“I have two sources of sound: the guitar pickups and the one in my hand. The less effects there are, the better I feel”: Thurston Moore hailed Nina Garcia as noise guitar’s secret weapon – and an unusual pickup is key to her otherworldly explorations

Nina Garcia performs live with a G&L Tribute.

Some guitarists treat the instrument with deference: each note they coax out is seamless, glossy and well-rounded like their pristine Stratocaster or SE Custom. Others are more combative: they wrench noises from their beaten and battered machines like it owes them money. Think Bill Orcutt or Viv Albertine. Nina Garcia – once known under her alias Mariachi – falls into that category.

The French musician’s playing occupies the outer musical territories. Part of her unique sound comes from an electromagnetic pickup she uses in her right hand to interact with the guitar, moving it around the body and strings to produce squeaks, growls and moans.