Daimon Schwalger aka The Nomad I-view

Continuiamo la nostra indagine della scena musicale indipendente in Nuova Zelanda, quella lontana e affascinante terra, popolata da gente che qualcuno immagina avere perennemente il sangue alla testa! E' la volta di Daimon Schwalger aka The Nomad, importante personaggio che fin dalla fine degli anni '80 ha importato l'old school in tutti i club del suo amato paese, il cui primo disco fu anche il primo che conteneva influenze drum'n'bass mai registrato e prodotto in Nuova Zelanda. La Sugarlicks ha recente proposto questa sorta di Best of... del suo vasto repertorio. Concentrated è un ottimo spaccato di quella scena così lontana e così vicina al contempo, contenendendo numerose collaborazioni di Daimon con artisti e musicisti - fra i quali Tehi Mana (Fat Freddy’s Drop), Imon Star (Rhombus, Murk108), Mark Tyler (Salmonella Dub) e Hamocane di Samoa - che animano la terra dei Maori. The Nomad "Concentrated" ( Sugarlicks, Distr.Audioglobe) 01.Common Sense 02.Mr.Selecta 03.Look Around 04.Falling 05.Attitude 06.Milly 07.Take A Sip 08.Once Again 09.Letz Play 10.Destinations 11.Concentrate 12.Dream In My Head 13.Time Is Running Out

Hi Daimon. How are you? I'm really great actually, very busy with lots of projects on.

It’s the first time I hear about a genre called “pacific soul”... I think it represents the cleanness of the air, green landscapes, rolling hills in the islands that are not overly populated. Lots of space between people, it's island paradise and makes us happy.

Our zine started as a zine intended for dnb lovers. I know you were quite active in New Zealand dnb scene. How do you remember that period? Is Drum’n’Bass really dead as someone say? I remember that period being between "1996-98". My album - back in the day - was the first D&B to be released in Aotearoa and it was kinda like an evolution from jungle - being quite new and fresh and underground. There is still quite strong underground continuency. D&B has kinda gone through a "bad" faze by "bad boys" who've put on darker parties. There is still allot of good D&B out there. At my parties I start the night with dub then hip hop, progressing into housy breaks and then into Drum and bass. That way it pleases the crowd, these days people seem to be alot more open to different genres. Too much of one style can become boring. The type of D&B I like to play is lyrical and boot leg hip-hop remixes.

You’re a good example of the astonishing improvment of NZ music production. A scene that probably needs more visibility abroad... Thanks for that, well I'm just breaking into the rest of the world and internationally starting out. NZ has been a very good training ground for me. There are allot of talented artists here in such a distant island country - tucked away. NZ is great for networking and a great training ground for many. New Zealanders have high standards, if you can get gigs and sell c.d.'s here , you have a good chance of making it out to the rest of the world.

Do you think SugarLicks is going to extract and issue a single from your album or is it too early? Haven't discussed anything along those lines yet. I've released a single with a music video (Lets Play) in NZ. It would be a great thing to release is o/s as-well.......

How do you translate the words “dream” and “attitude” in Maori? Dream would be Moemoea or Nga Moemoeas (moymoyea) as The dreams Attitude would translate more as "thoughts perception", or "way of thinking" as Whaakaro (fuca karo) add pai to that and you got yourself "good attitude"

A propose of your dreams, what are yours? I've just formed a 7 piece band which has been a dream of mine for a while. I'd love to tour the world and sell plenty of c.d.'s. To have a house of my own overlooking the ocean in wellington with an amazing music studio so I can continue to make beautiful music and have a home to come back to after my tours and travels.

I’ve seen a lot of documentaries about New Zealand... Incredible landscapes... I’ve two questions for you... The 1st: how did those landscapes influence your way of thinking of music? well its quite green and lush the air is fresh like the water, the people are scarce so the space is wide, the music is a reflection of our surrounds,

The 2nd : could you advise any cheap b&b there? Any postcard for us?J there is a great variety here, let me know when your heading over here

Do you think the “music experience” in New Zealand is different from the rest of the world? If yes, why? Yes, I think we all agree we are different to the rest of the world. if you look at the rest of f the world like a big apple tree - and NZ as the ground we are able to reach out and pick out the best of the selection from the branches above, New Zealanders are also known to be very hard workers and are a very proud nation

Kindest regards from the antipodes!!!