Pigeon Spins Featuring an Interview with Nicolas Zappa

Nicolas Zappa - ^]x*Ð'Ý{-

With an experimental spirit driving its creation, ^]x*Ð'Ý{- stands out as a testament to Nicolas Zappa's innovative approach to music-making. Rooted in themes of Brutalism, Industrial, Gothic, and more, the EP's atmospheric quality resonates with the current societal landscape. In a world increasingly dominated by AI, Nicolas's commitment to crafting every element of the EP himself sets it apart, offering a raw and authentic musical experience. While the EP is best experienced as a cohesive journey, standout tracks like "AηxiΞty" and "Idiocracy" offer a glimpse into his sonic universe.

French-born London-based musician and music producer, Nicolas have been involved in a few different project, he's one of the founder members of the alt. rock band The Silent Era, where he composes, produces and plays various instruments, mainly bass. Nicolas Zappa also makes his own solo music, where he explores more electronic area, and his influences include Brutalism, Surrealism, Industrial, Psychedelic, Dada, Horror, and others.

. A true one-man show, Zappa has single-handedly composed, produced, performed, mixed, and mastered this captivating EP, showcasing his versatile talents across the board. Drawing inspiration from a diverse array of musical icons such as Trent Reznor, Brian Eno, and Aphex Twin, Zappa's sound is a fusion of 40 years of eclectic listening experiences, reflecting influences ranging from Brutalism to Psychedelic.

With an experimental spirit driving its creation, ^]x*Ð'Ý{- stands out as a testament to Zappa's innovative approach to music-making. Rooted in themes of Brutalism, Industrial, Gothic, and more, the EP's atmospheric quality resonates with the current societal landscape. In a world increasingly dominated by AI, Zappa's commitment to crafting every element of the EP himself sets it apart, offering a raw and authentic musical experience. While the EP is best experienced as a cohesive journey, standout tracks like "A?xi?ty" and "Idiocracy" offer a glimpse into Zappa's sonic universe.

Interview with Nicolas Zappa

(•)> What inspired the creation of ^]xÐ'Ý{- and its exploration of Brutalism, Industrial, and Gothic themes?

These themes have been with me for a long time, so I think it’s just a natural progression. For this one, unlike my previous releases (PERPETRATOR and Rauma, 1968), there’s no concept preceding the creation of the music. It came out of my experiments with new synths (new to me), tools and techniques. And eventually worked out as a coherent - I think it is - record.

(•)> How did you approach crafting the EP entirely on your own, and what challenges or rewards came with that process?

I don’t know how nerdy I’m allowed to be here but basically I used gear and softwares that I hadn’t used before. I think the first track I created was ÐX Maつhina which is almost entirely made with a VST version of the DX7 synth. Then I discovered Soundthread (a node-based sound processing tool that Aphex Twin and other geniuses used) so I played around with it and generated some of the sounds that would end up in tracks like Idiocracy. Another major addition to my equipment is the Bass Station II synth, that I used on most of the tracks for bass lines but also for other sounds. So the challenges were also the rewards: learning new things, which is the point of making music and art in general I believe.

(•)> The project has a distinctly atmospheric and experimental sound. How do you balance chaos and structure in your music?

I think I’m unexpectedly very organised when it comes to work on music, I might be a little mess outside of this but I recently found out that I needed structure in order to function correctly-ish, maybe it’s an age thing, I don’t know. But I’m also very much into experimenting and I usually start with that. But like I said, structure is vital to me so I might start with for example the sweet sound of a chainsaw chopped into bits to make a loop but end up organising the whole so it’s got a story to tell. I think that’s it, you can balance chaos and structure by telling stories.

(•)> How do tracks like “AηxiΞty” and “Idiocracy” fit into the overall concept or emotional arc of the EP?

AηxiΞty quickly became central to the EP, it might be most structured one, the most « logical » one. So it’s kind of the backbone of the record. And as for Idiocracy, it was the last track I made, I felt the EP needed a more energetic track somewhere, I initially thought it would go in the middle but a friend of mine suggested it could be a good closer and it worked better that way. Also I think that ending the EP with a clear criticism of the modern world by using bits of Trump’s logorrhoea was pretty funny.

(•)> You’ve mentioned influences like Brutalism and Dada. How do these artistic movements translate into your sound and production style?

It’s not something I intentionally tried to use as influences, like I didn’t wake up one day and decided that I would be influenced by Brutalism and Dada in order to make something. That’ll be forcing too much and probably end up in something bland with no integrity. I’m a human being, I use my natural instincts and spontaneity. These influences are part of my background so you will probably feel the structure (that word again) and starkness of Brutalism as well as the non-sense and randomness of Dadaism in my music.

(•)> In a world where AI-generated music is becoming more common, what does authenticity mean to you as an artist?

It means everything. What’s the point of making art if you skip fundamental steps such as the struggle, the experimentation, learning? I’m 2000% against AI creating art, and even more against calling these « AI artists » or even worse, people claiming they created something using AI. No you didn’t, you just prompted it and there’s no substance, no artistic intention behind it, so it’s just content, not art. It’s alarming because art is already one of the most disrespected professions in the world, often referred to as « hobby » - I wonder if people back in the day were asking Da Vinci how his little painting hobby was going? - and that AI frenzy will certainly not help us gain respect. On the bright side, we are a lot of artists and art enthusiasts thinking whatever happens we will still do our thing and the world will be divided in two: the vast majority will just consume AI shit and on the other hand, we will be a small number of people to keep creating and enjoying genuine arts. Which is an absolute shame cause arts are supposed to bring people together, inspire and even heal them. But capitalism has decided otherwise and people seem to be OK with that. Sad. Plus the impact on the environment is disastrous. Those tech bros should be in jail really.

(•)> How does your work in The Silent Era differ from or inform your solo creative process?

The two are interconnected obviously, sometimes my solo work serves as an experimentation lab for the band. Even sometimes, I start making something for the band and it gets too far out of our creative direction and ends up as a solo thing. But I bring a lot of what I learn by doing my own thing into the The Silent Era’s music: sounds, production techniques, etc

It’s the same person in both projects after all.

(•)> What do you hope listeners take away from experiencing the EP as a full journey rather than individual tracks?

I can’t control what people prefer to do but yes I recommend listening to albums and EPs in general rather than just tracks/songs. That’s how I listen to music, you press play and you’re in for a journey. Again it’s all about creating and experiencing stories. That’s what I’m hoping listeners to take away from the EP, and my other works too.

(•)> Can you tell us a bit about how your French roots and life in London have shaped your artistic identity?

I’m not sure how to answer that one. One has raised me but didn’t really inspire me as an artist and the other one didn’t raise me but definitely brought up a lot of inspiration to me.

(•)> What’s next for you creatively after the release of ^]xÐ'Ý{-?

I haven’t planned anything solo at the moment but these records seem to come out of nowhere so who knows. However, with The Silent Era, we started to work on the next project, which is still at the early stage of writing. We’re also planning to release a remix album featuring remixes from artists including me. And also, I’m in a new band too called The Zero Room, our first single will drop early January 2026. So yes a few things are going on, stay tuned. Thanks for having me!

(•)> That's all, Folks! Check out Nicolas Zappa on Bandcamp