Friday, July 14, 2017

NYN Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?

Well, the album's coming in pretty hot. I'm working on arranging promotion, release and distribution. Making videos and coordinating things. Tom ("Fountainhead" Geldschläger) has many projects, he's writing a book, making production tutorials and putting out videos on his youtube channel. He's also guesting on many projects and working on the new Amogh Symphony album. Jimmy (Pitts)'s working on some new The Fractured Dimension material. It all sounds great! I've also started writing some new material but that's far out in the future for now...


2.In August you have a new album coming out, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?


Well, I've always struggled with defining NYN's style somewhere between tech death and prog death. With the debut, I've tried to focus more on the tech stuff, but this time around I wanted to be more progressive. Longer songs, more riffs, and of course, keys and solos. Jimmy and Tom coming on board has changed the sound very significantly, and I hope one can hear that in the singles so far. The instrumentation is different for sure, but I think the overall approach is different as well. I've tried to experiment more on this album, pull in more influences across the spectrum, be it j-rock, surf, electronica, or my background in mediterranean and middle eastern music. In a way, this is closer to my original vision for the project. It's just that I'm finally able to achieve it thanks to having Jimmy and Tom on board with me.


3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the new album?


This sounds a bit cliche, but the core concept of the album is nihilism. Before you roll your eyes, let me say that it's not your typical "nothing matters, I just read Nietzsche" brand. I think one question that anyone who seriously considers this philosophy must ask themselves is what they really want out of life and how they find their purpose. The album tries to tackle these questions. Speaking in terms of physics, the universe is entropic. It will tend towards chaos. Any consistent philosophical model we try to build atop it will fail to be complete and accurate. But we can accept that, let it wash over us instead of letting the chaos spiral us out of control. Instead of trying to fit this chaotic, unpredictable and complex world into a textbook definition that surely won't fully be able encapsulate it, we should just accept that we can't define it. Through this, we can each purify ourselves of self-doubt and find purpose. That's where the title comes from. Entropy: of Chaos and Salt, where salt is the metaphor for purification. If you think that's a load of nonsense, just think about it as an exploration of meaning, one's journey to find purpose.


4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'NYN'?


It's really as simple as it sounds. I just removed the vowels from my name. I went through many iterations of names for the band. Clad in Apathy, Reborn in Apathy, The Anachronist, but in the end this name was simple, unique, and made for a cool logo.


5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?


The band has never played live, so I can't really answer here. I myself have played live in many other bands. I try to prioritize energy over being super precise when I play live. Usually, due to the live sound setup and the mood of the audience, minor technical mistakes kind of get lost when playing live, but conveying a stage presence makes a huge difference. So I go nuts. Move all around the stage, go into the audience, all that stuff. I'd like to be able to do a NYN show one day, but real life and distance gets in the way for now.


6.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?


See above.


7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?


Actually NYN isn't unsigned! We're in Vmbrella, Tom and Jimmy's label, among with other amazing and creative artists like Amogh Symphony. I've been in talks with labels before but in the end I value independence and I have all the freedom I want here.


8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of technical and progressive death metal?


The feedback to NYN has always been quite positive. It's really heart-warming. I think having a sound that's a bit off the beaten path helps define a unique niche for the project, and that is attractive to people. I've heard feedback from people all over the metal spectrum. The most common criticism I hear is that the material is too complicated or varied, but that's something that I take pride in, and many others have praised that as well, so I'm fine with that. Production was a criticism for the debut album since I self-produced it, but Entropy was mixed and mastered by Tom and it sounds amazing thanks to him. So I hope this album will make everyone even happier!


9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?


I think I mostly answered this with question #1. Tom is also in Defeated Sanity, and they're looking to tour again I think. Hopefully that happens soon!


10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?


I think I want to experiment even more with genre-bending and progressive writing. More elements from different styles, more complex songs that integrate motifs throughout, and more technical playing. It's ambitious, but I feel like there's no point in making a new album if I'm not going to try to one-up myself.


11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?


Nile is one of my biggest influences. Them and Psycroptic were my go-to when I was writing earlier material. These days, I take influence from a large variety of artists. For Entropy, there's a bunch of bands that I've specifically drawn from. A Sense of Gravity (two members are on the album!), Keep of Kalessin, Dream Theater, Dodheimsgard and Gods of Eden were bands that really inspired me. I think I have enough of a core sound at this point that I can keep writing in my way and have somewhere to go, but adding elements from different bands and genres helps the sound evolve. Speaking of different genres, flamenco, surf rock and j-rock were some other styles that directly influenced me here.


12.What are some of your non musical interests?


Well, I'm a computer scientist so anything programming interests me. Yep, I'm a nerd. Of course, I play video games, on all systems and across all genres. As it's clear from some of my lyrics, I'm into sci-fi reading and anime as well. I devour a lot of books, sometimes multiple in a week. Finally, I'm a huge cinephile. Everything from schlocky horror to pretentious indie movies or blockbusters. It just fascinates me to see how people behind the camera tell a story using framing, pacing, editing and more. A plain narrative can be made much more interesting through visual mastery.


13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?


I hope everyone enjoys Entropy as much as we enjoyed making it. I'm also releasing an instrumental version that you can get on bandcamp, and I heavily recommend checking that out as well. Jimmy has a lot of intricate key work that becomes a lot more apparent that way. We at Vmbrella also have some exciting post-release plans for the album, coming up with different interpretations of the material, so keep your eyes peeled for that as well! I know that sounds cryptic, but I promise it will be interesting!



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