay here.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span><\/span>Like, the dance music subculture most associated with elevated taste and thoughtfulness is queer in NYC. How does that relate to hardcore? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>US hardcore is special compared to how straight hardcore is in the Netherlands and most of Europe. A lot of the people moving the scene here, playing shows, producing music, putting on parties, are gay or trans. It\u2019s funny because the scene is LGBT\u2019d out, but I don&#8217;t think hardcore and gabber are perceived as part of an &#8220;elevated taste&#8221; set. Techno folds very neatly right now into fashion, celebrity, hedonism, and I appreciate that hardcore can&#8217;t fit as cleanly. There\u2019s something confrontational and future-facing about that sound that demands more than just casual consumption. But I do believe it is beautiful, sensuous music that deserves reverence and analysis. <\/p>\n<p><strong>I love that. And yes, I feel the same way about hardcore \u2014 it\u2019s like a bit anti-assimilation feeling, especially in the US. Which is why it&#8217;s cool to imagine it being kind of white bread in the EU. I&#8217;m also curious what it&#8217;s like to be in a straight scene over in the EU, and if it&#8217;s fun in a way? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Being in EU hardcore feels funny. Most of my friends in NYC are dolls or gay, and it&#8217;s way rarer to see visibly queer or trans people at the big hardcore events. Once I was playing a Dutch hardcore show, very stereotypical gabber crowd \u2014 shaved head, toned, tall, shirtless men in track pants dancing hakken \u2014 and I was spiraling next to these guys like, &#8220;Damn, I am playing the parties I dreamed of, but I am alone as a trans or queer person.&#8221; I was in this goofy pity party when one of the gabber boys grabs another&#8217;s head from the back, pulls him in and starts tonguing him down. It was a good reminder we&#8217;re everywhere.<\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p><span class=\"rm-shortcode\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"a96e79b13be008bf74468fee540993d7\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%\"><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Kilbourne - Double BBL\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BRR8PjpX51E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>[Laughs]<\/em> We&#8217;re literally everywhere, it&#8217;s true. Can you say something about your recurring party Hammerhead. I&#8217;m curious to hear what you envisioned for it initially and how you think about staking out a space in IRL for the music?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Hammerhead has been my lil baby for the last two years. I&#8217;ve thrown six parties in New York plus a couple of out-of-town showcases and released three albums. The concept is hardcore techno on a really loud system with long sets from people who&#8217;ve really shaped the genre here and globally. It&#8217;s not a queer party, but it leans that way. The sets are always very long. My goal is three hours per artist, so they can say all they need to say. I live for all kinds of hardcore, but with Hammerhead I wanted to emphasize something sexy and psychedelic about the genre.<\/p>\n<p><strong>I&#8217;ve found them to be so intimate and also diverse \u2014 not in the college admissions sense, but like\u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Intimate is so the vibe. Playing at an 80,000-person hardcore festival is the polar opposite of intimate, and that&#8217;s the setting that dominates people&#8217;s idea about the genre, so I wanted to throw a party that felt deeply cozy and explorational. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Yeah, it\u2019s actually a really beautiful mix of people I would never see out at a typical techno party, plus all of my deep nightlife loves. Regarding queerness, at the last Hammerhead, I was dancing with Lex, and she was like, &#8220;You should write a think piece for Rave Forum about Hammerhead,&#8221; and I was like, &#8220;Would it be about how Hammerhead is post-woke?&#8221; Which was a joke. But I do think there is a way that the queerness in the space feels subtle and kind of like past a flat &#8220;idpol&#8221; or identitarianism. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The scene is growing supplely right now, and I don&#8217;t feel the need to cordon it off into gay or straight. It&#8217;s for the freaks and that means there should be a healthy presence anyways. It&#8217;s not casual, it&#8217;s for people who deeply want extreme sound and catharsis from a very special kind of music.<\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p><img alt=\"\" class=\"rm-shortcode lazyload\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"5154b6abf5df1074e995bb7b0a34f45b\" data-rm-shortcode-name=\"rebelmouse-image\" id=\"b21f6\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"http:\/\/demoslotrupiah.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/img-3.jpg\"><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you have goals or wishes for what happens with the party next?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I have more artists I want to invite, both within and outside the US. More legends, more newcomers. My dream is to make it into an all-Sunday affair so it can get really twisted \u2014 afters zombie, but being constantly shocked back into consciousness. I think a dark room would be great.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Yes to all, I love this buffet. I know all-day Sunday feels like a special vibe in this time. Will you tell me some about your process around production? I&#8217;m curious to hear about your workflow and how it&#8217;s evolved, especially with the new album.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I made a lot of kick drums. In hardcore, you&#8217;re not allowed to copy, so you gotta make &#8217;em all yourself and, usually, most sound really bad. I tried to use more hardware, not because it sounds better but just to push myself into new habits \u2014 again, allowing for minimalism and sitting in the discomfort of using fewer elements in a song. Trading loudness for dynamics. Except in \u201cDouble BBL,\u201d that is very maximal style. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Will you tell me about the Betty Boop edit for \u201cDouble BBL\u201d? That track goes so hard. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I love my BBL\u2019s and this track is a tribute to the procedure \u2014 pumping up the sound, making the kick drum juicier and juicier. In the clip, Betty goes to hell, which is this little factory cranking out new devils \u2014 kind of BBL clinic vibes.<\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>I live for all kinds of hardcore, but with Hammerhead I wanted to emphasize something sexy and psychedelic about the genre.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>That\u2019s so cool. Betty is very BBL energy. What\u2019s next on your horizon after this record drops?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I have a couple of new songs that I wrote once the album was done. It felt so good to start something new. I have a couple of tracks with Baseck that I think are really strong and want to finish \u2014 so many collabs I\u2019m hyped on. I\u2019ve also spent the past six months working on audio for my friend Maxi\u2019s video game <em>Babysteps<\/em>, which is coming out later this year. Learning how game composition and audio works has been so stimulating. I finally want to rescore <em>The Matrix<\/em> \u2014 I told you I was going to do that in 2020 and it\u2019s time to get to it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You\u2019re always doing so much, I really admire it.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Literal same.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lastly, is there anything you would say to readers who want to get into hard styles and don\u2019t know where to start?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Next time you\u2019re in a car at night, play Ophidian \u2013 <em>Butterfly VIP<\/em> as loud as you can and drive as fast as you can. Watch old party footage. Come to Hammerhead, obvi. This music is everything \u2014 it\u2019s what I love and can\u2019t stop loving.<\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><em>Photography: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/brandonwaard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Brandon Waard<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ashe Kilbourne is loving \u201cuncomfortably empty\u201d soundscapes. The hardcore queen, who\u2019s been a staple of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1837,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/demoslotrupiah.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1835"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/demoslotrupiah.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/demoslotrupiah.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/demoslotrupiah.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/demoslotrupiah.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1835"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/demoslotrupiah.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1835\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1841,"href":"http:\/\/demoslotrupiah.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1835\/revisions\/1841"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/demoslotrupiah.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/demoslotrupiah.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/demoslotrupiah.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/demoslotrupiah.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}