Scissorgun Discuss Chaos, Improvisation & Sonic Experimentation on Scream If You Wanna Go Faster

Emerging from the shadowy intersections of post-punk, industrial experimentation, and avant-garde electronics, Scissorgun continue to redefine sonic unpredictability with their latest release, Scream If You Wanna Go Faster. Formed in Manchester in 2016 by Alan Hempsall and Dave Clarkson, the duo have built a reputation for fearless improvisation, fractured electronic textures, hypnotic rhythms, and emotionally charged soundscapes that blur the line between chaos and control. Drawing from decades of musical history tied to the legendary Manchester underground and Factory-era innovation, Scissorgun channel influences ranging from Miles Davis and Throbbing Gristle to Kraftwerk and The Stooges into something uniquely their own.

In this conversation, the band dives deep into the creative philosophy behind improvisation, the making of Scream If You Wanna Go Faster, their relationship with Manchester’s rich musical legacy, and why embracing risk, imperfection, and experimentation remains essential in modern music.

Interview with Scissorgun on the Chaos Engine, Improvisation & Post-Punk Memory
Since forming in 2016, Manchester duo Scissorgun have carved out a singular space
where improvisation, experimentation, and instinct collide. Built from the combined histories
of Alan Hempsall and Dave Clarkson—figures rooted in post-punk, industrial textures, and
Factory-era innovation—the project thrives on unpredictability. Their new “Scream If You
Wanna Go Faster” pushes even further into a world of tension and release, blending dub
rhythms, fractured electronics, noise, spoken word, and hypnotic atmospheres into
something that feels both chaotic and strangely human. In this conversation, Scissorgun
discuss the freedom of improvisation, the making of the new record, their relationship with
Manchester’s musical legacy, and why creative risk remains essential.

Scissorgun formed back in 2016, built around the idea that everything must come
from improvisation. What sparked the project, and what made this creative
philosophy feel essential to you?
(AH) In the summer of 2016 Crispy Ambulance were on hiatus, and I had an itch I couldn’t
scratch. I suggested a jam session just for fun and we liked what we heard. Our insistence
on improvisation isn’t particularly unique, but it is where we come from and what we know.
When we’re both on a roll that ‘seat of the pants’ sensation is hard to beat.
You both came from influential Manchester and Factory-adjacent musical
backgrounds. How did your history with Triclops, White Cube, and Crispy Ambulance
shape the DNA of Scissorgun?
(DC) Triclops and White Cube bare resemblance to Scissorgun in the fact of trying out
unusual musical genre hopping, twists and turns. White Cube were an eight-piece band, all
pulling in different directions, so the songs were a mix of different styles and ideas. Triclops
were an electronic trio and the gigs we played improvised out of loops, instruments and
samples. Triclops produced no studio work or released any records (apart from small
quantities of live recordings) because the nature of the band was improvisation in a live
situation and not based on the general career-based mechanics of how a band usually
operates. The live shows were collages of sounds – a bit of an electronic based musique
concrete type sound.
(AH) There’s no comparison between Crispy Ambulance and Scissorgun which, for me, is
kind of the point. The thrill of the new, you could call it.
Alan, your connection to Factory Records and the legendary Joy Division stand-in
moment has become part of post-punk lore. How has that experience followed you
into your work today—if at all?
(AH) It doesn’t at all. I suppose I’m very future facing. It was all invaluable experience but
there’s a great deal to be said for stepping out of your comfort zone and taking a few risks. A
past comes with baggage and can be quite restricting, creatively speaking.

THE NEW ALBUM – SCREAM IF YOU WANNA GO FASTER

This album has been described as “Northern electronic shanties” and “snapshots of a
city at night.” How would you describe the emotional or atmospheric world of this
record?
(AH) They were actually quotes from a Mojo review of our first album. We should probably
update our testimonials. I would describe the general mood as one of tension and release.
What does the album title Scream If You Wanna Go Faster signify? Is there a
conceptual thread running through the tracks?
(AH) We thought it captured some of the zeitgeist and it had that fairground barker
connection. It just seemed to fit. There is no overall concept.
This project blends pastoral dream-like passages, explosive noise, dub elements, and
urban electronica. What does your creative process look like when you’re navigating
such wide sonic territory?
(DC) Our creative process is simply that all genres of music are put through the Scissorgun
portal and what comes out is our interpretation, often with genres being mixed or overlayed.
We wouldn’t hesitate to try a collection of samba-based percussion against a noise piece or
a dub bass part against an exotica style marimba part.

CREATIVE PROCESS & IMPROVISATION
You’ve said that improvisation is your starting point and that the music finds
you—not the other way around. Can you walk us through a moment on this album
where that philosophy led somewhere unexpected?
(AH) For me it happened with Cubanos Nocturne. It was very hypnotic when we first played
it and we’ve managed to capture that on record without ‘over developing’ the idea.
(DC) The gates are open to all styles and genres. They form the palette we draw from and
then we experiment taking them to another place. A moment where we entered an
unexpected area can be found on Late Night Bento which evolved from a soundtrack type
piece to a grittier and grimier track accompanied by prose.
How do you decide whether a piece remains raw and improvised or evolves into a
structured song?
(DC) We feel there’s something alchemical about it and have a mutual understanding for
when a piece is completed. Our improvisation and jamming sessions will naturally take a
track towards a structured song if the key elements are there.
What role do “accidents,” serendipity, and found sounds play in shaping the final
recordings?
(DC) This is a really important area, I think. We both have in common a strong desire to
avoid flawlessly arranged quantised recordings. We prefer imperfection and warts and all.
Creativity and innovation are more exciting when it is the result of accidents and discovery of
new languages of sound. The repetitive nature of practice and rehearsal are often the death
of music, squeezing every bit of creative juice out of the music.

FOCUS TRACKS
“Seven Bells” opens the album. Why was this the right track to set the tone?
(DC) We wanted the first track to be a statement of intent and together with Fresh Hell, they
are the most immediate sounding ones. It’s also a ‘countdown’ opener with the striking of 7
bells throughout the track. It’s a heavy and dark opener which builds, and we thought that
was the best way of attracting initial attention to the album.
(AH) It has all the right ingredients. It’s a really good live set opener as well.
“Gone Rogue” began with an electro bass line and a conspiracy-theory quote. How
did that unusual combo end up becoming such a propulsive, politically tinged track?
(DC) It’s another comment on world paranoia and the extremity of human misinformation.
The tempo and propulsive bass and edge sharp guitar sound fit the madness and confusion
of the found source material.
(AH) There was such a frantic feel to Dave’s rhythm section that made it the perfect vehicle
for some polemic.
“Bad As Bingo” has a go-go beat, glitching bass lines, barking dogs—truly a sonic
collage. How did this track evolve, and what makes it stand out for you personally?
(DC) It evolved from an older archived track that was dusted down and reconfigured to push
it into the direction it ended up being – via band improvised sessions. We’re both fans of that
go-go sound so that we’d take the rhythm idea and introduce it to more abstract and minimal
electronic sequences, all mixed into a traditional song-based structure.
“Face Deflector” and “Fever Dream” push deeper into electronic and atmospheric
territory. What stories or visuals informed these compositions?
(AH) Face Deflector was written during the civil unrest in the summer of ’24 shortly after
Labour came to power. It’s all broken glass, fire and fury. Fever Dream is a far more subtle
affair. It came out of Dave’s synth on portamento. It had an almost nauseous quality to it
which felt comforting at the same time.

COLLABORATION & VISUAL COMPONENTS
Adrian Ball provides visuals and projections for Scissorgun. How does the visual
element inform the sound—or vice versa?
(AH) Ade’s work is very much in the moment. He has some things prepared but it’s very
instinctive and ‘on the fly’.
When performing live, how does that improvisational backbone interact with lighting,
projections, and the energy of the audience?
(AH) If I’m honest I very rarely see what Ade’s doing. I’m too wrapped up in the moment.

(DC) The improvisational backbone enables freedom for us to add extra icing on the cake or
even further layering of sound. The energy of the audience often dictates the intensity of the
tracks depending on mood or movement.

INFLUENCES & SOUND
You draw inspiration from an eclectic mix—Miles Davis, Throbbing Gristle, Kraftwerk,
Faust, Brian Eno, The Stooges. How do these influences manifest in your music
without overshadowing your identity?
(DC) They are just the tip of the iceberg of influences. Artists interest us, not just in what they
sound like, but also in their approach to making music. For instance, the music on many of
Miles Davis’s 1970s records was a patchwork quilt of passages recorded and compiled into
larger tracks. Similarly, Faust and Throbbing Gristle adopted this approach. Our influences
don’t overshadow the identify because the Scissorgun identity is always established from the
equipment and ultimately the ‘voice’ of us as a collective, which is the DNA which runs
through all our music.
(AH) Blocking out your influences is a pointless exercise. You tend to find they seep out like
water anyway. It’s actually quite difficult to copy someone outright.
Scissorgun seems to sit at the intersection of post-punk sensibility and modern
electronic experimentation. Do you see yourselves as continuing the Factory lineage
or forging an entirely new path?
(DC) I would hope that we are forging a new path. Also, as a key label more in post punk
music, Factory didn’t produce as much modern electronic experimental music as other labels
around at the same time such as Mute and Fast products. A lot of our electronic influences
are taken from a broad church which includes early industrial music, modern German glitch
music, 20th century avant-garde and shiny and sleek techno, to name a few.
(AH) Factory were a great label to be on but they were very much of their time. It’s hard to
see how that maverick approach would work in the current industry landscape. People seem
to be a lot more risk averse. That’s why we like our new label, Dimple Discs. They have a
similar approach in that artistic input is unfettered by commercial considerations.

HISTORY & CONTEXT
Your previous albums—Assault Two, All You Love Is Need, and Psychological
Colouring Book—all explored different sonic territories. Where does Scream If You
Wanna Go Faster fit into the evolution of Scissorgun?
(AH) What you’ve just described is simply progression. I’m certainly a more competent
guitarist than I was eight years ago. You find yourself constantly refining.
(DC) I think the latest album has a more immediate, dynamic and wider sonic palette. The
wider range of musical genres are reflective of the global themes and a world of information
overload and forces constantly fighting for your attention. Scissorgun are currently grabbing
these signals and feeding them into the mix!

You’ve opened for Wolfgang Flür, Wrangler, Eric Random, and more. How have these
live experiences shaped your approach to the studio?
(AH) Put bluntly, they haven’t.

TECHNICAL & PRODUCTION
Dave, you handled production, engineering, and much of the instrumentation. What
challenges or breakthroughs did you experience while shaping this album?
(DC) Challenges are always the same for producing every album…things like muddy mixes,
creative blocks and avoiding contrived or comforting trends. Generally, separating
frequencies and preventing clashes between sounds is always a challenge if the density of
the sound is made up of too many stems. I tend to avoid this by focussing on stripping out
sounds surplus to requirement and using as little reverb or echo as possible throughout the
parts. Breakthroughs come by gaining more technical knowledge in the studio and using the
required tricks to apply. We don’t seek out purity in the sound or spend huge amounts of
time finding the perfect solution. Instead, we prefer a mix which displays immediacy and
imperfection and strive to capture those moments of syncopation, serendipity and accidental
harmonic overlaps.
How do you approach mastering, field recordings, and tape manipulation to maintain
both warmth and experimentation in your sound?
(DC) Mastering of our albums has so far been performed by Peter Beckmann at Technology
Works, who does a sterling job in making the overall production mix sound broader, louder
and crystal clear.
Field recordings are used to add identification to the tracks when required. They are often
recorded using a Zoom H2 recorder or simply an iPhone, depending on the nature of them.
There is no tape manipulation involved in the process.

THEMES & MESSAGE
Many of these tracks feel like commentary on modern chaos—social media noise,
attention wars, isolation, fragmentation. How much social commentary is intentional,
and how much emerges subconsciously?
(AH) It was intentional. It’s cathartic to vent your spleen but I tried to strike a balance. I didn’t
want it to come across as preachy. It’s not as though I’ve got any answers. Anyway, now it’s
taken the form of an album we’ll probably move on.
What do you want listeners to feel when they experience this album from start to
finish?
(DC) It would be great if the listener arrived at the feeling that love is the radical weapon
against hatred and isolationism.

THE FUTURE OF SCISSORGUN
Will improvisation always remain the core of your process, or do you foresee
experimenting with more structured approaches in future projects?
(DC) Nothing is ever ruled out, but our hearts are in discovery, serendipity and the lost
chord.
(AH) I can’t read or write music so it’s all I know. It’s where I come from.
Are there plans for additional live shows, videos, remixes, or collaborations following
the album’s release?
(DC) We chat about all these areas a lot. Live shows are a definite. Remixes and
collaborations could be possible on condition that they would result in something worthy.
(AH) Everything is considered. Right now, our new album is taking shape in some quite
unforeseen ways. It’s going to be another version of us.
What excites you most creatively as you look ahead to Scissorgun’s next phase?
(DC) For myself it’s the prospect of finding musical ideas and input which are challenging
and beyond my own comfort zone.
(AH) One influence we both share is Miles Davis. His approach to innovation in the sixties
and seventies was to just forge ahead and disregard those who chose to disown him in the
jazz fraternity. It’s the attitude we’re trying to emulate. That’s very liberating and very
exciting.

CLOSING
For fans who are just discovering Scissorgun, what’s the one track from this album
you’d recommend as the perfect entry point—and why?
(AH) I’d go for ‘Bad as Bingo’ because it’s probably one of the most ‘instant’.
(DC) After much thought, I’d probably choose Late Night Bento as it is a collage of urban
electronics and street prose, which as well as incorporating all the instrumentation we use, it
is also evocative of the overall subject matter of the album and offers unlimited
improvisational opportunities when played live.
Finally, what message would you like to send to longtime listeners, Factory-era fans,
or those following your journey from post-punk to electronic exploration?
(DC) We’d like to thank them for their interest and support of our music and promise more
exciting records to come.
(AH) Well done for making it this far.

With Scream If You Wanna Go Faster, Scissorgun continue pushing beyond genre boundaries, crafting a sound that is as confrontational as it is immersive. Through improvisation, sonic collage, and fearless experimentation, Alan Hempsall and Dave Clarkson prove that innovation still thrives when artists are willing to embrace uncertainty and reject creative limitations. As the duo look toward future live performances, collaborations, and new recordings, one thing remains certain: Scissorgun are determined to keep evolving, challenging expectations, and forging their own unpredictable path through the modern underground music landscape.