If you are a regular (or even not-so-regular) on rec.music.industrial or alt.noise, then Mason Jones is kind of a ubiquitous figure at this point. The kingpin of Charnel Music, when he's not dispensing helpful advice about locating arcane Skullflower albums or obscure Masonna cassettes or answering questions about industrial/noise junk in general, releases a lot of arcane sounds of his own under the name Trance. There isn't really a standard Trance "sound"; all of the Trance releases have been fairly different, linked only by a common interest in strange percussion antics and weird guitar noises. More recently, Trance has begun to move in a more symphonic direction, and this has prompted the following blabfest....

DEAD ANGEL GETS HYPNOTIZED WITH TRANCE:

DA: A bit o' history of the band, if you please....

MJ: I formed Trance in 1988, beginning with the ABYSS cassette; that one and the next few releases were something like industrial rock, a la Swans, perhaps. Heavy guitars, metal percussion, and the like. I started getting into using a sampler to add orchestral sounds, and then started adding noise elements as well. The AUTOMATISM CD was the first full album, released in 1991, and included some noisy live stuff. The AUDIOGRAPHY CD, released by Staalplaat in 1993, started getting into more soundtrack- oriented material. CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE, from Flying Esophagus Productions, collected several years of live recordings (see below for more details on those). The most recent CD, AUGURY, is the best distillation yet of my various influences: orchestral arrangements, guitar noise, and rhythms.

DA: Has it always been just you on the studio albums, or have you had "outside help" from time to time?

MJ: The only studio recording which wasn't done alone in my 4-track studio is "Segau Tago: Vizgano," on the new CD. That was done in Michigan at Warren Defever's studio (he of His Name is Alive & Princess Dragon-mom fame), with he and Geoff Walker (of Gravitar infamy).

DA: How do you actually work in the studio? Do you book time or record on your own, etc.?

MJ: As I mentioned above, I record everything at home on 4-track, and master it to DAT.

DA: I know you're fond of improvisation -- how much of what Trance does is planned versus improvised?

MJ: I'd say about 10% of it is planned. What I do is sit down when an idea comes to me, and start. Usually I feel like working with a given instrument or sound, so I begin with that, add some effects, see what happens, and record a track. If it's still interesting, I'll start layering things on the other tracks, and see what develops. I work in a very sloppy, unplanned way. I might see about doing some recording in a "real" studio in the near future, but I'm not sure my way of working will suit that environment very well. The best idea would be to lay down initial stuff on my 4-track and take that into the studio. Then I can dump those tracks down and use them as a basis on which to build using the extra tracks I'd have available.

DA: Obviously, since you only have two hands, a Trance performance requires extra players. How do you pick who to appear onstage with you?

MJ: It's true I've never done a purely solo live show. I'm not sure it would be interesting enough for either me or the audience. We'll see. When I play around San Francisco, I have a few steady friends who help out frequently. Elden M (Allegory Chapel Ltd) is my usual collaborator; we've played together numerous times in the past five years or so. Annabel Lee (Amber Asylum) and Rob Riddle (Nada) have played with me a few times. At other shows around California and back east, I've played with friends including Crawl Unit, Joe Papa (Controlled Bleeding), Jim O'Rourke, Evolution Control Committee, and others. I'm always into collaborating, and I'll play with anyone whose work I enjoy and who seems to be on a similar wavelength. Some shows work out better than others, but I've never had one that I thought was terrible.

DA: Does the material evolve significantly differently onstage?

MJ: Entirely differently. I consider live shows to be absolutely different from studio recordings, and I don't try for the same sound or feeling. Live shows are usually for pure expressionism -- sometimes absolute noise, sometimes a textural experiment, depending on the circumstances, my attitude at the same, etc. It also obviously depends on who is playing with me at the show.

DA: Speaking of stage terrorism, I understand you and your guitar had a battle of wills at a recent performance... care to elaborate?

MJ: That would be from the recent Sound Culture '96 festival that happened here last month (April). That was a noise night, with Null and C.C.C.C. playing after us. Elden and I did a noise assault show, but we didn't get a soundcheck. So when we were setting up, I discovered that something had happened to my guitar at some point, and the output jack was loose so the connection wasn't working right. I took it apart very quickly and tried taping things, but it didn't do the trick. So I just went ahead and took out my frustrations on it and my effects. The results were pretty satisfying and very noisy.

DA: The new album is interesting... very different from earlier Trance works. Have you been moving in this more "symphonic" direction without me noticing, or was it more of a deliberate change?

MJ: The previous studio album, AUDIOGRAPHY (from Staalplaat), was approaching this style, actually. You might not have gotten that one, because the distribution and promotion of it was wanting, I think. Anyway, it had a definite symphonic approach, but it wasn't as well-developed as the new one, AUGURY. This album is the best combination yet of my various influences: orchestral soundtrack work, rhythms, noises, and guitar used in unconventional ways. There are songs like "Acceleration" that people really don't think have guitar, but there's a lot in there actually.

DA: This new material is considerably more "structured" than some of your earlier stuff (to me, anyway) -- how did you approach the recording this time around?

MJ: Same as always, as I described above. I pick a sound or instrument to start with, and see what happens from there. I think this album might sound more structured because I'm getting continually better at having a precise and cohesive vision of what I want the songs to feel like.

DA: What direction do you think the music is evolving toward now?

MJ: I'm really not sure. I've taken a short break from recording, and I'm hoping to get a CD collecting my live performances in Japan released in the future. I'm likely to continue in the same direction that I've been moving towards: dark, soundtrack-styled songs.

DA: Will those of us outside of Cali be seeing Trance "at a theater near you" anytime soon, by chance?

MJ: There aren't plans for anything in the future, except for another trip over to Japan this fall to visit, play a couple of shows, the usual. Might be doing a tour later on (probably not until spring though) with my new group, SubArachnoid Space. SAS is a heavy psych-noise-rock foursome with myself on guitar; Jason on bass; Melynda on guitar; and Michelle on drums. Our first 7" will be out at the end of May.

DA: Final question: You've been drafted by the Barbie Liberation Organization to compose a new statement for Barbie's "modified" voicebox. What might that statement be?

MJ: "Hey, man, spare some change?"