There are many sides to the music of Scott Candey. Though best known for his work as Gruntsplatter, he chanels his talent through a collection of various side-projects and collaborations. As if his musical projects weren't enough to keep his plate full, he also runs Crionic Mind, a small label that has slowly been picking up steam since its debut in '97. With Gruntsplatter's recent release of The Death Fires on Colorado's Crowd Control Activities, his largest profile work to date, Candey is finally accumulating the recognition he has earned.

I know Gruntsplatter made a poll in The Wire for strangest band name alongside esteemed acts such as Beerzone and Men of Porn... it's definitely got some strong onomatopoeia attached to it. Now for the blandest, most routine opening question possible: How did you arrive at the name and what does it signify for you?

Sometimes I explain this and sometimes I don't... I actually got the name from an obscure skit within an episode of The Young Ones. The skit was "Jester Bolofski's Medieval Torture Hour," and in the background there was a big guy in an executioners outfit holding a sign with his name on it, "Toby Gruntsplatter." He never says anything and isn't really in the scene save for as background. I thought that was funny as hell and it always stuck in my head. When I was trying to figure out what to call what I was doing I kept coming back to that word, and after thinking about some of the other connotations and the direction I was working in at the time I decided it fit. As far as it's significance to me, it abstractly summarizes my personality to a certain degree. I like all sorts of 'dark' and 'horrible' things -- I research and immerse myself in them. At the same time I don't take myself too seriously though; I like to laugh as much as anything else. An episode of Black Adder or the Simpsons is at least as compelling as a documentary about some serial killer or what not, often much more so. So there is that side of the name, in that it's an inside joke to a certain extent and it sounds violent or gory, but then I know I got it from the Young Ones. The other side is that I think it does allude to a more 'serious' idea; that being the obliteration of the little people, essentially. The grunts are the worker bees, the fodder, the insignificant masses used as foundation and fuel for a lot of the larger evils in the world. From another angle still I see overpopulation as the catastrophic problem of the world. There are too many people, and of those there are far too many that take more than they contribute, who have no goals for themselves but merely twiddle through their days being relatively worthless and unnecessary -- grunts from another perspective. I don't see the point or the value of maintaining this element. There is no specific meaning behind the name. It's a coagulation of these and some other ideas.

You were a part of Troniksfest in San Francisco this past June, and I've heard of some other live dates. Is Gruntsplatter the only project that you've brought to a live setting?

The first time I did an experimental show it was as Umbra. Stephen Petrus, the other half of that project, was out visiting and we were able to play a show together. It was more than likely a one time deal, as we live on opposite sides of the country. Since then Gruntsplatter is the only project to play live, and I suspect that's how it will remain. The other projects are hindered by distance, and Grimes is not enough of a priority for me to invest the time in putting together a show.

How do you transfer the sounds to the stage?

My live shows are all new material. I basically set a loop for foundation and everything else is improvised on the spot. I like doing new stuff like that, it makes it more interesting for me and forces me to really think about what I am doing. I really enjoy doing the shows; there is a physical side to it that you don't get working on stuff at home... and of course, the volume! Troniks is going to be releasing an edited version of my set from Troniksfest 1 as a split LP with Control.

You've almost got too many side-projects too count; some fairly similar to Gruntsplatter and others completely different. Is there any formula to the evolution of a new project?

I wouldn't say there is a formula. Essentially, if someone I respect asks me to do something with them and I have the time I will do it. From there we try and figure out what we can do that is different enough from our regular projects to make it worth the effort. I don't want to do projects that sound like part this band and part that band, I want them to have an identity independent of the pieces making them up. I think Blunt Force Trauma and Triage both accomplish that very well, Umbra is closer to Gruntsplatter's sound, but at the same time I don't think it sounds the same, and I just got some new material to work on from Stephen which will show a greater distance on the next record. We know much more where we want the project to go now than we did for the first release I think. Working with other people like this from time to time and pursuing directions other than my primary one has been good for me creatively, and I'm proud of the results in each instance.

How do you split up time between them all? I take it you view Gruntsplatter as thbase of your musical output?

Gruntsplatter is definitely the primary focus. Between the other projects, running the mail order/label, and all the time I have to spend working on Worm Gear, music doesn't always get the attention I'd like to give it. But it's something I need to do so I always manage to make room. A lot of times I'll go in phases where I won't do anything for a month or so and then do a whole bunch of stuff over a period of a couple of weeks. The mood hits me and that's where all of my attention goes.

Your recent deal with Crowd Control Activities seems ideal - very open with a lot of freedoms. How did this whole relationship come about?

I sent [James at] Crowd Control a copy of the split with Ruhr Hunter when that came out because I had a few of his releases and I thought it was a great label. He has fair prices and a strong catalog, so I figured what the hell. After he digested the release a little he contacted me and asked if I was interested in a multiple release agreement. We got to talking quite a bit and realized we had a lot in common musically; not just in experimental, but going back to the things we listened to growing up and all that. I like the fact that he isn't out whoring himself and waving his arms for attention like some of the labels out there. He focuses on quality and lets that speak for itself. All of these factors led me to agree to work with Crowd Control, and it's been a good relationship thus far.

How was your CCA debut, The Death Fires, received?

The reviews so far have been outstanding, much better than I could have hoped. And I've been fortunate enough to be asked to do a few interviews as well, so hopefully as those become available it will continue to help the sales. The label seems pleased with the reactions, and the feedback I've received from zines and people who have bought it has been great.

What's in store for your label, Crionic Mind?

Good things are happening on the label front, finally! In April I released the Lefthandeddecision CD, and I'll have two new releases out early September: the first full length Deison CD called "Dirty Blind Vortex" (excellent Italian Death Industrial) and a split CD between KK Null and Moz. Art on the split is being finalized now and the Deison is set to go, so as soon as the art is done they are both going to press. After that I've got Wilt's "Wither," a great Noise Ambient project from the States, expected in January 2001. Then Never Presence Forever, bleak and sinister soundscapes also from the States, sometime early in 2001. There are a couple things in the discussion stage after that, but nothing I can report yet. The distro is doing better than ever, so I'm very pleased with the state of Crionic Mind right now. I finally feel like I'm getting to where I've wanted to be for a long time.

Where does your fascination with the grotesque and morbid stem from? There is aundeniably dark place that you cull a great deal of thematic inspiration from.

I don't honestly know. I have been fascinated by this sort of thing for as long as I can remember. I was reading about ghosts and such from early in elementary school and have continued to seek out new fascinations ever since. It lends itself to imagination, disease, death, horror. The reality of these things I find far more compelling that the fiction based on them. I tend to read fiction from people like Bukowski or Henry Miller rather than Clive Barker or Lovecraft or something. I explore my interests through non-fiction, documentaries and so on. The places the human mind is capable of going for release of whatever torment it's fighting with, the power of nature to decimate whole populations in the face of science and technology. It's curious stuff, and it is real, yet stretches our comprehension. But as I said, as much as I gravitate toward this kind of thing it certainly isn't the only part of my life... but it is a deep well to draw from creatively.

Though the Gruntsplatter themes surround a great deal of this death and decay, there is nothing too overt and it's clear that you value the artistic elements over simple shock value. Do you intentionally keep things this way?

Yeah, I definitely prefer subtlety over obviousness for my own endeavors. The primary reason is that I understand the arbitrary nature of this style of music. Just because an artist names a song "Rise of the Bogeyman" or whatever, doesn't mean that's what the listener is going to envision when they give themselves to the swirling frequencies. I know that, and I would much rather people have individualized experiences with the music than everyone saying 'that song about the bogeyman is cool.' That's why I have avoided using specific movie samples (at least since my first tape) or making my vocals too discernible. I don't want to shackle the sound too concretely to a specific idea, because it limits the amount of visualization the listener is able to do. Most of my tracks do have something specific in them I'm trying to convey for myself, but I don't have to force that on anyone, and would rather not.

Without listing them off, what do you think about the groups that represent the opposite approach -- seemingly out just to shock the average listener?

Well, I think to a certain extent people who say a band that uses extreme content is just out to shock are being a bit reactionary. I have some very good friends who have been accused of such things with their music or visuals, but to simply say they are trying to be shocking is writing off the energy they have put into it without noticing what is really there. They are seeing the flashing lights but not seeing what's in the back of the ambulance so to speak. Some of these "shock" projects weave far more sonic crafting into their pieces than a majority of the "serious" projects out there, but because of art or content they don't receive the same consideration. Certainly there are exceptions, as with anything, but violent content and graphic imagery shouldn't invalidate the music by default. Then there is the question of where do you draw the line. A project like Megaptera is death-obsessed, but in a different way than say Atrax Morgue or something that might be seen as "shock". They are both dealing with similar topics they are just exploring them in different ways. Who's to say one is more valid than the other? And to be shocked in this day and age and with any knowledge of this scene's history would seem to indicate a certain frailty and naivete. There is nothing being done now that hasn't been done before and to still be appalled or shocked by a gore picture or someone screaming about a serial killer is hard to believe.

The imagery of your releases is almost as recognizable as the sound itself -- your covers are all very similar in style, complementing the noise. How important is this side of things to you?

I put a lot of value on the art -- it's part of a whole presentation. The music, the art and the titles are the triad that fleshes out a project when you are dealing with something as abstract as experimental music. I didn't realize this initially but the art and music are quite similar, in that I tend to do layers that obscure into one another in the design side, and that's very much what I like to do with the sounds. I don't want anything to be to literal. The more obscured the better, but with fragments of tangibility spiking through.

Have you always designed your own covers from the start?

I didn't do the split cassette with Torture Chamber or the split with Armenia, but all of the CDs I've been involved in, excluding Blunt Force Trauma, I did, and the 7"... basically everything in the last 3-4 years.

If you had to pick one artist throughout time that visually captured the essence of Gruntsplatter, who would that person be?

That is tough, there are several that I like. I originally wanted something very Goya-esque for The Death Fires, but that didn't work out with the artist the label found so I was sort of left to scramble for something else when that fell through. Goya's black paintings carry a lot of the atmosphere I try and infuse into my stuff. Another of my favorites is Francis Bacon. Odd Nerdrum is another person who is more representational than the others; the darkness in his work is saturating and conveyed in a unique way. Beyond those I like Dali, Tanguy, Bosch and some of the others you might expect. But as it relates to Gruntsplatter those three I mentioned as close as anyone I can think of.

Where would you be without any of your musical outlets?

Dead or in Jail MAN!!! No, that seems the standard answer for something like that. Ah, I don't know, it's difficult for me to even imagine. Music has been a huge part of my life for so long that it's difficult to even recognize everything I get out of it. You don't know what you have until it's gone sort of thing. It's certainly been a great emotional outlet both listening and recording, it's the one means of expression that I feel I can articulate myself to my satisfaction. I wish I could paint or something, but my hands aren't capable of conveying what's in my head, with music I can do that. So to not have that would be crippling in a number of ways I'd imagine.