Trash Mutant Interviews (TMI): Videogram on "Choice Cuts"Magnus Sellergren, the mind behind Videogram, is a busy man. Just recently, his “Test Subject 011” 7” was named Vinyl of the Month by Performer Magazine, and the remix to “Voorhees Stomp” saw him collaborate with Record Makers (Kavinsky, Dita Von Teese) duo Acid Washed (France), whose previous collaborations include Moby and Jimmy Somerville. Today, he is releasing the “Choice Cuts” LP, a hand-picked selection of the finest tracks from the prolific composer’s back catalogue, spanning the full four years of Videogram’s releases. Trash Mutant had the pleasure of catching up with Magnus on all things Videogram!
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Album artwork by Ysmael Alvarado.
TRASH MUTANT: The new record is 14 tracks, with four of them being previously unreleased material, and all of them given a brand new mastering. I really dig how well all of these cuts work together, it all flows seamlessly, but I wanted to ask: what was the key to selecting which tracks from past releases would end up on “Choice Cuts”? VIDEOGRAM: Thank you! I’m pretty happy with the sequencing of the album and agree it’s got a nice flow. That took some time, of course, as sequencing’s very important to me and my approach was to treat it as an LP with seven tracks per side. It’s an old school mindset, but you pick the opening and closing tracks and then you build the dynamics of each side from there. It’s a puzzle of sorts, but once you got a couple of tracks down, the overall picture becomes clear and it gets easier. But the tracks aren’t just remastered, I might add. Each and every song on ”Choice Cuts 2014 - 2018” was selected, then remixed from scratch and finally remastered exclusively for this release. Now, selecting the tracks from Videogram's twenty or so releases was a combination of several things. I picked out songs that I personally enjoyed, either as a songwriter, a producer, or both. But I also checked stats on Bandcamp, Spotify and other streaming sites to see what the Videogram supporters enjoyed to make sure they were happy with it. So, I'd say the album's a 50/50 combo, I think it sounds great, and I hope those that check it out are as stoked by it as I am! This album marks a 4th anniversary of Videogram. You’ve been quite prolific during this time, with releases each year. How do you look back on these four years? First off, I’ve always been highly creative and prolific. Back in my HC punk days I once wrote a full-length album over a weekend. Music’s not hard for me and I often find myself physically trying to catch up and record the ideas that pop up in my head. I actually took the Holland personality test way back and received the highest score possible when it came to my artistic side. I’m also a total music nerd enjoying a wide variety of genres - which is great to draw inspiration from when working on songs! - and, listening to Videogram’s output, I’m sure that fellow music fans can recognize that. So that, plus having a genuine fan-boy appreciation of genre movies since the 1980s, makes the creative process fairly easy. Now, I always thought a high output gives you the luxury to cherry-pick, which in the end benefits what you put out there for the listeners. Granted, not every idea is great, or even close to great and, believe me, there are plenty of real stinkers sealed up forever in the Videogram vaults, ha ha ha. But if, say every twelfth idea you have has something you can really build on, working on something every day should give you at least two tracks every fortnight. Stay focused and disciplined, maintain a good work ethic and you should have roughly one hundred tracks towards the end of the year.
Looking back over these past four years is a bit weird ’cause, when it comes to my character traits, I always had a tendency to keep pushing forward with these silly blinders on. I create and then move on and every now and then I look back and get genuinely surprised seeing the output - or realize the project's four years old! Music-wise it’s been a nice trip so far. I’m satisfied with the stuff I’ve put out as Videogram. I can enjoy the creative aspects of the material and, even though I always thought listening to your own stuff is a bit egocentric and masturbatory, musically there’s some pretty good songs in the discography. Looking at other aspects, though, it’s unfortunate seeing some people in the North American horror scene trying their damnedest to suppress this project over the years. But hey, if you're spoiled and vain and you’ve invested a lot of time pushing outfits in the U.S. demo scene that can barely put two chords together, but are great at brown-nosing writers, I can understand why these self-appointed ”gatekeepers” feel threatened by Videogram - especially when it's painfully obvious they bet on the wrong horse. But I’m still here and Videogram's doing just fine, thanks. Cheers to those that supported me! Since we last spoke here on Trash Mutant, shows like “Stranger Things” (and, to a lesser extent, other series and movies) have brought back a mainstream appreciation for genre cinema, its style of music. Do you see that affecting your work in any way? Do you feel there’s now a larger audience to reach? Well, I’m not gonna deny being aware of what’s happening out there, especially when you got video game company A&R buying your records and management companies sniffing around your project. But I just can’t allow myself to let that dictate what I do or why I do it. At the end of the day Videogram’s my own trip and I gotta keep myself happy and excited - damn the consequences. Those that wanna come along and enjoy said trip are more than welcome to, and their support is much appreciated, but for me to sit down, calculate and consciously create for a "market" or "demographic" is just so foreign and strange to me. Overall the increased mainstream appreciation is pretty surreal. Anyone with the slightest bit of music biz experience know that, post early-1960s, instrumental music has been considered Radio Poison, but now you suddenly find yourself getting some air time and exposure. Things have changed for sure! I’ve also seen a slow but steady increase in a female audience for Videogram, which I think is pretty damn great. I admit I was surprised at first, but I think it's just awesome. I never understood why some guys in punk, metal, the gaming or horror community etc. get all pissy when women move in on a scene. The last time I checked, women don’t need anyone's ”permission" to do anything! Any guy that has a problem with that should just suck it up and deal with it like a big boy. Given the opportunity, would you like to eventually produce a full original score for a genre movie? Is that something you would be interested in, or considered before? Of course! Both I and my music already appear in Vestra Pictures 2017 documentary ”VHS Lives”, talking about the golden years of VHS and how it influenced Videogram. I haven’t seen it myself yet, but it’s gotten some good reviews here and there, and I remember seeing one writer somewhere dubbing it a cult classic, which is cool. Everyone should check it out on VOD services such as iTunes and Amazon, and the DVD is distributed by MVD Entertainment so it shouldn’t be too hard to track down. Now, considering Videogram’s raison d’être is genre movie soundtracks of the 1980s, doing a full score for a feature length would be pretty awesome. Anyone with a decent budget and the resources to get their movie distributed and released on physical media as well as VOD are more than welcome to get in touch. I am available, as they say. "Let’s do lunch!" I know you’re a big “Halloween” and John Carpenter fan (check out Videogram’s take on the iconic theme here), so I just have to ask you this: are you looking forward to the new movie? Are you excited for it or staying cautious? Anything specific you’d like to see in it? Well, I did check out the trailer once or twice when it dropped and my first impression was that I sure didn’t hear any new John Carpenter material in it. It’s the same versions used in the iconic original and anyone with at least one functioning ear could pick that up. They cleaned it up digitally, though, and gave it a real nice remaster. Other than that, I thought it was presented just like any other modern horror movie and I missed that special Halloween oomph. Honestly I'm neither excited or feeling cautious about it. You just can’t catch lightning in a bottle. I hold the 1978 original in such high regard and there’s something about this whole deal that parallels the Texas Chain Saw Massacre franchise. Halloween, like TCM, is such a cinematic tour de force. It's like a damn Motorhead record as there’s just no possible way you can follow it up with anything ’cause, no matter how good it is, it’s still gonna come across as weak compared to the original. I’ll probably check out the remake or whatever it is once it hits streaming but, no, I can't see myself rushing to the cinema to watch it. But I’m pretty sure I wasn't in their intended audience demographic anyway, so I’m positive Blumhouse and Universal Pictures’ll live. Lastly, is there anything else you’d like to tell our readers? Thanks for having me and cheers to those that supported this project over the years! If you’re reading this and are curious about my project, you’ll find me on all major streaming/download sites such as iTunes, Amazon and Spotify etc. as well as Bandcamp, and make sure to follow me on Facebook. Cheers! ____________________________________________
Massive thanks to Videogram for the interview! Make sure to check out all the links sprinkled throughout this interview, give the new album a listen and cop it if you like it!
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