#Spencer Seim

[nonsensemachine]

Hella playing a couple songs off the Tripper album in 2022. I have a shard from one of Zach Hill's cymbals that broke off and flew through the air and landed at my feet at one of their shows. I worshiped the ground these two guys stood on in the early 2000's. Cool to see them still getting together even though they haven't released anything in over a decade.

[t-birdss]

Ok does anyone know where to direct me in the direction of Zach Hill’s short films? I know he’s made some and shit but tbh I cannot find them on YouTube. At all. So pls if anyone knows where I can see some of them pls let me know. I watched one in high school but I’ve never been able to find it again :,(.

[somethingvinyl]

My favoritest oddball record, and one I am so pleased and surprised to finally own. Hella is a powerful math rock duo (at least at the time of this, their debut album)—their drummer, Zach Hill, went on to co-found Death Grips. Both instrumentalists go so hard on this record—guitarist Spencer Seim double taps most of the time to provide two spidery melody lines at a time with no overdubs, and Zach plays drums at about 3 times human speed. The songs are so complex I can’t imagine writing them but they MOVE too, you can bang your head and dance to them. It’s just the coolest album… it had a tiny little vinyl release in 2002 when it came out, and copies of that would sell for hundreds of dollars if you happened to find it—usually all the money in the world couldn’t have gotten it for you! They promised a 20th anniversary vinyl pressing, and it got delayed, but I’m so happy to finally have it. Hella was my second ever concert, and they’re an all-timer for me.

[lzyixi]

Hella - Self Checkout

[cristopha-jam]

Hella: experimentación y math rock extremo

Rock progresivo y math rock llevado a su límite conocido hasta el momento. Eso es Hella, dúo californiano que irrumpió públicamente en 2002 (año de lanzamiento de su primer álbum) y que ha desconcertado a aquellos que han llegado a su música.

Spencer Seim, encargado de la guitarra eléctrica y Zach Hill, baterista. Dos músicos capaces de sacarle el máximo de provecho a sus instrumentos, donde cada uno de sus discos pareciera ser una larga sesión de ensayo, improvisaciones y jams. Temas donde el dúo brota y esparce su creatividad sin reparar en convencionalismos, zonas de confort ni lugares seguros.

Ambos músicos destacan por igual, pero vayamos por parte. Primero veamos que referencias o características definen el estilo de Spencer Seim y el estudio atento y vanguardista de su instrumento, la guitarra eléctrica. Spencer ha llevado las posibilidades de la guitarra a atmósferas sonoras pocas veces vista en el instrumento.

Cambios armónicos frenéticos, riffs agresivos, distorsionados, a ratos erráticos y convulsionados. A todo ello se le suma una amplitud en la forma de generar música desde la guitarra, ya que en ocasiones Spencer deja chillar y reverberar su guitarra solo con pedales de efectos y maromas electrónicas llevadas a una distorsión extrema.

Su aproximación a la guitarra recuerda en ciertos pasajes a lo hecho por Omar Rodríguez López en The Mars Volta, At-the Drive In y el sinfín de música hecha por él, puesto que este estilo errático y alocado en la guitarra hacen que entendamos a este instrumento desde otra vereda; de una manera mucho más amplia, más experimental y osada, alejado de las armonías y riffs a los cuales podamos estar más acostumbrados.

El primer álbum de Hella, Hold Your Horse Is (2002) es puro desenfreno. Math rock llevado a sus límites. Math rock que se nutre de elementos progresivos, experimentales, electrónicos y de subgéneros más frenéticos y punzantes como el rave, siendo el tema “Brown Metal” un buen ejemplo de aquello. Sin voces a lo largo del álbum, así como en casi toda la discografía de Hella (salvo contadas excepciones), la propuesta de este disco y banda en general se apega a aquellas sensibilidades hambrientas por nuevos sonidos y experimentaciones musicales potentes.

Pero aquel primer álbum a pesar de lo desconcertante de su sonido no sería el zenit compositivo de Hella. Aquel momento casi llega con la publicación de su segundo EP Bitches Ain’t Shit but Good People (2003). Publicación donde agregan más instrumentos a sus canciones y expanden aún más la experimentación osada desde los mismos. Sintetizadores, un bajo y cajas de ritmo se incorporan en la locura de este EP; obra aclamada por los fans de aquellos años y que no han abandonado la propuesta de Hella, atesorado a la banda hasta la actualidad.

Desde aquel punto en adelante la creatividad de este dúo no se detendría. Incluso en sus siguientes EP’s y discos de larga duración, donde llegan a jugar musicalmente con la inclusión de sonidos y ritmos en 8 bits, como si de la música de un videojuego retro se tratase.

Ahora bien, tratemos de hacerle justicia y destacar el trabajo del baterista Zach Hill. Músico que también lleva a terrenos insospechados su instrumento, dando cuenta de las horas de práctica y estudio. Es notable la cantidad de influencias que cruzan el estilo de Zach Hill. Múltiples polirritmos, técnicas de ejecución que transitan sin problemas de golpes y fills suaves y contenidos a simplemente ser un baterista agresivo y desenfrenado. Una capacidad física y mental increíble.

Una experiencia musical envuelta en la anarquía, experimentación y fuera de todo canon convencional es el extenso y surreal álbum doble Church Gone Wild/Chirpin’ Hard. Obra publicada en 2005 y cuya duración total es de una hora con cuarenta y cinco minutos, aproximadamente. Siendo Church Gone Wild creación principal de Zach Hill mientras que Chirpin’ Hard en gran parte es gracias a la sensibilidad de Spencer Seim, éste álbum doble se anota como el pináculo más experimental y extremo de Hella.

Álbum doble donde la plasticidad sonora se evidencia en la multiplicidad de efectos de guitarra, las voces colaboradoras de otros músicos amigos (Dan Elkan en guitarras, sintetizadores y voces de acompañamiento, así como la sobriedad colaborativa de Jonathan Hischke como bajista), utilización de sintetizadores, efectos y distorsiones vocales y un sinfín de figuras rítmicas intrincadas. Temas que uno tras otro nos demuestra el espíritu expresivo de estos músicos, alejados de cualquier esquema radial, de los grandes escenarios o rankings de “los más escuchados”. Sin duda una obra imperdible si alguien decide aproximarse a estos músicos.

Las últimas apariciones destacadas de Hella datan de 2011 con el álbum Tripper y la publicación de su EP Santa’s Little Hella en 2013, cuya existencia es una rareza incluso para internet al ser un single poco reproducido o compartido. Hasta su discreta calidad desde el punto de vista de la producción la hacen una curiosidad para cualquiera. Totalmente atípicos.

Hasta la fecha solo siguen las especulaciones de los fanáticos respecto de cuando Hella volverá a desconcertarnos con su música en público, ya que es más que seguro que todos estos años no han sido en vano. Es difícil de creer que este dúo no ha compuesto nada en todos estos años. Sencillamente no han querido publicar y mantener un bajo perfil artístico. Todo por supuesto en el ámbito de la especulación y sospecha que despierta la propuesta musical surrealista de esta banda.

Un dúo que rompió esquemas hace más de diez años. Experimentaron, se arriesgaron, fueron osados, los miraron raro y no los entendieron. Aun así, fueron capaces de cautivar a toda una escena de músicos y melómanos ávidos por ritmos y armonías más contemplativas. Un dúo que armó su rompecabezas musical con el rock progresivo como cimiento, pero que utilizó piezas del jazz, la electrónica, el noise rock y un largo etcétera; convirtiéndose así en una banda de culto. Una rareza que finalmente bautizamos como math rock para poder diferenciarlos o referenciarlos. Pero en realidad, Hella es un episodio atípico, curioso, potente y de mucha personalidad. La música es libre y Hella así lo demostró.

[t3rra-bull]

(Team Clermont)

[music2liveby]

DAY 97: Biblical Violence by Hella

Album: Hold Your Horse Is Release: March 19th, 2002 Genre: Math Rock

Get your pencils and calculators out for this one, folks. Deciphering the complex polyrhythms and note structures included in notable math rockers Hella’s compositions are no easy task. Musical duo Spencer Seim on guitar and Zach Hill on drums began hatching ideas for a band during their time at high school in Sacramento, California.  They joined a local band Legs on Earth to moderate appeal, releasing one album Lasers and Saviors in 2001 only to break up later that year. Seim and Hill both chose to continue together but with a less mainstream sound. Zach commented on the situation, “We had intentions to start a band that was kinda like what we were doing with just the two of us, but with more people. But, we couldn't find the other people so we decided to do it just with the two of us." Their first collaboration as a pair came in the form of Hold Your Horse Is, an experimental, instrumental masterpiece of counter rhythm and mental connection between the two. Recorded over three days and mixed in two, the tonal conversations between Spencer’s string-bending frets and Zach’s absolute abuse of the drum kit deliver a punch in every track. Based purely on personal preference, Biblical Violence was my selection for its suiting introduction to the album. Following a 40 second 8-bit inspired intro reel titled The D.Elkan, the transition is executed perfectly into Biblical Violence, a frenzied havoc for Zach that matched the two-hand tapping of Spencer all across the note staff. The emphasis they put on the pause between their phrases is coordinated without words, showing off the impressive chemistry these guys have after so many years of playing together. Alone, their talents are fantastic. Together, they are remarkable, each complimenting the other’s play style with their meticulous accuracy. Hella’s entire first album is challenging to keep up with yet coherent enough that you stand a chance at keeping up with its pace in the first place. In fact, it’s arguably the band’s most complex compilation, having experimented later on with an additional two players on bass and vocals before eventually returning once again to a duo. The group has been on hiatus since 2011, as Zach Hill has found himself rather busy with another Sacramento-based band: Death Grips. I think that’s a good enough excuse.

[notimereviews-blog]

Review: Hella - Hold Your Horse Is

Hella is the type of band to make your friends say “What the hell are you listening to?” To say Hella is a math rock band is a gross understatement. Their music is strange, unpredictable, and definitely not aimed at a mainstream audience. Yet behind all the intricate tapping of guitarist Spencer Seim and drummer Zach Hill absolutely murdering his poor snare drum, there are moments where Hella hits a solid groove that you could almost dance to.

Hold Your Horse Is is an album that tries to make sense of the chaos held within it. The album foregoes the other parts of a band such as vocals and bass, which Hella incorporated into their later music, in favor of an absolute balls to the wall exhibition of technical skill. While often this demonstration of skill works musically on most of the album, there are times it gets a little tedious.

Hold Your Horse Is starts out with a strange little 8-bit intro before absolutely exploding into the standout song of the album, “Biblical Violence.” The album immediately grabs the listener’s attention and refuses to give it back. Hold Your Horse Is is an album that is hard to pull yourself away from, because you end up just wanting to hear what insane piece of guitar or drum work will come up next.

While the beginning of the album grabs attention and holds it through the first few songs, towards the middle of the album songs start off interesting and quickly become more confusing than interesting. “1-800-Ghost-Dance” stood out as one of the weakest tracks on the album, starting with a decent riff before turning into a bunch of parts that don’t seem to fit each other - like a puzzle piece that almost, but doesn't quite fit, but is still mashed in with the other pieces.

The weakness of the album lies in the fact that it is in fact a math rock album. Math rock is a fairly unforgiving genre in that the pieces of a song are all so different in time signature and feel that a slight error in judgement on what comes next can feel jarring to the listener. For the most part Hella gets it right on Hold Your Horse Is, but some songs do it much better than others. Another weak spot that nagged in my head during my listen was just how dependent drummer Zach Hill is on the snare drum. While Hill’s drumming is indeed impressive, it all seemed to be variations of hitting the snare really fast while hitting the kick and an occasional cymbal. A little more subtlety with the snare could’ve gone a long way into making the album a little more interesting.

While Hold Your Horse Is may not be my favorite math rock album of all time, it is still a very solid album. It brings a lot of interesting ideas with it and for the most part executes them well. The weaker middle section of the album and its more forgettable songs keep the album from being truly great as a whole, but songs like “Biblical Violence” and “Republic of Rough and Ready” more than keep the album afloat off of their strength alone.

7/10

[flower-sounds]

SIAPR78 Hella - Biblical Violence (Slowed Down 10%) From the 2002 Frenetic Records Album - Hold Your Horse Is Cat# FR012 http://hellaheckahexxa.tumblr.com/

[bubblesandgutz]

Every Record I Own - Day 548: Hella Tripper

I’ve only listened to this LP once or twice. That’s no slight on either Hella or their last album, 2011′s Tripper. Hell, this record was recently ranked as the 35th greatest math rock album of all time, and I’m not here to argue that distinction. It’s just that Hella, for me, was always a live entity, and while their records were cool documents of their manic energy and dizzying guitar-and-drum interplay, they never really served as an adequate substitute for seeing the duo (or quintet, or whatever other incarnations I may have missed) tear it up in the flesh and blood. That said, even though I haven’t spun this LP in nearly nine years, it felt immediately familiar when I threw it on this morning. So Spencer Seim and Zach Hill deserve bonus points for weaving some bona fide hooks into their whacked out mathematical exercises. 

These Arms Are Snakes had the pleasure of doing a tour with Seim’s short-lived project sBACH back in 2008. sBACH had the same overdosing-on-Adderall vibe as Hella, but Spencer’s guitars were equipped with midi pickups, so all their tones sounded like 8-bit Nintendo instruments. They were a fun, weird, ripping band, and a fitting offshoot from Hella’s hyperactive weirdness. So it also made sense that sBACH sold Hella merch alongside their own wares. And at the end of the tour I walked away with a Hella shirt bearing a dismal review by future Pitchfork contributor Brandon Stosuy for Spin magazine (side note no. 2: Stosuy is a solid dude and was one of the few critics at P4k that actually seemed keen on advocating for underground rock bands after the website shifted most of its attention to poptimism, so cut the guy some slack).

This is where I normally circle back to my general grumblings about music criticism. Why would Spin even bother reviewing a Hella album? It’s outside their demographic. Or why would someone even review a Hella album period? As I mentioned earlier, Hella was a band I loved because their live show was such an adrenaline rush, and on some level I never expected a studio album to replicate that experience. I suppose that in and of itself is a review: Tripper doesn’t manage to capture the power of the band live. But that’s true of most music in that realm. A studio recording can’t surpass the power of a live performance unless the live performance kinda sucks and the producer / engineer is really good at polishing a turd. So does Tripper have value to me? Absolutely, because it reminds me of watching Hella and it triggers the memory of that thrill. Do I expect someone who delves into Tripper without any other exposure to Hella to enjoy the record? Well, this is still considered one of the best math rock records of all time, so... sure!

But ultimately, when I think of Hella I think of an old fIREHOSE interview where Mike Watt said his band was the inverse of the usual rock n’ roll paradigm. Most bands toured to sell records, whereas fIREHOSE made records to promote their tours. I love that philosophy. Plenty of artists can make good records with enough time and resources, but to be an artist that can conjure magic in real time, to create an experience rather than just a product... that is the true art. And that’s how Hella rolled. 

[sphihnxxii]

Is it possible to like someone's work on an instrument and also wonder if they are a clown????

[earpeeler]

Pedals And Effects – The World’s Strangest Weirdest Guitar with Spencer Seim If you're playing in a band that's as innovative and out there as Hella, you're going to need a guitar that's equally as crazy!

[andymorin]

spencer seim and zach hill of hella (2002-2010)

[ouroborygmus]

this song cucks you so good, youre just sitting there waiting through like a minute and a half of challenging build up for spencer seim to finally rip, to absolutely shred your face off