In the chaotic beauty of New York City’s experimental music scene, Deaf Doula emerged from a collision. The project is the brainchild of Ev Gold (Cinema Cinema, GoJuMo) and Jim Coleman (Cop Shoot Cop, Human Impact), two seasoned figures whose creative trajectories were long orbiting one another before finally aligning.
Their connection traces back to Martin Bisi’s iconic BC Studio, a recording sanctuary for New York’s underground vanguard. As the studio neared the end of its storied legacy with the release of BC35, Cinema Cinema stood among a formidable lineup—Sonic Youth, SWANS, Foetus, Live Skull, Alice Donut—sharing not only a scene but a sensibility.
“Thoughts about making some new music outside of the CC setting had started to cross my mind, as I was looking around at this dazzling array of underground NYC musicians,” says Ev, recalling the artists crossing BC’s hallowed floors. “An exceptional crew that I found myself lucky to be included in. Was someone there a future musical partner?”
That spark found kindling in Jim. “A while after this, Ev’s band Cinema Cinema shared a bill with a project of mine called This Wilderness,” explains Jim. “We connected and talked about doing more shows. A few years went by, and Ev contacted me wanting to share some more experimental electronic compositions he was working on. We decided to use this as a starting point to kick some ideas back and forth, and Deaf Doula was born.”
The origin of Deaf Doula is pandemic-born and analog-drenched, tethered to anxiety and a new kind of sonic liberation. Ev recounts, “All the momentum came to a screeching halt. I was distraught, as were so many. No longer able to explore my usual musical activities, I was not sure what was next… I was given a gift by my wife of a new computer as the pandemic closed off my avenues of expression.”
With Logic Pro installed and memories of cassette-based home recordings stirring, he began anew. “I quickly hit a wall when I found I could not achieve sounds that were satisfying to me... I was desperate, needing to make music.” Then came an unexpected push: “During a sleepless pandemic night, I was up late watching a Brian Eno documentary... I was inspired by that mindset. That is when the idea to purchase a synthesizer and try something completely new came to my mind.”
From there, a new vocabulary emerged—ambient synths, thick textures, square waves. “I found it fascinating... lost on a fantastic new journey. It fast became my favorite form of expression,” Ev recalls.
This sonic pivot drew him toward Jim’s work under the Filer Coleman moniker. “I realized then that it was finally time to reach out to him regarding a collaboration. The trading of tracks began, and Deaf Doula was born. We’ve been thriving in this limitless space with no rules.”
Jim echoes this freedom. “The initial compositions were at times pretty radically altered. I almost approached them like I was doing remixes. But Ev totally got it. In our collaboration, everything is permitted, nothing is forbidden. It’s a playground where Egos are checked at the door and nothing is sacred.”
The result is music that exists in the fault lines between ambient, industrial, noise, and electroacoustic collage. “The instrumentation started firmly rooted in the electronic realm,” Jim notes. “Through time though it has really expanded. You’ll hear bowed instruments, french horn, hurdy gurdy, Rhodes, bass and guitar rubbing up against analog and digital synths, with all recordings being fodder for sound design treatment.”
And while Deaf Doula began in solitude, it is meant for communion. “We are really looking forward to the live Deaf Doula experience,” says Jim, “as performance promises to be a place where we can share the sonic playground with a larger audience, and create an environment utilizing a variety of instruments and live processing tools as well as visuals.”
Deaf Doula is a process of grief, growth, and transmutation. It is experimental music shaped by seasoned hands but guided by intuition, trust, and mutual admiration - dark, dazzling, and deeply alive.
