In early 2007 Experiment Haywire began working with Producer/Engineer Xris Flam of Mindswerve Studios, NYC. Having worked with a variety of artists such as KMFDM, Mindless Self Indulgence, DJ Spooky, Merzbow and Public Enemy he produced the controversial 4-song EP known as "Cooler Than Genocide." He also produced her new full length album Annihilation Chic.

In late 2007 Rachel founded machineKUNT Records, a new label for independent females creating dark electronic, noise, and industrial music.

Rachel is also a published author who is featured in the Disinformation anthology Generation Hex. Her first full length book is called Acidexia which is an authentic, highly personal coming of age autobiography and a cultural artifact documenting the fringes of culture at the dawn of the Information Age.

HI RACHEL, HOW OLD ARE YOU? HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WRITING MUSIC, AND TELL US WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO CONTINUE AS A SOLO ARTIST RATHER THAN WITH A GROUP?

Hey there... I'm 24 and have been writing music since I was a little kid. I composed my own songs on the grand piano when I was 11 years old. Around this time I was also placed into this exploitive "child prodigy" role that I despised so I'm not sure if I should count all that. Not sure if I should count the punk bands I was in after I got out of the mental institution. Gentrification. Nuclear Riot Party. Miss Unibomber. So much fun! Experiment Haywire was my first "real project" though. I started EH when I was 20. I work solo because I can't sustain a relationship with a group of people. It's a social tourette's thing. Maybe that will change some day. Who knows? I'm not closing any doors and I'd love to get a full band together if we could all make it work. I've actually been rehearsing with this new violinist recently. There is something very empowering about working solo though. The people who haven't done it have no idea how much time and effort this takes.

TELL US HOW YOU MET XRIS FLAM, AND TELL US ABOUT "COOLER THAN GENOCIDE" AND SOME OF YOUR OTHER WORKS... WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF, AND WHY?

I met Xris through the industrial club scene. It turned out that several of my friends had worked with him on music too and they all had very positive things to say. "Cooler Than Genocide" was the first EP we worked on and Xris helped me turn my angry political album into something that was actually polished. I wanted to show people that being a bonehead was pathetic and that this sort of thing didn't work in the world of alternative music. We're a group of open minded freaks. Not racist pieces of shit. I also have a song on there called "Decapitation of the Nation" which spoke out against the Bush regime and all forms of tyranny. I thought back to my days of being a radical protestor and realized our message didn't have to die. The song I'm the most proud of is "Game Called Life" which was by far the most challenging song I made on "Cooler Than Genocide." (it was featured on Alfa Matrix's "Endzeit Bunkertracks III) I'm also very proud of "Mean Enough Hot Enough" which is the first song on my new studio album "Annihilation Chic" and also featured on the machineKUNT compilation. It's been getting a lot of new people into my music and makes a statement against mundanity and the emptiness of a subculture that once used to have meaning.

HAVE YOU SIGNED ANY OTHER ARTISTS TO YOUR OWN LABEL, MACHINEKUNT RECORDS? AND IF SO WHO ARE THEY, AND WHAT INTERESTED YOU IN THEM?

There are a few that I'm in the process of signing but I like to keep people guessing. What interests me are new female artists who are doing something that does not fit into the mold of what is commonly acceptable as "girly synthpop music" because machineKUNT is about attitude, power, revolution, and raw self expression. I don't want all the bands on machineKUNT to sound the same.

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR AUTOBIOGRAPHY "ACIDEXIA" AND WHERE IS IT AVAILABLE?

"Acidexia" is a book I was writing as a blog while I was traveling from city to city and living a difficult lifestyle that I wouldn't wish upon anybody. I had nowhere to go after I escaped from that psychiatric institution at 16. I was reading a lot of philosophy and nowhere meant everywhere so I decided to go everywhere. I got into so many fucked up adventures and for some reason I couldn't stop writing about them whether I was in the library or a cyber cafe or at a friends house. I somehow managed to get a cult of people who followed my writings that documented my experiences on the edges of reality and society. Everyone always told me I should turn "Acidexia" into a book and I finally decided to listen. The book is finished but I haven't found the right publisher yet. Still on the look out.

HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT PERFORMING LIVE? WHAT TYPE OF GEAR AND EQUIPMENT DO YOU USE, AND DO YOU USE OTHER MUSICIANS AS WELL?

My shows used to be really punk rock and it was all about getting my friends to be performance artists and run around the stage with cones and shovels and chains that they used as percussion instruments. In a way it was like my old band Nuclear Riot Party but with my a much stronger electronic element. Sometimes I'd perform the keyboard parts with my MicroKorg and other times I'd use a megaphone for vocal distortion and general insanity. These days I want my shows to be a lot more professional which is why I've been doing a lot of rehearsing before I agree to go on tour again

WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM YOUR LATEST CD, ANNIHILATION CHIC? IF YOU HAD TO SELL IT TO SOMEONE WHO HAS NEVER HEARD YOUR MUSIC, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE IT TO THEM?

That's pretty hard to describe because I don't think any musical creation can be explained without hearing it but I think I'll say that "Annihilation Chic" is like Atari Teenage Riot if they were to start making hip-hop and get people on the dance floor all at one. Some people have said I'm a punk female Combichrist and a lot of people have compared me to Pzychobitch, Angelspit, and even Lords of Acid. Yet again it's really hard to describe my music as anything except for Experiment Haywire.

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU'RE NOT DOING MUSIC?

Right now I'm at a huge sci-fi convention. I'm into everything dark and geeky from Dr. Who to Philip K. Dick to movies like Brazil and Blade Runner. I do as much traveling as I can and involve myself in everything from film to photography to DJing to stand-up comedy.

WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY, THAT WE HAVEN'T COVERED?

The music industry can be a very ugly place and what goes on behind the scenes is better left unknown to the people who aren't involved. I miss the days of being able enjoy music without knowing, firsthand, about the social politics that were involved.

WHAT LYRICAL LINE OFF THE ALBUM IS YOUR FAVORITE? WRITE IT HERE:

From "Annihilation Chic" it would be the song "Occult Casualty" especially these parts:

"and all your psychic rage
burnt another page
inside the secret room
they televised your doom'


"psychic warfare every day
killing the universe holiday
shared reality die mentality
shared mentality die reality
stuck in your dark disneyland
chopping off the invisible hand"