Venetian Snares

Biography

Aaron Funk (born January 11, 1975), mainly known artistically as Venetian Snares, is a Canadian electronic musician based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He is widely known for innovating and popularising the breakcore genre, and is one of the most recognisable artists to be signed to Planet Mu, an experimental electronic music label. His signature style involves meticulously complex drums, eclectic use of samples, and odd time signatures, in particular, 74.
His 2005 release Rossz Csillag Alatt Született combined breakbeats with orchestral samples, and was released to critical acclaim, helping bring the artist and genre into popularity within the experimental electronic music community.
Funk has been a very prolific musician, often releasing several records each year, sometimes on several different record labels, including Planet Mu, Hymen, Sublight, and his own imprint Timesig, and also under different aliases, including Last Step, Snares Man!, Snares, and Speed Dealer Moms, although there have been fewer releases in recent years. He has also explored other electronic genres such as glitch, IDM, modern classical and acid techno.

1990s to early 2000s: Greg Hates Car Culture

Funk began producing music at least as early as 1992, when he was experimenting with several 'ghetto blasters': I'd use a bunch of ghetto blasters playing all at once to play different sounds I'd recorded with some shitty ghetto blaster. Most of my sources I'd get riding around on my bicycle and just listening for interesting sounds. I'd use garbage bins and streetlights and anything else I could find that was hollow or metallic to bang out rhythms on. Then I'd set up all the ghettos and record them all playing into that same ghetto blaster. Then I'd play a bunch of those tapes all at the same time and record that and so on. Then I would do cut-ups or pause-ups of those tapes to create a more startling rhythmic effect. A strange ritual in retrospect.
I somehow came across this looping delay pedal that would hold a 2-second sample. This pedal coupled with the ghetto blaster experiments really changed my life.Funk then got an Amiga 500 computer, where he initially produced music through a music tracker, OctaMED. He formed the name 'Venetian Snares' after '...writing a track with really fast snare rolls that sounded like scraping a stick across a grate or running a pencil down venetian blinds in a distracted classroom'.
He would self-release several cassettes during the 1990s, releasing his first three studio albums Spells, Subvert!×Subvert!1998 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Subvert!A2Like Tooth DecayA3AdrenachromeA4Drug MotorA5Blood Washes My HandsB1EradieB2Diabolically Clever CriminalB3Internal BallooningB4Seven Gates of HellB5Whatever's NecessaryB6Anthrax and Rorschach Stuffocate all on cassette. He released the 1999 12-inch EP, Greg Hates Car Culture×Greg Hates Car Culture1999 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracksA1Personal Discourse3:47A2Like Tooth Decay3:32A3Fuck a Stranger in the Ass3:05A4Point Blank3:57B1Boiled Angel4:36B2Cricket Spine Bin5:00B3Aqap5:56, followed by a split album with Stunt Rock, Fuck Canada // Fuck America×Fuck Canada // Fuck America1 April 1999 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1A Penis Is Just a Great Big Clitoris With a Piss Hole2:552Bashing His Head3:223Blister4:004Let the Dog Out2:005Gay2:516New Panties3:137I'm a Fucking Idiot3:008Made of Mark3:219If Jesus Died for My Sins, Why Am I Filled With Shame and Regret4:0110Girls Don't Like Me5:5311That Last Song Blew2:3112Fucking Child / Child Fucking4:0213Production Delays2:1314My Age 16 Girlfriend2:0115Catchers Mit Pussy4:0216Eff This Noise1:49, and more EPs in the next year 2000, including Salt, 7 sevens.med, Shitfuckers!, and his fourth studio album, printf("shiver in eternal darkness/n");×printf("shiver in eternal darkness/n");5 May 2000 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Salt5:052Hours3:083Intense Demonic Attacks4:064Cruel Whole6:255Suasive Chess Strategy5:476Aqap5:597Mouth7:508C8 Diversity5:299Fire Is the Devil6:2410Molting4:2011Punishing the Atoms5:4012Stuck9:2813Cruel Whole (Abelcain remix)3:53. Funk then moved to using a PC sometime before 2000, producing music in MED Soundstudio, a Windows port of OctaMED.

Early-to-mid 2000s: Planet Mu Records and prolific output

After hearing Greg Hates Car Culture while browsing a Minneapolis record store, Mike Paradinas (also known as μ-Ziq) immediately signed Funk on to his record label Planet Mu, leading to three releases for the label in 2001, a collaboration album with Speedranch, Making Orange Things×Making Orange Things12 March 2001 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Fire Beats4:262We Hate Russell4:423Pay Me for Sex2:324Cheatin’3:565Unborn Baby3:266Meta Abuse4:057Molly’s Reach Around3:518Russell Hates This Track3:339Viva Las Vegas3:2310Tushe Love3:3911Halfway Up the Stairway of Mucus3:51, a 7-inch EP, Defluxion×Defluxion29 January 2001 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Defluxion6:132Boarded Up Swan Entrance2:51, and a full-length album, Songs About My Cats×Songs About My Cats30 April 2001 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 14 tracks1Chinaski4:212Katzesorge, Part 10:523Nepetalactone4:284Poor Kakarookee6:045For Bertha Rand2:086Breakfast Time for Baboons3:257Fluff Master6:128Bobo3:569Katzesorge, Part 20:5210Pouncelciot3:1011Kakenrooken Stivlobits4:4312Lioness2:0413Cleaning Each Other3:5114Look0:32. In addition, he also released Doll Doll Doll, as well as split 12-inch with Cex and a raggacore 7-inch as Snares Man!, all in the same year. The Snares Man! 7-inch has been cited as influential in the development of raggacore. The following year, 2002, Funk released three full-length albums, Higgins Ultra Low Track Glue Funk Hits 1972–2006×Higgins Ultra Low Track Glue Funk Hits 1972–200627 May 2002 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Dance Like You’re Selling Nails6:182Banana Seat Girl4:013Fuck Off1:124Make Ronnie Rocket6:125Vokeheads5:396Deadman DJ5:057Cobra Commander4:448Walmer Side5:059Dismantling Five Years6:1910We Are Oceans6:28, 2370894 (under Vsnares), and Winter in the Belly of a Snake, plus a 15-minute limited edition EP, A Giant Alien Force More Violent & Sick Than Anything You Can Imagine×A Giant Alien Force More Violent & Sick Than Anything You Can Imagine30 October 2002 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1A Giant Alien Force More Violent & Sick Than Anything You Can Imagine15:33. 2003 saw the release of The Chocolate Wheelchair Album, Find Candace×Find Candace20 February 2003 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracks1Befriend a Child Killer (remix)6:152Mercy Funk6:213Find Candace7:234Yor4:405Children’s Limbo8:506Dolleater7:277Bind Candace3:26, a 7-inch EP Badminton×Badminton1 April 2003 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksABadminton3:05BEdgewood Park4:33, two split 7-inch EPs, one with Fanny under BeeSnares, and the other with Phantomsmasher, and an experimental collaboration album with Hecate, Nymphomatriarch. Following 2004, Funk released Huge Chrome Cylinder Box Unfolding; three EPs, Horse And Goat, Infolepsy, and Moonglow/This Bitter Earth; and a remix of Doormouse's Skelechairs. During this time period, Funk started using Cubase next to MED.

Mid-2000s to mid-2010s: Rossz Csillag Alatt Született and slowing output

Funk first released in 2005 his tribute album to his hometown, Winnipeg is a Frozen Shithole×Winnipeg Is a Frozen Shithole20 January 2005 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Winnipeg Is a Frozen Shithole4:322Winnipeg Is a Dogshit Dildo3:533Winnipeg Is Fucking Over6:264Winnipeg Is Steven Stapleton's Armpit2:535Die Winnipeg Die Die Die Fuckers Die7:016Winnipeg as Mandatory Scat Feed6:507Winnie the Dog Pooh (Not Half remix)4:078Winnipeg Is a Boiling Pot of Cranberries (Fanny remix)4:219Die Winnipeg Die Die Die Fuckers Die (Spreading the Hepatitis SKM-ETR Style)5:18, before releasing Rossz Csillag Alatt Született, an album inspired by Funk's recent Hungary trip that combines fast breakbeats with classical strings and trumpets, to critical acclaim. 'Tiny Mix Tapes called it Funk's "...most accomplished album to date", describing the album as "... of uncouth beauty that is at once sublime, timeless, cinematic, sporadic, and moving from start to finish for the uppity junglist or the CBC Radio 1 listener in your family". At the same year, Funk has also released another album, Meathole×Meathole22 August 2005 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1Aanguish4:422Choprite5:403Contain6:234Aamelotasis5:495Des Plaines7:126Sinthasomphone8:417Aaperture6:178Szycag9:53, and debuted under his new acid-oriented alias, Last Step, in You're a Nice Girl.
In the later years, Funk's amount of releases would decrease to at least one each year, compared to as many as six earlier before. The next year, 2006, Funk released one album, Cavalcade of Glee and Dadaist Happy Hardcore Pom Poms×Cavalcade of Glee and Dadaist Happy Hardcore Pom Poms29 May 2006 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks · 2 discsDisc 1A1Donut4:39A2Swindon5:27B1Pwntendo4:20B2XIII’s Dub3:50B3Vache5:04Disc 2C1Plunging Hornets5:09C2Twirl4:29D1Tache6:29D2P2:12D3Cancel6:57, and a single EP, Hospitality×Hospitality25 September 2006 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracks1Frictional Nevada5:202Beverly’s Potatoe Orchestra3:063Shoot Myself3:524Duffy6:155Cabbage3:006Hospitality3:53. Another classical-styled album, My Downfall (Original Soundtrack)×My Downfall (Original Soundtrack)8 October 2007 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Colorless2:272The Hopeless Pursuit of Remission4:233Holló Utca 21:564Room 3791:505Integraation7:016Holló Utca 52:177Holló Utca 31:158My Half7:049Holló Utca 41:4210My Crutch5:1511I’m Sorry I Failed You2:0912Picturesque Pit2:1513If I Could Say I Love You4:1914Mentioning It1:11; the Pink + Green×Pink + Green29 March 2007 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1Pink + Green3:142Nutimik4:243Husikam Rave Dojo3:454Pink + Green VIP5:035Sporto Fucking Sellout Cocksuckerface5:46 EP, a 10-inch series of dubstep-styled Black Sabbath covers under Snares; and his first full-length self-titled album under Last Step, were released in 2007. In 2008, Funk released another Last Step album, 1961. He also released the Detrimentalist album and the "Miss Balaton×Miss Balaton2 June 2008 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Miss Balaton9:382CCUK4:08" single in the same year. The album Filth×Filth20 April 2009 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks · 2 discsDisc 1A1Deep Dicking5:49A2Crashing the Yogurt Truck5:37B1Mongoloid Alien6:26B2Kimberly Clark6:57Disc 2C1Chainsaw Fellatio4:40C2Kakarookee Hates Me4:14C3Calvin Kleining3:49D1Labia3:03D2Splooj Guzzlers4:35D3Pussy Skull6:26 and the Horsey Noises×Horsey Noises1 June 2009 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Horsey Noises3:562Horsey Vag Island5:313Pig Dync6:314Horsey Noisers4:16 EP were released in 2009. Afterwards in 2010, Funk released the My So-Called Life album and a 12-inch collaboration with Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante under Speed Dealer Moms. Funk's only release in 2011 is the EP Cubist Reggae×Cubist Reggae23 May 2011 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Ever Apparent All Being Shoulder4:262Where You Stopped the Heaviest2:373The Identification Circles Levitate4:474You Discovered the Secret and Juiced It for All Its Majesty4:34. Two EPs Fool the Detector and Affectionate, as well as a Last Step album Sleep. were released in 2012. Live At WTW 07 (AKA Return Of The Snare) - June 15, 2001 was released in 2013. Funk's next release came in 2014 with a new album, My Love Is a Bulldozer×My Love Is a Bulldozer16 June 2014 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks110th Circle of Winnipeg7:002Deleted Poems3:1431000 Years6:144Your Smiling Face3:055Amazon4:056My Love Is a Bulldozer5:097She Runs7:0588am Union Station1:419Shaky Sometimes3:3210Too Far Across2:4611Dear Poet6:4812Your Blanket3:07, as well as a self-titled debut collaboration album with Joanne Pollock, Poemss, and a self-released Last Step EP, Lost Sleep. Funk released the Your Face EP in 2015.

2015–present: Bandcamp

Funk reached out to fans in 2015 for financial assistance in light of undisclosed circumstances. After an outpouring of support, he released a "thank you" album, Thank You for Your Consideration×Thank You for Your Consideration8 September 2015 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Smersonality4:492Koopa Cookies3:173Baked Circuses Funk3:234Beside the Past by a Lake4:225Sissy Growl4:256Sweet and Fruitful3:447Burgershot4:348Simpleton3:16909sept093:2110Poking Holes4:5211Ötvenöt 33:2812Accidents in Skyland 24:2413Thousand Mile Stare6:0714Nestled2:32 in appreciation.
Funk released a new album on February 19, 2016, called Traditional Synthesizer Music×Traditional Synthesizer Music19 February 2016 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Dreamt Person v31:572Everything About You Is Special3:473Slightly Bent Fork Tong v22:274Magnificent Stumble v24:215Decembers4:046Can't Vote for Yourself v14:187You and Shayna v13:228Goose and Gary v23:109Anxattack Boss Level19 v34:5510She Married a Chess Computer in the End3:4911Health Card103:2312Paganism Ratchets4:31. This album was the product of Funk's experimentations with modular synthesizers, and was created exclusively on modular synthesizer hardware.
In 2017, Funk announced a collaboration with Daniel Lanois. This was recorded in Toronto and released in 2018 as Venetian Snares x Daniel Lanois.
In 2025, Funk released his first new solo material since 2018, the single Drums, as part of a Planet Mu 30 year anniversary compilation album. Later in that year, he contributed drum programming to Spanish singer Rosalía's song "Reliquia", the second track off her third studio album Lux.

Musical style

Funk is well known for using odd time signatures, especially 74. For instance, the track "Szamár Madár" from Rossz Csillag Alatt Született uses a sample from Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto, edited into a 74 time signature. The album Thank You for Your Consideration×Thank You for Your Consideration8 September 2015 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Smersonality4:492Koopa Cookies3:173Baked Circuses Funk3:234Beside the Past by a Lake4:225Sissy Growl4:256Sweet and Fruitful3:447Burgershot4:348Simpleton3:16909sept093:2110Poking Holes4:5211Ötvenöt 33:2812Accidents in Skyland 24:2413Thousand Mile Stare6:0714Nestled2:32 also employs unusual meters instead of the 44 time used in most electronic music.

Studio albums

Fake, Impossible. (1997, self-release)
Spells (1998, self-release)
Subvert! (1998, self-release)
Rorschach Stuffocate (1999, self-release)
printf("shiver in eternal darkness/n"); (2000, Isolate Records; 2013 re-issue, self-release)
Songs About My Cats (2001, Planet Mu)
Doll Doll Doll (2001, Hymen Records)
Higgins Ultra Low Track Glue Funk Hits 1972–2006 (2002, Planet Mu)
Winter in the Belly of a Snake (2002, Planet Mu)
The Chocolate Wheelchair Album (2003, Planet Mu)
Huge Chrome Cylinder Box Unfolding (2004, Planet Mu)
Winnipeg Is a Frozen Shithole (2005, Sublight Records)
Rossz Csillag Alatt Született (2005, Planet Mu)
Meathole (2005, Planet Mu)
Cavalcade of Glee and Dadaist Happy Hardcore Pom Poms (2006, Planet Mu)
My Downfall (Original Soundtrack) (2007, Planet Mu)
Detrimentalist (2008, Planet Mu)
Filth (2009, Planet Mu)
My So-Called Life (2010, Timesig)
Live at WTW 07 (AKA Return of the Snare) – June 15, 2001 (2013, Addict Records)
My Love Is a Bulldozer (2014, Planet Mu)
Thank You for Your Consideration (2015, self-released)
Traditional Synthesizer Music (2016, Planet Mu)
She Began to Cry Tears of Blood Which Became Little Brick Houses When They Hit the Ground (2018, self-released)
Greg Hates Car Culture (2019, Timesig)1
^Note 1This album was originally released as a 1999 EP, but was reissued in 2019 as an album