Disclosure – I should let you all know that I am currently at work on a collaborative zine with Livor Mortis Zine, release date TBC, and that I once won a competition for issue 3 of LMZ (a set of three beautiful zines).
ZL – Why paper and not blogs?
LMZ – Being born in the mid-1980’s, I feel that I owe a lot to analogue in all formats; from VHS to vinyl, practical effects over CGI etc. Even though I use computers daily and understand the great advantages of digital outlets, however, I feel that a physical item is a lot nicer and more human. I specifically started LMZ based on glue, paper, scalpel etc and felt I should keep digital creation to a minimum. We can rely on paper a lot more as digital/technology is a lot more harmful towards us both physically and mentally.
With physical copies of a zine, you can distribute and interact outside, away from a computer. I am sure that most of the population like to touch what they can see, and I feel that adds greatly to the experience. Having physical copies on paper has led to opportunities I would have missed out on if I were to be blog based, like selling zines on a face-to-face basis.
This started with great assistance from Books Peckham (site & instagram) and DIY Space For London (DSFL site & instagram).
Their next zine fair is 17 thMarch 2019 @ 96-108 Ormside St, SE15 1TF.
Anyone that is interested in zines and DIY self-publishing should definitely visit.
One of my favourite zines of recent times was picked up (traded) at a previous zine fair at DSFL. It’s by Olga Writes Things and is titled ‘Body Hair: A Love/Hate Story’. Reading this really made me question how brainwashed our culture is by media. I would suggest reading this zine especially if you are open minded and not a sexist. I also appreciate how personal it is too, I doubt many people would be so direct and honest
ZL – Do you remember the first time?
LMZ – The first time I can remember really loving an artistic creation was probably as a 4/5 year old, whilst watching both ‘Ghostbusters’ the film and animated series. However, years later, the 2001 album ‘Mediocre Generica‘ by Leftover Crack really shaped me as a person and actually impacted my life for the better! It opened my eyes and ears to many different genres and styles of music. Before listening to that album, I was strictly into punk music and was quite ignorant and stubborn to entertain anything else.
The album contains elements of ska, reggae, black metal, death metal and of course punk. It was definitely a great tool for mind expansion and propelled me violently into a world of mixing genres and breaking rules. Plus the lyrical content was perfect for my mentality as a teen; no pop-punk focused girl/boy relation dramas, just real talk and political anger. Without hearing this album, I do wonder if I would have ever spent 10 years running independent death metal record labels and if I would have stayed on a straight path and mixed with healthy society focused individuals. I do not really know many other bands that mix many alternative styles so well! Apart from the pre-fix of ‘Leftover Crack’, which is the band ‘Choking Victim’.
I can still listen to the album today and get wild enjoyment from it. ‘Mediocre Generica’ is not my favourite album, but it is totally an important release in terms of who I am today. I am sure LMZ carries some connection to the crack rock steady beat, away from the ‘INDK’ lyrics inside the front cover of issue 4.
ZL – Given an unlimited budget and all the time in the world, what would be the project you’d make to be remembered by?
LMZ – I literally had this conversation just the other day with a film maker friend of mine, we even started a script to be prepared for the day an unlimited budget comes our way! I won’t give away too much in terms of the overall direction, but the aim would be to focus on making a story to make people more aware and involved in stopping child abuse. I am sure I am not the only person who questions why the rich and powerful are always connected to extreme child abuse?! I know it is a nasty and emotionally destroying subject to even comprehend, but it is a vast problem all over the world. If I could be involved in anything that would expose and shutdown child abusers and sex traffickers in general, I would be very happy. The budget would go on practical special FX (ideally Tom Savini ❤️) and getting really strong and respected actors/actresses involved so people would take notice.
Away from that, I would really like to be involved and remembered for something that would get Tony Blair and George Bush Jr executed for war crimes.
As the budget is unlimited, any leftover would be used to buy and delete Facebook.
ZL – Your images come from all around the world, where is your favourite place in the world you’ve never visited?
LMZ – Asia, especially the Far East! I would really like to go there and I am sure that I would never leave. In my head, it seems so alien compared to the world I live in, I’m sure it would feel like home. The level of excitement and fear is through the roof!
My passionate feelings towards the continent originated from Eastern cinema and anime. I remember watching films like ‘Urotsukidoji’ and ‘Hausu’ at a young age and being so impressed after getting tired of the typical Hollywood/Western film formula. The imagination and creativity out in the East is so rich, there is even a Japanese horror sub-genre which focuses on cat horror alone.
Another part of Asia I would like to experience is Bali, Indonesia. There is an annual festival that takes places there called ‘Nyepi’ aka ‘Day of Silence’.
I do not think Google search results justify this festival, so take a look at the Instagram account @ogohogoh_bali
ZL – What single creation [book, zine, film, group, place, whatever!!] would you settle down with and just chill?
LMZ – I really chill with audio commentaries attached to cult Italian films such as Lucio Fulci’s ‘Gates Of Hell’ trilogy or any of Dario Argento’s early works for example. Last night I bulk listened to three commentaries on the early US slasher ‘The Burning’.
I find it really fascinating to hear all the behind-the-scenes details relating to the production of the final product. It is nice to be able to just listen to something, rather than watch. I guess I should check out some more podcasts!
zine love 
Leave a comment