Mount Sims: putting the sex in tech

Interview, Dec, 2002 by Vivien Goldman

To understand the motivations of the electro-clash scene--the musicians mixing art, politics, '80s nostalgia, electronica, and rock--look no further than the art-kitsch aesthetics of Ultra Sex (Emperor Norton), the recent debut from electrowonderboy Mount Sims. Rather than the standard mug shot, Sims adorns his CD sleeve with early airbrush-style artwork of a taut-thighed fetish chick brandishing a strap-on joystick.

But beneath the album's faux-naif digital bleeps and burbles lurks a definitive philosophy of gender. "The new electro scene is very related to the sexual revolution and personal politics," Sims (a.k.a. Mall) explains. "Women are becoming less emasculated; men are becoming less macho. You can hear it in the music of girls on the scene, like Peaches, Chicks on Speed, and Avenue D."

As for Sims' own ambition: "My wish is to become a huge pop artist with a message-and messages, like laws, should always change."