TLO Member Interview: darknessdoubled

TLO Member Interview: darknessdoubled
Conducted by Phillip Stecco


1) How did you first encounter the work of Thomas Ligotti?

My older brother turned me on to Ligotti's work. He had a copy of Noctuary and then The Nightmare Factory. I was intrigued and started to read and collect Ligotti on my own shortly thereafter.


2) What are some of your favorite works by Mr. Ligotti?

My list of favorite stories would have to include "The Bungalow House," "The Medusa," "The Red Tower," "The Shadow, The Darkness," and "The Spectacles in the Drawer." There are certainly others I could list here, but these come to mind most readily.


3) What other writers do you enjoy reading?

Some favorites: Robert Aickman, Ambrose Bierce, Adolfo Bioy Casares' The Invention of Morel, Algernon Blackwood, Jorge Luís Borges, Fredric Brown, Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, James M. Cain, Italo Calvino, Leonora Carrington's The Hearing Trumpet, Raymond Carver, Raymond Chandler, Julio Cortázar, Walter de la Mare, Witold Gombrowicz, Dashiell Hammett, Patricia Highsmith, William Hope Hodgson, Shirley Jackson, M. R. James, Franz Kafka, Nigel Kneale, J. Sheridan Le Fanu, Arthur Machen, John Metcalfe, Gustav Meyrink's The Golem, Henri Michaux, Flann O'Brien, Georges Perec, Fernando Pessoa, Raymond Queneau, Jean Ray, Sarban, Bruno Schulz, William Sloane, Jim Thompson, Magdalena Tulli, Mark Valentine, H. R. Wakefield, Robert Walser, Cornell Woolrich, etc.


4) Do you have any favorite singers or musicians?

Oh, yes. Music is the most ever-present passion in my life and I expect it will be for as long as my hearing lasts. My main interests are in experimental music (of all eras), rock and R&B from the 60s and 70s and some 80s (especially punk and post-punk), library music and soundtracks, and some carefully chosen hip hop (mid 80s, early 90s). And, of course, there is a tremendous amount of music which I love but which does not fall into any of the above categories.

While I generally enjoy making lists of things I like, comprehensive lists of artists I admire in each of these branches of music would undoubtedly be too dull for anyone other than me to ever actually read. So, I'll exercise some self-control and leave it at that.


5) Do you have any favorite artists in the visual media?

Yes, I do. Mark Rothko is probably my all-time favorite visual artist. I'm also particularly fond of a number of artists associated with Dada, Surrealism, and Fluxus. I really love collage, in general, and artists such as Wallace Berman, Max Ernst, Kurt Schwitters, Hannah Höch, Bruce Conner, Raymond Johnson, Henry Darger, etc. There are probably quite a few others I'm forgetting....


6) What are some of your favorite movies?

Film is another one of my most ardent interests. American films of the 30s, 40s, and 50s are some definite favorites. I absolutely love film noir and (mostly early) horror. Lots of "arthouse" stuff too, of all eras, particularly experimental shorts. Some favorite filmmakers: Jacques Tourneur, Mike Leigh, Luis Buñuel, David Cronenberg, John Huston, John Waters, Jan Švankmajer, Stan Brakhage, Maya Deren, Ken Jacobs, Harry Smith, Oskar Fischinger, Roman Polanski, Robert Wise, etc. I think that everything produced by Val Lewton is worth watching numerous times. And a good number of Hammer Films are pretty great too.


7) Do you watch television?

No. Unless you count old episodes of "Secret Agent" and "The Prisoner" on DVD. And "The Simpsons."


8) What foods do you enjoy eating?

My wife and I have both been vegan for about the last six years and we were both vegetarian for quite some time before that (about six or seven years, for me). My particular favorites are Ethiopian, Thai, Indian, Mexican, Italian, and a large amount of American "comfort" food. That being said, I will eat pretty much anything vegan. I also love to cook and I am actually quite good at it, if I do say so myself.


9) Do you have any odd hobbies or collecting fetishes?

None beyond the ridiculous quantities of books, records, CDs, and DVDs in my house.


10) What recreational activities do you enjoy?

Any quality time I can spend with my wife (and with our dog too) is great. I do enjoy travelling and hiking and some of the more active activities. Generally though, I find that most of my time (when not spent working) is spent reading, listening to music, or watching movies – or sometimes a combination of those. And cooking/eating.


11) What makes you laugh?

My friends. And Flann O'Brien.


12) Life?

Choice.


13) Death?

Choice.


14) Work?

Not if I can help it (and I've never been able to help it).


15) Do you have any interesting work anecdotes to relate?

I work in a used bookstore (for the last 12.5 years) and I certainly have my share of work-related anecdotes. As to whether or not these stories are actually "interesting" I have my doubts.


16) Who has been the most influential person in your life?

That's a tough question, but most likely the answer is that, overall, my father and brother have been the most influential people in my life. For the last eight or so years, my wife has been the most influential person.


17) Do you have a special plan for this world?

I try not to impose my beliefs on others, even though I have strong tendencies toward idealism(s). I simply want to do as little harm as possible.


18) What else should we know about you?

My name is Colin and I live in Washington state, near Seattle (in the same small town which was formerly home to Silver Salamander Press). I make music and run a small record label called Elevator Bath (now in its 13th year). The label releases experimental music on vinyl and CD in small editions. I started out by releasing my own material, but I have always tried to also issue works by other artists with whom I've felt some affinity (and who were doing quality work). Other artists' work has been the label's exclusive focus for the last five years. Meanwhile, I have only released my own music on other labels (my new CD is just out, by the way, on a label from Belgium called Mystery Sea). If anyone is interested in some MP3s of the music Elevator Bath has released over the years (including some of my own), please feel free to investigate. I, along with two other artists associated with the label, will be playing five or six shows along the east coast of the United States next summer. I'm really looking forward to meeting some folks with whom I have only previously communicated via email and just seeing these cities. Please say "hello" if you'll be in the vicinity!