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Cold Once Turning Dust (1993-1997) was a project of high ambitions and loads of work done under limited skills and equipment, the fruit of which never got as ripe and juicy as expected. We will look at the history of the project through various news announcements and manifestos given and compare it to what they actually accomplished.
The story begins with a false name. Cold Once Turning Dust were originally called The Project of Evil Minds that quickly changed to The Project of Evil Minds N'GAI. The group consisted of Niko Skorpio and a revolving number of his friends. They shared a great, fresh interest in experimental music, noise, location recordings and ambient soundscapes, but were lacking in mutual vision, dedication and simply plain knowledge in how to 'do it'.
The Project of Evil Minds and Herb Mullin will share the limited 60-minute split cassette
which will be released soon on Demonosound. It will turn a new page in the history book of
Experimental Noise...
- Demonosound newsletter 4/93 (August)
Talk about high ambitions... in the end, Herb Mullin (Lasse Marhaug & co.) delivered whereas Evil Minds didn't:
The Project of Evil Minds N'GAI had some problems concerning the recordings of their side of
the split cassette with Herb Mullin. Due to this we'll release only the Herb material alone. This
Ritualistic dose of industrial space noise will be out within a couple of weeks.
- Demonosound newsletter 1/94 (February)
The Evil Minds... collapsed after the failure in finishing their recordings. After a break, Niko went on alone yet all the time looking for new partners in sound. The name changed. Did anything else change?
The COLDONCETURNINGDUST is a blur project creating ritual-like ambient soundwaves
full of tranquil trance atmospheres. Some of their material will be released in time
on Demonosound; format, length etc. yet unknown.
- Demonosound newsletter 3/94 (Autumn)
The COLDONCETURNINGDUST are slowly working on the material for their first released,
pre-titled "Grey Bloom". It'll be released on CD by Demonosound ... The release date
depends on how long the artists will take to complete the recordings, and it seems
we'll have to wait for a while still.
- Demonosound Newsletter 2/95 (Summer)
In 1994 & 95 Niko was busy with his military service and his Demonosound record label. By the end of 1995 a kind of manifesto appears, quoted here as published in Demonosound newsletter 3/95 (December):
The ColdOnceTurningDust
A long search for the strongest essence for the project through various names and varieties in sonic approach ended in The COLDONCETURNINGDUST. The name itself doesn't have an overall major meaning but various minor hints and details and especially the sound and the feeling these words capture.
The main idea of The COLDONCETURNINGDUST is to re-awake human's connection to the Nature as well as to examine the essence of the influential values called Life and Death. "The nowadays generally approved psychic and physic entities that are considered the universal order from chaos are but a degenerated fragment of what was and what should be." As already stated the certain feeling that is created by sound is the main purpose. It is the target of experimentation and The Cold Ones avoid creating limits to which way the purpose should be reached. This means you can expect nearly anything from the COLDONCETURNINGDUST, mainly wandering the fields of industrial and ambient categories, often reaching less known states of experimental music and trance values.
At the moment The COLDONCETURNINGDUST is Skorpio (Demonosound etc.) helped by various individuals whenever needed. There have been and may in future be other more stabilized "members", especially for live performances that already have been planned.
First there will be a limited 7" entitled Gloom out soon on Demonosound, later followed by a longer epos with a stronger concept, Grey Bloom. Also some compilation appearance might be made in future.
Finally, The ColdOnceTurningDust manage to finish some of the many recordings. Demonosound newsletter 1/96 (March) informs that a 7" called Gloom is being manufactured and expected to be released that Spring. It will also be the first release on the new Demonosound sublabel which is to be called Voimakäyrä : PowerWave Unlimited.
Gloom 7" was released in May 1996, pressed on white vinyl and packed in A4 size booklet sleeve. Edition of 300 copies. "Two tracks of low frequencies, rhythmic ambience and recycled noise", as it was described, the hardcore minimalism and the somewhat amateurish feel of the 7" was met with confusion.
The one side is what I just said... a numbing rumble proceeding in linear fashion... a bristling,
staticy transmission that eventually rolls off into the distance and onward into oblivion. ...
The other side is more active, with a slow, repetitive tribal rhythm succumbing to intrusions of
obscured swirls of 'radio noise'. There's a melody in there somewhere, but trying to decipher it is
futile.
- Audio Drudge magazine
Sometime in 1997, Negart releases a compilation cassette featuring the track From & Motion by Cold Once Turning Dust. The inlay sheet describes, "the sound has grown more complex and rhythmic from the bleak minimalism and old-school industrial of Gloom." Indeed, around this time the sound had evolved with the extensive use of tape loops, (rather primitive) computer-based sampling and overall sharpening of vision.
Demonosound newsletter 97 (Spring) lists the following among the label's forthcoming releases:
COLD ONCE TURNING DUST Grey Bloom CD (VoimaKäyrä)
A concept work of minimal experimental music that has been in the process way too long already.
We expect the material to be ready by late Spring.
COLD ONCE TURNING DUST tba. MCD (VoimaKäyrä)
another work with a loose "concept" around it.
However, neither of these ever appeared in the form expected at the time. Cold Once Turning Dust eventually dissolved due to the lack of input and commitment from other members apart from Niko Skorpio. Thus Niko decided to go on working solo instead to trying to keep a group (or another) together. Some of the material intended for COTD Grey Bloom album ended up on the debut LP by Niko Skorpio, also titled Grey Bloom (Some Place Else 1998).
Some previously unreleased Cold Once Turning Dust (and related) material appeared on Selected Dumbient Works 95-98 compilation CDR (Some Place Else 2002).