Can you give a brief introduction to Daemonia Nymphe?
Daemonia Nymphe were formed around 1994 by Spyros and Pantelis Giasafakis. Actually the idea of what was meant to be a band came in 1994. It was mainly a duo at that time and we wanted to compose music inspired by our county’s heritage. I was studying sculpture at that time and I was fascinated by the aesthetic of the ancient Greek art(Classical and Archaic period). We only used acoustic instruments and we were inspired musically by the old 4AD scene and traditional music of Greece and other European countries. Firstly we wanted to set to music myths and traditions of Greece. We finally set to music Orphic hymns which also guide us in composing our music. After releasing our first album “The Bacchic Dance of the Nymphs “ in vinyl in 1998 by a German label I met Nicholas Brass, an instrument manufacturer who listened to our music and decided to lend us some of the reproductions of ancient Greek instruments he made at that time. The rest is history.
The core of Daemonia Nymphe is formed by Spyros and Evi, how did you meet and what made you decide to start a band together?
Evi joined the band later, almost the same time I met Nicholas Brass. She is a musicologist and her knowledge helped us to improve in everything we did at that time. Pantelis left the band to form his own solo project “Arkane” which is still active today. So we continued as a duo me and Evi for some years and finally signed to a French label called Prikosnovenie. Using the reproductions of the ancient Greek instruments(made by Nicholas Brass who has managed to reproduce almost every ancient Hellenic instrument that we know of) gave a new approach to our sound.
How did you come with the music and visualstyle, did you have meetings before and talked it over or was it something that slowly grew?
We always wanted to combine visual act with sound in our performances. The ancient Greeks also did the same as music was mostly composed for theatre at that time. So we were much influenced by the ancient Greek theatre. Of course what we do is probably completely different but with Daemonia Nymphe we wanted to express our own aesthetical approach. A lot of people confuse what we do. We mainly compose and perform original music and we are most focused on this. Sometimes we perform fragments of ancient Greek music in our live shows and that’s it. In the future we might record fragments of ancient Greek music but this is another project of course.
What do you remember of the very early days, how was it create music and has it changed over the years, especially since you have grown musically and become more known?
A lot of things have changed and some haven’t. The media of the way music is presented changed. Fortunately we managed to release a vinyl which of course is better when you want to accompany your music with visual art. Unfortunately visual art was not so important when the cd came to the market and many people could copy the cds having the same sound with the original. Today that people download mp3s they are not even interested to download the whole album, many people just buy one song from the album or just download them illegally. So I think the difference is that before some years most of the people waited for the album to be released and then listened to it like they participated in a ceremony. The way we compose hasn’t changed that much, the only thing that has changed is that technology improved through the years .
What causes this development, is it becoming a better musician or also a personal grow?
Every period is different and we express ourselves according to our experiences and influences from the surroundings. The music is not necessarily better as years go by, but it is definitely different.
Someone that played an important role behind the screens is Nikos Brass, how did you get in contact with him and why is he so important?
As I have said before he listened to our first album and loved what we did at that time. He offered us his instruments and this helped us to find our sound.
There are many traditional Hellenic instruments that you use, what is your personal favorite and why is it your favorite?
We use traditional instruments and ancient ones. There is a big difference between these two categories. Traditional instruments are still active today as traditional music is still alive in Greece, especially in Crete and the rest of the Islands. The ancient instruments seized to exist for many years. Many instruments didn’t manage to survive because they were connected with the ancient Gods and Deities of Hellas. So using ancient Greek instruments today, after so many years of silence, gives a totally new approach to the way we compose and creates a unique sound.
Is there a difference on instruments you use in the studio and instruments you use on stage? I think some might not be too easy to use on stage?
No, we use almost all of the instruments we use in our recordings.
How are the songs of Daemonia Nymphe created, do you create them behind a computer, a guitar or during jam sessions, what is the role of other members, do they have an influence on it?
The main members are Spyros G. and Evi S. We compose orchestrate and perform the music ourselves. Other musicians contribute mainly performing instruments or sing and sometimes they give us some ideas like Alkinoos Ioannidis and Psarantonis did. The way we compose is not always the same.
Who are the current live members of Daemonia Nymphe?
The followers of Daemonia Nymphe have changed many times through the years that have passed. Although even today the session members are not always the same. At the moment the basic session members are : Evangelos Paschalides, Victoria Couper and Rob Archibald.
In 2005 there was an album released called Daemonia Nymphe remixed, how was it to give away your songs and let other people make a remix of it?
I really enjoyed that process. This is how it happened: I have been approached in the past to give samples of our songs to musicians, so that our music could be used for composing electro-acoustic compositions. The sound of the reproductions of ancient Greek instruments we use is extraordinary and could easily be used for contemporary music. This gave me the idea to approach musicians mostly from the electronic genre, so that our songs take a different form and re-birth, having a new result combining the ancient sounds with modern ones. All musicians who contribute to this work are some of our favourite, and each gives his own approach to our music, creating variety
Have you ever thought of having a sideproject, a totally different style of music?
Except Daemonia Nymphe remixed (www.myspace.com/daemonianympheremixed)
we released a CD called “Ghost Fish” with Louisa John Krol and Nikodemos Triaridis which is more rock oriented, you can hear some samples here www.myspace.com/ghostfishmusic. In 2003 I was invited by the French label Prikosnovenie to record music together with Louisa John Krol ,Francesco Banchini (Gor,Ataraxia) and Frederic Chaplain. The result of this collaboration was love sessions. Some samples here http://www.prikosnovenie.com/groupes/lovek.html In 2004 I released my personal Cd with improvisations in ancient Greek instruments with Christian Wolz ,Louisa J.K.and Evi Stergiou http://www.myspace.com/ancientgreekinstruments
I have also worked with other musicians like my friend Olaf from “Stoa” but haven’t released anything yet.
In 2007 you released your latest album: Krataia Asterope. How were the comments on it and how do you look back on it yourself? Was it a successful album in your eyes?
All I can say is that I am very satisfied with the result.
Now you released a live dvd, recorded at “La nuit des fees” who did come with the idea of doing this dvd?
It was the label’s idea.
The dvd shows Daemonia Nymphe as a band that pays a lot of attention to the visual aspect, did you do anything special for this dvd?
Every Daemonia Nymphe’s concert is different!
How did you prepare for this show, was it different because you knew they would record a dvd? Did you have a goal in mind like giving
viewers a good idea of what Daemonia Nymphe is all about? Was it hard to come up with a good setlist?
No, we did everything we do in any concert, changing as many things as we can everytime we perform. We didn’t even notice the cameras. We were not sure we were filmed and we were not sure that it would be released in a DVD. The setlist is what it is in each concert following a certain concept.
What do you think yourself of the dvd?
We are really satisfied, I don’t want to say many things about our work, it is up to the audience to speak about these things, our work is done here.
What will be next for Daemonia Nymphe?
Can’t say much about this either, we are not really into planning things. We compose, compose, compose…..
Any last words for the readers?
Thanks a lot for the support all these years!
Come and see us in Italy on the 10th of December 2010
www.myspace.com/daemonianymphe
www.youtube.com/daemoniaonymphe