INTRODUCING NONEXISTER
BAND SHARES VIDEO FOR “YOUR PAIN UP MY VEINS”
Photo: Tabea Hüberli
NONEXISTER thrive on the interplay of electronic energy and heavy catharsis. As if soundtracking an after-hours club at the end of the world, the Zurich, Switzerland band — Marco Neeser [electronics, songwriting, production], Nik Leuthold [vocals, songwriting, production], Reto “Fu” Gaffuri [bass], Siro Müller [drums, backing vocals], and Silvan Gerhard [guitar, backing vocals] — are like a pendulum swinging from moments of industrial ecstasy to moshpit-ready fits.
“The first album I bought was Computer World by Kraftwerk, and the second was No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith by Motörhead – which pretty much describes where I come from,” laughs Marco. “For me, creating music is about creating atmospheres. I like to conjure soundscapes. I try to bring beauty into noise. Nik has a different approach. He’s a songwriter, and he aims to tell stories. The lyrics are very important – and he’s an amazing singer. So, it’s a thrilling match.”
Their first single “Your Pain Up My Veins” boasts a chugging guitar riff with a driving beat and goth-inspired loops. Nik howls and wails as if awakening from a cryogenic freeze with a lust for control on his tongue.
Watch the engrossing, cinematic video here or by clicking below.
Nik explains, “The video by Elias Ressegatti is an artistic exaggeration, a metaphor of the song’s topic of abusing power as a drug. The main creature breeds new creatures from her own flesh in a kind of archaic incubator, in ecstatic frenzy. Then she feeds them and her old self to her own perfect replica, which walks out as the new and better version of herself. We understand that the cycle will begin again in not too much time, and again, and again… She walks literally over dead bodies for her satisfaction and alimentation.”
About the song, he continues, “The frenzy of power is a very human phenomenon on one hand, we all know it at least a little from our own lives. Already there it can cause a lot of harm. But in bigger scales, it’s quite dystopic for the world. And it’s quite common, mainly among rabble-rousers and potentates. Often when things in the foreground are driven by ideology, it just comes down to ego. I’m just trying to explain this from the point-of-view of a junkie trampling others to uplift himself.”
Marco adds, “This track — which was the first song we ever made — became a blueprint for NONEXISTER. It builds up to this wall of sound, but you still can hear the melodies within.”
Co-founders Marco and Nik drew on dynamic and distinct backgrounds at the onset of the project. Marco, the electronic maverick, honed his creativity and stage presence in the likes of Swandive, Division Kent, me.man.machine., and Glitter Wasteland, gracing the stages of major festivals and cities across Europe. Meanwhile, Nik powered the punk upstarts Catchpole, and he voices one of the robots of the ground-breaking robot band Compressorhead, for which John Wright, frontman of the Hanson Brothers and drummer for the legendary No Means No, writes the music and is the voice of the robot singer. Simultaneously, Nik has entrenched himself in Switzerland’s dynamic subculture scene including the legendary Wohlgroth and fostering the launch of initiatives such as independent cultural and political force Radio Stadtfilter.
Given the intimate nature of their hometown’s music community, Nik and Marco crossed paths many times through the years. After grabbing a drink one evening, they decided to collaborate in the studio, giving rise to NONEXISTER. The two artists went into Marco’s home studio and began creating songs for the first NONEXISTER album, eventually teaming up at New Sound Studio with producer Tommy Vetterli – the mastermind of Coroner and a member of legendary thrashers Kreator – who added another dimension to their production efforts. It was also Vetterli who brought the two together with guitarist Jonas Wolf, who played most of the guitars on the album, but has since handed over on NONEXISTER to his friend Silvan Gerhard to focus on his role within Eluveitie.
Stay tuned for more from NONEXISTER soon.
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