It’s not often when arriving at a film screening you have to sign a release form to say you won’t sue if you faint or have a fit. This was exactly what happened last year when we entered a venue to have our minds partially melted by experimental filmmaker Mick Grierson.

Described by some as a kind of hypnotism, Grierson is known for his flickering audio-visual live performances. We recently met up with Mick in London to talk about the day that no-one blinked for over twenty minutes.

How would you describe your work?

I specialise in audio-visual performance using my own
computer instrument that generates sound alongside fast
flickering images, and allows a real-time interaction
between sound and vision. This generates an extreme
sensory experience in the moment that is unique to
that place and time, like little pills of experimental
film...

What affect does it have on your audiences?

It depends on the person. There is nothing you can guarantee will have the same effect on everyone. Of course, most of us see and hear, this means audio-visual art will have some impact… but there is a part of the brain that has a specific reaction to synchronised sound and vision, this allows me to put people through drug-like, extreme sexual sensory experiences. It’s achieved by using military torture techniques as entertainment. This means there is a pleasure/pain aspect and a fear of the unknown.

Why do you ask your audiences to sign a release form?

If I’m doing a performance to an open audience I have to be very careful. If I’m testing something new I will usually have an invited audience, if they accept the invite they are consenting to whatever affect my work may have. Despite this, when performing to the public, the venues often become nervous; this is when the consent form becomes necessary. I’ve had people tell me they are beginning to feel funny before the live performance has even begun, just from showing a film with a high frequency range soundtrack. This can help to put them in right frame of mind to have their head fucked with. But my performances can be compared to a magic show - if you pay to come, you’re agreeing to be involved.

What relationship does the audience have to the performance?

Most musicians are influenced by the audience and gain energy during a live show. It’s good to be able to apply this to something visual. Usually, if I can see that no one is blinking, I know I have the audience where I want them. If people are blinking or chatting, I push harder, it can often work like a domino effect.

Do you see this kind of work breaking out of the underground? You did do some work on the Derren brown show, after all…

Well, it’s odd because people seem to think if something’s not mainstream, people don’t enjoy it. Some things people won’t admit they enjoy. It’s like Japanese rope bondage, I practice it, I like it and I’m not ashamed of it, does that make it mainstream? The kind of work I do and the audio-visual scene is out there and people are really digging it. I mean, look at the credits for Big Brother for God sake, all that subliminal flashing stuff, the scene is becoming industrialised and people don’t even know it. As far as working on Derren Brown’s show is concerned, it was really a great experience. It gave me the opportunity to try out some very complicated and new ideas with a lot of money and control. He really knows what he’s talking about.

What are you working on now?

We’ve launched an Audio-Visual label called Noise Film, which will help manage, produce and promote new acts. We used to run something called Anarchist Cinema which was a website before all the YouTube stuff started. It was a non-elitist platform for experimental film. This is the next step. We ran into trouble because some of the content was a bit violent. Basically, we set up our own stream for the site so we didn’t pay a premium to host it. That’s the real reason we got all the hassle, the site hosting us would have shown two Nuns cutting off each other’s clitorises if we’d paid for it!

So now we produce extreme-noise film. I’m producing work for a fantastic band called From Honey to Ashes, they are incredible. I’d describe them as an extreme sex-noise-music act. Its genuine Avant-Garde stuff, but their marketing themselves as a boy band which is hilarious. It's some of the most interesting computer music in London right now.

	I put people through drug-like, extreme sexual sensory experiences by using military torture techniques as entertainment