Amazing interview with NASH, a metalcore project.

 

   

Check out this incredible interview and learn more about NASH:

What initially inspired you to create NASH and delve into the cyberpunk universe?

Since I was very young, I have been passionate about technology and music. I always had "the dream" of being able to compose absolutely everything I wanted on computers with virtual instruments. But at the time, being able to compose via computer required a lot of time, very powerful and expensive machines and there was no possibility of having guitar VSTs or the emulations were really bad, I'm talking to you about that about 20 years ago.

I have evolved through different musical styles throughout my life as a musician. I have long wanted to combine the meeting of metal with the "raw" side of synthesizers to immerse the listener in this cyberpunk universe. Typically, "Doom" is in my opinion an example that could illustrate this process.

How do you see NASH contributing to the evolution of metalcore and its fusion with technology?

I have a small partnership with SUNO. AI which is an A.I that generates music. I only use it to generate voice that I incorporate around my composition, in this sense, I participate in the evolution of tomorrow's music. I think that the Japanese were the precursors with holographic virtual artists like in visual kei and tomorrow, with the expansion of AI like SUNO, we will see the emergence of them as if they were beings made of flesh and of blood !

I don't know if I'll one day take off in the metalcore scene but in any case I try to bring something different and original.

Can you elaborate on how you integrate synthetic elements from underground scenes into your music, and what influences these elements draw from?

The most complicated thing is actually adding synthesizer elements, you have to feel "the vibe" that emerges from the song to add the synths which will blend perfectly with the song. It takes a lot of time and I feel a bit like a chemist in a laboratory, I combine several elements until I find the right one. The dark electro scene/aggrotech demonstrates through its artists that there is no shortage of ideas, they inspire me a lot.

Also, I always immerse myself in a cyberpunk universe, fan of the Directors : Denis Villeneuve and Ridley Scott, I easily immerse myself in this world of images to project my creations, my search for inspiration. I would even add image AI also becomes a resource to exploit, you may have noticed but all my single covers in my project were generated by an AI.

What challenges have you faced in blending virtual instruments with the human voice, and how have you overcome them?

It's not in terms of VSTIs that I encountered challenges, it's more in the mixing of drum and guitar. On the one hand because I'm a total neophyte in this area, I tried as hard as I could to make it sound like a big sound. On the other hand, having an emulated guitar requires having a complete "signal chain" for it to sound: amp, eq etc.... And there it's the same, basic keyboard player I don't know anything about it at all so just like the search for synth sounds, I tried for months to make both sounds correctly. I'm really proud of the result, of course for purists it's far from perfect, but I tell myself that for a solo guy who doesn't know anything about it: the result is honest.

For the voice, it took me more than 4 years to find a singer who held up. I mean, finding singers isn't the hardest thing. It's finding serious people on a human level that caused me the most concern: you can't imagine how hard is… you can find singers who tell you "I love your music, I want to do a feat on it !” and then... you compose something for them, ask some news and suddenly becomes an embarrassing radio silence. I'm going to sound a little harsh, but I find that singers today are really starlets who want everything without making the slightest effort upstream, or on longevity.

But I believe that complacency and laziness is a more general problem in our societies. During these 4 years, I wasted a lot of time with one in particular who brought me more trouble than added value to my compositions, this guy is the perfect stereotype of personal sufficiency, a sort of "golem dreamers" as we say in French. But allowed me to open my eyes to what I really wanted and what I no longer wanted.

This is also why I launched my solo project, I had a few groups before but often complacency, immaturity, hypocrisy take precedence over the desire to really share a group of musicians. I think that for many musicians who find themselves faced with this type of problem, artificial intelligence will solve this...

Which specific aspects of renowned bands like Bad Omens, Bring Me the Horizon, Erra, Make Them Suffer, and I See Stars have influenced NASH's sound the most?

Creativity. What makes a band famous? In my opinion: originality, creation and a voice that stands out from the ordinary. Singing is one thing, performing is another.

For me, these groups are creators who think outside the box to offer listeners a world of sound far from a standard group of which there are plenty.

Could you shed some light on the process of generating lyrics using a personalized language model and how these lyrics contribute to the thematic depth of NASH's music?

You can find a bunch of royalty-free AI models on “huggingface”. I'm not going to tell you which one I have, it's my little secret but in any case we're going through an incredible period within reach: you can nab an AI that generates text like another that generates sound or even tell you if you have cancer!

Not being a good lyricist at all, having an AI capable of producing lyrics was a small challenge and a way to extend my project on a technical level.

My current singer also does a lot of production work. I mean, he doesn't change any lines at all, he adapts them to his melodies/rhythms.

In what ways do the themes of humanity and technology interact within NASH's music, and what messages do you hope listeners take away from these explorations?

I try to project all the current and future problems of our societies in my compositions. I don't forbid myself any themes! But one of the “biggest” ones is the future of machines. People today do not realize how much everything will change in the coming years. They think it will happen in 20 years or 30 years... but the change is happening now. Machines, whether AI or automatons, are progressing at lightning speeds and little by little, they are replacing humans.

Laurent ALEXANDRE talks about it very well in these books and he tries to awaken the consciences of people but also of politicians. Look, a few days ago NEURALINK announced that it had chipped a human and did you see it? He can play, move a certain number of elements on his PC.

So if tomorrow we do not train the new generations, if we do not carry out transformations in the training and ability of people to adapt to AI, we will have a "mass" stupidized by advertising and consumerism incapable of mastering the AI tool. We could talk about it for a long time but the Cyberpunk universe that you can find in Blade Runner or Ghost in the Shell is, in my opinion, what awaits us tomorrow more than a world that would like to balance in the name of pseudo fairness.

What kind of experience do you aim to create for your audience during live performances, considering the immersive nature of NASH's music?

So that... I have lots of ideas, but I need money, ha ha! I have in mind to do live shows but before I can think about the show, I will already try to find Humans in symbiosis (:

Can you describe the significance of the blurred boundaries between the real and the virtual in NASH's musical universe, and how this concept influences your creative process?

As I told you, I don't believe this world is utopian. It's just an anticipation of the world of tomorrow. And all these issues nourish my creativity. My job is computer engineering and access to the digital world is partly a source of influence: it remains atoms which activate according to the binary orders that we send and yet it produces sound waves which, when combined, become music.

The synths are incredibly powerful in my ears, all these sounds transport me, create a soundscape, this is how the ideas start to come!

Looking ahead, what future developments or collaborations do you envision for NASH, both musically and conceptually, as you continue to explore the intersection of music and technology?

I remain open to all suggestions. I've been doing a bit of promotion recently, and I have a small label that wants a lineup, so I'll start with that. For the rest, as indicated on my insta: if singers are interested in doing a collab, I am definitely willing!

I will also continue my project with SUNO and I will see. I don't worry, I do things according to my desires and the opportunities that open up to me. I love music, I love writing and that’s all that matters. My deepest desire with NASH is to share this with people who are sensitive to this style. Afterward, whether it doesn't work or not in the end, I don't care as long as I enjoy doing this in my studio.

If you discover my project, if you liked it: spread the word and share my linktree: https://nash.ws

Thank you for this interview: "The World is built in a wall that separates kind. Tell either side there's no wall, you've bought a war"

Is this so far from what we are experiencing?

Nash

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Amazing Interview with Maxi Curnow, Check it!

Hi Maxi! Congratulations on the release of your new single, 'Beautiful Shell'! Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind the song?

It’s a lot to do with technology moving so fast, it can feel like whiplash sometimes. We are at this huge technological turning point in humanity, which I find both exciting and terrifying! This song is about that balance.

You've worked with notable artists and projects in your role as a mastering engineer, and as a product developer for Spitfire Audio. How do these experiences contribute to your own artistic growth and development?

My background in working intimately with audio from the likes of Hans Zimmer, Ólafur Arnalds and Charlie Clouser is very inspiring as it exposes the bounds of what’s possible, and the incredibly unique signature, flavour and character that an individual can bring to various sounds. That kind of influence on audio is so special, something to behold, and it’s certainly inspired the way I compose music.

As for Mastering and writing, working with Rabea Massaad, despite him being a long time friend and collaborator, never ceases to inspire new ways of thinking and producing music. He’s truly an ongoing influence as the various iterations of his music always speak to me - particularly from a musical standpoint where his ear and note choices are second to none!

Your music has been featured in a variety of TV and film productions. Is there a particular project or collaboration that stands out to you as a memorable experience?

Louis Theroux’s “Dark States”. That was so moving for me because I’ve absolutely loved his work for years, and those documentaries had been a huge inspiration for me growing up. Netflix’s “Cable Girls” and “Ouro Verde” also, because it was an incredible feeling to know that the music is heard internationally across a variety of genres and shows - When I started out years ago, that had always been the dream!

As a composer, producer, and filmmaker, you have a diverse range of skills. How do you balance these different creative outlets in your work?

A mixture of all three is an ideal combo, and the most fun means of storytelling in my opinion. I feel like they all inform one another - composing for TV has informed me as to how music can add to narrative. Production and sound design also enhances that massively, and visually we can say so much without exposition in dialogue - I love blending the three, although it is a tricky balance. I’ve made visuals to accompany music, I’ve made music to accompany visuals, and had them in equal parts. I think mastering a unique mixture is the goal for me going forward.

Your background as a firefighter and trauma care medic is quite unique. How have these experiences influenced your approach to storytelling through music and film?

I think it flipped my priorities for sure. After seeing incidents on that job, it felt more important to use music to achieve something. At the time I fused a short film about a car accident with a song of the same theme, which went to be used for national safety campaigns which felt fantastic, as it was like a safety video in disguise!

I dare say that what I experienced in that job added intensity to what I make now, and I want to use it to create solidarity for shared struggles, and to help in some way.

I'm curious about your upcoming album. Can you give us any hints about what we can expect in terms of themes or musical direction?

I’m excited to mix it up. I like genre mashing and have previously done a mix of blues, rock, singer/ songwriter to metal and prog! So I’m excited to see where I can take that, I’d love to write some more anthem style commercial songs - I love technical writing, but I feel that paradoxically, there’s far more challenge in writing a simple yet excellent song!

With 'Beautiful Shell,' you delve into the impact of technology on human evolution and well- being. What inspired you to explore this theme, specifically focusing on fears surrounding artificial intelligence?

I think it’s an exciting yet unsettling time to be alive right now. I’ve become more aware of a sense that social media is steering us, me, ever so subtly - and that’s concerning if we’re not aware of it! I think technology gives so much, but it also takes away. For me, I have a sense that it’s moving faster than we can keep up with and it felt important to put into a song. “Beautiful Shell” is online persona. The song is a remember that despite social media pressure; “It’s enough to be yourself”.

Your music is often described as blending vivid and pop-inspired hooks with progressive composition and modern technicality. How do you approach merging these different elements to create your unique sound?

My background in production music really informs how I write prog. I love complexity in music, however it always felt important to have a central theme or melody holding things together, especially if the music is very hectic! It's tough because frantic music leaves little room for a hooky top line, so I’ve made it a challenge to myself to experiment with both in the same song.

Can you share any insights into your creative process when it comes to writing and producing music? Do you have any particular rituals or techniques that help you get into the right mindset?

Composition is often determined by a good brief, and a good interpretation of that brief. I often love to find sounds first, that will usually inspire a melody, which inspires rhythm, and then you are off! Rock/Metal is sometimes more difficult if you only have guitars/drums/bass/vocals etc to play with - then it really relies on either a fantastic hook or instrumental technicality. When I start with guitar, the song usually ends up being very technical and proggy. If I start with a vocal hook, it’s more poppy/ commercial. If I ever get stuck, I try to write with an instrument I’m less familiar with, and that can be a great means of breaking out of a block! Recently, being less and less of a perfectionist is definitely helping me get more done.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions, Maxi! Is there anything else you'd like to share with your fans and listeners before we wrap up

I hope you enjoy the new song, and I’m excited to share more with you soon! 

https://www.instagram.com/maxicurnow/

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm14998423/

https://open.spotify.com/track/04QezanvV5q2rJIA6Myc0e?si=68434f0590dc4e28

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