Alan Bloor is a living Toronto legend; a harsh noise warrior whos been storming the battlegrounds of what human ears can mentally and physically endure for roughly 20 years now. He has earned the undying respect of open-minded listeners who appreciate determined innovation and unrelenting non-conformism, and scared off damned well everyone else. Scyamine, Bloors first release for the highly respected Hollywood noise label PACrec, finds the man with the titanium ears at the top of his bludgeoning game, scraping all hell out of his personally constructed stainless steel instrument of choice. Bloor runs his burning metal mayhem through a plethora of intense effects to create a dense, pummelling onslaught of harsh noise that ebbs with an engaging current. Recorded and produced by Bloor in a single-day marathon session late last year, Scyamine consists of seven epic tracks that will keep your fists pumping and mind reeling (not to mention that chattering in your teeth and vertebrae) for future lives to come. The album comes appropriately sleeved in a photo of an enormous turbine engine a fitting visual representation of (or homage to) the huge, crushing, churning sound captured on this career-defining masterpiece.
Are there ever certain feelings or emotions youre trying to convey to your audience?
No, not really trying to prove anything, no big emotions going through my head or anything like that. Its more just like, "This is what I do, and Im not making any sacrifices, or Im not making any apologies for what I do, Im just gonna go up there and tear it apart and thats it. Its not like Im going through any kind of big spiritual thing. Its just this gut feeling of some kind of emotion, to go up and do it. Its not really trying to prove anything, not trying to win any fans or anything like that.
How did you get interested in making noise music?
Since 1979 I worked in welding shops and I used to love the sound of the grinders and the cutting of the steel. It was this loud, fast, abrasive sound. In the early 80s I was in a hardcore punk band in Windsor and at that point I used to think if you could contain this somehow and have a band that could make music this fast and this loud and this aggressive, it would be great. So the band I was in fell apart, and I kind of went solo after that and started experimenting with steel.
(Eagle Rock)Are there ever certain feelings or emotions youre trying to convey to your audience?
No, not really trying to prove anything, no big emotions going through my head or anything like that. Its more just like, "This is what I do, and Im not making any sacrifices, or Im not making any apologies for what I do, Im just gonna go up there and tear it apart and thats it. Its not like Im going through any kind of big spiritual thing. Its just this gut feeling of some kind of emotion, to go up and do it. Its not really trying to prove anything, not trying to win any fans or anything like that.
How did you get interested in making noise music?
Since 1979 I worked in welding shops and I used to love the sound of the grinders and the cutting of the steel. It was this loud, fast, abrasive sound. In the early 80s I was in a hardcore punk band in Windsor and at that point I used to think if you could contain this somehow and have a band that could make music this fast and this loud and this aggressive, it would be great. So the band I was in fell apart, and I kind of went solo after that and started experimenting with steel.