Nun Gun is a multimedia collaboration between visual artist Brad Feuerhelm, and musicians Lee Tesche and Ryan Mahan of the band

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

. Their debut release, ''Mondo Decay'', pairs a book of Feuerhelm's photography with an accompanying original soundtrack cassette produced by Tesche and Mahan. The project features guest contributions from Mark Stewart of

The Pop Group The Pop Group are an English rock band formed in Bristol in 1977 by vocalist Mark Stewart, guitarist John Waddington, bassist Simon Underwood, guitarist/saxophonist Gareth Sager, and drummer Bruce Smith. Their work in the late 1970s crossed ...

Adrian Sherwood Adrian Maxwell Sherwood (born 20 January 1958) is an English record producer specialising in the genre of dub music. He has created a distinctive production style based on the application of dub effects and dub mixing techniques to other forms ...

ONO ONO, Ono or Ōno may refer to: Places Fiji * Ono Island (Fiji) Israel * Kiryat Ono * Ono, Benjamin, ancient site Italy * Ono San Pietro Ivory Coast * Ono, Ivory Coast, a village in Comoé District Japan * Ōno Castle, Fukuoka * ...

, Mourning BLKstar, artists Luiza Prado and Farbod Kokabi, as well as authors

Blake Butler John David Blake Butler (22 October 1924 – 15 April 1981) was an English actor best known for his role as the lecherous chief librarian Mr. Wainwright during the first and third series of ''Last of the Summer Wine'' in 1973 and 1976 respect ...

Michael Salu Michael Salu, British-born of Nigerian heritage, is a creative director, art and photography editor, designer, brand strategist, writer and illustrator. Education and career Born in London, England, to parents from Nigeria, Michael Salu lived ...

, and

Sohail Daulatzai ) Lambda Velorum (λ Velorum, abbreviated Lambda Vel, λ Vel), officially named Suhail , is a star in the southern constellation of Vela. With a mean apparent visual magnitude of 2.21, this is the third-brightest star in the constella ...

History

The idea for Nun Gun began in London in 2013, when Feuerhelm and Tesche spent an evening accidentally playing a copy of the soundtrack for Roberto Donati's

Cannibal Ferox ''Cannibal Ferox'', also known as ''Make Them Die Slowly'' in the US and as ''Woman from Deep River'' in Australia, is a 1981 Italian cannibal exploitation horror film written and directed by Umberto Lenzi. Upon its release, the film's US distri ...

soundtrack at the wrong speed. After realizing their mistake, the two decided that, at some point they would create their own slowed-down horror score paired with Feuerhelm's imagery. After winning the 2021 Ear/Eye Award, ''

Mondo Decay ''Mondo Decay'' is the debut release from Nun Gun, the multimedia collaboration between visual artist Brad Feuerhelm, and musicians Lee Tesche and Ryan Mahan of the band Algiers. After winning the 2021 Ear/Eye Award, ''Mondo Decay'' was released ...

'' was released as a 144-page photo book with an accompanying cassette on February 19 by Witty Kiwi. ''Mondo Decay'' "turns the tourist gaze of mid-century Italian exploitation films onto post-industrial America, while scavenging the pulpiest bits of their soundtracks, giving them the chopped and screwed treatment, and festooning them with Tesche's brash sax flourishes."Bick, Emily. "Electronics", ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created and primarily written by the American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered o ...

'', London, March 2021. ''Mondo Decay's'' very specific sound is due to Nun Gun's self-described “goth & screwed” technique—write & record at regular speed, bounce the digital files to tape, then manipulate and slow down the tape, and bounce it back to digital. Kenneth Dickerman of

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

notes, "one of the most notable things is the slowing down of the narration and music. Listening to it sounds, at times, somewhat like a halting, droning garbage disposal dying as it tries to eviscerate whatever detritus you put in there, trying to flush away. It sounds like melting objects, warped records, oozing trash, or maybe the sound your brain makes while malfunctioning. I love it." Emily Bick, in her

review continues, "This is seductive, fierce, critical music that makes no bones about exactly who was crushed to keep the world burning." On April 17, 2021, Nun Gun released a companion LP, '' Stealth Empire (In Dub)'', featuring continued collaborations with Mark Stewart, ONO, Mourning BLKstar, Blake Butler, and a dub version of the title track by Adrian Sherwood.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (2021) * '' Stealth Empire (In Dub)'' (2021)

References

{{Authority control Music & Arts artists British experimental musical groups