Zürich-based band Nonexister release their new single “A Promise in the Air” today.
The single is accompanied by an extraordinary video. Watch it below.
Nonexister have also announced their debut album “Demons”, which will be released on March 15th, 2024, via the band’s own label (distributed by The Orchard) digitally, as CD, and as 2xLP gatefold vinyl (180g), including a bonus track.
After dropping “Your Pain Up My Veins”, “Drowning in the Void”, and “How Do You Dare”, the last of which was released in September, “A Promise in the Air” is the fourth single release from the now-announced debut album.
Producer and multi-instrumentalist Marco Neeser says about the new single: “‘A Promise in the Air’ is the antithesis of a pop song. It is long, it builds up slowly, it leads the listener astray by beginning with a pulsating synth line and seductive, intimate vocals, and then finally dissolving into an epic finale of guitars”.
Singer Nik Leuthold adds: “The song is about the raging night of an impossible love, about two people who burn brightly when they get close to each other, but each burn in this fire. Now, they meet again and try to keep control this time and escape the maelstrom. But once again, they are each other’s drug and plunge into this maelstrom, powerless and yet open-eyed, surfing through the night in a mixture of frenzied desire, overwhelming happiness, and deep despair. They know where it will end and yet they can’t keep their hands off each other. An unstoppable tidal wave of laughter and tears, lust, hope, and despair sweeps them away, leaving devastation again in its wake”.
The video was directed by Natasha Vavrina in Italy. Leuthold says: “Natasha Vavrina has done a fascinating job. First of all, by convincing us to make a dance video, which was certainly not our first thought. But based on other dance videos she’s done and a wonderful concept, we understood what it could be, and dance is a great vehicle for this storm of emotions that the song is about. Madoka and Gil are incredibly great dancers and Paleta’s choreography wonderfully brings out the moods of such a desperately lustful night. The place where the video begins and ends is the ruins of a club somewhere in the sticks of Italy, abandoned for 20 years and long since overgrown by nature. I came across a photo of it on the internet. It’s a perfect location for this story, because that’s exactly what it is: big emotions in ruins”.
Nonexister thrive on the interplay of electronic energy and hard catharsis. The band’s very first single “Your Pain Up My Veins” was released in March 2023, with a spectacularly dark video starring actress Carol Schuler. Second single “Drowning in the Void” followed in June, with an equally cinematic and highly sophisticated video. Sonic whirlwind “How Do You Dare” came next in September 2024, its video featuring rising British theatre/TV star Selina Jones (Kaos, Raised By Wolves), who won “Best Female Actor in a Play” at the 2022 Black British Theatre Awards. As if they were blasting an after-hours club in the middle of nowhere, the group, consisting of 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), swing like a pendulum between moments of industrial ecstasy and moshpit-worthy outbursts.
On March 15th, 2024, the debut album Demons” will finally be released.
Leuthold says: “I am beyond happy that our debut album ‘Demons’ is finally ready to be released in spring 2024. It has been a long journey to get there and I am very proud of the result. The collaboration with Marco is a great fortune that brings us both to worlds where we wouldn’t have got by ourselves. And so many great people helped shape the final product, tweak every detail, so that the baby is now a true beauty”.
He continues: “‘Demons’ is a journey through the unfathomable depths of human nature — that’s what the lyrics are about and that’s how it sounds. It is dramatic, possibly disturbing, sometimes ironic, and now and then, quite surprising. There are many pumping grooves, perfect for the moshpit, but there are these eerie, strange things as well, that gnaw on your brain. The lyrics orbit all around human behavior. They are often socially critical, but sometimes as well just poetic and personal views on the abysses in our heads”.
The album was recorded at Marco’s home studio and at New Sound Studio with producer Tommy Vetterli, known as the mastermind of Coroner and member of legendary thrashers Kreator, adding another dimension to the production. Vetterli also composed the backings and adlibs together with Leuthold.
Tracklist:
1. Your Pain Up My Veins
2. Drowning in the Void
3. How Do You Dare
4. A Promise in the Air
5. Where Does Your Mind Go
6. Kater
7. Storm
8. Head in a Hole
9. What a Lie
10. Flying with the Crows
11. 2048
“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”.
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 forthcoming album, but has since handed over on Nonexister to his friend Silvan Gerhard to focus on his role within Eluveitie.
Nonexister are 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].
Weblinks:
www.facebook.com/nonexister.band
nonexister.bandcamp.com
