RavenzCraft Arts Interview Project 2020 featuring
Michael Zann of Nemuer
Nemuer is a very creative and diverse group of musical artists that create a wide range of music related to ancient myths fantasy and folklore..
They have recently taken the social media stage with one of their latest and very powerful tracks
"Yggdrassil Trembles"
We recently had the opportunity to talk with Michael Zann one of the main vocal artists and musicians from this amazing band that also includes
Katarína Pomorská
Alex Pantea and Martin Kopl
Hello and welcome to the RavenzCraft Arts interview project of 2020!
First We just want to thank you for taking time to talk with us and letting the fans and followers get to know more about you and your career as a musician
1.So please introduce yourself, where you are from and your band name, how did you come up with it and what does it aim to express?
Can you give us an update about what you have been up to or working on in the past few months?
Hello Tim! My name is Michael Zann, and I am the founder of Nemuer, an atmospheric folk project from Czechia.
Nemuer (also known as Mnevis or Mer-wer) is the name of an ancient Egyptian bull god, who is known to be a mediator between the gods and people. I like to think of our music as a channel through which such communication can be done.
We aim to take our listeners on an unusual journey to the ancient lands of myths and legends, and at the same time to help them reconnect with their inner selves. Every album of ours is connected to a specific ancient civilization, but I also like it to be open to interpretation. After all we are just the mediators.
In the past few months we were fully focused on our fourth and this time Norse-themed album Urðarbrunnr.
2.So we noticed a change in your style and energy within your music..especially with your new track yggdrasil trembles..very good by the way ..what caused this change of direction to a more dark rougher style?
Can you tell us about the new members and changes to the band? Can you tell me a bit about the other band members..there are 4 of you total correct?
Can you tell us about their part and what they do and how they help bring everything together?
Thank you for your kind words, Tim. Composing is a spontaneous process to me, and when I began creating Urðarbrunnr, I realized the album will be far more ambitious than my previous creations. I do not like to be limited when composing, so I ended up with a piece using more instruments and vocals than we could handle as a duo. For some time I had been considering enhancing Nemuer with new members, but just then I understood it was time.
I believe that every civilization, and in our case every album, requires a bit different approach. Norse mythology often talks about prophecies, doom, weird deeds done by the gods, and in general can seem pretty dark and cruel to a modern person. I believe it shows in our new album as an interesting combination of savage energy and mysterious darkness. Unlike our older pieces, it is now drum-driven and full of dark soundscapes.
Our live concerts are now far more intense, as Alex joined us as a percussionist, and Martin enriches the whole experience with haunting soundscapes usually played on keyboard. For the most dramatic parts of songs they also join us in vocals.
3.What inspired your passion for music? Was there anyone or any group un particular that sparked your need to become a musician yourself ?
Like I said earlier, I started with music in my early childhood, thankfully supported by my family. The real twist came when I first listened to Dead Can Dance, though. It quickly reached my subconsciousness and set me on the path. I had a similar reaction to the first album of Wardruna a few years later. These two projects showed me what it really means to listen.
4.What music do you listen to personally on your own time ?
Any favorite songs or albums you can mention that you are currently a fan of?
Currently I listen a lot to dark ambient (I love Cryo Chamber!) and game/film music soundtracks. Generally I love the kind of music that I do not need to listen to with my mind. I prefer the music that speaks to my soul or to my subconsciousness. Just to name a few of names: Philip Glass, Jeremy Soule, Jesper Kyd, various WoW composers, Dark Souls and Bloodborne composers, and, of course, Hans Zimmer.
5.Where would you like to see your career in the future? Do you have any goals or special projects or plans for the future?
I would definitely like to see us evolve even further. There are many more ancient civilizations and instruments that fascinate me, and I would love to explore them. At the same time I want to improve my current skills, especially throat singing, which I believe is a lifelong journey.
In terms of concerts, I would like to see us play live more often and in more countries. There are some specific festivals on my list where I believe we would fit really well.
I am also going to work on the official soundtrack for Archgate, a very ambitious and innovative indie VR fantasy game that will be announced soon. Making music for virtual reality environment doubtless poses a great challenge, and I am excited to face it and do my best.
6.Would you be open to doing a collaboration single track project with another artist in your genre ?
I am generally open to collaborations, but I do not actively seek them. The artists I would like to collaborate with the most are currently beyond my reach, and I prefer to work with the people I have met at least once in person. But who knows where Nemuer will get in the future?
7.I notice you play a few different instruments ..what is one of your favorites to play on?
I love to experiment with instruments, especially the ancient ones. For a long time I had my eye on tagelharpa, the Scandinavian bowed harp. Eventually I had it made by a great instrument maker and musician too Visy Bloodaxe (known as Viking Bending Barbells). He made me a bass version allowing me to reach very low tones that I needed for the Urðarbrunnr album. Originally I wanted it to be just an extra instrument in the album, but once it arrived, I instantly got immersed and embraced by it. For ten days I played being in the flow of fascination, trying to listen and with my hands express what the instrument had to say. It felt like getting lost in a dark forest, and when I found the way out, our most successful track so far “Yggdrasil Trembles” emerged along with it.
The bass tagelharpa’s dark and deep tones also create a beautiful contrast to Katarina’s hammered dulcimer, the instrument with a very soft and soothing sound.
8.So Please tell us about how you create music,..Do you have any certain brands or software you use for equipment and recording?
Can you recommend any tools or things you have discovered that help make creating quality content?
The way I look at is that I just fill my head with information, images, and feelings. Then I let it all crystalize in my head and express itself through instruments. I am basically just listening and recording what the instrument has to say. That is the most important part of creating to me: supplying myself with perceptions and allowing deeper parts of my mind to talk.
I take the part of creating you specifically asked me about as an endpoint of the whole process. For that I currently use Cubase. In my opinion, the most powerful tool for creating atmospheric music, though, is our subconsciousness.
9.I also notice that the videos to your music are very good, do you personally create those or have help filming and putting music videos together ?
Thank you. The first two official music videos (“Caves of Damnation” and “Descent to the Realm of the Dead“) were made by a good friend of mine Jakub Rehor, who also happens to like our music a lot. The “Yggdrasil Trembles” video is the first one we filmed as a band. Alex did a great job with camera, and I dared putting it all together.
What I like the most about these videos is the process. Despite some minor planning, it always ended in a spontaneous way. Friends being surrounded with all the natural elements--first caves, then rock, and now forest--it is inconceivable to me not to take the whole thing as a ritual.
10.Tell us about about your country..what do you like most about living there? Any historical places ,Anything special that you like to do or exciting events that happen in your area ?
I like the fact it is small but diverse. My country is full of forests, mountains, and castles. And they are quite easily accessible even if you live in a capital city like I do. Prague is in the centre of Europe, and I would say it is ideal for both living and traveling to other countries for concerts.
Another thing I like a lot is that there are many handy and clever people here who are still able to recreate some medieval crafts.
What I do not like so much is the Czech’s tendency to support and be interested in mostly foreign bands at the expense of the local ones, who often become overlooked and not treated well by event organizers. So despite all the good things, it is, in my opinion, difficult to grow as an experimental pagan band, because there are not many opportunities to perform and it is too risky to organize such events. The scene is growing, though, and I believe it is getting better for the local bands, too. We saw that on October 2019, when we organized Pagan Nights with Jeden Kmen, and saw the crowds of people.
11.Has your career with music lead you to meet or make connections with any special people in your life?
I think everyone is special, when you look at a person and really get to know them. I believe meeting certain people helped me understand more about human nature and myself. While I met really arrogant people, I also met real friends and people opening my eyes. Every person can give you that, and change the way how you look at music or life in general.
12.So please tell us what gives you the urge or inspiration to create?
What do you do to generate ideas and inspiration for your songs?
As I said earlier, I surround myself with all kind of objects that put me in the right mood to absorb and eventually create. Sometimes, though, I like to be in completely dull surroundings, because they can trigger some urge to escape and in this way boost my imagination a great deal.
At the same time I believe my creations are a reflection of my current or past state of mind. I believe that a man who never really experienced pain or any strong emotion cannot really create the kind of music I create.
13.What do you think of todays apps and programs such as spotify , bandcamp, YouTube etc...?
Do you think there should be a better platform for artists to create on?
Well, I take those as a good way how to get discovered. And I am very grateful for that. At the same time, though, I really hope that people realize that by listening to streaming services they will not really support the artist much. The earnings from such services are ridiculously small in comparison to buying an album. Spotify playlists can help a lot, but the official ones, I am afraid, are interested only in big names. Just like Youtube it helps those that are already known to be known even better.
Bandcamp I like, because despite taking considerable percentage from the earnings, it in fact helps the artist to get discovered. Even the obscure ones can get the attention of new listeners if properly tagged.
I think there definitely should be a better platform for artists. It should be a platform not hungry for money and supporting less known projects over the famous ones. There should also be a good way to communicate with your fans without having to pay for what should be yours (like the Facebook boost nonsense).
All in all, I am grateful for living in these times, where we are no longer dependent on labels, but I can see how much work needs to be done to get discovered and properly rewarded.
14.Is there Anything you personally want to add to the interview , anything you want to mention ...goals for 2020? ..or anything you want to say to all the fans and followers out there?
I would like to thank the fans that have supported us over the years and were able to enjoy our creative variability. All the new fans that found us thanks to the “Norse/Viking” wave I would like to warn: the next album will be very different, as is our habit. We simply love to explore, and every album should be a journey of its own.
15.We just wanted to thank you again for talking with us and we will definitely be following and watching you and the band and we hope to see much more from you all in the near future!
Thank you for having me, Tim! It has been a pleasure. I wish you all the best not only in 2020!
Special Thank You to all the members and crew behind Nemuer
Follow and hear more of their music and their new album here below at these links!
Listen to the new album here
http://hyperurl.co/ieu871
Nemuer Bandcamp:
https://nemuer.bandcamp.com/
Nemuer Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5YLlSPiJ0oTTwToxWrmNVZ
Nemuer Youtube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfR6VhsZtCH9nwoWdfwj81Q
Follow RavenzCraft Arts on Youtube for music videos and video talk presentations:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC95bFF-xNLMcxAzRO7rFiCQ
Stay Tuned for more Interviews to come this Season!
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