Florian “Flo” Musil, thinking head of Demersus Ad Nihilum, took time to talk with me about his new solo project and the release of //180703//, the first EP.
//180703// review
Hello and first of all, thank you very much for your time! Would you please introduce yourself and your new project, Demersus Ad Nihilum?
Florian “Flo” Musil: I am the drummer and songwriter of Theotoxin and Demersus Ad Nihilum is my new solo Project.
Where does the name Demersus Ad Nihilum come from? What is the link to your music?
F: The name means something like “diving into the void” or “drifting into nothingness” in latin. Actually the whole project is something very personal and wasn’t planned at all.
For this project, you composed every instrument part, is it easy to create everything by yourself?
F: Yes, actually it’s a workflow I also use with Theotoxin, the only thing that is different is that in Theotoxin we are arranging the songs together, but with Demersus I did it by my own, and it worked out fine.
The first EP is named //180703//, where does this name come from? How does the composition process happen?
F: The name of the EP is something very personal which I won’t reveal cause, as I mentioned before the project, kind of, started itself and so was the writing process. It took me not that long, actually only a few nights and the right mood.
Lyrics are inspired by Austrian poetry, how did you select which poets and which poems to use for your music?
F: German is a very harsh and rough language and we have or had wonderful poetry here in Austria/ Vienna, so i decided to use certain poems I personally adore and also fits for the meaning of Demersus.
Music includes majestic parts as well as some very raw elements, how do you manage to create such a balance between violence and beauty?
F: I did not really thought about that honestly, I just wrote what Demersus is now, and that’s what it supposed to be. I had no special intentions or what the music should sound like at the beginning or the end.
Why did you choose Ragnar, who is also your bandmate in Theotoxin, to sing on your riffs?
F: Because he is a smart guy who totally got what Demersus is all about and he is a fantastic singer. We know each other, and he totally understood how I wanted the vocals for this record.
You also have two guests on this EP: Torsten from Agrypnie/Nocte Obducta and C.S.R from Schammasch. Why did you choose them? How did you ask them to participate to the EP?
F: I wanted to have some guest vocalists on that record which are important to me. Beside the fact that I am the drummer of Agrypnie, Torsten is a very good friend of mine and I always loved his style, how he performed his songs. Same goes for Schammasch, I know C.S.R because I’m going to play the Schammasch, Harakiri for the Sky, Gaerea Tour 2022 as their live drummer and I’m in contact with C.S.R. a lot. I also adore his very unique and diverse style of singing. Both are excellent musicians and it means a lot to me that they have been a part of this record.
Vocals are in German, and really fit the songs’ ambience, but why did you choose this language?
F: As is said it before, German is a brutal language but also very beautiful in his pronunciation and they deliver exactly what I meant for this EP.
You also stated that the full-length is already in progress, can you tell us something about it too?
F: Its almost done, but at the moment I have a lot of studio jobs to get off my list and I am also preparing the new Theotoxin record. But I will enter the studio this summer for the Demersus full length.
Do you plan to play live with Demersus Ad Nihilum? If yes, do you already have a live line-up?
F: I think Demersus will be only a Studio Project, but we will see what happens in the future, but at this point there aren’t any live shows planned.
What inspires you now to create your music?
F: My environment, my personal state, something like that….
Unfortunately, Covid-19 happened at the beginning of 2020 and fucked a lot of things up. How did you manage to deal with the situation as a musician?
F: I got tons of studio session jobs, so 2020/21 is one of the busiest years for me as a musician, but sadly not in the live sector though. But let’s hope it will continue soon… especially we have a massive European tour with Theotoxin, Archgoat and Whoredom Rife at the end of 2021. So fingers crossed.
Do you remember the first time you played an instrument? When and how was it?
F: It was a guitar when I was around 9 years old I guess, but I started playing guitar more “seriously” around the age of 12. And of course I liked it, I was into extreme music at a very early age through my brother so it felt good to try to learn some Metal songs by hearing.
What do you love about your music that you cannot find in other band’s music?
F: I can’t say this about my own music, and it lies in the eye of the beholder, I think.
Do you have hobbies aside from music? Do you also have a job, or does your music income allow you to live?
F: I studied music and made my degree in Jazz guitars and Jazz drums. I also have a qualification as an educator, so I have a daytime job too. To live from music would be great but is a pain in the ass nowadays.
What is your best and your worst experience as a musician ever?
F: Invidious people in a band, and a good part of being a musician is that you can be creative and channel your moods into music.
Maybe you already heard about the french Metal scene? Which french bands do you know?
F: I absolutely adore Deathspell Omega, Arkhon Infaustus, Antaeus, Blut aus Nord, Aosoth, etc. French BM is always very obscure, dark and brutal.
Is there any musicians or bands you would like to collaborate with?
F: Collaborations should be a part of Demersus in the future, so we will see what happens.
Last question: which bands would you love to tour with? I let you create a tour with Demersus Ad Nihilum and three other bands!
F: Beside the fact we Demersus isn’t a live band, I think it would be ( to stay in that Post Black genre): Alcest, Lantlos, Heretoir.
That was the last question for me, so thank you very much for your time and your music, last words are yours!
F: Thanks for the interest in Demersus ad Nihilum and take your time when you listen to //180703// it has a lot to offer.