Eric Crowe's Marax is a Dark Noise project that has largely flown under the radar of many due to the extremely limited nature of the his releases. Running the spectrum from Harsh Noise to minimal Dark Ambient, he is currently finishing up the monumental task of a 12 CDR series on Crucial Blast Records exploring many perspectives on Death called "For The Love of Death." Through this, his work has finally begun to garner some more attention and carve a niche for itself. Marax is a deeply emotional undertaking for its creator, please read on and see what he has to say about the evolution and aspirations of this and his other projects. - Scott

You've been involved in more "traditional" bands prior to and since you started Marax, including Social Infestation. When did you first get involved in creating music, and how did that eventually evolve into Marax?

It was in early high school when I first really became aware of music and the power it could possess, and so I started learning guitar and wanted to form a band. After several less desirable attempts, I joined a band that would later become Puaka Balava. One other guy from Puaka, Mike, and I helped a friend of ours, Chris, to start a punk band, Social Infestation, which turned less punk and more Crusty / Grind / Metal. About this same time in 1998 Marax formed after hearing Exit 13 and the decayed sounds of EyeHateGod. I was completely fascinated as to how they did the sounds they did, and how much more could be done. I had previously toyed with creating samples and loops, I was 16 and was oblivious to the entire realm of noise.

You've said in the past that the name Marax came from asthma medication you were taking as a kid, can you flesh out the thinking that led you to connect that with the new sounds you were creating?

The connection took awhile to realize, but when taking the medication Marax, I could not swallow pills and would have to chew it, and I remember the way my face would contort at the awful taste of the medicine. It was similar to the look from close friends that heard the primitive sounds of Marax and the questioning look of, "why the fuck are you doing this?" and "you really like this kind of shit?" I listened, then at the same time didn't, cause I enjoyed doing this in my spare time and in the privacy of my home, free from judgments and deep looks of concern.

Your first release came out in 1999, how long was it from when you began experimenting to when you decided "I can release this" and started to think about what you were doing as a "legitimate" endeavor that you were going to dedicate yourself to exploring?

It was less than a year, I started recording in July 1998, when I got my Tascam 414 and in February of the following year, I took 74 minutes worth of material to a studio to have it mastered, then started dubbing copies and building the wooden crates for the release. I sent a couple out to get some sort of feedback and it was well received, so I knew I was doing something right. Shortly after that I got random emails from folks asking to do splits with me, I think, for a couple of artists, just so they could build up their projects catalog. Soon to follow were splits with Hyperdriver (UK), Jason Campbell (Canada) and a couple of flakes that the releases never materialized. After this, I knew I was in it for the long haul.

Marax has always been a diverse project ranging from harsh noise to minimal ambient, and covering much of the ground in between, what elements direct which direction you decide to go with a track when you begin working on it? Do you work from a preconceived theme, is it purely an emotional release? Do you sit down with a atmospheric goal, or does it develop more on its own?

I think in the past I have toyed with a bit of all those different methods, more so I just let it develop as I went along and enjoyed the outcome. As I progressed the material started reflecting more of myself and the dark inner workings of my head and the pain in my life. I try to work in emotions for the listener to feel such as anger, grief and despair, cause it's something they can relate to, or at least that is my intention. It wasn't until more recently I worked toward and atmospheric goal and that came about through, "For the Love of Death" series which dwells within the realm of Dark Ambience, which tends to be more moody and grim. If I am doing a split with someone, then I take into account what style I'm in the mood for. For instance, if the project is Harsh Electronics, do I want to match that or mix it up and go in a completely different direction, cause typically I don't like to confine myself to one specific genre, I like to keep my options open.

Your themes have developed a lot from the early work, becoming more and more personal... What realizations did you make in the evolution between "Feel Free to Fuck Me" the first release, and the epic "For The Love of Death" series you are working on now? Was there a conscious decision to add more of yourself to the music, or is it something that just came to be the more you recorded?

I honestly believe that it became a natural progression. With earlier work a good amount were basically obscure titles slapped on tracks, and there where some political and working class issues involved which made it mean something for me, and a way for me to vent about shit that gets under my skin. As issues in my life became more and more stressful and grim it felt appropriate to become darker with the material I recorded and to reflect issues and thoughts that I was / am dealing with. I realized that the progression between "Feel Free" and the "Death" series was based upon experience, knowledge of what I was doing and maturity. It was just growing comfortable in my surroundings and simply progressing, which I hope with time will continue to do. I am always looking for a new direction, a new angle to see and work from, to bring about things Marax hasn't accomplished yet. Even if that means re-vamping something someone did 20 years ago as a pioneer, it would still be fresh and new to me, and to perhaps others within these genres. I am amazed by the mere thoughts of John Cage and others that concocted wild schemes as compositions, like an organ piece that will last for over 600 years, to me that's completely brilliant!

The "For The Love Of Death" releases are a substantial undertaking, 12 CDR's all dealing with different aspects of death and its influence on the living as they walk toward it, or run, in some instances... how did the idea develop and what led you to decide to do so many?

I wanted to experiment with Darker sounds and even contemplated creating a new side project, but eventually felt that Marax has never been limited to 1 aspect of experimental music, so why should it now? If I were going to take a step in another direction then I wanted to make it worthwhile. I based the release and the number of them on something the Melvins did years pervious by releasing a 7" every month for a year. I started messing around with art direction and making mock up cassette covers, which was the original format planned, and started to take it very serious due to the fact that the subjects of death and dying were close to my heart for many years. I specifically took my idea to Adam of Crucial Blast cause I knew he was open minded about the releases on his new label (at the time) and because I wasn't familiar with anybody else within the Power Electronics and Dark Ambient realm. We talked for weeks and threw ideas back and forth about formats packaging, everything. Then in January 2002, it slowly began. Due to money restraints and I not having stable place of residence, the process took longer that expected, so a year later and #6 has just come out.

The releases are limited to a mere 25 copies, and are pledged to never be re-issued, for such a large effort it almost seems a waste that so few will be able to experience it, why did you decide to limit it to so few, and do you stand by the no re-issue idea, or do you see it being redone one of these days?

I suppose in some aspects it could be taken as a waste, but it was what had to be done at the time, which I think is still a great idea. Two of the major reasons they are so limited is 1) we came to the conclusion that no one would commit to such a venture with a project they knew nothing about and was relatively new. 2) Since Adam was willing to take this burden, he didn't want to be sitting of 50 to 100 copies of each not knowing if any would even sell. I don't think it's cause he didn't have faith in my work, it was purely business and understandable. Also Adam was doing a limited release series on Crucial Blast where there would only be maybe 100 copies from different projects, so it tied in to that very well.

Musically it's much darker than a lot of the previous work, and based on the writings in some of the liner notes seemingly a very personal perspective largely dealing with depression, self-destruction and suicide, are the themes drawn from personal experience or simply reflections on these elements that exist in society?

The themes stem from the elements that exist in society and how suicidal thinking is not a rarity, but in all honesty, it derives mainly from my own struggles with the yearning to die. With this in mind, I felt as though people who listen to the sounds and took the time to read the liner notes, could empathize or relate to some degree, whether through a loss of a mother, father, girl/boyfriend, a loved one period or even contemplated their own demise. I have suffered all of my life with depression and have Self-Mutilated since the age of 5. I used to call myself names and beat myself in the head with blunt objects. This carried on through the years with burning, slapping, punching, pulling out hair, cutting and even as extreme as intentionally breaking my hand, up until my early 20's. The roughest portion was within the last 5 years of my life. I prayed non stop for death to take me in her arms, embrace and comfort me. My marriage was on its last leg and there was turmoil between her and I about me being the age I was and still "playing around" in bands. She felt as though it was just a hobby. With a couple of tours under our belt, to New York and back, we were planning another tour, but my forced obligations and what was my passion completely collided making me a living wreck. Manipulated and broken, I quit Social Infestation, hoping that there would be some sort of relief, but staring me in the face was utter hell. Though she recanted saying, "You don't have to quit, this is your choice." but I felt as though it weren't. Letting go of the 1 thing that kept me feeling alive devastated me, and I sank even further out of control, leaving everything two months later. I was committed to the hospital on more than 1 occasion, once was a couple of months after walking in front of a train, just trying to jump start myself into feeling alive, had I gotten run over, oh well, but it didn't work either way. Though I do not cut or Self-Mutilate any longer, it is still an element that will be with me forever as is the deep rooted pain that is poured into the sounds I create, and it will forever haunt me. I hate me like no one can, and I am trying to become better from this all, and it is what it is, a struggle.

Do you feel like the sonic exploration has given you a greater understanding of these things?

I can't say that I'm too sure about that. I feel in some ways that I can understand and respect Death a bit more, but still on occasion call out to her and for her to take me from this earth, and right before starting this venture, I came to the realization that I had no need to cut any longer. I also feel that I can create deeper sounding material based upon the experiences I have had and invoke those feelings into my work.

Was the listener taken into account when formulating "For The Love of Death," Is there a point you are hoping to make or a feeling you want those that hear it to walk away with? Or with any of your work for that matter? or is it purely a way for you to purge something from your system?

There are combined aspects. I do want the listener to feel to some degree what I create and the emotions I pour into them. I feel it gives it deeper meaning and not just a pile of sounds that don't relate to anything, I like to have a point or meaning behind what I do. I also feel that there is a good deal of purging involved when creating new sounds, whether it be of anger or of grim solitude, both of with are muses to my work. I would like for the listener to be able to relate to the pain and isolation with the series, whether it is from personal experiences or from a loved one who has suffered. I want them to either feel comforted or completely unsettled and perhaps think a bit when they a finished listening, something to haunt them.

This series would seem to have your time committed for some time still since you have only just released the 6th installment, have you thought about where Marax will go once this undertaking is finally behind you? And what has working on such a vast idea done for your perspective on the project?

To be honest I hope to have this idea completed by Halloween this year, I know that I am only at the half way mark, but it an achievable task. I have given thought to what effect this project has had on me, and it shows me that I procrastinate too much and need to become more focused on tasks at hand. If the notion strikes me for doing a series like this again in the future then I think that I have a better grip on the elements involved and can better execute them. I have toyed with other concepts in a series format, but all are too premature to go into detail. As far as the future for Marax? I am far from being complete. I have a new direction planned that will be completely new for Marax and a road I never would have even guessed I would take. I plan to work with this guy I met recently who does the project Enducer, which is more in a Break-beat type field. His work is very abrasive and dirty sounding, yet very danceable, so I want to create sounds with him and see where that goes. There are other ideas such as collaborations and splits in the works, and all are very diversified from one another.

Nearly everything you have done is severely limited and with little distribution, is this a conscious effort to keep the project obscure, or do you hope to make the project more visible?

I don't wish to make or keep Marax an obscurity, it just seems to work out that way. For the most part, I end up doing limited releases cause no one knows of Marax yet and don't feel as thought a lot of people would pick up a lot of my work, because I am not a "name." Most of the early splits where done very D.I.Y. and if no one heard of them then it was no one's fault but your own. Hell, I would love for my releases not be so limited and to have interest from labels, but in the past I just haven't gotten anyone that was interested, other than Crucial Blast. I do pursue opportunities and don't just sit around waiting for things to happen for me, but there is only so much a person can do. I'm sure things will be different in the future.

You have also done a lot of split releases, what do you see as the benefits of teaming up with someone else and is it something you like doing, or was it a matter of going where the releases are?

Benefits would be the opportunity to work with friends, meet new acquaintances and to possibly spread my sounds to new people that normally wouldn't have the opportunity to check Marax out, so they listen to a project they are familiar with and possibly hear Marax for the 1st time. That even works the other way around, if someone likes the sounds of Marax I'd like to expose them to projects that I enjoy and feel that more people should be aware of these artists. At times it was to go were there was availability, like the initial splits and compilations, but have grown a little more reserved in what I release.

Muchausen Sound is a small record label you are behind, what can you tell us about that, from the website it appears there is a lot in the works, but not a lot that has been released as yet...

Time is money, and I don't have a lot of either. I do have a lot in the works, but no strict itinerary as far as when the releases will come out. The main focus at the time for Muchausen Sound is the Bastard Noise release. I have the art and material from them and looking at it to be out in a couple of months. The next couple of things to be released is a Marax | Stimbox split and Patrick Ware, who works within the experimental guitar field.

You also do Scabies e-zine, I know this was originally to be a print zine, and now has been launched as a e-zine instead, what are you hoping to do with Scabies?

I just want to expose Noise and experimental sounds to more people. There are a lot of projects that send in material for reviews and never hear anything back about the material and barely from the zine. I want to expose people to new sounds and projects cause there are so many worthwhile artists out there that are not getting the recognition they deserve and on the flip side, a lot of crap being way too exposed. I just want to get the word out there of artists work regardless of genre within the experimental realm.

On top of all of these you are also still involved in a band or two, what are your other musical projects that are active beyond Marax? And what avenues are you exploring with those that don't get covered in the Marax work?


Yeah, I have always had to have more than one project going on at once, so that I never get bored. Other than the zine, the label and Marax I have still an arsenal of projects. I am involved in a experimental collective back in Carrollton, GA called Church Picnic, which is very free form and the shows we play always vary from one another with new concepts and ideas. I am restarting a project, with Patrick Beck of Malpa, that is called Murder of Crows and is more distorted synth oriented style of project. On occasion I pick up the need to work with an old project, Fred Mertz Pants, which is made up of samples and is quirky, mainly just dumb noise. I am involved in a Stoner | Doom band in which I play guitar called Big Yellow Mama, and a Corrupted styled band called Her Name is Death, which is slow down tuned riffs of epic lengths. I just finished recording in Baltimore with another band I play guitar in called FULCI. It's drone and extended music influenced guitar work with tons of amp buzz and controlled feedback that speaks to the sub conscious mind and floors the listener, lulls them into a zombie like state.

I guess that's all I have, thanks much for your time and you know I wish you the best in all that is yet to come, is there anything you'd like to add?

I want to thank you for the interview and lending your time and space within Worm Gear, I feel honored to be included in such a publication. Good luck to you also in all that come your way my friend.