A collaborative battle plan between Seattle’s most confrontational performance artist and Tacoma’s elder statesman of noise.
J."g."J. calls their aesthetic terrorism "Afro-nihilist Theatre of Cruelty"... the toxic, open marriage between art-therapy and Satanist "Greater Magic," purging dark thoughts and feelings before they become compulsive actions, and hopefully shifting culture, however minutely, in the process. Anarcho-queer mulatto rage as butterfly effect...
Handheld Simpleton records noise as therapy and as a tool to channel aspects of the unseen. He sometimes explores esoteric themes but is often happy just testing the eardrums and endurance of audiences of three to five people…
Simpleton and J”g”J became acquainted through heavy music. They both attended a show in Seattle in July of 2024. The Body’s collaborative tour with Dis Fig came through Vera Project on that bright summer evening. It was an incredible show made more intimate by the surprisingly small audience.
Both artists went to the show by themselves. The two bonded spontaneously over band shirts and began chatting before the show began. Their creative pursuits were revealed to one another during conversation. Simpleton had an inkling of creative compatibility and waited for the other artist outside of the venue after the show. Contact info was exchanged.
In January 2025, J”g”J invited Simpleton’s duo side project, Crimen Nefandum (with Joel F. formerly THAW) to play a show together in Seattle. Everybody on the bill was intense, heavy and angry at the state of things. It was preordained that the two artists would eventually release collaborative material. The rest is history in the making.
Credits
J.”g.”J. -words, voice, themes.
Handheld Simpleton -synths, noise, samples.