the artist NIDAL is in full swing for the release of the “Legendary” album, a material whose central idea is correctness, regardless of the context. The LP is based on myths and concepts from Ancient Greece, inspired by bedtime stories read to him by his mother as a child. If he had to identify with a hero, that would be Orfeu, this being the most listened to song on the album, says Nidal.
“The stories being archetypal, I applied them to events in my life or within deep inner searches. I don’t have a central scheme or a style according to which I built the album. Each track demanded its specific sacrifice”, says NIDAL.
The album is recorded in Vița de Vie studio, with Adi Despot as producer, a collaboration Nidal talks about at length in the material below. According to him, the unity of the album is given by its central idea and the fact that it is shot one-take with the same instruments. At the moment, Nidal is preparing for the concert on November 6 in Expirat, but will continue with Bacău, Cluj or Timișoara.
Who is NIDAL?
NIDAL means “struggle for a just cause” in Arabic and so far in my life I feel that this spirit of justice is manifested quite strongly. Most of my music is a personal attempt to relate as truthfully and temperately as possible to the things that happen to me or that I observe outside of me.
Music and performing have always been present in my life. My mother played classical music around the house all the time. A little known fact is that when I was little he would sit with me and take out the lyrics from Disney movies so I could sing them. My father on the other side had CDs with Michael Jackson, Bob Marley, Vangelis, Genesis, etc. and among the indispensable passengers when we went anywhere by car were Tudor Gheorge, Pasărea Colibri and Phoenix.
In high school I wrote poetry, played guitar, and was in an independent theater troupe. Not much has changed since then. Poetry is now woven between guitar strings and I still make music and sound design for theater performances, dance and art installations.
The story of the Legendary album
“Legendary” has as its central idea that it’s important to do what you think is right regardless of the context. The album artwork, designed by Victor Diaconu, has in the center the ensemble of statues “Laocoon and sons” created from the lines of the words in the lyrics of the songs.
The album is based on myths and concepts from Ancient Greece. There are two main reasons why I chose to do this. The first reason is that my mother read mythology to me at bedtime when I was little and fed me these archetypal stories that have served me throughout my life, and the second is that I am genuinely fascinated by the fruit and cultural impact of ancient Greek civilization. In my life, music has been an important guide and I wish that in these troubled times I can also offer strength, peace and clarity through my music.
The creative and production process in the Vița de Vie studio
First of all, the material would not have existed in this very good form if it were not for Adrian. The kindness he showed from our beginnings initially caught me off guard. I was telling myself that there is no way that today anyone can show selfless kindness, but lo and behold after a few short meetings we both realized the boundless love we have for music.
In the studio everything went like clockwork and not by chance. Vali “Tineretze” was technical, Dan Georgescu registered us and we had all the toys collected over time by those from Vița de Vie. On the first day the microphones were installed and the equipment calibrated, on the second day we shot 90% of the album and on the third we finished and worked on the details. Afterwards, the band members left and Adrian and I stayed to record backing vocals, and between drops we talked about who we are.
Theme, lyrics
The stories being archetypal, I applied them to events in my life or within deep inner searches. I don’t have a central scheme or style to build the album around. Each piece demanded its specific sacrifice. According to me, the unity of the album is given by its central idea and by the fact that it is shot one-take with the same instruments in the sea. I played guitar and voice, Cristian Munteanu was on saxophone and bass synthesizer, Lucian Conțiu on world percussion and, for the first time, Dan Georgescu on double bass on an album. I like the original “sound” of the album. With Dan Georgescu on the recordings, Adrian Despot the producer, Sorin “Pupe” Tănase on the mix and Cristian Vargas on the master, there was no way the final product would not sound good.
Favorite ancient myth
What I love about ancient Greek mythology is that even the gods are imperfect, and it’s precisely these nuances that I find attractive. I wouldn’t call him a hero, but considering that it is the most listened to song on the album, apparently I identified with Orfeu the most.
Our industry, social media and AI
I still don’t enjoy platforming as much and as much as I would like to. All are tools and tools can only be measured by the person who uses them. I can be found on all platforms, but I want to have more and more resources to be able to produce more and more quality content. I’m struggling to bring art back into the heart of culture, and while I have to think of what I’m doing as a product as well, I don’t want that to detract from its fertile and nurturing qualities. It seems to me that we can give a breath of fresh air to the environment that, at least to me, feels stale and repetitive due to the fact that a lot of the content is mostly anchored in various shortcomings that we have and not in what is good and useful.
For example, I did a “legendary” challenge together with my good friend Ciprian Cavajdan who is a physiotherapist, personal trainer and dancer. For 30 days I did 12 minutes of exercise, drank a glass each of Celtic salt and lemon water and a cold morning shower along with 5 (not many but good) sign ups. I once liked the result it had in my life but also the testimonies of those involved. Small habits that can make a big difference in our daily lives.
Or, the friends from Design Neaoș (Smaranda Isar, Victor Costache and Daniel Roșca) will make some ceramic earrings and pendants that have as their central symbol the Nazar, that blue eye that is everywhere among the Greeks, which can be purchased together with the album. Hand-made products that are sustainable from start to finish.
The concert experience
I feel at ease in intimate spaces. It’s also very much in the nature of my music to be more easily received in these kinds of spaces. Everything can always be improved from a technical point of view but I want to be careful not to lose the essence. The pleasure of surpassing myself in the desire to express myself as authentically and completely as possible.
Release from Expired
It is the first concert that I thought 360 and I bring all the experience that I have accumulated in the artistic environments that I have been part of and together with the people that I have gathered over time I will create the most complete experience possible and unusual. I work with a fairly large and well-trained team now, and every element is thought out and meaningfully integrated into the concert. I wouldn’t give away too much of what will happen, but I can say with certainty that there will be many experiences that the audience has never had before.
How has your style evolved since the first album?
There is also folk in there because the word is quite central in my creation. Otherwise indie because I like independence and blues because I was comfortable with melancholy until now. I’m ready to open up to new genres of music as long as I don’t lose the essence.
I was very proud and stubborn as a child and I didn’t like learning other people’s songs on the guitar, I always wanted to create something of my own. All I did was consume a great deal of music of all kinds and live as honestly and fully as I could to let out all that I had experienced and understood in my life. I have some pretty big vocal influences like: Jeff Buckley, Kurt Cobain and Maynard James Keenan. Everything else is inspiration and consumption, life with appetite and curiosity.
Kingish started out of my desire to express myself as unadulterated as possible. I wanted to make an anti-pop album, I wanted to imagine what music would look like in the future if I only had the voice and the guitar. The concept for the backing vocals is that they are the voices in my head, from the beginning they are strummed, and by the end they are singing in harmony in a chorus. Each song also has a personal symbol illustration that highlights its content, and each symbol turns into the next until the end. The album is made together with Victor Panfilov and like “Legendary” is recorded one-take. What else I recommend about the album is KINGISH Threefold (aLIVE act). A triptych made one-take live with 3 central songs of the album, and each song has a performance in the center starting from puppet animation made by Ilinca cu Pogany, pantomime made by Alexandru Pribeagu and a modern dance made by Denis Bolborea and Alexandra Bălășoiu . I really like to capture the live moment because especially then you really see your real measure.
Where we can see you live in the next period
Well in the “Legendary” Kickoff Tournament of course. On November 6th we are in Bucharest in Expirat, on November 22nd in Bacău in Fiald, November 28th in Sântana de Mureș at Republic Hub, on November 29th in Cluj-Napoca in Flying Circus, and on November 30th we end gloriously in Timișoara at Pixel.
“Legendary” is just the beginning of course. I’m leaving home but I’m interested in laying the foundation for some unforgettable experiences with this tour. I’m interested in people leaving changed and richer as possible after a concert of ours. Now and forever. Amen.
Source: www.iqads.ro
