|
DAEMONIA
NYMPHE
Daemonia Nymphe is something
special and extraordinary for the music scene, for what they do is an attempt
to use ancient Greek instruments in their own ways trying slightly to recreate
the atmosphere of times long gone and forgotten....If you want to listen
to something really unique and ethereal then this is your thing and believe
me you won't find many bands that can offer you anything like that...Spyros,
the band's main man is here to help us take this trip with them and explore
new dimensions in music...
1.FIRST OF ALL POINT OUT THE MOST
IMPORTANT MOMENTS OF THE BAND'S HISTORY AND INTRODUCE THE CURRENT LINE
UP TO THE READERS.
-
Well,the idea of the band which came
in 1994 by me and my brother Pantelis,the release of our first Lp "The
Bacchic Dance of the Nymphs" in 1998 by the German label Solistitium rec,
the year 2000 because Evi Stergiou joined the project,the same year we
collaborated with Nicholas Brass the instrument maker of the ancient Greek
instruments,and finally our contract with the French label Prikosnovenie
was one of the highlights. Daemonia Nymphe are Spyros Giasafakis,Evi Stergiou,Simos
Rizopoulos,Maria Stergiou.
2.WHAT INTRIGUES YOU SO MUCH TO INVOLVE
WITH GREEK ANTIQUITY?
-
I studied sculpture and painting because
I was influenced by the ancient Greek art. I also wanted to find out how
ancient Greek music would sound,that was not an easy part I found out that
there were a lot of information(but not so many as we have for the pictorial
arts for example) but of course we had nothing left from that music we
don't really know how it used to sound because there are no recordings
from that era,so we have to study the papyros and the works from the musicologists
the ancient greek vases etc.
3.NO ONE KNOWS HOW GREEK MUSIC USED
TO SOUND AND WE CAN MAKE ONLY ASSUMPTIONS FROM THE BOOKS WE READ. HOW CLOSE
DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO RECREATE THIS SOUND?
-
Well,after all the work we did we finally
realised that once we have the reproductions of the ancient instruments
it is more important to create new music with these instruments than try
to reproduce the ancient music which is almost imposible. We don't want
to work as musicologists but as musicians, we want the ancient instruments
which are forgotten today to take their place in the modern world and maybe
we can create new sounds and explore different methods in composing music.
4.YOU USE ONLY ANCIENT GREEK INSTRUMENTS.
HOW DID YOU LEARN TO PLAY INSTRUMENTS LIKE SEISTRO, VARVITOS, LYRA, SYRINX,
KERAS, PANDOURA, KROTALA AND SAMVIKI THAT MOST PEOPLE ARE NOT EVEN AWARE
OF?
-
We mostly use reproductions of ancient
Greek instruments,we also use some others which are related to the ancient
ones. As I said before we worked a lot on the research of the music then
we met Nicholas Brass who gave us his collection and we worked on the instruments.We
already had studied in music Evi is also a musicoligist,but we found our
own ways to perform with these instruments.
5.YOU'VE RELEASED A WHILE AGO "TYRVASIA".
GIVE US SOME INFO ABOUT IT (WHERE WAS IT RECORDED, WHO WAS THE PRODUCER,
HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU, ETC).
-
"Tyrvasia" was released in late 2000,we
had the help of the Greek magazine Diipetes. Usually the recordings take
years because we never work thinking that we want to release a certain
album,we just record songs that we feel we have to.
6.ARE YOU SATISFIED BY THE FEEDBACK
YOU GOT TILL NOW? YOU HAVE STARTED TO SPREAD YOUR MUSIC OUTSIDE THE GREEK
BORDERS. HOW DO THEY REACT TO YOUR MUSIC THE FOREIGNERS?
-
Yes we are somehow satisfied with our
Cd in Prikosnovenie, it is one of the best sellers of this year, but I
think that with our music it takes time until it shows it's real destinaton.
7.WHERE ARE YOUR LYRICS REFERRING TO?
WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO WRITE LYRICS? IF I AM NOT MISTAKEN THE LYRICS ARE
WRITTEN IN ANCIENT GREEK. HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO WRITE IN THAT LANGUAGE?
-
Actually our lyrics are Orphic Hymns,but
we work on them to fit them in a song.
8.WHAT ARE YOU THINKING OF DOING IN
THE FUTURE? DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS FOR A NEW RELEASE?
-
Well "love sessions" has just been
released in Greece by Poeta Negra/Eros music. It has been released in Europe
by Prikosnovenie since 3 months now. It was Frederic's(LYS) idea to gather
his favourite musicians(GOR,LOUISA JOHN KROL,DAEMONIA NYMPHE)and create
an album together with them. There is also "Fairy world" a compilation
by Prikosnovenie again which includes one unreleased song of ours.We
are currently working on our new Cd.
9.ARE YOU THINKING OF PLAYING LIVE
SHOWS? DO YOU THINK THAT YOUR MUSIC CAN BE PERFORMED LIVE? DO YOU NEED
MANY MUSICIANS ON STAGE?
-
We have already performed many times
in Greece.
10.IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO DO A LIVE
SHOW THE WAY YOU WANTED IT, WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE MANY MUSICIANS ON STAGE
AND WOULD YOU ALSO USE ACTORS DRESSED UP ACCORDING TO THE ANCIENT GREEK
WAY?
-
We are planning to do something special
very soon. We are playing in Gagarin on 27th of September and in Mikro
mousiko theatro on the 24th and 25th of October.
11.WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO SOMEONE THAT
IS NOT AWARE OF YOUR MUSIC, IN ORDER TO INTRIGUE HIS INTEREST?
-
Maybe that he would be interested in
it if he is fond of the 4AD scene and also etherial music in general.
12.YOU DON'T PLAY METAL MUSIC, HOWEVER
YOU SEEM TO HAVE AN EXTREMELY CLOSE CONNECTION TO THIS BRANCH. WHY IS THAT?
WHY DO YOU THINK THAT A BIG CORE OF YOUR FANS COMES FROM HEAVY METAL?
-
I think it is because there is an epic
and atmospheric feeling in our music.
13.IF YOUR MUSIC WERE AN EMOTION, WHAT
WOULD IT BE? IF IT WERE A PAINTING, WHAT WOULD IT SHOW?
-
The emotion that comes from the wind
when it is friendly to us. If it was painting it would be a gate in an
unknown space.
14.DO YOU THINK THAT GOD GOT SO FRIGHTENED
FROM WHAT HE CREATED THAT HE MOVED TO HEAVENS IN ORDER TO KEEP DISTANCE
FROM HIS CREATURES?
-
Everyone sees God in his own way,that
is how it is and how it should be.
15.IF YOU WERE A FLY, WHERE WOULD YOU
LIKE TO BE AND WHY?
-
In Mexico because we think that it
is hotter than here.
16.IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO TRAVEL
BACK IN ANCIENT GREECE, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE AND WHICH PEOPLE WOULD
YOU LIKE TO MEET?
-
I don't want to travel back only forward.
17.IF YOU COULD ERASE SOMETHING FROM
THE WORLD, WHAT WOULD THIS BE?
18.WHAT TITLE WOULD YOU GIVE TO YOUR
CAREER TILL NOW THAT COULD SUM UP ALL YOUR EFFORTS?
19.THANK YOU! HAVE I FORGOTTEN TO ASK
YOU ANYTHING AND YOU'D LIKE TO MENTION?
Nick "William_Kidd" Parastatidis
|