Interview: SCALPING | LOUD Magazine
Posted on: 06 May 2020This article was first published in the second edition of LOUD Magazine, 365Bristol's dedicated music publication.
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SCALPING
Scalping’s James Rushforth (bass) and Alex Hill (electronics) reflect on the group’s debut release, Chamber; Bristol, and the necessity of extremity
“I’m starting to realise we’re actually perfectionists,” James says, over coffee at Stokes Croft’s Café Kino. “I never thought I’d be that person, but I’m starting to realise - the amount of fucking detail we go into is just stupid.”
It makes sense: Scalping have only released a few tracks. But it doesn’t matter - they’re meaty enough to satiate any craving for severe, genre-defying sound. After all, the audio-visual project (comprised of James, Alex, Isaac Jones [drums], Jamie Thomas [guitar] and Jason Baker [visuals]), shouts a big fat ‘fuck you’ to the separation of electronic music and that of the traditional 'band'. Instead, Scalping unites the two under one, sweaty roof.
Seven months since Scalping's latest release, a track named ‘Ruptured’, they're back at it. Speaking of recent writing sessions, James explains: “we’ve tried to make the metal bits more metal, and the bits that sound like weed more weedy.” They’re taking all facets of their sound, pushing them to their “weirdest” limits and embracing it. It’s a natural progression for the group, who in March last year, released their debut EP, a two-track record titled Chamber.
Chamber, a 10-minute release, feels like a fleeting visit to Hell’s nightclub - in a good way. It’s forceful, industrial but infectious; brimming with intoxicating crossovers between traditional, band-like instrumentation and electronically-produced sound.
“When we did Chamber,” James says, “it was like: we just need to do the techno thing.” So, the punch and pound of Chamber was a conscious choice. It was a firm declaration of Scalping’s electronica/band crossover. It was something, James insists, that needed to be “very apparent” in Scalping's initial output. With what James describes as Chamber’s “130 chuggers,” the EP made something crystal clear: yes, Scalping are a band, but they don’t do dull or formulaic - or 11pm gig curfews. They’ll see you on the dancefloor instead.
And it worked: last summer, Bruce played a Scalping track at Dekmantel Festival, and the group’s recent, late-night event at The Island sold-out almost immediately. And so, with the hybrid firmly asserted, it’s time to push and squeeze experimentation for all its worth. The stuff Scalping have been experimenting with recently, James says, is “much more psychedelic.”
Watch: Bruce adds Scalping track 'Chamber' into 2019 Dekmantel set (42:00)
“We still are chuggers - we’ve got chuggers - but now we’re trying to explore it,” he continues, half-jokingly. “We can always come back to sounding like a 4/4 techno band, but that’s not really what makes us Scalping. We want to stay slightly out of all of these tropes and words.” Alex agrees: “the longer we can keep it hard to categorise, the better, basically.”
Techno metal, rave metal, acid metal (“that’s probably my favourite one,” says James); Scalping have been labelled all sorts, but they don’t seem to mind. “As long as it stays away from post-punk I’m happy,” James laughs. Whatever the label, though, James says he wants Scalping to be perceived as extreme: “because if it’s not extreme, then that’s not really the point of it. It’s called fucking Scalping!”
But why is extremity so vital for Scalping? James, for the first time, seems a little coy: “because there’s so much boring music.” Alex adds further clarification: “it’s really rare that you see an exciting guitar band.” For Scalping, then, excitement is extremity, and extremity is something which most guitar-led bands lack. “It isn’t weird enough, really,” James resolves.
Sure, Scalping makes sound with traditional ‘guitar band’ instruments, but that doesn’t mean they want to rehash the age-old, songwriting formula, lolling in the bounds of genre. “It’s just a different way of looking at stuff, I guess,” Alex explains. “We’re more interested in the sound and aesthetic of things, rather than like - a song. We’re not writing songs that you’ll sing along to, or even put on at home - it’s just the whole package, the whole aesthetic.”
At its root, Scalping is an audio-visual pursuit. And so, in its purest form, Scalping exists in the live space: “it’s all about the live show. I think it always will be,” Alex confirms. After all, it’s where Scalping’s ambiguous crossover between traditional instrumentation and electronically-produced sound becomes most apparent. It’s also where you’ll find a rejection of the ordinary setlist. Scalping gigs take place as one, continuous live session, backed by a disorientating set of responsive visuals.
Surreal, incessant and integral to the project, Scalping's visuals are the work of artist and graphic designer Jason Baker. Jason, the pair explain, is left to his own devices, adding elements to the live show so long as they receive an “extreme reaction” - positive or negative. “Because we don’t really have a front person,” Alex explains, “Jason has the freedom to occupy that space, which he really enjoys. And he can get away with anything because we don’t ever try to reign him in.”
Scalping’s unholy ascent is rather impressive, given Alex and James admit they “didn’t know much” about electronic music before moving to Bristol. Originally from Stratford-upon-Avon (“ends,” adds Alex), the pair spent their teens playing in bands. Later, they began studying at BIMM. While university, they say, wasn’t particularly informative from a musical prespective, going to Howling Owl Records events, and seeing bands like Giant Swan, was essential in Scalping's inception. In fact, Alex names Giant Swan as the band’s “number one” inspiration.
Watch: Student documentary covering Howling Owl and Giant Swan, presented by former Bristol University student and LICE frontman Alastair Shuttleworth
“It was the first time I’d ever seen dance music performed live with that much energy,” Alex enthuses, recalling an early Giant Swan gig at The Crown. “I’d seen people do live electronic sets, but it was always quite considered whereas that was like seeing a punk band playing techno. It was chaos.”
“Bristol is entirely the catalyst,” adds James. “Scalping wouldn’t exist without Bristol.”
Quickfire Questions
Name a track that reminds you of your formation.
James: ‘Fall Back’ by Factory Floor.
Alex: Daniel Avery was quite a big jumping-off point.
Do you listen to anything that might surprise us?
Alex: Jamie really likes country.
James: I basically exclusively listen to soft boy music: Puma Blue, Japanese House, Jamie Isaac, King Krule. Really soft stuff.
What’s a song that you’d listen to before a live show?
Alex: We have this hype song, this Special Request tune: ‘A Gargantuan Melting Face Floating Effortlessly Through The Stratosphere.’
Interesting. Why?
Alex: In the moments before a show, we all get a bit stir crazy, especially at festivals if we’ve been sitting around all day. So, we all get a bit excited.
James: Yeah, we have the wig out.
If you were cast away to a desert island, and you could only listen to one Bristol, who would it be?
James & Alex: Oliver Wilde, A Brief Introduction to Unnatural Light Years.
James: That record is beautiful. It changed my life in a massive way.
If you were cast away to a desert island, and you could only take one other band member, who would it be?
Alex: Probably Isaac, because he lives like he’s on a desert island anyway.
James: Jamie would just complain – he’d be the last person I’d want to be with.
Alex: Yeah, Jamie’s a diva.
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