Irish composer and performance artist NIMF (Aoibhín Redmond) has released her new single, Solar Excess Sacrificial Ecstasies, ahead of her album, Sirenoscape, in March. We asked her the BIG questions . . .
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Written, recorded, composed and produced in full by Redmond from her base in New Jersey, Sirenoscape is described as "an album of transmutation and transcendental terror".
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
I love weird fiction stories like those by Arther Machen and Algernon Blackwood. They try to convey something that is impossible to convey, and I think it's an interesting challenge to bring to music.
I make all of my music on my laptop using mostly free/cheap software. Whenever I spend money on gear I feel pressure to use it and my work can suffer, so I try to not purchase physical gear as it adds up quickly, and more often than not limits the textural range of a track. I like to have an infinite field of possibilities when starting a song. If I do purchase something it tends to be a plug-in with diverse applications.
I studied songwriting at BIMM Dublin and have a master’s in music and media technology from Trinity College Dublin.
How would you describe your music?
Music that aspires to mystic sensations, I’m keen to make my music as evocative as possible. I like the combination of rich melodic layering with minimal melodic movement to emphasise both a sense of hypnotic stasis and transformation over time using techniques of disintegration. My music has diegetic sounds, diegetic instruments and synthesised non-diegetic ambient elements. It’s a combination of folk music, dark ambient, hauntological techniques and maximalist instrumentation.
Who are your musical inspirations?
For my recent work I’ve been inspired by: Coil, Nurse with Wound, Laurie Anderson, Geinoh Yamashirogumi, The Caretaker, William Basinski, Susumu Hirasawa, Jim Guthrie, Hawkwind, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Swans, Philip Glass, Mihály Víg, Third Ear Band, Comus.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
I saw some pop acts, but the earliest gig that left an impression on me was Rush.
What was the first record you ever bought?
The first record I bought myself was the Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP OST by Jim Guthrie.
What’s your favourite song right now?
Offerings - Hilary Woods. I love the layers of mystery; it’s an incredible album!
Favourite lyric of all time?
Lux Aeterna - Lux Aeterna, György Ligeti. I love how the multiple voices singing the same lyric at different times disintegrates the lyric into a shimmer of voices.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
At the Heart of It All - Coil. This is a very hallucinatory and deeply atmospheric song that can be listened to on repeat.
Where can people find your music/more information?
My music is available everywhere under NIMF – Instagram, my website. Purchases on Bandcamp directly support artists.
Alan Corr
