THRUMS is a a ritual powerdrone project, a collaboration between textile artist Alyssa Semczyszyn, and audiovisualist Wayne Mercier. Detailed CV here.
Hand spun and dyed small mill reeled silk blended with ramie (a nettle relative) for warp; second-hand cashmere for weft. Weft dyed with foraged fungus (Phaeolus Schweinitzii) woven in an 8-shaft snakeskin crackle pattern. Weaving draft drives effects processing and sequencing of a maximally generic 8-bar blues loop. Weaving draft also determines pattern and pacing of live percussion.
Audioreactive, generative visuals coded in Jitter, modulated by timbral analysis and using algorithmic color selection drawn from a sample image of the woven work.
I’ve been asked to blurb the loomcore duo Thrums because, apparently, I have a knack for “bringing credibility to the incredible”. And there’s no doubt that this multimedia duo of fabric artist Alyssa Semczyszyn and tech whisperer/drummer Wayne Mercier is incredible. Not because there’s any reason to doubt what they do or say—the two, in fact, are among the most pathologically honest people I know—but because what they do is expansive, entrancing, and in many ways unprecedented.
There are, however, historical connections. Some, for instance, would argue that the production of textiles is one of the world’s oldest technologies, possibly even preceding the invention of stone tools. How else would our distant ancestors be able to carry the nuts and roots that sustained them through long treks and hard winters? Semczyszyn is an advanced practitioner of that ancient art, spinning., dying, and weaving flax or wool to make shimmeringly beautiful cloth. And when simple electronic transducers are attached to her wheel or loom before being run through Mercier’s state-of-the art electronic processors, their sounds are transformed into unearthly clacks and whirrs, and then even further into a digital analogue of the weaving process. Projected behind the two, these images suggest woven cloth, or landscapes, or simply trigger whatever synapses respond viscerally to light and colour. Add Mercier’s booming. dub-inflected drums to the mix and the result is something like black-metal trance, cottage-industrial music, or 21st-century psychedelia.
Simply put, Thrums is wonderful—and a welcome suggestion that the technological future is best leavened with the very human past and present.
– Alex Varty
Hand prepared and dyed, Canadian Arcott fleece mixed mohair (all sourced from Gabriola Island) spun on a Canadian Production Spinning Wheel.
The wheel plucks a monotonic banjo. Effects chain is modulated by timbral analysis of voice. Gestural recognition/control implemented with Google MediaPipe in Max.
THRUMS brought to Vancouver Noise Fest X one of the most unique sonic experiences of the festival. The duo craft a stage presence that activates a loom for its sonic as well performative potential to create an engaging performance art concert that blends the looms innate sounds with electronic processing. Some of the most dedicated sound artists and musicians in BC’s experimental and electronic music landscape, THRUMS have not only carved a unique place for the presentation and sharing of experimental electronic music on the gulf island they live in, but they actively tour and present their work in other cities. Despite being faced with ferry cancellations and travel delays, the duo persisted to meet their performance obligations (and scheduled timeslot!) for the festival. They showed up ready to load onto the stage for their setup and set time, performed within their allotted time to a very enthusiastic and captivated audience, and were highly professional getting their equipment on and off stage.
Anju Singh – Vancouver Noise Fest
Locally sourced Shropshire fleece hand dyed with foraged Phaeolus Schweinizii spun on a century old Canadian Production Wheel prepared for use with monotonic plucked drone instrument. DSP in Max/MSP/Jitter using Austin Franklin’s PnP.Maxtools https://austinfranklinmusic.com/softw… to manipulate fx chains with live vocals.
The noise duo THRUMS intense, immersive wall of sound creates perfect moments of chaos reminiscent of the birth of celestial objects. And there is a spiritual, political element when Alyssa Semczyszyn literally spins wool into yarn before the audience, with the wheel modified to create aural rhythms which her partner Wayne Mercier inputs, letting them sneak into the chaos or completely obliterating them as his creative self wishes. The juxtaposition of the wholesome, diy, artisanal spinning with the aggressive, harsh distortions combine into a deep primal and anarchic experience. And their unique visuals are a perfect accompaniment to the impressive performance.
Shaun Woods-Sixpoints
live a/v performance with laptop assemblage, prepared spinning wheel, monotonic plucked drone Instrument, locally sourced undyed grey Icelandic wool.
live improvisation with prepared spinning wheel, plucked drone, laptop assemblage, hand dyed Coriedale roving.
live electronic improvisation using procedurally generated video driven wavetable synthesis, 4 shaft Bronson Spot pattern.
performance starts at 0:28:00 …
THRUMS 0:28:00 – 0:47:00 … Scott Riesterer 0:47:00 – 1:17:00 …
THRUMS 1:17:00 – 1:43:50 … Scott Riesterer 1:43:50 – 2:12:26 … THRUMS 2:12:26 – 2:31:26
On March 20, 2022 at 12:00 PST/20:00 GMT we brought a 4 shaft counterbalance loom to a gallery space built in a converted one-room schoolhouse.
On our tiny island in the Salish Sea we will made a rite of transfiguration and entanglement.
Guest artist Scott Reisterer transformed the weaving through his modular apparatus, and the THRVMS loom powered throb engine moved sonified video and audio signals over a central pulse.
For wool-carders the straight way and the winding way are one and the same.
Heraclitus
THRUMS experiments: