From Godflesh to Nina Simone: Record Shopping with Author & Punisher

Article and photos by Parisa Eshrati

During his 2019 southwest tour, we went record shopping with Tristan Shone of the industrial doom project Author & Punisher in Tucson, AZ. From drone metal to classic soul, Tristan shares some of the records and artists that have influenced him the most. ​

​Since 2004, Tristan Shone has been creating industrial doom music under the moniker Author & Punisher. With a background in mechanical engineering, he has custom built all of his instruments and controllers from raw materials and open source electronic circuitry. Eight albums later, Tristan has learned to balance algorithmic machine processing with organic, hook-driven grooves. 

As a follow up to our 2017 interview before his show with Dead Cross, we caught up with Tristan again at Wooden Tooth Records in Tucson to talk about some of the records and artists that have influenced him the most.
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​​Selfless - Godflesh

"This pick may seem pretty obvious, but Godflesh's Selfless was the record that got me into industrial music. A lot of people say that Streetcleaner is better, and I do love that album, but Selfless is just a little bit heavier in my opinion. The songs are riff-oriented and hooky, and that was a huge inspiration when it came to making my own music. I'm not just trying to be brutal or whatever, I actually want to have a good hook for my songs. I feel like Selfless does that perfectly, and the album has this beauty to it. Justin Broadrick [guitarist] and G.C. Green [bassist] have a really good handle on how to make a well-crafted song. I got to meet them and I usually don't get starstruck or anything, but there was a moment there where I was really trying hard not to fanboy." 
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II - Led Zeppelin

"I grew up in a small town in New Hampshire called Stratford, a pretty rural area where we didn't get a lot of exposure to different kinds of music. So I pretty much just had my dad's records to grow up on. He didn't have anything particularly heavy or experimental like Black Sabbath or King Crimson, but he did stock up on a lot of the essential classic rock records. Led Zeppelin was probably the heaviest thing he owned: honestly thinking about this record now, it's still really heavy and noisy. II was the record I probably listened to the most growing up, and it's my one of my all-time favorites. I go back and listen to them pretty often. Robert Plant's voice is still so impressive."
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​Our Raw Heart - YOB

"Speaking of another guy with a really impressive voice, Mike Scheidt of YOB is one of my all-time favorite vocalists. I love every one of YOB's albums, especially the last three where they've been delving into more melodic stuff. They're also one of the only bands now that I feel can have a 12 minute song and get away with it. There really aren't many others that can pull that off without falling into a pretentious loop. Of course there are other great bands like Sunn O))) that can have longer drone songs, but YOB is just an entirely different listening experience. They deserve every bit of praise."
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Bullhead - The Melvins

"I remember exactly the first time I heard The Melvins. When I was a freshman in high school, I used to have this friend of mine drive me to school in his old Pontiac sedan. It was a shitty car but it had a really nice sound system, I remember all the EQ faders and everything. There was one day he played the album Lysol, and that was the heaviest shit I had ever heard. That was the first moment I was introduced to really drawn out, doomy sounds in music. After that, I would go to the nearest record stores that were out in Portland, Maine or Providence, and try and find any and all things from The Melvins. Bullhead was the first record of theirs I owned, and from there it was a spiral into finding anything similarly heavy, like Boris. The Melvins was actually one of the first big shows I ever went to. Dale Crover was wearing a speedo and everything.”
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​​Pain in My Heart - Otis Redding

"Aside from classic rock, my dad also got me into artists like Otis Redding and Nina Simone when I was growing up. Redding's approach to music is so soulful, and though it doesn't seem very obvious, he's actually inspired a lot of the doom stuff that I've done. Also, "Try A Little Tenderness" is one of my go-to karaoke tracks. I admittedly don't do very well [laughs]."
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​The Amazing Nina Simone - Nina Simone

"Nina Simone is another massive inspiration. My absolute favorite track of hers is "Four Women." It's so deep and incredibly heavy. I always think of how much I'd love to cover it. I know exactly how I'd want to do it too. But at the same time, a white dude from New Hampshire covering such a loaded song might actually not be such a great idea. This song isn't about my experience. That reminds me of how I saw this band in Europe, I won't say who, but they're a group of Anglo dudes from the Netherlands. They started their set playing a clip of Nina Simone doing some spoken word and then they walked out on stage. That clip was not about you, especially when you're coming from a colonialist nation, you know? That's not to say you can't respect her and love her. I know it was probably the right intention, but it just comes off a bit strange. Nevertheless, I really do love this album and the art that Nina Simone left for this world."
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Crazy Baldhead Dub - King Tubby

"Dub is one of my all-time favorite genres, and most every variation of it too. This King Tubby record is such a classic. Lately, I've pretty much been listening more to drum 'n bass since it's got that strong electronic element to it, That stuff hits the sound system so hard, but funny enough, some of the older dub hits even harder with those heavy bass notes. My friend who helps me produce my records also is really into this record, so we always keep in mind the dub side of things when we're working in production. Even if I'm listening to some modern stuff, I always like to go back to records like this King Tubby one to find elements of heaviness where it truly all started."
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​Author & Punisher released his latest record Beastland last year on Relapse Records, and just finished up his 2019 west coast tour. You can follow and stay up to date on releases, show info and more here. ​And thank you to Wooden Tooth Records in Tucson, AZ for providing the space, you can stay up to date on their records and events here. 
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