โThe hurdy-gurdy roars like an elephant!โ declared none other than Ritchie Blackmore to me a few years ago, a statement that I dismissed with a highly patronising โSure it does, Ritchieโ at the time. Having recently listened to Pharoah Overlordโs bewitching new album Louhi, though, I realise now that Blackmore was completely right. Played and produced with respect and care, as it is on Louhi, the hurdy-gurdy sounds monstrous, a demonic drone that matches the heaviest guitars with ease.
Another compelling reason to listen to Louhi is that Aaron Turner contributes guest vocals and guitar. A veteran of the American post metal bands Isis, Old Man Gloom and Sumac, Turnerโs CV makes him perfect for Pharoah Overlord, itself a spinoff from the Finnish psychedelic rock band Circle, formed in 2000.
Born in Massachusetts in 1977 and raised in New Mexico, Turner studied at Bostonโs School Of The Museum Of Fine Arts in the 1990s before establishing the Hydra Head label and building a formidable career as a musician. Heโs now a member of Mamiffer, with his wife Faith Coloccia, and runs the SIGE record label as well as recording solo music and guesting with any number of musicians: notable collaborators have included Stephen OโMalley of Sunn O))) and Justin Broadrick of Godflesh. As well as being a recording and touring musician, Turner is a graphic artist and, most pertinently for our purposes here, a tattoo artist at Dark Age Tattoo in Seattle. His art is an amalgam of influences: thereโs graphic-novel and comic-book vividity in there as well as spiritual symbolism and fantasy elements that make his social media pictures a compelling gallery.
What does the act of piercing a fellow humanโs skin mean to him? Letโs find out.
The Trump regime isnโt good for tattoosโฆ or anything else.
Tattoo bookings are going down right now. I think thatโs partially because the economy is uncertain, and quite a few people are losing their jobs. Getting tattooed is a luxury, and a lot of people are nervous right now, because the cost of living continues to rise. Weโve definitely seen a decrease in the other businesses weโre involved with, too. Records are selling less. My primary band, Sumac, is going to put a hold on booking shows in the USA for the foreseeable future. Our drummer is Canadian and heโs coming over next week to do a tour in the US with us, but after that he wants to wait for a while before booking anything else, because it just seems so uncertain. I canโt blame him. I know a lot of people from other places who are choosing to avoid the US, too. Itโs hardly an isolated experience to live under a cruel, erratic and ultimately idiotic ruler, though: itโs just our turn right now. I feel a small urge to flee the country, but I think weโll try to stay the course and do our best.
Tattooing is an exercise in humility.
At the risk of sounding immodest, I have confidence in my abilities as a visual artist and a musician. I feel like for what Iโm attempting to do, I do it well, and I know how to do it, and I know how the tools that I use work, at least well enough to put them to use in the way that I intend to. However, I knew nothing about how to tattoo before I actually started doing it three years ago, so there is a greater risk involved, in the sense that when I make a piece of art as a visual artist, it only reflects on me, and really only impacts on me in a bigger sense. Similarly, when Iโm making music, even if Iโm doing it with a group, what we do only reflects on us. When Iโm making art on someoneโs body, though, that is something they have to carry with them, and something they will look at, potentially for a lifetime.
Tattooer and tattooee go through the experience together.
There are certain areas of the body that are generally recognised as being particularly painful for a tattoo, such as the sides of the abdomen, the kneecaps and the palms of the hand. It varies, though: some people might find one spot exceptionally painful, and other people might find that same spot easy. I donโt like the idea of inflicting pain on someone, but what I do think is beneficial is when people go through the experience and they feel that they have withstood something: they have passed through a trial. I feel like I have helped them do that, and that Iโve been a participant in that experience with them. Thatโs one of the things that I find really compelling as a tattooer. The experiences that have been the most rewarding for me have been where a very palpable connection is formed with the client, and when there is a sense of intimacy and a deeper shared experience.
Pain can be transcendent, as long as youโre prepared for it.
There is a way in which you can fortify yourself mentally and physically to withstand the pain of a tattoo. I know from my own experience as a person being tattooed, there were a few times where I didnโt really consider what was about to happen. I was taken off guard and suffered in a way that was beyond my expectation and pretty hard to take. For that reason, I always try to mentally prepare my clients, unless Iโm working on someone whoโs already heavily tattooed, because they know what theyโre in for. If itโs someone thatโs getting tattooed in a painful spot for the first time, Iโll have a discussion with them and warn them about it. Thatโs my responsibility, because I donโt want someone to just blithely walk into that experience and then be completely taken off guard by it.
Itโs important to apply your own standards to your art.
One of my self-stipulations when I was getting into tattooing was that I didnโt want to do much of anything besides my own artwork. Otherwise, for me, thereโs no point. Thatโs not to disregard the practice that many other really great tattooers go through of doing other peopleโs artwork. I think thereโs great value in that: itโs just not something that I felt I wanted to do. I also didnโt feel I could do it, in much the same way that Iโm not a technically proficient musician. I donโt know how to read music, I donโt know theory, and I canโt play certain types of music with any real proficiency. Likewise, I canโt draw in a realistic way. I donโt have a firm grasp of anatomy, so if someone wants, for example, a realistic human form rendered in exquisite detail, I couldnโt do that for them on paper, much less on their body. I wouldnโt be doing a good service for the people who might be expecting that of me. With that understood, I will do just about anything if people are okay with me filtering it through my particular lens, as long as itโs not subject matter that I find abhorrent.
Balance your focus with your state of flow.
For me, entering a flow state has been possible in very limited durations while tattooing, partly because the technical aspect of it is still something that I very much have to focus on. Itโs almost like the early stages of learning a song, where you still have to build muscle memory, so you canโt really sink into the energy of the piece because you have to think so much about what youโre doing. Thatโs where I am with tattooing most of the time. I have found, in certain instances โ especially if the session has gone on for two or three hours โ that I can begin to sink into the flow of it, and the technical side becomes the background and the image taking shape enters the foreground. For me, thatโs where it becomes a really pleasurable experience.
Tattooing keeps me stimulated.
Creating a tattoo is a formidable challenge, and Iโve learned that that is something I thrive on. Taking on something that I feel has an inherent level of risk and potential failure built into it is gratifying for me. Now that Iโm in my late 40s, at a time when the vigour of youth is dissipating to a certain extent, I feel like itโs really important for me to engage in practices that are challenging, not to keep myself young, but to keep those neural pathways open and to continue growing and evolving.
Tattooing allows me to socialise.
I have never been a person that was adept at socialising just for the sake of it. I really need some kind of creative context in order for me to feel engaged and energised in a social capacity. I was a pretty introverted kid, and because of our cultural values, connecting on an emotional and personal level with other people โ especially with other males โ was extremely difficult, yet it was something I still yearned for. That first transpired as a music fan, finding people who liked music that I liked and having that as a basis of connection. Later, that evolved into playing music together, spending time with other people and connecting with them through the factor of musical energy. With tattooing, Iโve had sessions with folks that resulted in a finished tattoo, but no real connection between us โ but thereโve also been instances where I really feel like I have forged a bond with someone, and that bond continues to be deepened when these folks come back to me.
Tattooing is a sacred ritualโฆ
Music obviously serves largely as entertainment for many people, but for me, it has been a portal to transcendence, and a way to enact communal ritual. It doesnโt always achieve that, but it does at times, and Iโve experienced something similar in tattooing. I remember one session that felt truly transcendental: I knew the person was suffering from the pain, but I also knew that it was a cathartic experience for them. Combined with a song that was playing at the time, there was a moment in there where everything coalesced into something that felt, in a way, sacred. I believe that marking ourselves has that potential within it. It can also be utterly trivial, of course, but I think there is transcendence within tattooing. For me, thatโs tattooing at its best, where you can act on that higher level.
โฆbut youโre still allowed to have fun.
On the more trivial end of things, thereโs a part of me that is still a teenager that loves heavy metal album covers and silly comics. Sometimes I just want to draw a skull with no real intention behind it, and I need to have an outlet for those more juvenile tendencies. I just want something that looks menacing and absurd and revolting, and sometimes I need to indulge that part of my artistic personality. Tattooing has definitely provided that, in a way thatโs fun โ and I need fun in my life, because a lot of the art that I do is very serious, intentionally so, but sometimes it also just needs to be frivolous and ridiculous.
Pharaoh Overlord’s new album Louhi, featuring guest vocals and guitar from Aaron Turner, is out now on Rocket Recordings
