Nihil Implvse Interview

 

   1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?

Nihil Impvlse is a dark electronic and industrial music project born in the late 2000s out of my fascination with these genres and their many offshoots. From the beginning, I wanted to avoid confining myself within rigid stylistic boundaries, allowing the sound to move across a wide spectrum ranging from harsher forms of noise to dark drone ambient. The project relies on a combination of electronic and electroacoustic instruments, field recordings, sound collage, and whatever other means may serve the music. Conceptually, each release is shaped by my personal experiences and my perception of life and society, reprocessing references to history, philosophy, literature, and art into dense sonic frameworks. I aim to forge unexpected connections and atmospheres, exploring complexity without resorting to the clichés so common in the genre.

2.In November you had released a new album, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

Great Filter represents the peak of a long process of musical maturation. With each release, I try to explore new approaches, experimenting with different sound sources and production methods in a way that feels like a natural evolution of my path as Nihil Impvlse. I have no formal musical training and have never studied an instrument, which probably contributed to the raw, unpredictable quality of my early material. Over time, as I became more familiar with various techniques, pure improvisation has become less central and now is used deliberately when it serves the music. Each album tackles different themes, which demand their own sonic solutions and styles, but with Great Filter, I feel this process has reached a point of synthesis: the different sonic threads have evolved into a tone that I fully recognize as my own.

3.From 2010 to 2020 there was no music being released, can you tell us a little bit more about the 10 year wait in between releases?

Life happened. Personal circumstances gradually reduced the time I could dedicate to music, eventually forcing me to put the project on hold. The passion, however, never disappeared, and as soon as circumstances allowed, I returned to Nihil Impvlse. It wasn’t a period of creative inertia, though. On the contrary, many ideas and concepts that would later appear in subsequent releases matured during that rather dark chapter of my life. In general, my creative process takes time: studying the conceptual framework, finding the sonic palette that best embodies it, selecting the right tools, and developing the technical fluency to use them effectively.

4.What are some of the themes you have explored so far with this project?

From the outset, Nihil Impvlse has revolved around a set of existential and socio-political tensions that keep resurfacing in different forms across each release, gradually emerging as the organic core of the project.

Katabasis, Stasis and Anabasis, although never explicitly presented as such, were conceived as a trilogy with a coherent arc. Katabasis explored descent, deprivation, isolation and the slow coagulation of resentment within both the individual and the wider social body. Stasis shifted the focus toward structural paralysis, examining civilization as an invisible architecture of power that sustains the illusion of change while preserving inertia. Anabasis then moved toward a troubled ascent, where progress appears as perpetual conflict, a forward motion driven as much by ignorance and zealotry as by aspiration.

Great Filter reframed and intensified these concerns. The cosmic metaphor became a way to crystallize and extend the previous cycle. The mechanisms of control explored in Stasis, the blind striving of Anabasis and the corrosive nihilism of Katabasis converge into a meditation on a civilization accelerating toward its own existential threshold.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Nihil Impvlse'?

I chose the name because it immediately suggests a certain sonic and thematic direction. With a name like that, you are clearly not expecting bright, uplifting sounds. At the same time, I was interested in preserving a degree of semantic ambiguity. It can be read as a “nihilistic impulse,” but also, almost paradoxically, as the absence of impulse altogether.

That tension between drive and void felt meaningful to me. In this genre, at least in those that I consider its most compelling forms, the listener is invited to engage critically and dialectically with the material rather than consume it passively. The name acts as a sort of Rorschach test offered before the music even begins. It frames the listening experience without fully defining it.

6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

As with most of my releases, I created the artwork for Great Filter myself. I am not a graphic designer, just as I do not consider myself a formally trained musician, but that is exactly why I prefer to handle the visual side personally. Sound and image come from the same conceptual impulse, so shaping them myself keeps the connection intact. For this album, I worked with images of industrial technology and semi-derelict industrial facilities, manipulating them to align with the conceptual and sonic content of the record. I was interested in visual elements that could convey tension, obsolescence, and the uneasy relationship between progress and decay. Industrial applications, once symbols of advancement and control, become ambiguous when shown in a state of deterioration. They start to suggest fragility rather than dominance.

7.You record a lot of the music by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?

Actually, I record all of it myself, but that’s more a matter of circumstance than strict choice. I think it comes from both the particular structure of my creative process and my natural reserve, which hasn’t given me many opportunities to collaborate with other artists. That said, I’m not opposed to it at all. On the contrary, the idea of working with others, especially on shared stylistic and conceptual ground, is very appealing. It’s something I could see as an interesting development for the future.

8.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of dark electronics and death industrial?

Overall, the response has been very positive. I have noticed a certain diversity in the geographic origins of listeners, which suggests that the themes explored in the music resonate widely. The audience tends to be experienced and attentive, less focused on the shock value that can often appear in certain corners of the genre, and usually comes from a broad and varied listening background, much like my own as a listener.

I also believe that the consistent development of the discography over time, in terms of sound as well as conceptual and visual style, has helped listeners engage with the work more fully and appreciate it in a nuanced way. Those who take the time to explore the project tend to offer thoughtful and enthusiastic feedback, which has been extremely encouraging.

9.Can you tell us a little bit more about your other project 'Filth Colossus'?

Filth Colossus is in many ways a twin to Nihil Impvlse, but it occupies a different sonic and emotional territory. While Nihil Impvlse is rooted in layered conceptual frameworks, Filth Colossus dives into harsher, darker soundscapes with a more prominent use of vocals and elements that fall outside the sonic palette of my other project. It is younger in terms of output, but it is a project I care about deeply because it complements Nihil Impvlse both musically and thematically. The intention behind Filth Colossus is to embrace a more immediate and visceral expression. The aim is not to dilute complexity but to channel intensity in a way that is direct, violent where it needs to be, and uncompromising in its impact. The inspiration comes from what I observe around me in the contemporary world, especially the sense of looming crisis and pervasive instability. In that sense, I described the project as "heavy electronics for the current global catastrophes", a sonic confrontation with the brutal and unsettling aspects of our times. Those who appreciate the harsher aspects of Nihil Impvlse might also find Filth Colossus worth exploring.

10.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician during the future?

As with any of my musical endeavours, this is something I pursue first and foremost for my own necessity and fulfillment. Because of that, I do not tend to think in terms of rigid milestones or strategic plans. At the same time, I am very aware of the internal coherence and evolution of the project. Each release grows out of the previous one, both thematically and sonically, as part of a continuous trajectory rather than a series of isolated statements, and I expect that process to continue. What interests me most is refining and deepening the language I have been developing, pushing it toward greater clarity and intensity while remaining open to new techniques and possibilities. The aim is not to reinvent the project for the sake of novelty, but to let it mature further in a way that feels honest and necessary. Most importantly, I am confident that there will not be another long silence between releases. The hiatus in the past was circumstantial rather than intentional. Now that the project has regained momentum, my intention is to maintain continuity and allow it to evolve in a steady and consistent way.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

I am an avid music collector, and my listening habits span a wide range of genres, so it makes more sense to focus on what has directly influenced my work. On a foundational level, the classic industrial and death industrial tradition, especially projects connected to labels such as Cold Meat Industry, Tesco Organisation, Cold Spring, and Slaughter Productions have certainly shaped the DNA of both Nihil Impvlse and Filth Colossus.

At the same time, less obvious influences have also been important. The Berlin School of electronic music, film soundtracks from composers like John Carpenter or Ennio Morricone, and artists associated with labels such as Touch or Warp have contributed to my sense of atmosphere and structure. I have also been influenced by twentieth-century composers such as Luigi Nono, Alexander Scriabin, and György Ligeti, particularly in their use of tension, space, and dissonance.

Like many people who end up exploring this kind of music, I had a gateway, which in my case was extreme metal. I listened to it obsessively in my late teens and early twenties. As for what I listen to nowadays, in the dark electronic field much of it comes from the catalogue of Eighth Tower Records and its related imprints, whose aesthetic direction I feel closely aligned with.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Thank you for the opportunity to talk about the project. Independent scenes like this survive thanks to the curiosity and dedication of listeners, labels, and publications that continue to support music operating outside the mainstream circuits. If someone reading this interview feels intrigued, the best thing they can do is simply approach the music with an open and attentive mindset. Projects like Nihil Impvlse are meant to be experienced and absorbed slowly, allowing the atmosphere and the conceptual layers to unfold over time. And of course, my sincere thanks to everyone who has supported the project so far.

 https://eighthtowerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-great-filter