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Daemonia Nymphe - It is a struggle working on a new project but it’s such a satisfaction when something is completed that it makes us seek for more inspiration Aanbevolen

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Daemonia Nymphe - It is a struggle working on a new project but it’s such a satisfaction when something is completed that it makes us seek for more inspiration

Daemonia Nymphe’s music for the Shakespearean play ‘Macbeth’ composed in 2016 for the National Theatre of Northern Greece, certainly goes beyond the rest of their works, however their own particular style is still evident throughout the album. One of the compositions that stood out is “Witches’ Lullaby” which, in this new project, serves as an inspiration and a starting point for collaborations with female vocal artists from around the world with whom the band shares the same artistic vision.  Japanese Hatis Noit, Spanish Priscilla Hernandez, British Victoria Couper and Rey Yusuf improvise on the same melody creating an artistic piece that captures their unique interpretation of “Witches’ Lullaby”. We wanted to find out more about this special project, as well as this new release, and had a nice conversation with the band about it. Read all about it below:

First of all, tell us a little bit about yourselves; who are Daemonia Nymphe? How did everything start and when
It all started back in 1994 by me and my brother Pantelis, when we decided to give a ‘specific’ stigma of our identity through the remains of our city’s ancient culture. Mythology and art of ancient Greece always fascinated us and the way that it was ‘touched’ by contemporary Greeks was not something that appealed to us, we felt that there was space for something new, this investigating and studying the past became a means of creating something contemporary, an attempt to continue a fascinating culture or even re-create a modern approach from the ashes of it’s past. Of course, through the course of time and while working on various different projects, with artists of different cultures, our inspiration grew more and more, incorporating new elements from various sources.

Does the name 'Daemonia Nymphe' have an underlying meaning?
Daemonia Nymphe means Divine Nymph as ‘Daemon’ (Δαίμων)  in ancient Greek means God, deity, divine. We wanted to connect the feminine power with the ancient meaning of the notion of the divine. 

What are the highs (and lows) over the years?
Well, I can’t say what the highs and lows are specifically; all I can say is that creating a work of art takes a lot of struggle and pain for its completion. However, it is worth taking the journey (of art), as the experience of life grows longer. The longer the journey is, the better experience you get through the course of your life.

Going back to 1998 and the "Bacchus' dance of the Nymphs", we see clearly the ancient Greek element. Elefsina and Delphi are the most respected sites in Greek territory, as highlighted after the end of the Persian wars. What is your relationship with the ancient Greek religion?
We are interested in the religion in terms of its practice because it defines the artistic aspect of any particular era especially in the West. We wouldn’t inherit these majestic temples and glorious sculptures, stadiums and theatres if there wasn’t an organized religion taking place in ancient times. Then again life would find a way for its miracles so I can’t say that it wouldn’t happen otherwise but it definitely adds up to the whole mosaic of the miracle of art.

Daemonia Nymphe's music for the Shakespearean play 'Macbeth' composed in 2016 for the National Theatre of Northern Greece, certainly goes beyond the rest of their works, however their own particular style is still evident throughout the album? Is this statement correct or is it also a bit simplistic?
Although Daemonia Nymphe are part of our culture as our identity is Greek and thus everything we do is defined by our identity, we occasionally find ways to escape it and move further to other fields. The play ‘Macbeth’ was one of these occasions where we had to position ourselves in the fantastic as well as realistic fields of Scotland, in a tragedy written by William Shakespeare who is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language.

In general there are many occult aspects in your music? Right? Or am I wrong?
I would say that we are very much interested in the afterlife and the journey that one has to make until his final destination as it is explored through our “Psychostasia” work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-dRm8Hx-uI

The reason of this interview is the new album 'Witches' Lullaby', is it some kind of concept album? What can we expect?
Besides, our ‘regular’ albums, we always work on various other projects whether they are side-projects, music for theatre or solo work. In this case we wanted to invite female artists of different cultures to interpret their own lullaby based on our “Witches’ Lullaby” which we composed for the play ‘Macbeth’ thus creating an album of female lullabies from around the world. We are interested in the work that speaks to people from around the world rather than music that would only appeal to a specific ethnic group such as our own.

This EP is actually a collaboration based on an old melody so not a completely new work but a re-work with other artists? Can u tell me more about it?
Yes, as I said before, it is a collection of lullabies sung by female artists, a new side-project that we wanted to work on, as we regularly do, in between the main albums of Daemonia Nymphe. For this project we invited the Japanese vocal artist Hatis Noit, the British/Portuguese singer/musician Victoria Couper, The Spanish singer/songwriter Priscilla Hernández and the British/Cypriot singer/songwriter Rey Yusuf.  Evi Stergiou of Daemonia Nymphe participates with her own version of the lullaby.

Let's also talk about this pandemic we are still living in, are there any plans that can't go ahead?
If you mean regarding our work with Daemonia Nymphe, it’s of course the live shows that can’t go ahead at the moment.

I've heard in interviews that these times have been a rest for musicians, where they found strength to write new music. Is it the same for you guys?
Well, I can’t say that it helped us to compose more music as this is something that we do on a regular basis whether we are working on a specific project or just gathering ideas. It definitely helped us to develop our home studio though as it is easier to work at home these days.

When I listen to your music, I long to see it live. Does your music come out even better on stage?
Well, you have to experience that yourself, ,as I can’t speak on behalf of our audience. There are quite a few videos that may help you with your quest though. I would suggest to watch the following:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjjxtDQOn1o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTM2Zn-9b0c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGP8h8_uD5M

Playing live is not an option for the time being, not even for the release of your new album. Are there any plans for streaming?
No, not really, we were approached by various festivals but it’s not something that we want to do, at least not at the moment.

What are the further plans for the band actually?
Well, after the release of the “Witches’ Lullaby” EP, I am going to focus on my solo album under my name. We have been working for a long time for the next official Daemonia Nymphe album but it seems that it will take even more time for its completion, as we still haven’t finished composing the work.

Are there still goals or ambitions after all these years? Something you absolutely want to achieve as a band and as a musician?
Well, the journey is always the goal so it is a never-ending experience really. It is a struggle working on a new project but it’s such a satisfaction when something is completed that it makes us seek for more inspiration. Working with other artists, collaborating on different projects is always something that fascinates us.

To conclude, where and how can people buy your merchandiser? please put some links below, and thanks for the nice chat

Well, we are very slow regarding this process as we have always been working with other labels that settled the merchandise for us. It is definitely something that we need to set up soon; for now though people can connect with us via: https://daemonianymphe.bandcamp.com/
All news about the band can be found on our official fb page https://www.facebook.com/DaemoniaNympheOfficial

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