Guitares au Fuel (in english)

15.) According to your biography on the Blazing Productions website, in the year 2000, you “…developed a guitar which functions off of the collected pressure of gasses from the flames of diesel gasoline instead of traditional electric pickups…” Exactly how is this diesel gasoline-powered guitar setup, how does it function and how was this unheard of idea conceived?

We have always enjoyed seeking out new ways to create sounds. Afterall, creation is the most satisfying process of our art for us so we take great strides to think independently rather than stick to a standard. We have used all sorts of odd creations to make music, especially on our "Velorum" album. On the subject of the instrument in question, I will let LVG explain the actual technicalities.

LVG: The guitar itself is actually made out of steel. It was created for us by a craftsman in Seattle. We needed a guitar made of metal because diesel fuel, flames, and wood are not a great combination, especially in an uncontrolled environment such as a concert. With this guitar, we drilled 33 holes from back to front and inserted small silver tubes through the back. All of these tubes are connected to small wires which carry the fuel to the base of the tubes. 3 large steel braces seal the top of the tubes (which are just under the strings), and on each brace is a homemade pickup which was created by d.Marvin of the Baltimore dark ambient project Vienke. When the flames come up through the tubes and heat the bottom of the coils it charges the pickups and transmits the resulting sound through a band of fiberoptic cords into a large aquarium. We change the size of the aquarium if we want a different sound. A 15 gallon aquarium gives a very active sound with lots of distinction and sharp action. For the recording of "Genevieve" we used a 75 gallon fiberglass box filled with water, a few gallons of seawater, some wine, and a bit of SGL's blood. This wasn't for sound reasons, obviously, but for our own sanity. The 75 gallon box, however, certainly was for sound reasons. This creates a very still and deep ambience to the tones, a thick and murky sound. These sounds are then recorded and distorted until we are satisfied. We didn't want it to sound overwhelming though. We wanted it to bear traces to an electric guitar, but the secret is in the subtleties. In the middle break of "1" we stripped all distortions from the guitar lines, then slowly layer back on various distortions so if you want to hear its natural sound, listen to that.