Santa Fe to China: An Interview with Lime Lodge’s Angelo Harmsworth
Back in early July, Angelo Harmsworth reached out with a brief and simple message alerting us to Lime Lodge, a new imprint he’d recently founded. Jumping over the freshly minted Lime Lodge site immediately revealed a modest but powerful new imprint with a subtly striking and wholly arresting visual aesthetic matched equally by a trio of confounding sounds. The label, curated solely by Harmsworth from his Santa Fe locale, launched with a trio of disparate but inextricably linked albums by relatively new but established artists (Harmsworth himself and Christian Michael Filardo) foiled by a long-distance noise veteran (China’s long-running Torturing Nurse). We caught up with Harmsworth while he and Filardo coordinated a cross-country tour to follows the seeds of Lime Lodge and find out where it intends to go.
When did you decide to start a label?
The decision to start this label happened a solid 12 months ago, sometime last summer. Since then its identity has been solidifying and falling into place. It was ultimately a move towards claiming agency in the way important pieces of work are presented and released to the world. There is an element of control that I enjoy, being able to offer content through a singular vision.
You launched Lime Lodge with three simultaneous releases. Why start with three?
I wanted to launch the label with as much force and diversity as possible. I think the three releases are given an added layer of depth by their position to one another. As the catalogue develops, releasing material in batches will become less important. Each individual release will retain its singularly, but the catalogue will develop as a whole. Three is a strong foundational number, too.
How did you decide on these initial three releases?
These initial three fell into place rather effortlessly. There were, and still are, a large number of people I want to reach out to. Christian Filardo and I have been collaborators forever. He flew out to me to work on what would become Justice, I had been sitting on Cerrillos Disco for some time, and was sending it around to different places. While both of us had this finished work without a proper home, it become clear to me that it was the right time to create my own platform.
To expand the scope, it felt important to reach out to someone that was far away from me. I had never talked with Junky [Junjun Cao, Torturing Nurse] before, but I just sent him a message and told him about the Lime Lodge idea, and he didn’t hesitate. I really appreciate his work, and I felt excited to re-contextualize his pure noise ideas into the Lime Lodge vision, away from the expected “harsh noise” aesthetic. Like I mentioned, having these three releases stand by one another as a group seems to increase their potency as individuals.
I am interested in the way in which something is perceived being totally connected to the environment it exists within.
Each LP is remarkably different, from modular synthesizer exploration to more drone and proper noise. Do they cover what the label will release?
I think these inaugural releases offer a nice platter, but they definitely don’t indicate the outer boundaries. I would like to use Lime Lodge to give a home to work that has gotten lost in the past, as well. It is a multi-faceted vision, held together by some uniformity and meta-consistency.
Do you accept demos?
Lime Lodge is a curatorial operation, and I cannot imagine running out of material that I would like to release. However, I am open to reviewing submitted material, because I know there is significant work being made that goes unnoticed.
Will you only be putting out vinyl?
As far as sound goes, vinyl records are the only format of interest at the moment. This includes sizes other than 12-inch, for sure, but the size, weight, and physicality are key. I intend on keeping Lime Lodge a “publisher” in the broadest sense, and will eventually release content other than vinyl records.
The design and aesthetic is extremely powerful and minimal. Did you design them yourself?
Yes, I did the design. Photography plays a major role in the aesthetic. The archival qualities and design work of the Musical Heritage Society, Inc label was a huge inspiration for Lime Lodge.
What is the Santa Fe scene like? And how does it fit in with the larger experimental scene?
Santa Fe has got a funny B-grade art gallery scene, with psychonauts and post-minimalists living in the hills. There are interesting people who live here, but for the most part exist in solitude. We have good movie houses, and even better skies! It is a lovely place to do work, but there’s no real experimental community.
Christian recently moved out here. With one other housemate, we run one of the only DIY warehouse art / performance spaces in New Mexico. We are always open to hosting allies, so please be in touch!
