Artist Takeover Mix: Abstract Audio Systems
For this week's blog post, I'm excited to welcome two guests in what is quite a feast! Ryan Watts aka Akira Film Script is a guest interview once again and here he chats to Ben who records as Abstract Audio Systems, as well as manages the Machine Tribe Recordings label.
I've known Ben for many many years, first acquainting with him on Facebook in the late 2000s when I was only just starting to record my own experimental music. We've kept in touch over all these years and he's part of our Inner Echo community, regularly sharing his broad musical taste with us through his 'Morning Mellow' series. We also discovered here that he's an avid diver - more about that below including a video!
Ben offered to do a guest mix and has turned in a fantastic Ambient selection for us. Ben runs a record label called Machine Tribe which has been active across a similar timescale to Whitelabrecs. His label has always covered his wide-ranging tastes in music - Ryan poses some great questions so that we can learn all about it, in detail; how he's streamlining his label to cater for the different categories of music, what merch he releases, a word on his mix, diving and then what the future looks like.
You can listen to Ben's mix now by hitting the play button below, or visiting the Mixcloud page HERE. If you like what you hear then below is the tracklist so that you can explore the music further. We hope you enjoy!
Tracklist:
1. Carbon Based Lifeforms - Kensington Gardens
2. Atmosphäre & Dionisaf - Icebreaker
3. naemi - Amnis w/ Desire Monique & Florian TM Zeisig
4. Maps and Diagrams - No wind, waves
5. Federico Durand - La cesta de mimbre
6. Moby - May 4 Two
7. Abstract Audio Systems - A Ruined House of Ægir
8. Garda - Frustracja
9. Wil Bolton & David Cordero - And Strange the Wind Lift
10. Music For Sleep - Care And Gestures
11. Digitalverein - Abends Am Gasometer (Rktics Endlos Edit)
12. Weird State Inbetween - As Her Mood Rises And Descends
13. Akira Film Script - Not Enough
14. Rosales - No Return
15. Tatsuro Murakami - Midnight, Wind and the Sea
16. Morimoto Naoki - Inside I - Trace
Thanks for joining us today, Ben, and thank you for sharing your mix! First off, can you introduce yourself for those who may not know you, your musical aliases, and what those projects are all about?
Hi, Ryan. Thank you for having me. For those who don’t know me (the vast majority of you, I suspect), I’m Ben Hudgins. I’ve been recording under various monikers for about 30 years now, with my most active projects Abstract Audio Systems (dedicated to “ambient electronics and organics”) and Bonechurch (crafting “dark ambient, isolationism, noise, and experimental abstracts”).
I also sporadically produce noise music as Melinoe and harsh noise walls as ECT, as well as downtempo and dance-oriented material as Puzleboy. I dabble in vocal works too as Hugh Gable and my “voice as instrument” project Prize F*ckup. Breaks The Blank Day is/was me as well, but that particular outlet for my glitchier material is essentially retired.
I like to keep busy.
Ah, splendid - thank you for sharing that all with the community. Next up, can you share a bit about Machine Tribe Recordings, MTREC White, Grey, Black, Distribution, and zero sum recordings?
Shonuff. Machine Tribe began back in the 90s as a vehicle to release my own creations. The internet was still in its infancy, so a lot of this was done through tape trading as opposed to “formal” releases. The label then spent many years on MP3.com as a relatively nebulous entity, more a collection of my various projects than a proper “label”. I made the jump to Bandcamp right around the time it debuted in 2007/2008, but still remained focused on digital releases of my own material, grouped under the Machine Tribe banner.
However, in early in 2016, inspired by friends I’d met through Bandcamp who were doing physical releases, I was struck with the idea of a limited-edition collaborative tape project. Artists would submit up to 15 minutes of material for the A-side of a C30 and I would remix that material for the B-side; 13 copies per release. And thusly was born Endless Landscapes Of Decay, the first MTR “sub-label”.
ELD was mostly noise music, but dabbled in ambient as well and based off some of those “dabbles”, I finally threw myself into distribution of other artists’ material. Zero Sum Recordings was a boutique cassette label specializing in minimalism, drone, drift, and ambient music. “Low on the noise, high on the haze.” Each offering saw a ridiculously limited run of 9 cassettes each.
The enjoyment I experienced from these two ventures further inspired me to expand Machine Tribe Recordings into full-fledged distribution, hence the creation of the aptly titled Machine Tribe Distribution. This new entity would feature 25 copy runs of cassettes or CDs and eventually combination packages (limited edition cassettes and unlimited CDs).
Eventually the strain of running all three label entities along with creating my own music got to be a bit much, so ELD and ZSR were mothballed. I began to focus more on distribution, as I’d discovered I really fancy crafting release art and spreading the work of other artists I admire. “No Boundaries” became my motto, as I was publishing everything from ambient to noise to breakcore to black metal to hip hop. This reflects my own tastes in music, so this did not strike me as unusual or… foolhardy.
(I’m getting to the end here, so bear with me)
However, whilst the “No Boundaries” approach certainly fits my own peccadilloes, it became a bit daunting for my consumers. Not everyone is ready for an album featuring 60 minutes of gossamer drone followed up by 15 minutes of someone screaming into a garbage can in their mom’s basement; as I said, my own peccadilloes.
So after some extensive soul-searching and advice-seeking, I decided to subdivide Machine Tribe into three separate entities:
MTR Black: for Harsh Noise, Power Electronics, Experimental Avant-Garde, and Free Improvisation. The desired aesthetics? Intense, transgressive, unrestrained, and confrontational.
MTR Grey: for Dark Ambient, Cinematic Drone, Ritual Soundscapes, and Industrial Minimalism. Aesthetic? Shadowed, atmospheric, immersive, and emotional.
MTR White: for Ambient, Downtempo, Lo-Fi, Experimental Hip Hop, and Minimal Electronics. Aesthetic? Calm, expansive, textural, and contemplative.
That's an eclectic span of sonic spectrums. Is there something in particular you listen for with releases that differentiates one from another Machine Tribe Recordings umbrella, or is it all selected from a singular place in your listening experience, regardless of genre with each submitted demo?
I have what I guess I’d call “musical synesthesia”, as I “see” music as much as I hear it; hence the color-coding of the sub-labels and the “short story” approach I take to the album blurbs I write for each release.
I usually have some idea of what a submission is going to sound like based on the project name or the person sending me the material (as I’m now working with a fair number of artists regularly). However, I reserved judgment on where something is going to end up until I’ve given it several listens. The sub-label structure is still relatively new, but I can already attest to the fact that much of the material I release tends to “ride the edges” of the color boundaries I’ve set. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Limited edition cassettes, CDs, and apparel seem to be a focus for the label, and sub-labels - what drew you to these mediums in a time when vinyl was (maybe still is) enjoying a big resurgence? Was there a concerted effort to choose the media you have for the labels' limited releases, or was it more organic to go that route?
I’d love to say that the driver for this was the “underground” feel of tapes and as someone who grew up in “tape trading culture” back in the 80s, there’s certainly a nostalgia there. However, down to brass tacks, it’s about cost. Yes, vinyl is making a resurgence (though it never left for some of us…), but most manufacturers still require minimum runs in the 100s, which amounts to thousands of dollars up front, which simply isn’t possible for a tiny independent like Machine Tribe.
Only until recently was it possible to do limited or “wax on demand” runs and even those end up with high “per unit” costs and I don’t know many folks who are willing to chunk down $40+ for noise music on vinyl.
Trust me. I tried it with a release from Vomir, one of the gods of noise, and I’m still trying to recoup the cost.
Conversely, tapes are relatively inexpensive and easy to produce, CDs even more so. I can buy 100 blanks for less than the cost of a few “wax on demands” and also store them in my apartment without having to empty my closest to make room.
So as much as I’d love to wax rhapsodic about “going back to my roots” or “representing trve kvlt musick lovers”, it really is about them dollas. That said, if I could afford a lathe cutting machine I’d buy one in a heartbeat. Because vinyl RULES.
Going back to your wonderful mix, can you share with us how you came across some of these artists’ output? Is there a central place you look to for new music, or do you cast a wide net for catching new music in your life?
This is an easy one because at this point, I basically buy all my music on Bandcamp. As of this writing, I’ve purchased close to 6300 various releases, with another 3700 in my wishlist. And trust me when I say that both those numbers will be significantly higher by the time this interview is published. Given how buyers are automatically added to an artist’s mailing list upon purchase, I probably receive over a hundred emails a day from Bandcamp, showering me with new music opportunities. It’s all I can do to not buy literally all of it, such is the musical hunger that I labor under.
Bandcamp is literally the most artist-friendly and affordable music site on the web. I find very few reasons to go elsewhere for the goods.
Speaking of wide nets, you're a somewhat avid diver if I'm to understand things correctly. How long have you been diving, and who do you share that kind of unique adventure with? Any place for readers to check out any diving content from your oceanic journeys?
Nice! Yes, I am. I started back in 2006, earning my Open Water and Advanced Open Water certificates in a quarry outside Allentown, Pennsylvania here in the United States. Said quarry was fed by a cold-water spring, so it was pretty [expletive deleted] miserable. My next stop, however, was the Galapagos Islands, which was incredibly challenging (I literally almost died, running out of air 60 feet down), but probably the most amazing experience of my life. I went back again in 2014 with my wife and that simply reinforced my belief that it’s the best diving spot I’ve ever been to. Nothing like sitting on the edge of a coral reef, 80 feet down, watching hundreds of sharks swim past you within metaphorical spitting distance.
However, the Galapagos is quite the physical and financial commitment, so my wife and I do most of our “gerätetauchen” (as I’d say in my budding German) in the Caribbean. Little Cayman is most likely our favorite, but we’re also big fans of Grenada, to which we’ll be returning to in September. Mexico also has a bunch of great spots as well.
Lastly, any highlights for yourself or Machine Tribe Recordings on the horizon? And as you're based in Brooklyn, are there any upcoming shows from yourself or label acts that readers in the area should be on the lookout for in the coming weeks or months?
Machine Tribe is still cranking out four releases a month, the distribution (pun intended) across sublabels catch as catch can. For example, last month (Feb 2026) was exclusively MTR Black, whilst March is looking to be a bit more diverse. As for shows, I don’t attend much live music myself these days (mobility problems are the bane of old men), but am hoping to do a live show as Abstract Audio Systems sometime in mid-to-late summer as part of The Cave Series (https://caveseries.org). I’d performed there last year under my Bonechurch moniker and had a blast, so I’ve high hopes.
That said, New York does not lack for amazing “other music” opportunities, Brooklyn especially so. I’d recommend looking into local artists and labels like Unfeeling, Izolat, Chthonic Streams, Darkest Dungeons, and Endmusik.
Thanks again for your time and please check out MTR and dive into Bandcamp for absolutely everything else!
We hope you enjoyed Ben's mix and interview! To explore more of Ben's releases, click HERE where you can check out his label Machine Tribe Recordings.
