Venetian Snares

The Venetian Snares are a powernoise outfit from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The sole member is Aaron Funk, who does all the programming, tracking, sampling, and synth-playing, as well as the odd vocal loop. He must definitely possesses the funk.

VS is possibly best known for such time-honoured club classics as "Befriend a Child Killer," "Fuck a Stranger In The Ass," and "Making Orange Things."

If you ever find yourself at Maschinefest in Germany, or at one of the electro/industrial/noize clubs in the greater Portland, Oregon area, you are quite likely to hear some Venetian Snares mixes. On that note, be prepared to stomp your brains out, as most VS compositions are of the extremely harsh, ear-splitting variety, but are still plenty danceable.

In addition he is kinda signed on the Planet Mu rooster for good. At least he's released a few albums there (3 this year, 2002). Adding them makes out for 2370894 (as VSnares, ZIQ057) & Winter In The Belly Of A Snake (ZIQ066), he has a knack for inventing original titles. Apparantly held in high regard by industry's co-innovators Richard D. James and Mike Paradinas (μ-ziq), the latter signed him on his label. Has also done a few collaborations, for example with Cex of Tigerbeat6 & Speedranch. He is set to play live at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival April 2003.

On a more personal note the atmosphere in his tracks tends to the dark & deranged, probably best appreciated in the midst of drug induced mobs in cheap, poorly lit rave clubs. Make no mistake about it though, his brain is a beat sequencing machine capable of devilish mapping in time, pitch & space.

The self explanatory release Songs about my cats are about Chinaski & Bobo. My guess is that Chinaski is novelist & poet Henry Charles Bukowski's alter ego Henry Chinaski. Bobo anyone?

Venetian Snares is Aaron Funk, an electronic artist from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Best known for his breakcore compositions, Funk has also produced acid, IDM, glitch, dubstep, and even classical works.

Music produced by Venetian Snares is almost invariably fast, aggressive, and abrasive. A fan of unusual time signatures and production methods (i.e. recording an album in 12.6 surround sound), Funk continuously experiments with new sounds and rhythms. Relying primarily on syncopated snare hits to produce much of the rhythm in his tracks, Funk uses a variety of time signatures to achieve the desired effect of each song. These range from standard (7/4, 5/4) to ridiculous (23/8, 19/4, 57/8).

A prolific producer, Funk typically releases at least one album per year under the Planet mu and Hymen record labels under his Venetian Snares alias in addition to EPs and side projects. Additional aliases include Vsnares, Snares Man, Bee Snares, Snares, Last Step, and Speed Dealer Moms (a collaboration with John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers fame.)

In addition to his standard fare of breakcore and drill & bass, Venetian Snares has also released two albums comprised mostly of classical compositions: Rossz csillag alatt született (Hungarian: literally "Born Under a Dark Star" or "Doomed from Birth") and My Downfall: Original Soundtrack.

Venetian Snares' works are definitely not for everyone. Breakcore has a strong propensity towards chaos by nature, and Snares pushes this even further. Fans of extremely complex compositions and those that enjoy finding little intricacies in tracks will find a lot to love here, while others will likely just hear a bunch of noise layered over a smattering of random snare hits.