1: Please briefly introduce yourself. If you don't mind, where you live, what you do, etc.
• • •：Born in Montreux, Switzerland under the civilian name Nikola H. Mounoud, I now live in Hanoi, Vietnam with my partner and three cats. A vast majority of my activities revolve around sound making, from the creation of tools to the production of sounds itself (more often live than in recording studio) I also punctually work as co-curator for festival and events.
2: I know it's hard to explain in words, but what kind of music do you make?
• • •：Some may call it noise, noise music, harsh noise, contemporary improvised music, sonic action and so on... I would define my work as an attempt to offer a different approach to sound making and listening, doing so by using whatever is at disposal. In my current case I have decided to solely focus on the feedback sound process. As this constraint, in paradox, offer a very large and open field of play. The rest is up to the imagination.
3: Please tell us about any interesting things or discoveries that have happened recently.
• • •：In summer 2022, I had the chance to join the REC TOUR 2022 which was the first tour in highland Vietnam, outside main urban areas to welcome and feature a vast panel of live original sound works and international acts. That sparked an interesting series of events since and showed the vast possibilities to tour in that area of our ever small planet.
4：Please tell us about an experience that has exposed you to an expression that has had an impact on you.
• • •：When I was 18, I got a year pass for the swiss cinema archive center. That year they screened all the movies directed or written by Pier Paolo Pasolini, that series of movies had a strong impact on my motivation to follow thru with my ideas. Shortly after I discover the Panic Mouvement (Jodorwosky, Arrabal and Topor). Their movies made a very strong impression on me and probably still to this day.
5: Do you have a routine that you cherish in your day?
• • •：Feeding our cats, preparing coffee for my partner or friends, rolling a joint and check some news or listen to something (music, podcast, conference, etc..).
6: What are the important elements in your work?
• • •：Relentlessness, doubts, love
7: How did your expressive activities begin?
• • •：As I was quite addicted to listen music/buy records from an early age, I found myself bit frustrated at some point and so I felt I had no other choice than to make sound in order to listen something that I believe should exist. That said it did not come by itself, friends and life circumstances had a strong impact on this decision.
8: What activities were you engaged in during the Corona Disaster? And what did you discover during this disaster?
• • •：As I got stuck in Europe by the first wave for many month, I first had to struggle for many month to get back home, which took most of my ressources and left a fair amount of debts. I then finally could get back and had the chance to study vietnamese language for a year at Hanoi's International Language university, even though due to the lockdown, I never step inside the campus... Of course rest of the time was figuring out ways to get income to cover the basics charges while trying to keep the flame of music alive, carefully waiting for the time to finally tour again.
9: What activities have you been involved in locally?
• • •：I organize regularly live events in downtown Hanoi and now also focus on opening new tour roads in new location as I mentioned above. I also work with many local artists trying different type of collaboration such as with painters, ceramists, fashion designers, tattoo artist, performers, dancers and so on...
10: What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of working locally that you can think of?
• • •：Being a new comer has the advantage to give some curiosity about your work the down side is on a legal point of view, I am still and will remain a guest with very little to no power to have an impact on local politics.
11: I know you want people from all walks of life to hear and see your work, but who in particular do you think is suited to your work?
• • •：Whoever wants to listen ! But I do not recommend young children to attend a live performance as the acoustic pressure might be harmful when the body still in development. They are more suited electronic sound works for them.
12: Do you have any recommendations for works that can be listened to or viewed on the web?
• • •：Not really, please come to meet me live ! I'll still say that I publish freely some sound work with cats video on my youtube channel in case anyone is interested ^^
13: What are some of your favorite places or stores in your hometown, and what artists or people would you recommend? (And briefly why).
• • •：In Lausanne (about 20 minutes from Montreux by local train) has two important things : LUFF - Lausanne Underground Film & Music Festival (usually the second or third week of october) which is probably a unique glitch in the swiss cultural and artistic landscape making it pricesless, and the independant library HumuS runned by Michel MOJU... a real treat full of rarities (and where you can catch sometimes interesting live events) ! But as a location, the leman lake side is on the top of the list ! Countless hours observing the Alps from across the lake...!
14: How do you spend your holidays?
• • •：As an independant worker I never have holidays. Or I am always in holidays (!) and therefore I spend my time finding ways to make, develop and share the sound works.
15: Please tell us about your future plans and schedule, and any message you would like to give to people reading this interview.
• • •：This tour is the first big tour I can organise after the sars-cov2 pandemic started in 2020 and all the restrictive measures that followed... I am currently planning a tour in Europe in the fall of 2023 as well as a reasearch residency in China and Taiwan during the summer. We are now planning a big Vietnam tour sometime in 2024, to be followed... As for a last thought : thank you for reading and in the interest in my work. Time is precious and sharing it is necessary, thank you !
• • • [a.k.a. Nikola H. Mounoud]
Since his twenties, the being behind the soundless moniker ・・・(as known as Nikola H. Mounoud) process in real time;
analog, digital and hybrid feedbacks in order to produce unique,
powerful and highly dynamic live performances where irresponsible noise,
unexpected dense sonic blasts,
total non-sense and deep irrationality meets allowing the audience to absorb the unleashed raw beauty of the frequencies wrath.
