Doomed Confessionary: Leonard Beringer & Frank Tribbensee (Nigh)
Photo by Joshua Eckstein
Nigh is a psych rock collective from Cologne, Germany. Their shows are an invitation to dance along to “the vibrant bass lines, non-stop percussions, hypnotic, almost intuitive guitar melodies and body-and-soul valkyrie vocals.”
The band released their debut album »Sacrifice Yourself« on March 29th, 2024, available now on all major streaming platforms!
Nigh are Maike Esch (vocals), Christin Schneider (vocals), Leonard Beringer (bass, bouzouki, synth), Frank Tribbensee (guitar, flute, synth), Marcel Hoffmann (percussions) and Janusz Malejewski (drums).
Can you say a few words about your band?
Leo: We are a 6-piece band with double female fronted vocals and lots of percussions. We strive to make music you can dance to, and, actually, should dance to since we tell the story of a sun worshipping dance cult welcoming the end or, to be precise, the beginning of something new. Thus, we describe our music as cultic rock, but other people have attributed acid psych rock to us so far. I think it’s a fusion of many styles.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Leo: There already have been many challenges but, when I think about it, it all comes down to not losing your motivation to do something creative together while being confronted with obstacle after obstacle, be it other external people not fulfilling their part of the deal or just bad luck costing us time, money and nerves. We do music for music’s sake and sometimes, in daily rat-race-routine, that’s easy to forget.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Leo: Again, I’d say not giving up along the way. That’s what pays of off in the long run. It’s sound like a banal platitude but I am really happy that we are still playing together after several years and, probably classic, band-related problems and it seems like we are learning so much and getting better in all respects along the way.
What was your biggest regret?
Leo: So far, we regret nothing. Maybe after some years, I got more to tell!
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Leo: Playing a crowded open-air gig at the Odonien in Cologne and seeing so many people dancing to our music and having a good time.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Leo: A surprise in a negative sense was to see the damage the pandemic has done and its aftermath. There are still shows being played this year which were originally to happen during the pandemic which makes it hard for new bands to get to play on stage. Also, though of course everybody knows that many venues for live music had to close permanently due to covid, it’s still hard sometimes to see what is missing in some towns, especially Cologne. For example, the Underground club was one of the best places for live rock and heavy stuff and there is not really something that followed in its footsteps to compensate for that. But, to say something positive: It is awesome to see that people still have the appetite for live music, rock and dancing to it (or pogo/mosh to it). Also, many artists are still performing and new bands rise up all the time. I guess, in this sense, Rock and Roll can never die.
Photo by Joshua Eckstein
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Leo: I am currently listening to »The Art Of Self Defense« by High On Fire on repeat. For me, it is very meditative.
Frank: I am listening to Visigoth a lot at the moment. I’ve seen them live twice and they nailed it every time with so much energy on stage and in the audience. I love everything they do and the guitar work is something I admire!
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Leo: To me, it was to just play the instrument freely and find your own style. I wasted so much time trying to play like a professional or serious musician, like somebody else basically, or to learn modern western canon music theory or repeat exercises from books because that’s how you ought to play the thing, it got so boring and limiting. Having your own style is the best strength you can have. First and foremost, I play for myself.
Frank: After our recording session, I fell into a deep cycle of overthinking wondering what I could have done better. Being sleepless about that, I watched a making-of from an Hällas album (big fan!), and the lead singer said at the end of the film that he had a lot of mixed feelings after their album was done and that some point you have to stop worrying. It normalized my feelings towards my efforts and made me realize that finished is better than perfect. Sorry for the somewhat corny phrase, but it really helped me to let go.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Leo: Nowadays I never feel guilty listening to good music. Shoutout to Roy Orbison anyhow!
Frank: I enjoy a German “trash” TV series called “Die Ludolfs” a lot. It’s not a typical german trash TV series where you would laugh at people being stupid, it shows the life of four brothers running a junkyard and being wholesome and weird together. Peter, the cook and “I know where stuff is”-guy is a philosopher and aesthete on his own, famous for his “Ode to the noodle”, where he preaches that spaghetti can be eaten warm and cold and his appreciation of that.
Can you say something more about the music scene in Cologne?
Leo: A lot, but I try to keep it short. Well, Cologne, after the pandemic, is a really difficult place to play music live on stage because most shows are pay to play (or worse) which makes it especially difficult for small bands from other European countries, say Greece, to tour here, which is sad. There are still few good venues left, but in other cities like Berlin its way easier (maybe it changed there since the pandemic, too). However, I feel like live music, especially in the wide sense of rock or heavy rock music, is not valued very highly in Germany in general apart from the larger festivals in the summer time. At least, if compared to Belgium, Netherlands or Scandinavia. However, what I have a heard multiple times from bands touring Germany, especially bands from the US, is that the German freeway, the autobahn, is great for touring long ways because of the abundance of gas stations, sanitary places and high quality food (probably compared to US gas station ‘food’). This cannot be praised highly enough by anyone who drove thousands of miles through the country being dependant on these things.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
Leo: Next, we just performed at our record release show on May 18th this month. Sadly, as we were a bit late to the party with our debut album, we have nothing more in the pipeline as of now. However, we are doing everything we can to play more shows.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Leo: We are already working on new music and planning to release one or two EPs as soon as possible, probably early next year. We have a lot of song ideas. Apart from that, we really want to play some more festivals during the summer. That’s just a great vibe and it suits our theme of dancing and sun-worshipping. There are also some bands we would like to perform with like GOAT, Takeshi’s Cashew and, of course, Night.
How can people best support your band?
Leo: Come and see the show! Dance with us! Talk to us!
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Leo: The end is nigh. Join the Cult.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well