Interview with Nigh/T\mare

by Stina Isabel Gavrilin

At this year’s first party on February 17th, Italian industrial/experimental techno artist Giuseppe Sciretti, alias Nigh/T\mare, will perform with a live set. In anticipation of that, he took time to talk a little bit about his musical identity and the past, present and future of the project. Your sound is a combination of deep introspection and ancestral rituals. How do you translate personal feelings of distress into a ceremonial language, what’s the relationship between the two?

— I've always believed that music pushes you on an inner journey. This leads me to experience it in a more spiritual, almost religious way, inevitably forcing me to confront my emotions.

How significantly have nightmares impacted your creations? Have any of the recurrences made their way into the music thematically?

— My concept of a nightmare is not limited to the meaning of a dream only as the psychic activity that takes place during sleep, I believe that life is the real nightmare, it's all those negative emotions, sensations and vibrations that inevitably make part of everyday life and which reflect on me and my unconscious, feeding and influencing my dreams, creativity and my music…

Since I was a child I frequently suffered from episodes of sleep paralysis, this was certainly an important aspect in the choice of my name and my project, so much so that I dedicated an EP named anonymously to the phenomenon ''Hypnagogia'' released on Thrènes records in 2018.

How important is ideology in your music? Is there a fixed philosophy to accompany mysticism?

— For me, ideology is everything, getting to create a precise sound identity is what I have always tried to do... Always trying to be faithful to my concept, my ideas and trying to distinguish myself from other artists.

There is seemingly a pretty big contrast between the brooding gloom of your music and your country of origin, Italy. What influenced you to dive into a darker sound in the first place?

— I don't think there is a particular geographical place where an artist can find an outlet in something darker and more introspective, it is life that can lead you to embrace the dark…

Are you familiar with the works of a fellow Italian composer, Giacinto Scelsi? At a certain point in his career, he had very much a dark ambient approach to sound. Has that impacted you in any way?

— Of course, I love Scelsi's compositions, we can define him as a visionary given the date of his creations and the period in which he used to approach classical music; He is certainly one of the composers who most pushed me to deepen and love the world of orchestral and cinematic music, characterized by acoustic instruments approached in a more experimental way... A cornerstone of my musical vision.

Some years ago, you pointed out the genre Frenchcore being the main catalyst that made you interested in electronic music. Which artists or genres keep you interested and give you inspiration today?

— Haha yes, you searched hard as far as I can see!

In recent years, as an alternative to electronics, I like to listen and find a lot of inspiration in folk music, from the traditional African songs of Fadimoutou Wallet Inamoud, to the Norwegian Wardruna…

In the world of electronics, the artists that most influence me are Ben Frost, Lustmord, Pact Infernal, The Haxan Cloak, Belief Defect, Seconde Spectre, Restive Plaggona, Tomohiko Sagae, Mz.412, Corona Barathri and many others…

If you weren’t making music or DJing, what would your everyday look like? Could you imagine expressing yourself and your stories by any different means?

— I’ve always been fascinated by art in general… Maybe I would have had a penchant for photography or general graphic art but I don't think I would ever take anything as seriously as I did with music.

This will be your first ever show in Estonia. What are your expectations and what can we expect?

— Yes, I'm very excited about this :) I'm already sure I'm in the perfect place and context where I can express myself… I can't wait! I don't want to anticipate anything, except the fact that it will be all (or almost) unreleased material!

What does the future hold? Anything in particular you would like to achieve?

— For the moment, 4 of my remixes are expected to be released in 2023, I'm also working on a new EP or maybe an album but it's still too early to say more... for the rest... I'll continue making music following my ideologies... and let's see where it will take me.