william davison - guitar, invented instruments, amplified objects, voice, percussion, electronics, etcetera
active in "experimental music" (?) since early 80's (punk, industrial, psychedelic, outsider pop, ambient, electronic, musique concrete, soundtracks, audio art, improvised music, cut-up, drone, psych-folk, harsh noise, and uncategorizable experiments and hybrids)
history: born in Nova Scotia, 1962 +++ began experimenting with sound and recording at an early age +++ founded, co-founded, fronted, and/or played in various punk-inspired garage bands and weird sound projects throughout 80's (wrote lyrics and music, played guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, sang lead and background vocals, etc.) +++ has maintained a home-recording studio since the early 80's +++ explored numerous experimental music approaches, began developing noise guitar techniques throughout 80's +++ studied fine art at Nova Scotia College of Art and Design +++ studied electronic music composition with Prof. Steve Tittle at Dalhousie University +++ composed soundtracks for numerous underground films (mostly W.A.Davison films) +++ moved to Toronto with partner S. Higgins in 1989 +++ began Songs of the New Erotics experimental music and performance art project, 1991 +++ prominent member of industrial band Phycus throughout 90's (Canadian and international gigs, appears on numerous recordings) +++ toured extensively with performance artist Istvan Kantor/Monty Cantsin throughout 90's (as performer and as sound technician) +++ production credits on various audio and video projects including arrangements on Istvan Kantor "Heap of Ruins" CD +++ began building unusual musical instruments for use in recordings and performances, early 90's +++ awarded composers grant from Toronto Arts Council 1995 +++ awarded grants for S.O.T.N.E. project from Canada Council and Ontario Arts Council, 2000, 2003, and 2005 +++ has created commissioned works for radio and live performances +++ has provided live ambient soundscapes for numerous visual art, dance, and performance art events +++ has done creative live sound engineering for performances by Linda Montano, Diane Landry, Monty Cantsin, and others +++ formed Urban Refuse Group in 1996 (anarchic free-improv sound collective using instruments constructed from junk, 1996 - 2000) +++ formed Six Heads free-improv surrealist sound collage group (J. Bailey, W. Davison, L. Feesey, S. Higgins, C. Hinz, P. Mosher. Ongoing since 2000) +++ has appeared on numerous Canadian and international experimental music compilations (CD, LP, cassette, video) +++ has run various small record labels since mid 80's (releasing v.a. compilations and full-length albums by S.O.T.N.E., Six Heads, and others) +++ toured Ontario and Quebec with spoken word artist Marc LeMyre +++ produced collaborative performance with Six Heads and Su-En Butoh Co., 2000 +++ mini-tour of various venues, London, U.K., with Swedish improvisor/instrument-builder Johannes Bergmark, Summer 2003 +++ produced (with S.Higgins) S.O.T.N.E./irr.app.(ext.) performance event, Summer 2005, collaborating with members of irr.app.(ext.), Gastric Female Reflex, and Nurse With Wound +++ collaborated with Nurse With Wound in live performances, San Francisco, June 2006
has appeared, in performances and/or compilation recordings, alongside (here comes shameless name-dropping) Aube, Zoviet France, Otomo Yoshihide, Telepherique, People Like Us, Infant Cycle, Jason Willett, Martha Colburn, Princess Dragon-Mom, Big City Orchestra, His Name Is Alive, Voice Crack, Noise Makers Fifes, Iugula Thor, Coil, Parade, Gen Ken Montgomery, Steve Tittle, Neil Campbell, Birchville Cat Motel, Crawl/Child, Ain Soph, Bruce Gilbert, Deerhoof, Can, The Residents, Evil Moisture, BMZ, Bob Cobbing, Angst Hase Pfeffer Nase, Hex Minora, Ceramic Hobs, Orphx, Chris And Cosey, Terminal Waste Band, John Duncan, Dan Plunkett, Jad Fair, Oh Huge Vault Of Vaseline, Tom Nunn, Universal Indians, Marqido, Morphogenesis, Seymour Glass, Terry Riley, The Haters, Crawl Unit, AMK, Remora, C.C.C.C., Lee Renaldo, Legendary Pink Dots, Dust That Collects, PGR, Zaraza, Andre Stitt, John Wiggins, Flynns, Alan Licht, Pain Jerk, Monte Cazazza, Gruppe Schimpfluch, From Scratch, Thurston Moore, Jean Derome, Angela Idealism, Roger Ely, Sleep Chamber, Smell and Quim, Etant Donne, Masonna, Einsturzende Neubauten, Illusion Of Safety, Cock E.S.P., Thomas Dimuzio, The Art Effects, Bartok Guitarsplat, Hession/Wilkinson/Fell, Allegory Chapel Ltd., The Dramatics, Pauline Oliveros, Jack Vorvis, New Adventures In Sound Art, Marcio Mattos Quartet, Sonic Youth, Raison D'Etre, Commode Minstrals In Bullface, Pengo, SPK, Empirical Sleeping Consort, Ashtray Navigations, Archon Satani, Atrax Morgue, Human Remains, Sshe Retina Stimulants, Dissecting Table, Boyd Rice, Emil Beaulieau, Konstruktivists, Brighter Death Now, Pholde, Black Leather Jesus, Randy Greif, Sudden Infant, M.K. Ultra, Plecid, Derek Bailey, Evan Parker, Red Krayola, Claude Schryer, Schloss Tegal, Adam Bohman, Michael Evans, Paul Burwell, Mind Sculpture, Hakim Bey, Sigillum S, MSBR, Government Alpha, Inade, John Oswald, Pierre-Andre Arcand, Richie Hawton, Rene Lussier and Pierre Tanguay, Klaxon Guelle, GHQ, Eric Letourneau, tENTATIVELY a. cONVENIENCE, Hearing Trumpet, Catherine Crockett, Gravitons, PST, Eric Cheneaux, Under Heaven, Cousins of Reggae, Mouthus, Wether, Pink Desert, Infinite Godzilla, Women In Trajedy, Knurl, ES, Muskox, Crank Sturgeon, Fat Worm of Error, Bonsai Forestry, Charles Balls, Lucas Abela, Dave Phillips, Runzelstirn and Gurgelstock, Wolf Eyes, Dead Machines, Anamorphic Heat, Fossils, Richard Youngs, Nautical Almanac, Magik Markers, Slim Twig, Pon De Replay, etc.
current activities: performs and records in Six Heads +++ operates Disembraining Songs record label +++ performs and records as Songs of the New Erotics (mostly solo) +++ performs and records in Conspiracy Of Familiar Objects +++ performs and records in Sen/Son (Arnd Jurgensen, William Davison) +++ performs and records as Th W rbl r (solo) +++ performs and records as M.Stactor (mostly solo) +++ performs and records in Green-Faced Spirit (S.Higgins, W.Davison) +++ Third-Eye Tractor recording project (solo, since mid-80s) +++ occasional member of irr.app.(ext.) +++ Nurse With Wound collaborator +++ occasional solo performances (noise guitar, sound collage, etc.) +++ collaborates on experimental sound recordings with local and international artists +++ frequent performances in various ad hoc ensembles in Toronto's improvised music scene +++ occassional member of Orchestre Royale Odradek +++ member of Quincunx free-improv quintet (Tomasz Krakowiak, Paul Dutton, Eugene Martynec, William Davison, and ever-changing fifth member.) +++ builds homemade instruments for use in S.O.T.N.E., Six Heads, Quincunx, etc.
past activities: ran Anathema record label (early to mid 90's) +++ ran Rembrandt X-Ray record label (with G.C.Denton, mid-80's) +++ former member of Gastric Female Reflex and Sounds Of North American Adult Bookstores +++ former member of Phycus (defunct) +++ former member of Puppet Government (defunct) +++ various collaborations (performances, recordings, etc.) with Istvan Kantor/Monty Cantsin +++ founder/former member of Urban Refuse Group (defunct. 1996 - 2000) +++ founder/former member of Thumping Puppets (mid 80's. defunct) +++ founder/former member of The Subterraneans (mid 80's. defunct) +++ former member of Hydrogen Jukebox (mid 80's. defunct) +++ founder/former member of Ex Oblivione (S.Higgins, S.MacDonald, W.Davison. Late 80's/early 90's. defunct) +++ performed and recorded as Wax (mid 90's) +++ founder/former member of Wax Infant (collaborative project with Jim DeJong/Infant Cycle, mid to late 90's. defunct) +++ occassional collaborator with ATM+Guy +++ former member of Brutt Luddite (Mike Hansen/William Davison duo) +++ also has appeared in recorded form as the tiled room, Wicker Men, Cabin Fever (with G.C.Denton), NoKturne (with G.C.Denton), Ugly Trout (with G.C.Denton), Angel Gang, Slow Twitch, Exquisite Corpse, A Skeleton (with G.C.Denton, J.Hatfield), Clots (with G.C.Denton), HDH (with M.Hamilton, S.Hamilton), Unwanted Limbs and Sotto Voce
has collaborated, in performances and/or recordings, with (more you know what) Jim DeJong (Infant Cycle), Michelangelo Iaffaldano, Arnd Jurgensen, Watson Jennison, Jim Bailey, Nick Fraser, Rob Clutton, Paul Newman, Gordon Allen, Kye Marshall, Colin Fisher, Jason Hammer, Eugene Martynec, Paul Dutton (CCMC), Art Pratten (Nihilist Spasm Band), John Boyle (Nihilist Spasm Band), David Prentice, Susanna Akerlund (SU-EN Butoh Co.), Christof Irmer, Liba Villavechia, Ute Volker, Matthew Poulakakis, Maury Coles, Guy LeBlanc, Tomasz Krakowiak, Robin Buckley, Tom Baker, Nilan Perera, Andy Yue, Michael Keith, Mike Hansen, Aidan Baker, Koji Tano (MSBR), Yasutoshi Yoshida (Government Alpha), Neil Wiernik (Naw), Glen Hall, Rod Campbell, Victor Bateman, Eldridge Priest, Robert Atwood, Alan Bloor (Knurl), Brian Damage (Phycus), Scott Righteous (Bitter Harvest), Monty Cantsin, Zev Asher (Nimrod, Roughage), Ron Cole (Rust Brothers), Terrence Dick (Rust Brothers), G.C.Denton, Pierre-Yves Martel, Ken Aldcroft, John Wilson, Brandon Valdivia, Nick Buligan, Scott Thomson, Christine Duncan, Dave Carey (Woodchoppers Association), James Duncan (Woodchoppers Association), Steve Tittle, Michael Snow (CCMC), Kevin Crump (Disguises), Marc Lemyre, Johannes Bergmark, Phil Morton, Jonathon Bohman (Bohman Brothers), Paul Shearsmith (Echo City), Tony Wren, Marcio Mattos, Simon Fell, Mark Sanders, Paul Hood, Rob Mills, Tom Scott, David Aylward, Adrian Northover, Matt Waldron (irr.app.(ext.)), Greg Scharpen (irr.app.(ext.)), Steve Stapleton (Nurse With Wound), Colin Potter, Andrew Liles, Moe Staiano, Lana, Richard Faulhaber (irr.app.(ext.)), Stan Reed (Broken Penis Orchestra), Freida Abtan, Jon Shapiro, Ayal Senior, Nobuo Kubota, Eddie Prevost, etc.
discography (incomplete):
2008 - irr.app.(ext.) "Aspiring To An Empty Gesture, Vol. 1" CD, Errata In Excelsis, U.S.A.
2007 - Th W rbl r "Then I Saw Your Smile" CD, Inyrdisk, Can. +++ Conspiracy Of Familiar Objects "C.O.F.O./Wether" split tape, LSD_OTB, Can. +++ Songs of the New Erotics "Acrid Maltreats" web release, Radical Matters, Italy +++ Conspiracy Of Familiar Objects "No Greek" CD, Inyrdisk, Can. +++ Six Heads "Ether" cassette, Psychform Records, U.S.A.
2006 - William A. Davison "Plyas Het Giutra" CD, Disembraining Songs, Can. +++ Various Artists "Sounds of Toronto" compilation CD, Wintage, Can. +++ Gastric Female Reflex "Lovers In The Midst Of Eating Fries" LP, Beniffer Editions, Can. +++ Songs of the New Erotics "Bobby" CD, Disembraining Songs, Can.
2005 - Songs of the New Erotics "While The Architect Was Sleeping" CD, Disembraining Songs, Can. +++ Wax "Contusions on the Skin of Sleep" double CD reissue, Disembraining Songs, Can. +++ Sounds Of North American Adult Bookstores "Mermaid In A Manhole" CD, Beniffer Editions, Can. +++ Gastric Female Reflex "Crank Sturgeon/GFR Split 7 Inch", Beniffer Editions/Gold Soundz, Can./Norway +++ Gastric Female Reflex "Nairobi Piece" CD, Beniffer Editions, Can.
2004 - Gastric Female Reflex "Pizza Hocus Pocus" CD, Beniffer Editions, Can. +++ Gastric Female Reflex "Three EP's" CD, Beniffer Editions, Can. +++ Gastric Female Reflex "She's A Good Girl, So Meet Her Parents" CD, Beniffer Editions, Can.
2003 - Six Heads "Small, Rubber Voice from the Spectral Furnace" CD, Disembraining Songs, Can.
2001 - Six Heads "Six Heads or the Appearance of Hairs Band" CD, Disembraining Songs, Can.
2000 - Istvan Kantor "Heap Of Ruins" CD, Implant, Hungary
1999 - Phycus "Only Fire and Death" CD, Musicus Phycus, Can.
1998 - Various Artists "Various 500" LP, RRRecords, U.S.A. +++ Phycus "X" 3 LP set, Musicus Phycus, Can. +++ Various Artists "Drones, Thrones and Autognomes" cassette, Mutant Cactus Recordings, Can. +++ Various Artists "The Quiet Space" cassette, Disembraining Songs, Can.
1997 - Various Artists "Multi Purpose Saws" CD, Musicus Phycus, Can. +++ Urban Refuse Group "U.R.G. 2 (Transmission)" cassette, Mutant Cactus Recordings, Can. +++ Various Artists "Instrumental Compilation 1" cassette, Plan 11, Can.
1996 - Urban Refuse Group "U.R.G. 1 (Response)" cassette, Disembraining Songs, Can. +++ W.A.Davison "W.A.Davison - Soundtracks" cassette, Doomsday Transmissions, Can. +++ Various Artists "Art Sickness 1" cassette, Sculpturesque Productions, Can. +++ Phycus "Sonderkommando Now!" CD, Musicus Phycus, Can.
1995 - Various Artists "Macrocephalous Compost 2" music video, Old Europa Cafe, Italy +++ Various Artists "A Doomsday Transmission" cassette, Doomsday Transmissions, Can. +++ Phycus "Brainmower" CD, Musicus Phycus, Can.
1994 - Songs of the New Erotics "Broadcasts and Solar Interruptions" music video, Anathema, Can. +++ the tiled room "the tiled room" cassette, Anathema, Can. +++ Ex Oblivione "Ex Oblivione" cassette, Anathema, Can. +++ Various Artists "Disembraining Songs Demo - Feb. '94" cassette, Disembraining Songs, Can. +++ Wax Infant "Wax Infant" cassette, Disembraining Songs, Can.
1993 - Various Artists "Unbecoming" CD, Freedom In A Vacuum, Can. +++ Various Artists "Anathemata" cassette, Anathema, Can. +++ Wicker Men "the wire cage" cassette, Anathema, Can.
1992 - Wax "Contusions on the Skin of Sleep" cassette, Anathema, Can.
1986 - Various Artists "Frowns Of Fortune" cassette, Rembrandt X-Ray, Can. +++ Various Artists "Tape For Dave" cassette, Rembrandt X-Ray, Can.
1985 - Various Artists "Carbon Cult Compilation Tape #1" cassette, Rembrandt X-Ray, Can.