Scanner
by Andrew Duncan
photos by Crestin Forcina
Throughout
the late 1800’s, French composer Claude DeBussy spent most
of his career defying Western Classical tradition by focusing
on what he considered to be “pure sound” a fresh concept
to the stale traditionalist ideas of classical composition.
He viewed music to be made up of “colours and barred rhythms,”
according to the BBC. Many composers considered DeBussy to be
a radical for his non-traditional compositions and oriental
influences. Today he is praised for his unconventional theories
that continue to inspire future generations.
Jump to the year 2000 and we find another radical with the same
aspiration. Like classical music, Robin Rimbaud, better known
as Scanner, has developed an anti-thesis and counter attack
on traditional electronic music, as well as contributing to
the community of art and science. Rimbaud is not a traditionalist
by any means. “I am not the type of artist to release an
album, promote the product and launch a massive tour to help
boost sales,” he said in his proper English accent. “I
just try to create things that I like and take something that
is very ordinary and try to do something extraordinary with
it.” What he does is extraordinary, not just with his Scanner
albums, but with numerous other projects. Just this year alone,
he has signed to be an artist-in-residence at the BBC, hosting
a program on Radio 4. He is also collaborating with Brian Eno
on a sound-and-animation installation in London. The installation
contains images that move quickly from one to another, creating
the illusion that it is animated. “There are all of these
images pinned to the wall, but the way they are animated is
through a strobe effect, making them look like they are alive,”
he said. “I have highly amplified butterfly wings and processed
that to add character.”
In addition to the installation with Eno, he is working on a
permanent piece at the Science Museum of London, documenting
the “Sounds of Science.” He has recorded sounds like
the hum inside a computer, the blood rushing through a person’s
arteries, the sound of an eye blinking, the sound of electricity
and many other scientific phenomena. He has also been commissioned
to do the soundtrack for the new Ecology Center in Ireland,
documenting the history of ecology through sound. “This
is really a strange project because I am being commissioned
to do a piece where families with children will visit,”
he said conjuring up a laugh. “My music is going to scare
them right out of the building.”
According to Rimbaud, this is just the tip of the iceberg. “Friends
of mine say to me, ‘Robin, how do you do it all?’
I’m thinking, you only know maybe 20 percent of everything
that I do.” No matter what Rimbaud tries to accomplish,
they all rely on three common concepts: space, architecture
and voyeurism — a fetish from which he took his name. A
Scanner is a device that is used to tap into cell phone conversations.
As mischievous as this may seem, Rimbaud actually creates elegance
out of the dark undertones and unaware conversations that dominate
on his major label debut, Lauwarm Instruments on Beggars Banquet.
“I’m sorry,” he said, “I just can’t
make happy records. Believe me, I’ve tried to make a summery,
pop-like record. It’s not like I go to the studio and say
that I am going to make a depressing record. I realize it is
quite dark for a lot of people, but maybe I’m a dark person.
So I suppose the dark side has to come out somehow.” As
a means to fuel this dark side and reach the public on a higher
level, Rimbaud decided to partner up with Beggars and form the
Sulfur label. “The problem that I had over the years with
record labels was people coming up to me and saying, ‘I
cannot find your records anywhere.’ I decided to start
up my own label and if anything goes wrong then at least I can
blame myself.” His label has recently launched a new concept
called the Meld Series. “Often you find in the music world
that other people just kind of improvise or play with other
musicians,” he said. “I thought it would be a good
chance to make a small, modest series of releases where artists
work with one another.” The first release on the series
was released earlier this year and was a collaborative effort
between Scanner and DJ Spooky titled, The Quick and the Dead.
Rimbaud wanted to reflect the live energy that the two artists
have developed improvising at live gigs. DJ Spooky provides
a mixture of urban hip hop, while Scanner slips in abstract-ambient
sounds and rich textures.
“You do not show up for a Scanner gig and hear Scanner
tracks. It goes back to bands I like. The Swans would blow me
away when they played live because very rarely would I know
a single song. Other artists just come out and play back their
greatest hits like a jukebox. “I am very interested in
playing live and looking at how people respond to my music physically,
mentally and emotionally. That is very essential to me.”
Next on the Meld Series is a collaboration with New-York base
guitarist Steven Vitiello. Rimbaud compares it to the German-influenced
Krautrock scene. Rimbaud will then record contemporary classical
music and then move on to record with Simon Fisher Turner, a
composer for a collection of popular British movies. Rimbaud
assures that the Series will provide eclectic diversity. With
this series and his other projects, Rimbaud’s goal is to
continue challenging himself. “I have enough to keep me
on my toes and keep my figure trim,” he joked. “The
important thing is to keep questioning yourself and challenging
yourself. “Other people can do it so why can’t I?
You can only try. I remain optimistic!”
On a final note,
a press release stated that Rimbaud has never experimented with
drugs, alcohol, coffee or tea. Tea, I asked? But Rimbaud is
from London, how can he not drink tea. “I’m sorry
to let the image of the United Kingdom down,” he said with
a smirk. “The Queen came around for tea once as I was a
child and she spilt it all over me. I’ve been traumatized
ever since. “Now seriously, I’ve never been interested
in things like that. I’m such a manic worker. If I did
take any of those things it would interrupt my time schedule
and I would not fulfill the commitments I’ve made. “The
other thing that I like about not having any of these artificial
sweeteners of the sense is that I can always compare experiences.
When I like a record, it’s not because I’m smoked
out of my head or drunk on anything. It’s because I really
like it. “I can always experience things in a comparable
way.”
Throughout
the late 1800’s, French composer Claude DeBussy spent most
of his career defying Western Classical tradition by focusing
on what he considered to be “pure sound” a fresh concept
to the stale traditionalist ideas of classical composition.
He viewed music to be made up of “colours and barred rhythms,”
according to the BBC. Many composers considered DeBussy to be
a radical for his non-traditional compositions and oriental
influences. Today he is praised for his unconventional theories
that continue to inspire future generations. 
As
a means to fuel this dark side and reach the public on a higher
level, Rimbaud decided to partner up with Beggars and form the
Sulfur label. “The problem that I had over the years with
record labels was people coming up to me and saying, ‘I
cannot find your records anywhere.’ I decided to start
up my own label and if anything goes wrong then at least I can
blame myself.” His label has recently launched a new concept
called the Meld Series. “Often you find in the music world
that other people just kind of improvise or play with other
musicians,” he said. “I thought it would be a good
chance to make a small, modest series of releases where artists
work with one another.” The first release on the series
was released earlier this year and was a collaborative effort
between Scanner and DJ Spooky titled, The Quick and the Dead.
Rimbaud wanted to reflect the live energy that the two artists
have developed improvising at live gigs. DJ Spooky provides
a mixture of urban hip hop, while Scanner slips in abstract-ambient
sounds and rich textures.