An interview with Serpent, taking a deep dive into Serpent‘s recent activity and his UNNAMED FRIENDS™ project– in conversation with Jack from The Rudder.
“I’m just trying to help people release music without boundaries. I’m pretty open to insane shit…Just as long as it isn’t hurting anybody, that’s my thing.” – Serpent.
A regular on our url shows, Serpent is an experimental electronic producer from Portland. Serpent’s music is batshit- folders upon folders of MP3 garbage are rearranged into digi-junk monuments commemorating the worst and most inane of your 3AM Youtube rabbit holes… It’s challenging stuff, but Serpent’s unflinching dedication to creating it is incredibly admirable and there’s cool stuff in there if you’re willing to bare some auditory punishment and genuine bewilderment.
Recently Serpent began upping his activity on his UNNAMED FRIENDS™ page– so far he’s used it to peddle dope shirts and Serpent merch, but I got the sense that there was more to it. So I arranged an interview with Serpent over Zoom, not only for a lovely catch up on what he’s up to right now and where he’s at creatively, but to get some insight into his plans for the UNNAMED FRIENDS™ project: What it is and his plans for it.
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Jack
So, we’ve interviewed about the Serpent project before. That was, what? Like six months ago? So, update me on what you’ve been up to since.
Serpent
So, I’ve been working on a double album type thing. It’s secretly a double album. I’ve been telling people that I’m close with in the music community that I’m associated with. The noise-ish community. I told them it’s going to be one album, but it’s actually- I’m gonna drop an album that’s going to be a feature project with a bunch of people that I’ve collaborated with over the years and it’s going to be a cohesive album with a narrative.
And then the second project I’m dropping is a full blown industrial, post punk, pedal board, guitar, weird shit. A little less sample-y than the project I’m going to drop first. It’s more analogue than the last project.
Jack
Okay cool. So I guess I’ll head into the UNNAMED FRIENDS™ territory. So…what is it?
Serpent
So pretty much it’s a collective of people who really don’t want to be named. I have a big group of friends and it mainly started off as a Skype group chat. Now it’s a Discord server. It’s like a think tank and we all contribute ideas. But they’re not really in the music scene and they don’t release anything. And they don’t want to be named at all, so I was like “Okay, we should just call it UNNAMED FRIENDS™” and they were like, “Okay, that’s cool”.
So the Serpent project that I do is a solo act, but a lot of the ideas and the structures and the sample ideas come from my childhood friends and people I’ve met and stuff.
Jack
So UNNAMED FRIENDS™ is the name of the collective that feeds into Serpent?
Serpent
Yes. But I want to turn it into a label sort of thing. But you know how labels are like malicious and just weird? I don’t want to be labelled as a label, because its always associated with like, “We’re just gonna take your moneyyyy”. I don’t want to be associated with that.
But, I’ve been working with and talking with another artist named Seven whose in the community and they want to do merch through the UNNAMED FRIENDS™ website. So its sort of like a collab on… it could be anything honestly: merch, music, like art…it could be anything. It’s a collective. If anybody wants to join or contribute they can just ask and I’ll be down with it [laughs].
Jack
[UNNAMED FRIENDS™] was previously called Lyf Industries right?
Serpent
Yes, that was my place holder name because I didn’t go by Serpent originally, I went by Rogue Lyf and I released ambient shit under that name. It’s still on Spotify, it’s still there under Serpent. Yeah, [Lyf Indsutries] was associated with my former stuff, but I still like the name, so I like keeping the ‘formerly’ because it seems cool and because it makes it look like [UNNAMED FRIENDS™] has been around long enough to change the name.
Jack
What is the the core idea of UNNAMED FRIENDS™? What are you trying to get done?
Serpent
I’m just trying to help people release music without boundaries. I’m pretty open to insane shit, like harsh noise, like anything honestly…Country? Just as long as it’s not hurting anybody, that’s my thing.
Jack
Yeah, well dude when is the country release coming, come on?
Serpent
That’d be sick. That’d be awesome. Like Outlaw Country or some shit.
Jack
Is that the name of a genre? Are you starting a genre?
Serpent
Haha, no that is the name of a genre. Outlaw Country is pretty good, it’s like Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard– like all those peeps. Good shit.
Jack
I think you should revamp Outlaw Country and have it be like, outsider music. Like they’re outlaws because they make horrible sounds.
Serpent
Yeah, I like that. Outlaw Country…….[wistfully]
…
Jack
So if UNNAMED FRIENDS™ was an item of food, what item of food would it be?
Serpent
Oh, I like that question. I work at a produce company, so I’m thinking of produce.
I think like…Ube potatoes?
Jack
UBE POTATOES?!
Serpent
The purple sweet potatoes. It’s honestly one of the coolest looking things ever. It looks alien it doesn’t look real.
Jack
Do you think AI art will eventually have anything to do with what you’re doing?
Serpent
I’ve fucked with AI art, just because its fun and you can make shit that’s like absolutely grotesque and weird. But, I don’t really like the AI music thing. That’s just weird to me. I like the human aspect of people making music. I think sampling AI music would be cool, because it’s almost like a fuck you to [laughs] AI, because I could turn it around and be like “Hey”.
I don’t know. I’m not like against it or for it. I’m just intimidated a little bit by it. But every new thing is intimidating.
Jack
With UNNAMED FRIENDS™, what do you stand for and stand against?
Serpent
I stand for complete creative freedom as long as it’s not hurting anybody. That’s my thing. I’m into all sorts of shit, and I’m down to release it.
I like people being able to express themselves even if it’s bat shit insane. I like a lot of performance art and noise shows. I have a friend who I work with and I’m a big fan of their shows […] they do a lot of crowd interaction stuff. And that’s the kind of stuff I’m into. Like, shock… trying to get a reaction. Trying to make people think I guess. Make them think “What the fuck was that” [and] hearing what people’s interpretation was.
I stand against- I guess people standing in the way of that.
And people comparing shit. I’ve had so many people compare my shit to, like, JPEGMafia just because it’s electronic and weird. Like no, I love JPEGMafia but it’s not like JPEGMafia.
Jack
So, do you see that as like, reductive of your own process?
Serpent
Yeah. Like I noticed that I’m very against comparisons. Because I noticed myself doing that. Like if I hear something I’ll say, “oh this sounds like” but I’ll be like “Hey I shouldn’t do that”, I should figure out a way to [say] “this sounds different to other shit”.
I don’t like putting shit into boxes, even though that’s how shit works here.
Jack
[laughs] I guess people are trying to be complimentary. Because they’re saying like, “you sound like this other thing that I like”.
Serpent
And I’m always nice. I’m always like “Thanks 😊”, but in the back of my mind I’m like, “noooo”.
Jack
It’s like having a romantic interest be like, “Oh you remind me of this ex”.
Serpent
Exactly. That’s so real.
It’s been good so far though. I have really nice people that message me and are like, “Your shit’s weird”, and I’m like “Thank you.”
Jack
Are you looking to scout more people for UNNAMED FRIENDS™? What acts are you looking to have on board; people willing to do anything?
Serpent
I want to get more people on there. All anyone needs to do is ask. I’ll help with the distribution.
Honestly, it’s not 100% put together. I actually want to get it trade marked like, for real. My homie is a lawyer. I’m just hoping no one else has that shit.
Jack
You’re being made to do community service. You are being made to have an artist on the label and you have to promote them and their image and everything they stand for. Who do you least want to be given?
Serpent
This guy is dead but…GG Alin?
The guy was crazy but the music was good. But it would be so fucking scary to promote. Having him on your side and being like “Hey what are you dropping this week?”
Jack
Yeah being in this guy’s corner and chasing him up like, “Have you done your studio time, GG?” and he just throws poo at you.
Serpent
Yeah, it’d be a nightmare. I just think as a person and as an artist definitely terrifying. He would have shit like violent shows. I mean I like hardcore shows, I like violent shows. But he would have shows where he would assault people and stuff. Like, he’s there to hurt.
Jack
What are you personally looking to get out of or learn from this project that you weren’t getting from Serpent?
Serpent
Honestly, I’m learning to find a sense of community [laughs]. Here in Portland, there aren’t that many noise artists, or people who do like, weird shit. It’s mainly indie rock, which is cool, I love indie rock. [And] there’s a lot of Hip Hop here. But most venues I play, the reactions are good but it’s always like, ‘that’s some shit, that’s some weird shit’- it’s not the norm.
But people who I’ve been in contact with on Instagram, Twitter, or Discord are all very… it does feel like a community. So I wanted to bring that together, people who wanted to work on stuff. Even if it’s online, that’s fine.
I like to reach out to people, I like when people reach out to me. We send stuff back and forth. It’s mainly on Instagram, that’s where a lot of the stuff happens. A very niche community, but its nice though. Discord’s nice though if you want to send files or samples.
Jack
The merch! What’s going on with that?
Serpent
It is out.
I’m gonna start doing more accessories and stuff instead of just shirts. I’ve got a bunch of sticker designs I’ve been working on. I wanna do T-shirt sticker bundles. I wanna do more physical releases. I’ve been working on tapes for stuff and eventually I want to find a distributor for vinyl. There’s a lot here in Portland, but you have to have people who are gonna buy it before you get it pressed. So, you have to have a little bit of clout in that aspect. I have to find that still.
Its been good. I’ve had a few people buy some shirts. I’ve got a lot of people sending me ideas for designs. Its nice, its been good.
Jack
So, is it like a clothing brand kind of thing?
Serpent
Yeah, it’s like a clothing brand/merch line. I just wanted to do something that had a name and seemed a little bit modern. I was really inspired by the Evangelion logo for the shirt that I did [laughs].
I did like a ‘send answers’ thing on Instagram and a bunch of people sent in merch designs and I have them on the back burner. But I want to get into more accessories once I can order more samples.
Jack
What accessories were you thinking of doing?
Serepent
Like hats. Somebody was telling me to do a baby onesie for their baby.
Jack
Imagine being the baby raised in the Serpent onesie.
Serpent
[Laughs] They’re gonna be listening to some weird shit when they’re older.
Jack
Holy shit, their neural pathways are gonna look like your figure 8 symbol.
Serpent
They’re gonna have the world’s biggest brain.
Jack
They won’t be able to even like move dude, and whenever they talk they’ll just talk in samples.
Like, “Wow, thank you Serpent, my baby has been ruined. I have to get a new one”.
Serpent
[Zac from Psychic Pebbles voice] “And I won’t play them Serpent this time!”
Jack
“I’ll play them the real shit. Y’know like Death Grips and JPEGMafia, stuff like that”
Serpent
Haha, that’s right. That’s fucking right [laughs].
…
Jack
Whilst you have this time, do you have any closing statements?
Serpent Statement:
I’m playing a bunch of shows during the summer. Friends of Noise, which is a thing in Portland reached out and were like, “We want you to play shows for us”. So if you live in the Pacific North West, come out and see me! [laughs]. And if you live elsewhere, watch the livestream, because I will be livestreaming them!
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Support this artist @
WEBSITE: https://unnamedfriends.com
LINKS: https://linktr.ee/serpent777
THE RUDDER: Rudder Fest [04/06/23]
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Jack 09/06/23
Eds. Gabriel T.
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