1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the solo project?
Nefarious Mash is the one man band I founded after I finished my musical studies, to compose black metal with a lot of different influences and approaches. Not to put heterogeneous styles or parts next to each other, but to build a language made of what I want to hear the most in this genre, with many other horizons infusing it. I’d say this project is a black metal musical colorant made to dye matter that comes far beyond it.
2.In November you had released your first full length, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that you went for on the recording?
I always wanted to combine both of what I like the most in black metal : the savage power of something brutal and very frontal, and the richness and surprising vocabulary avant-garde can make. As my taste is really driven by harmony, I went for an extended approach of chords (with some colors taken from contemporary music and jazz). As a result you can hear very dissonant « harmonic cathedrals » provided by a very thick, powerful and frontal wall of sound. Also, because I have a rhythmic sensitivity, I decided to punctuate those harmonic constructions with a few polyrhythmic surprises between all instruments here and there. To summarize the style : a brutal crushing wall of sound of refined harmonic material.
3.The lyrics on the album where also inspired by the writings of Nietzsche, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this philosopher and also do you have any interest in other philosophers?
When I started reading his work, I was immediately seduced by his non-transcendental approach of morality. For me, his genealogy of what is perceived as good and evil by men helps a lot to understand where many (pre)conceptions we have come from, and to realize how much the way we are fueled with sad passions (especially resentment) drives our behaviour. Also, you can see his description of our penchant for inventing transcendant ideals (that we use to deny a reality we want to flee) at almost every corner. For the second part of your question, as I used the term « sad passions », people can guess that I’m also heavily influenced by Spinoza, especially his ethics. I’m also very interested in the work of Gilles Deleuze for the way he built bridges between art and philosophy and Michel Foucault for his work around disciplinary regimes and viewer society. But even more, I think one of the biggest philosophical influences I have is the Frankfurt school, with the very classic Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno, resonating a lot with the contemporary work of Hartmut Rosa around the social acceleration of modern society (and the resulting alienation). I also find very stimulating the work of Ludwig Wittgenstein around logic, language and thought.
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name "nefarious Mash'?
After having studied music in college and at the conservatory, I wanted to emphasize the way my black metal would be infused with different inspirations. Putting lots of influences into one medium always made me think about cooking and mashing different ingredients together. They are your influences and the unique matter you make out of them is the language I talked about earlier. That’s the mash. And because it’s about something rough, brutal and dissonant, nefarious was the best adjective to describe it in my opinion.
5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
Sure. In this artwork, the door is the symbolic ideal of what people want to believe about themselves and flee towards, to escape the reality of their true nature they can’t stand. The more they become aware of their flaws and behavioral poisons (that I describe in the lyrics), the more their disgust grows and eats them away, so they have to compensate for it with a way out. The door is this symbolic way out. The deeper they go into denial, the bigger the door of escape is, to a point that it becomes a grotesque monument out of human scale. Also, the fact that every single person becomes ever more desperate and violent while fleeing, means they are all engaged in a battle with themselves, so hard they can no longer pay attention to anyone else around them. As a result, you have savage riots of people losing their minds, running towards illusions even if they have to selfishly crush their fellows to get there. This door can also be seen as a mirror in which everyone wants to see the reflection that suits their delirium the best.
6.With this project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?
As I’m also a composer of classical/contemporary music, I’m very into composing solo and I couldn’t make gigantic compromises to please someone else. That’s why I compose everything and perform guitars and vocals. For the drum I just compose and use a software, as I can’t play it. For future recordings I would like to hire a session drummer to perform the drum parts I compose. Same with other instruments I can’t play, if I want to add some. And of course if it happens, like in contemporary music when I talk to performers, I would gladly take their instrumentalists advice/suggestions into account ! Because working that way doesn’t distort or compromise your vision, it greatly improves your composing skills !
7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?\
At this very exact moment, I am indeed looking for a label. I had one proposition, but I have to discuss the terms to know what kind of deal I can get exactly. I’m still open to suggestions.
8.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of avant garde black metal?
So far so good ! From what I read people seem to like it quite a bit. What I read the most is they find it very crazy and refreshing, which is great ! That being said, I know I am in a very niche territory and I don’t have the support of a label yet. So it will take time (and more albums!) to reach more people and have a bigger picture of what they think about my black metal.
9.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician during the future?
Regarding metal, I can tell you that In Memory of Your Hopes is just the beginning. I have plenty album ideas in mind and ways to explore craziness and brutality in my pockets, in less conventional ways. However, I want to stress immediately and as much as possible that all my next albums WON’T BE In Memory of Your Hopes number two, three, four etc ! For me an album is an entity, another album is another one, so I won’t do the same over and over as I hate bathing in any kind of comfort zone. It will still be a brutal avant-garde black metal (with maybe a few exceptions), but done in different ways every time. I will go all in and take risks, surprise, unsettle or even disgust people. I can’t wait ! Of course because it’s still me behind the music there will be things in common, I don’t pretend to discover new ways to boil water, but you get the point. Outside of Nefarious Mash, I will also compose more contemporary and electroacoustic music. Always more diversity, more opus composed, fulfilling my dreams in the most satisfying way while being relatively unknown and living under the minimum wage haha !
10.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?
Before answering your question I have to say that not only music has a big influence on me. I couldn’t say what doesn’t in fact. Poetry, paintings, philosophy (as you saw earlier), arthouse cinema, video-games, theatre, dance, people and of course music (and concerts). All of that influences and transforms me. And because art (and here music) is a part of me that I put on the table, so those things all influence and transform my music too. Regarding music specifically, I listen to european music from the 10th to the 21st century (plain chant of christian monks and composers like Josquin des Prez, Schoenberg, Scriabin, Debussy, Bartok, Bach, Ohana and many more), jazz, synthwave, blues, electro-acoustic, concrete music, lofi, traditional musics from Africa, Japan, Mongolia, India, Tibet, and of course, metal. That’s how I have almost infinite ways of making black metal in my mind. Regarding metal my favorite bands are Gorgoroth, Meshuggah, Darkspace, Ad Nauseam and Kriegsmaschine. You can see metal is a very small part of what influences me, as I think opening your mind to other styles and arts is the best way to create something really personal, something that gets off the beaten track !
11.What are some of your non musical interests?
I am really fond of video-games (mainly hardcore ARPG’s and Rogue lites on PC), I play a lot since I’m a child. You know I enjoy reading philosophy, but I also love literature and especially : poetry. In addition to composing music and writing lyrics, I write French poetry (versification and prose). I haven’t released a poetry collection yet, but I intend to. I also go to the film library of my town watching arthouse cinema quite often. I like to dance salsa with friends and to swim in open waters as well.
12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
As I said, I will always try to bring something personal, a bit « off the track ». I won’t try to rub people up the right way. By definition, I won’t be able to please everyone. What I expect is just making them feel strongly the aesthetic I put into music. As long as they can feel the work behind what they hear (even without understanding it), being in love or being disgusted is part of the deal. After all, that’s how exchanges are the most enriching. I do believe we all gladly signed for it !
https://nefariousmash.bandcamp.com/album/in-memory-of-your-hopes
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