A song that made you want to make music?
Marco: When I first heard Blue Monday by New Order, I realized that I wanted to buy a drum machine and a synthesizer, and when I first heard The Ace of Spades by Motörhead, I knew that there also has to be room for heavy distorted electric guitars.
Best rider you have had?
Marco: Uh, we’d better keep that a secret.
Craziest moment in the band?
Marco: This band is so young, there is still plenty of room for crazy moments. But I just remembered when we were on the road in a tour bus for hours with a previous band, and when we arrived in Bratislava in Slovakia, the organizer pointed to a small metal door on a hill. This metal door led to a complex tunnel system hundreds of meters long. It was a nuclear bunker from the Cold War era – the venue. Unfortunately, we couldn’t play the gig because our drummer at the time suffered from claustrophobia.
Nik: That makes me remember a story when I played in Brno, Czech Republic. We were booked for a festival, and it was a great gig. But they miscalculated the beds they needed for the bands and all hotels were already fully booked. So they booked rooms in a crappy brothel for us. We were happy to have our sleeping bags with us, we wouldn’t have wanted to sleep in these blankets. And it took us quite some work to explain to the ladies that we are not interested in additional services.
Deepest lyric one of your songs features?
Nik: “You know, the evil that frightens you, seems close and frightening because it’s… you!” that ends the song “How Do You Dare”. The song talks about victim blaming, not only in the context of sexualized violence but in general. All perpetrators from the little sadist to the mass murderer blame their victims. It is even a basic prerequisite for many atrocities. No holocaust without the invention of a Jewish conspiracy, no slavery without racist theories, etc… And it is always brought to the people with the help of fear. And driven by this fear and the false accusations against their victims, they become the monsters they think they are fighting in the first place.
Easiest song you wrote?
Marco: Definitely “Kater”. I just wanted to show Nik this fucked up bass and kick drum samples I created. While hammering on the pads of my AKAI MPC, Nik started to freestyle and the words floated like honey. After 15 minutes, the song was basically done.
Favourite song in your set?
Marco: That changes from time to time. You have a favorite song for a certain time, then the mood changes and another song suddenly gains importance again. Your Pain Up My Veins certainly occupies a special position. It was the first song Nik and I did together, it’s the opener of our debut album and was also the first song we played at our first gig. Somehow with this song, we created the blueprint of the NONEXISTER sound universe.
Guest you’d most like to feature on your record?
Nik: Mike Patton, Trent Reznor, Kim Gordon, PJ Harvey, Tom Waits
Hardest thing about being in a band?
Marco: Scheduling is a nightmare with five musicians. In this aspect, I envy solo artists and duos. How easy that must be.
Interesting fact about one of your members?
Marco: Nik is a passionate rock climber and has toured the world for both kinds of rock, the one in concert venues and the one in the mountains.
Jokes you have in the band?
Nik: Killing Jokes
Key to writing a song?
Marco: There are no fixed rules. I mostly start around the creation of sounds and atmospheres. Then this develops into a loop, Nik comes in and improvises with his voice, and when the magic happens the loop can turn into a song.
Nik: Let it flow, work intuitively. The best art happens when it can unfold without the restrictions in your head.
Longest distance you’ve travelled to play a show?
Marco: 6’320 km, from Zurich to NYC
Most inspiring musician you’ve experienced?
Marco: There are many. I admire artists who do their thing uncompromisingly and against all odds, who reinvent themselves over and over again, but who somehow remain true to the essence of their artistic expression. And these can be artists in very different genres. If I had to drop a few names, I would think of Nick Cave, Robert Smith, David Bowie, Trent Reznor, Al Jourgensen, Jello Biafra…
Nik: I agree, but let me add some very important ones to me… NoMeansNo, The Young Gods, JG Thirlwell (Foetus), Mike Patton, Melvins, Tom Waits…
New band you’d recommend?
Nik: Talk Show
Opening for this band would be ideal?
Nik: NONEXISTER for example
Place you’d most like to tour?
Nik: Northern Europe with Benelux, Germany, GB, Scandinavia, Poland
Quote that you’d like to pass on to our readers?
Nik: Try to be friendly to yourself, the people and the world around you. And stand up for the good cause, you can make a difference.
Reason for the title of your forthcoming release?
Nik: Demons is a journey through the unfathomable depths of human nature — that’s what the lyrics are about and that’s how it sounds. The songs all talk about the abysses in our heads, in our lives and in society and sometimes about existential threats. So the album talks about all kinds of demons, bigger and smaller ones. It is dramatic, possibly disturbing, sometimes ironic, and now and then, quite surprising.
See us live at?
Nik: Next gig is the main release show at Zentralwaescherei in Zurich on April 20
The old days of music were better than the current, do you agree?
Marco: No, not better, just different. Nostalgia doesn’t get anyone anywhere, and you can still achieve a lot today if you put your heart and soul into it. And the internet is not all bad. It gives us the opportunity to easily connect with fans all over the world in a way that would never have been possible in the past.
Unusual merchandise?
Marco: To be honest – I’m not that much into unusual merchandise. As a band, you need a cool t-shirt, a hoodie, and a zipper hoodie – that’s it.
Nik: I once bought a notebook on the street in Colombia made of old vinyls. I would love to make something like that, but I don’t know when. You have to do this by hand and it’s a lot of work.
Variations you’d like to do on one of your songs?
Nik: Singing “Head In A Hole” together with a strong and rough female voice
What do your fans mean to you?
Nik: A lot… they share our passion, they appreciate what we do, they are the ones we rely on.
X-rays or any other treatments needed for band injuries?
Nik: Not yet
You’re late for a show, whose fault is it?
Nik: Mine, always… I’m horrible.
Zoo animal that best describes the personality of your band?
Marco: Animals should be free to live in the wild, not in zoos. And so is our music, without stylistic restrictions or cages.
Nik: Jabberwocky