Interview with NSEC
Interview with NSEC
NSEC
What inspired the name of the band? What are your influences and are they the same as when you started out?
Non Stop Erotic Cabaret by Soft Cell is the name of album from which we took our band name, and Songs Of Faith And Devotion by Depeche Mode is the album from which we took our stage names, Timmy Faith and Damo Devotion. Those bands, and those albums, have been some of the biggest influences on both our lives and our music, and so it all kind of makes a kind of sense. At least it does to us. The band name is somewhat ironic, as it’s pretty much the complete opposite of what our lives are actually like off stage, but when Faith and Devotion take to the stage, all bets are off, and pretty much anything and everything can happen. And usually does.
How do you approach songwriting? Are there any themes that you are keen to
explore when you start off?
Timmy creates an instrumental, gives it a title, and sends it to Damo, who usually takes that title as a starting point, and creates the lyrics based on that theme or idea. Sometimes the title gets changed along the way, sometimes it makes it all the way through. We tend to write about whatever we have been thinking about, or is bothering us at the time, and so for example Connected, our debut single (Available now on all major platforms!), is all about being mindful of what we see and hear through the media, and also thinking about how often we engage with addictive social media platforms, and the potential negative effects they can have on our lives. Having said that, it’s not all doom and gloom, and the finished track is upbeat, enjoyable, danceable, and singalongable, which is what makes it such a great introduction to us and our music.
TIMMY
TIMMY
How do you approach songwriting? Are there any themes that you are keen to
explore when you start off?
Timmy creates an instrumental, gives it a title, and sends it to Damo, who usually takes that title as a starting point, and creates the lyrics based on that theme or idea. Sometimes the title gets changed along the way, sometimes it makes it all the way through. We tend to write about whatever we have been thinking about, or is bothering us at the time, and so for example Connected, our debut single (Available now on all major platforms!), is all about being mindful of what we see and hear through the media, and also thinking about how often we engage with addictive social media platforms, and the potential negative effects they can have on our lives. Having said that, it’s not all doom and gloom, and the finished track is upbeat, enjoyable, danceable, and singalongable, which is what makes it such a great introduction to us and our music.
SYNTHPOP
Why do you write the sort of music that you do?
Synthpop came really naturally to us. Having spent many years chasing various musical rainbows in the hopes of pleasing other people, we decided this time to just please ourselves, and write the music we wanted to hear. The whole point of the project was to have fun, and that’s exactly what we are doing. Otherwise what’s the point? The irony is that we have never been more successful, and we now have fans not only in Europe, but over the world, from South Africa and India through to the U.S. and even the Galapagos Islands, which is truly amazing. There’s probably a lesson in there for all of us. To thine own self be true.
How do you decide what songs to perform live and how do you transpose them into that live setting?
When we are creating a set, we think about how long we are playing, and what the audience will be like, then select songs which we feel will not only showcase the whole range of what we do, but also get people up on their feet, dancing and having fun. The songs are remixed on the fly, and so no two performances are ever the same, which makes it exciting for us as well as the crowd, especially when we mix it with our multimedia visuals. We grew up performing in rock bands, and we bring that kind of spontaneity and excitement to our live performances, rather than just pushing start at the beginning, stop at the end, and in the meantime standing round for an hour clapping along, or pretending to fiddle with our equipment.
AUDIENCE
AUDIENCE
How do you decide what songs to perform live and how do you transpose them into that live setting?
When we are creating a set, we think about how long we are playing, and what the audience will be like, then select songs which we feel will not only showcase the whole range of what we do, but also get people up on their feet, dancing and having fun. The songs are remixed on the fly, and so no two performances are ever the same, which makes it exciting for us as well as the crowd, especially when we mix it with our multimedia visuals. We grew up performing in rock bands, and we bring that kind of spontaneity and excitement to our live performances, rather than just pushing start at the beginning, stop at the end, and in the meantime standing round for an hour clapping along, or pretending to fiddle with our equipment.
UNWRITTEN
What plans do you have for the future?
The future is unwritten, and we’re not really the kind of band who plans things in advance on a spreadsheet, preferring to take it one step at a time. Connected is out now, and we have our second single, Mr. Moogie all finished and ready to go when the time is right. The thing is, we never stop creating, and so if you Google #nSECmUSIC, you can join us on YouTube, FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram or SoundCloud, and see and hear the kind of shenanigans we get up to. Not only do we create our own synthesisers, but we are also working on a huge interactive robot, which will form part of our stage set the next time we play live. The only thing we haven’t worked out yet is how to get it out of the basement, but as with everything else, we will cross that bridge when we come to it.