PRO FILES: GORE ELOHIM
“It’s about the message and it’s about the atmosphere.” — Gore Elohim
Gore Elohim — the Brooklyn, New York MC formerly known as Goretex — has created a mysterious yet intriguing career thus far, both as a solo artist and as one-fourth of hip-hop supergroup Non Phixion.
Following The Future Is Now (March 2002) and The Green CD/DVD (April 2004), Non Phixion went on creative hiatus, leaving members Ill Bill, Sabac Red, DJ Eclipse and Goretex to pursue individual musical endeavors.
In October 2004, Goretex released his first solo album: The Art of Dying. The nineteen-track debut featured guest appearances from all four members of Non Phixion and was released on Psycho+Logical-Records — the label founded in 1999 by Necro, younger brother of Ill Bill.
In June 2005, The Art Of Dying Instrumentals was released — again on Psycho+Logical-Records.
In October 2013, Goretex returned with a new solo record and new moniker: Electric Lucifer under the alias Gore Elohim. The twenty-two track album was released on Supercoven Records, founded in 2006 by Goretex.
Immediately following the release of his brand-new video “Goretorium” — shot by Matthew Hersh Films in Brooklyn, New York — Gore Elohim took the time to speak about Non Phixion, Electric Lucifer and apathy amidst chaos.
GORE ELOHIM
- Born in Brooklyn, New York
SOLO RELEASES
- The Art of Dying (October 2004)
- The Art of Dying Instrumentals (June 2005)
- Electric Lucifer (October 2013)
ON NAME CHANGE
In this fickle age where nobody gives a crap about anything, I still feel a lot of people haven’t heard the album. And a lot of that is due to the name change and the fact that I got sued by a major company. It was a lot of paperwork for a couple of years; it was very annoying. Somebody was a pussy and ratted me out to the company.
It doesn’t make a difference — it’s in the past. But changing a name is like the worst thing to have to go through, because you’re starting from scratch and half of your fans don’t know what the hell is going on, nor do they know where to find your stuff or what is happening.
So in a sense, of course I’ll always be Goretex. At the same time, I don’t really have a name — I’ll probably change my name up on every record; it doesn’t really make a difference. The damage has already been done, so it’s pretty much a mockery right now — I can call myself Tex Watson and nobody will give a shit.
With that said, I definitely plan to do more videos — next time there will probably be some tits. I feel like a lot of people didn’t get to hear the album — I can even see on YouTube: people asking me when it dropped, not realizing it’s been out for two years on CD and iTunes and everywhere else.
ON DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOLO ARTIST vs. GROUP MEMBER
The main difference between being a solo artist and a group is you can really just do what you want without compromising or really caring — which is sometimes good and sometimes not, depending on the artist.
I don’t enjoy being a solo artist as much as being part of a group: a well-oiled machine that operates on a completely different wavelength.
When I do solo material, it’s probably just more far out and creepy — who knows.
ON “GORETORIUM” VIDEO
The “Goretorium” video was something I had wanted to do for a while but honestly didn’t get around to it. I picked the projects because it’s pretty much home to me in a lot of ways besides the obvious.
I got a lot of homies there that are in pretty fucked up situations, so I like to always be there and show love when I can.
A lot of people have never gotten the chance to really leave the projects, or travel to a lot of places — especially Europe and all these other crazy exotic spots. A lot of people have felt that they have lost that spirit there; that’s why they don’t care they’re busting guns, selling dope. I get it: they have nothing to live for, so why should they be positive. So with that being said, I’m always in Glenwood for one reason or another.
The beginning of the video is pretty much the same location where we shot Non Phixion’s “Rock Stars”. That’s the spot Milky Way: it’s classic and it’s just the spot.
A lot of memories growing up there — good and bad — so it makes for good trauma.
In 2004, this cat I know went inside the Milky Way with the candy bar that he bought from another store. Someone called the cops and thought he was carrying a gun and the cops ran up — soon as they saw him they shot him two times in the chest. And then they said how ironic: that he was carrying a Milky Way candy bar and he got shot dead inside the Milky Way. Al Sharpton came down and protested against the police — there were all these mini-riots.
All kinds of shit happened back in the day.
I put Electric Lucifer out in the end of 2013. Even though the record has been out, it seems to be one of those special records: even though it’s modern, it’s quite obscure. Which is very similar to the path of my career, for better or worse.
I don’t mind operating differently than your average cat — I’m not built the same way as your average cat anyway, so I definitely don’t operate in the same way.
ON INFLUENCE OF DRUGS
Drug influences — I’m not sure about each person’s values, so it’s hard to really decide what they interpret as being a drug reference or any other kind of psychedelic reference. Of course they are there, but you have to listen to the music — talking about it really kind of takes away from it, so it’s better to keep it pretty mysterious.
In reality, my policy is it’s up to each individual what their intent is and if they’re using it to expand their consciousness or if it’s used as a crutch.
Contrary to what people might think, I definitely don’t condone the use of hard drugs.
To some extent, it’s one thing and it’s fun to rap about just like a lot of things.
But I don’t know any rappers who’re actually doing what they rap about — that’s a rarity.
To each his own — I’m good with weed and psychedelics at most, and that’s why I’ve always drawn the line. That’s the reality.
Can psychedelics help with creativity? Of course — it depends on how you use it. You can either go for a joyride or you can go on to the boulevard, drive up the street and crash into sixty people. It’s really up to you.
The thing with drugs: it really is a mask and it masks all the reality from you. So somebody choosing to partake in that: you have to understand how it works and what reality really is.
When you come down from your trip, you’re still going to be the same person with the same issues and problems. Although if you use it for your consciousness, you can come back with something else and utilize that in your daily existence.
You have to understand: the government’s main wish is for you to die, if it’s through drugs — even better; even quicker. That’s why everything is the way it is: you can’t go outside without breathing fumes and carbon monoxide and liquids that planes are shooting out eight hours a day, seven days a week. That’s what’s killing us.
People are dying at a rapid rate. They’re making man-made diseases everyday just like they’ve always been; nothing has changed, it’s only gotten worse. But again, everybody is sleeping and nobody cares. They’re too attached to their computers and phones to really care what happens to things around them.
ON INTERNATIONAL FANBASE
Non Phixion has always gotten love internationally since we began and first went to Europe. I think it was 1997: we started doing all the festivals there and pretty much built a fanbase by having a powerful set at the time. The underground was just kind of blowing up and it was very new to a lot of people there.
You kind of felt that something special was taking place and happening but you couldn’t really put your finger on it.
It’s pretty interesting: we just recently went back to a lot of countries and some of them — we haven’t been there in ten years — and it’s like nothing changed.
Diehards are still diehards and we still managed to attract a lot of new, younger fans who maybe just read about us or downloaded our stuff.
Nothing has changed — the diehards are still the diehards.
Me personally: I consider our fans very special people for one reason or another. I meet and talk to a lot of them all over the world and they’re all good people. I don’t hate my fans like all of the other rappers do.
I don’t take things for granted, but I also don’t ever rest on my laurels.
My input over the years has been sporadic and in bits and pieces and sometimes obscured. I know sometimes that frustrates fans who constantly want new music and I understand that — I get it. I’m a music fan myself and I’ve been a musician since I’m six years old.
I appreciate the fact that it’s been a year sometimes between projects and people are still interested. I guess that’s cool and I know it helps some people in their life, and that also means a lot to me. I don’t take that for granted, either.
ON INTERPRETING REAL-WORLD EVENTS THROUGH CREATIVITY
What’s pretty scary is how everything has turned out to be a George Orwell book, and the Brave New World began about ten-to-fifteen years ago but we didn’t really see it the way we see it now — the pure horror. The things that we would only imagine and our wildest and maniacal fantasies are actually all really true, as far-fetched and creepy as they sound.
A lot of predictions I made — and I’m not saying I’m anybody special at all — but there’s a lot of things that went down that I talked about and tried to warn people and talk to them about, and I didn’t really get anywhere with them — I’m sure due to fear. Their own fear or just having to observe the truth or what was to come
Right after the first World Trade Center attack in 1993, I was having recurring dreams and every time I had the same dream it was the same horrific visual every time: the Towers falling; planes, bombs — pretty much the same way it went down. I don’t even really want to get into it, but just a lot of stuff that kind of screwed my head up at the time.
9/11 definitely affected me and not for the best, in a way. But what I did do after 9/11 was extensive research — I’m talking about weeks and months and hours.
I think it was getting to the point that it was overkill, and I think too much of doing that — especially at the time — can maybe have a negative impact on your psyche and the way you view things.
It definitely doesn’t help for someone’s issue with paranoia.
To dig deeper in the rabbit hole only brings anxiety; the problem with the rabbit hole is that it’s never-ending, and everything can be connected in one way or another. In 1995, people called you the ‘conspiracy theorist’ — now your average person knows all about the Illuminati and most people have heard about Bohemian Grove.
You can pretty much find a lot of the truth if you really dig for it. But not all of it is going to be on the Internet — it doesn’t work that way; there’s a lot of literature that people also need to research.
If I have to think back and analyze all of the topics that Non Phixion talked about and displayed on our records, we would be in for a long time — especially all the obscure references — only two or three words — that some people have no idea. Some of it is spoken in code, so certain people only understand what I’m talking about.
I think there’s only about a hundred people around the world who truly understand Non Phixion’s music.
I think now it’s hard not to be influenced by all the negativity that’s going on in the world: all the sickness and death and MKULTRA mind rehabilitation and alien research.
It’s all right in front of us and we still choose not to acknowledge it; I don’t really understand it. There’s literally been hundreds of spaceships caught on camera floating around the US that are highly reputable.
But again: people choose to ignore what they are seeing because if they have to admit that, that can be a reality where they must question their religion.
Unfortunately this planet will not stand another forty or fifty years — it’s just not going to happen. The wildlife is dying at such a rapid rate, and nobody can answer those questions — in New York, it doesn’t snow on Christmas anymore. The amount of floods and earthquakes is the dawning of the new age, and the only difference is we’re not going to be a part of it.
We have destroyed this planet with our ego and greed and it’s time to pay the piper soon — much sooner than later.
It would be nice if we had millions of dollars ourselves, so we can build a nuclear shelter underground Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney and all the Nazis that are the Bush family: these animals have STATES cut out completely underneath; they have connecting cities and transit and stores and food and electric.
ON PERSONAL FAVORITE VERSE
It’s really hard to say: I don’t really have a favorite. I think every one of them has a nice bit of information that you can digest and utilize in your everyday life.
As a rapper it’s not about the ego. For me, sure: it’s fun to spit about different things. But it’s about the message and it’s about the atmosphere.
The ego is not important and never has been.
I think my ego was never that important — if it was, I’d of probably put out a lot more music. Probably wouldn’t have cared and just thrown out anything just to keep my name hot. I’m very analytical about my own stuff and if it doesn’t feel right, I’m not doing it — for better or worse.
Check out my new album Electric Lucifer. For best listening results, I would take half-blotter of LSD, probably mix it with some Kush or some headband.
That’s one way to get there.
