RONG in PVD, Sam Silva 2020
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Hi, my name is Olivia W-B. I'm a composer, guitarist and vocalist working in the weird space between noise rock and contemporary classical, composition and improvisation. Projects include vocals in the mathcore band Rong, guitar in the metal-meets-free-jazz band Hairbrush, guitar and voice in the avant-prog band Other Joliah, guitar and voice in an acoustic trio with upright bass and clarinet, and currently composing and conducting for a new sextet called P.V.H.P. My music is about the anxiety of living in an age of precarity - doublespeak, gutted protections, declarations of liberation transformed into marketing slogans, total surveillance as a baseline expectation - and also the pain of trying to access a sense of beauty in-between; the pain of loving and caring in a world that does not guarantee a future. My music is the angel on your shoulder squishing the cop in your conscience. It takes whatever it wants from free, new, noise, rock, and pop genres and makes a quick but towering drip castle. It's the moment of suspension before a cartoon character realizes they just ran off a cliff, or when you open a cupboard and a pile of tupperware assaults you, or when you grow up within a purported pinnacle of human achievement that you realize is actually toxic and doomed to fail. |
I fell in love with DIY music scenes in my teens and then anarchist organizing in my twenties. Both involve creating spaces that transform people's perceptions of what's possible beyond the normal bounds of "everyday life" by way of nothing more (or less) than the direct relationships between the people in those spaces and their relationships to the space itself. DIY scenes challenge hierarchies and barriers to entry between audience and performance simply by deeming all participants as equally capable, valid, and significant in embodying either or both roles. Anarchistic organizing principles center any project around the dreams and desires of those who have most at stake in its successes or failures, by believing people to be their own best experts of their experiences and therefore the most qualified to determine their own futures. That said, these scenes are far from perfect. I've dedicated most of my life to questions directly related to my experiences within them, like - Can art avoid being folded back into capitalism? Are subcultures doomed to repeat the ills of the larger society they exist within? "Cultural production" versus "art for art's sake"? I'm always looking for ways to put these inquiries into action. Some friends and I are in the process of organizing a network of DIY musicians committed to leveraging our resources and skills in solidarity with larger resistance movements and soon we hope to share the ideas and plans we have been working on.
I also paint. I live in Massachusetts with my colony of 42 hissing cockroaches.
PRESS
"Just bonkers. Boston's Rong channels the joyous chaos of Japanese punks Melt-Banana and the aggro skronk of Brainiac with a tad of Deerhoof's weirdo-pop hooks, in what sounds like a swarm of bats fighting a comically large industrial fan... and the bats win. Dissect the noise and you'll find some truly athletic guitar interplay, held together by a sturdy rhythm section and Olivia W-B's vocal acrobatics."
"Viking's Choice: The Year In The Loud And The Weird"
by Lars Gotrich for NPR
"Wormhat is a record full of explosions of all shapes and sizes - an outright assault - yet one that carries a weight that makes it impossible to escape or ignore. This is a record that asks a lot from the listener, but every moment is well worth the experience. The force and masterful interplay from all involved is quite an experience to partake in."
Rong - "Wormhat" Album Review
by Kris Handel for Post-Trash
"I've had a lot of conversations with musicians who feel strongly about things that are messed up in the world but feel uncertain of how to make it overlap with their creative practice – not knowing if they could insert political lyrics into their songs, or if it's really their place to be talking about larger struggles during their set, feeling anxiety that they are not radical enough, or feeling guilt about privilege. But I don't think it's necessarily our jobs as musicians to aestheticize struggle – instead of feeling a pressure to make our work seem political, we can brainstorm how to leverage our connections with each other and our resources to benefit organizing that is already happening."
"New England Conservatory Alumnus Release Massive, Multi-Genre Music Compilation To Support Covid-19 Mutual Aid Networks"
Interview with Sam Potrykus for Brain Arts Org
"Pointy rock trio Hairbrush was a personal favorite of this year’s Sleepover Fest, an annual youth-centered music festival in Worcester, Massachusetts. Olivia W-B, Hairbrush guitarist and fest organizer, continues to impress ... with meandering structures, untamable chords, and just a couple a’ pedals. The rhythm section keeps up just the same. The barebonesness of the mix is apt. Is it math rock? I can’t get enough of this shit."
Bruce Hamilton
"Viking's Choice: The Year In The Loud And The Weird"
by Lars Gotrich for NPR
"Wormhat is a record full of explosions of all shapes and sizes - an outright assault - yet one that carries a weight that makes it impossible to escape or ignore. This is a record that asks a lot from the listener, but every moment is well worth the experience. The force and masterful interplay from all involved is quite an experience to partake in."
Rong - "Wormhat" Album Review
by Kris Handel for Post-Trash
"I've had a lot of conversations with musicians who feel strongly about things that are messed up in the world but feel uncertain of how to make it overlap with their creative practice – not knowing if they could insert political lyrics into their songs, or if it's really their place to be talking about larger struggles during their set, feeling anxiety that they are not radical enough, or feeling guilt about privilege. But I don't think it's necessarily our jobs as musicians to aestheticize struggle – instead of feeling a pressure to make our work seem political, we can brainstorm how to leverage our connections with each other and our resources to benefit organizing that is already happening."
"New England Conservatory Alumnus Release Massive, Multi-Genre Music Compilation To Support Covid-19 Mutual Aid Networks"
Interview with Sam Potrykus for Brain Arts Org
"Pointy rock trio Hairbrush was a personal favorite of this year’s Sleepover Fest, an annual youth-centered music festival in Worcester, Massachusetts. Olivia W-B, Hairbrush guitarist and fest organizer, continues to impress ... with meandering structures, untamable chords, and just a couple a’ pedals. The rhythm section keeps up just the same. The barebonesness of the mix is apt. Is it math rock? I can’t get enough of this shit."
Bruce Hamilton
MUSIC