The Silence Industry shares insights into the creative process behind 'The Crawling Eye,' exploring themes of surveillance, horror, and evolution in their latest release.
1. What
inspired The Silence Industry to create "The Crawling Eye" as the 3rd
installment in the digital 7-inch singles series?
TSI was sorta working on an EP or full length's worth of material before coming
up with the idea of the digital 7 inch singles series. Actually there's songs
written ish for another EP's worth of material or so after that even, so in a
this was just the natural next step in that process. "Well, this one is
coming together, so I'll start thinking about the digital 7 inch" type of
thing.
That being said, working with this format has given individual songs a bit of
room to breathe. I guess I mean that in terms of TSI's creative-process. So, as
this one was coming together ideas kept coming up until the release took shape
if that makes any sense.
2. Can you describe the thematic elements present in the title track
"The Crawling Eye," particularly regarding contemporary surveillance
and B-grade horror films?
TSI's process does vary a fair bit, but it's pretty common that themes &
loose lyrical ideas come about pretty early in the process. Maybe immediately
following coming up with a new musical idea of a couple riffs or even just a
mood. In some cases there's a theme TSI would like to explore before there's
really a concrete musical idea. This is sorta one of those cases of a thing
that had been on my mind, which then just sorta naturally developed as a theme
in tandem with writing some riffs and progressions; namely digital
surveillance, data mining and big tech's integration into the security state
& the military-industrial complex, as well as my personal feelings of
anxiety around this.
I'm a lifelong fan of trashy mid-century sci-fi fiction and cinema as well as
horror, and I've enjoyed using these sorts of metaphors repurposed for whatever
the heck it was I wanted to write about at the time and this is sorta one of
those cases. While the song was still developing, I watched an episode of MST3K
with my kids featuring the old black and white (with terrible audio!) film
"the Crawling Eye", and it just kinda hit me in the face:
"that's it! that's the perfect vibe for what the song is about!"
3. How does "The Crawling Eye" differ stylistically from the
previous releases in the series?
I think TSI has sorta carved out our own little niche (which I'm still not
really sure how to describe!), but within that there's some range. This one is
definitely more on the deathrock-y side of things and was sorta conceived as
such from the get-go. Not a side I've really explored much in a bit, but will
probably do more!
4. What motivated the inclusion of ambient noise pieces alongside the main
track?
Ambient noise pieces are something I've enjoyed doing for quite a while. They
make their way onto TSI's full lengths. Sometimes as meditative breathing room
between denser songs, sometimes as closing pieces etc. but I often just want an
excuse to do more of this stuff. Really, working with this format of including
tracks that are clearly designated as "b-sides" has been a pretty
good excuse to do just that, along with anything else that comes to mind
really. Pretty liberating, creatively speaking, really. So yeah, I guess
"because they're fun and I like doing them" is probably the best
answer to that.
That's not to say that they are afterthoughts. They just don't need to be
over-thought, which can be one of my greatest struggles in music and in life.
:)
I wish I could recall exactly how the idea came about, because even though this was very recent I can only really say "it just happened". I think it started as more of a shower-thought than anythings else. It's such a brooding song, that I thought it would be fun to explore that even more deeply and push it into dark-ambient territory.
I started recording the track, wasn't happy with certain things about it, ended up rethinking my approach and starting over. Then everything just gelled very quickly. I wasn't originally going to include any guitars, but that just sorta happened and it sounded great. Then I started thinking about adding some live percussion and it really came to life.
6. How does this single reflect The Silence Industry's evolution as a band?
I think it shows TSI's commitment to always challenging ourselves and break new
ground, while also maybe gaining a certain amount of maturity to let TSI stand
on its' own as what it is. Reinterpreting old songs and being able to say
"yeah, this hits me, I'm proud of this" is maybe part of that
process.
I think it also shows a certain amount of vocal confidence, and really just
general confidence in the imperfections that make music human and interesting.
7. Were there any specific challenges faced during the production of
"The Crawling Eye," and how were they overcome?
I think we've touched on that a bit when talking about "the Maw of Sleep
(dead labour version", but another one is definitely the vocal
arrangements on "the Crawling Eye". TSI's lyrics don't always flow in
a sing-songy sort of way. I do actually really enjoy the challenge of this
though. I've found that it's very helpful to record a scratch vocal, not think
too hard about it, and then come back to it later. It's fine if the scratch
vocal is terrible, actually. For whatever reason, it's just easy to come back
and have it all gel in my mind and nail it in a few weeks time.
8. Can listeners expect any notable collaborations or guest appearances on
this release?
Almost nothing on this one really, unless you count my friend Lucian from Terra
Mortim who once upon a time helped me record a bunch of drum samples and loops
that I'm still making use of. The previous 2 singles had some synth work by a
friend of mine who goes by the name Thigjig & does instrumental electronic
stuff.
The next one I'm working on has a friend of mine playing a stylophone through a
bunch of stompboxes.
9. What kind of atmosphere or mood does "The Crawling Eye" aim to
evoke in its listeners?
I think paranoid and anxious would probably be the best way to describe it, but
mixed with just a pinch of irrational hope I guess.
10. Are there any recurring motifs or themes throughout the single that tie
into The Silence Industry's broader discography?
Interesting question! I think it would be pretty easy to just say "a
general sense of dystopia" here. ;)
Anxiety is certainly another common motif. Maybe also looking at the ways in
which we end up participating in the creation of the systems that we end up
finding ourselves trapped inside. Ha, that's a bit of a mouthful but probably
the best way I can put it here.
11. How does the artwork for "The Crawling Eye" complement the music and themes of the release?
I think it captures the mood and general aesthetic of TSI, as well as the overwhelming anxious feelings of the title track. As an aside, it's based mostly on photos I took at work while the song was being written (and where I also did the field recording for "the real cosmic horror...").
12. What can fans anticipate from the accompanying music videos or visual content related to this single?
I have an idea for this, just need to be able to set aside the time in order to make it happen. So, the short answer is "hopefully something, relatively soon". It's pretty simple, but I think it will be cool. I just hope it doesn't get me arrested. ;) Visual ideas are usually pretty simple conceptual things with TSI. I really enjoy doing this as an extended layer of the art. I do think TSI will do some sort of more traditional performance videos at some point as well, but again, the big thing is time.
13. Are there plans for live performances or tours in support of "The Crawling Eye" after its official release?
Not at the moment. It would be wonderful to do more of this though. I'll have to put some more thought into how to go about making this work. Inevitably though, when faced with the choice between allocating my time to writing and making new music and organizing performances, writing always seems to win. But, TSI really should get out and at least play a few shows again some time. If enough people keep suggesting this, we just might.
14. Looking ahead, what future projects or themes can fans look forward to from The Silence Industry?
More releases! That's the first thing. The next single TSI has been working on deals with the inevitability of change and the movement of history, despite our feelings of stagnation and hopelessness I guess. After that there will probably be something like a full length taking shape, maybe with the inclusion of a couple fun surprises I've been thinking about.
Beyond that, who knows? TSI will certainly be going ahead and writing and recording more music. I think we will continue to explore new and different release formats. Probably keep experimenting with some different arrangements, moods etc. As mentioned above, there are already a bunch of song ideas at least partially written.
Currently toying with the idea of doing a super limited physical hand-made zine to accompany the full length release. Hopefully it all comes together, because I really like the idea. Also possibly some upcycled (or down, depending on your perspective of TSI) t-shirts.
Whatever it is the future holds, TSI will be going there, as long as I'm still here and I hope you'll be there with us, discovering it together. Thanks so much for listening!
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