Image: Jd LakhianiBy day Brent Stegemen works at Eagle Leather, one of Australia’s leading leather, fetish and BDSM stores. At night he produces dark post-industrial music as COMPLETE.“Breathing Marks” is the first track to surface from COMPLETE's as yet untitled debut album due out in the first half of 2016. The single comes ahead of a split 12” with Melbourne’s Vacuum on it Records.As part of an it Records second birthday showcase that features Miles Brown, Taipan Tiger Girls, Little Desert, Vacuum and Armour Group, Stegemen has been asked to curate a night of darkness upstairs at Melbourne’s Tote Hotel.Listen to “Breathinig Marks” and read an interview below.Noisey: How does COMPLETE stand apart from your previous musical projects?
Brent Stegemen: COMPLETE came about out of necessity. I’ve always been drawn to forms of music that require an intense presence in terms of performance and sound and so the people that I have worked with have had to bring something more than just musical ability to breathe life in to those songs. Those relationships are difficult to maintain and while we achieved a lot working together and I’m forever grateful for the opportunities they afforded me, COMPLETE is something I can sustain without relying on the involvement of others.Leather, bondage and S&M gear appears in a lot of COMPLETE's visuals and imagery. How does it influence you musically?
I’m involved in the fetish industry in my day-to- day life so there isn’t much separation between COMPLETE’s visual identity and my actual lifestyle. I was initially drawn to leather as a fetish as it provided me with a physical and psychological barrier that protected me against social anxiety and allowed me to embody a persona both in terms of performance and in regaining control of my own trajectory in the face of the ‘turmoil’ that I was surrounded with at the time. I still feel that sense of protection and power and although I am hesitant to say that it defines me, it has definitely become a large part of my identity and I feel more at home in that ‘community' than I do elsewhere. I find BDSM fascinating as it gives people a space to explore relationships beyond the boundaries constructed by society.Your solo stuff has a cold and post-industrial feel but the work you did with Cassandra Keily has a warmth to it. Is remix and producing something you are looking to do more of?
COMPLETE is what it sounds like inside my head and my work with others is me exploring my fascination with other sounds and textures that I find interesting. I write a lot of music and working with people like Cass gives those songs somewhere to live or a reason for me to try different things beyond what I’m immediately drawn to.What do you have planned for the Tote show?
I’ve invited a bunch of people to perform that I connect with personally as well as sonically so I feel there is a common thread that ties all of the acts together. They’re all working on the darker end of the spectrum. I’ve always presented my live shows with a strong visual element and Kate [it records] has been so kind as to allow me transform the whole space into a 'COMPLETE Club’ of sorts. So it will look and sound quite different to what usually goes on up in that dark little space.
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Brent Stegemen: COMPLETE came about out of necessity. I’ve always been drawn to forms of music that require an intense presence in terms of performance and sound and so the people that I have worked with have had to bring something more than just musical ability to breathe life in to those songs. Those relationships are difficult to maintain and while we achieved a lot working together and I’m forever grateful for the opportunities they afforded me, COMPLETE is something I can sustain without relying on the involvement of others.Leather, bondage and S&M gear appears in a lot of COMPLETE's visuals and imagery. How does it influence you musically?
I’m involved in the fetish industry in my day-to- day life so there isn’t much separation between COMPLETE’s visual identity and my actual lifestyle. I was initially drawn to leather as a fetish as it provided me with a physical and psychological barrier that protected me against social anxiety and allowed me to embody a persona both in terms of performance and in regaining control of my own trajectory in the face of the ‘turmoil’ that I was surrounded with at the time. I still feel that sense of protection and power and although I am hesitant to say that it defines me, it has definitely become a large part of my identity and I feel more at home in that ‘community' than I do elsewhere. I find BDSM fascinating as it gives people a space to explore relationships beyond the boundaries constructed by society.Your solo stuff has a cold and post-industrial feel but the work you did with Cassandra Keily has a warmth to it. Is remix and producing something you are looking to do more of?
COMPLETE is what it sounds like inside my head and my work with others is me exploring my fascination with other sounds and textures that I find interesting. I write a lot of music and working with people like Cass gives those songs somewhere to live or a reason for me to try different things beyond what I’m immediately drawn to.What do you have planned for the Tote show?
I’ve invited a bunch of people to perform that I connect with personally as well as sonically so I feel there is a common thread that ties all of the acts together. They’re all working on the darker end of the spectrum. I’ve always presented my live shows with a strong visual element and Kate [it records] has been so kind as to allow me transform the whole space into a 'COMPLETE Club’ of sorts. So it will look and sound quite different to what usually goes on up in that dark little space.
Catch COMPLETE at the It Records Second Birthday Jan 30 at the Tote with Miles Brown, Taipan Tiger Girls, Little Desert, Vacuum, Armour Group and guests.