Marco Tabacchini (Demikhov)

Italian trio Demikhov recently released The Chemical Bath, an intriguing concept album that revolves around the sick and somehow perverse imagery linked to actual facts of the twentieth century that hybridizes science, history and politics. Musically, the album is a slap in the face that combines hardcore punk, post hardcore and metal elements and lyrically it translates to a deep study of the matter to generate emotionally charged songs. Demikhov are a unique project and we’ve interviewed Marco Tabacchini, their bass player, exclusively for The Punk Site.

The Chemical Bath is an interesting title for an album. Can you explain the concept behind it, and how it influenced the songwriting and overall sound of the album?

Marco: “The title of the album refers to a chemical technique for the indefinite preservation of dead bodies. Or rather, of some particular bodies: those on which, for a long time, a certain political style seemed to hold…! The concept behind “The Chemical Bath” is in fact rooted in the opaque history of the former Soviet Union, in an imagery that hybridizes science, history and politics. The album traces the processes of the embalming of Lenin’s body, which resulted in the ultimate preservation attempt (the “chemical bath” of the title), and the subsequent construction of the mausoleum dedicated to him, in accordance with the will of Soviet intellectuals to defeat the mortal condition of the man. The idea behind the concept was already circulating in our discourse even before the songs were written: in 2018, when Marco formally joined the group as the new bassist, the imagery underlying the record had already begun to take shape. The time had come then to translate all this tangle of events and issues into obscure sonic matter.”

How do you feel your music has evolved since your earlier releases, and what new elements have you incorporated into this album that you can consider your new trademark?

Marco: “Even if we started writing “The Chemical Bath” almost as a continuation of the previous album, in the last years our style passed through a decisive revision. The change of line-up with my arrival, in fact, forced us to take up the old songs and rework them according to the new alchemy (new ways of performing songs, new sounds, etc.). The record was born soon after, following this trail of intense commitment. To tell the truth, the two most obvious novelties in terms of musical elements (the use of vocals and the presence of samples and electronic sounds) were included without a programmatic decision, but emerged as ways of coping with some expressive issues that emerged after the album had already acquired its own physiognomy, albeit a provisional one. As an example, some of them had already been tested live, before recording, but in instrumental form: only by sharing them with those present in the hall we understood the urgency of adding lyrics and screams!”

Your music delivers dark themes and emotions. What literature, films, or other sources of inspiration did you draw from when writing the songs on this album?

Marco “Certainly both our music and lyrics deal with a kind of dark matter, with sometimes even creepy sounds and themes, in the search for an intentional concordance between these two dimensions. However, what we are looking for is not a way to gratuitously amaze or impress our listeners. And even less we are willing to promote a fascination with that which strikes or shocks-we are profoundly estranged from those genres of music that glorify suffering and horror. In contrast, we feel very close to what Xiu Xiu recently wrote about their latest record, “Ignore Grief,” when they confess that they’re composing music in order to explore “how to process, to be empathetic towards, to disobey and to reorganize horror”. We think it is an existential and political task at the same time. To return to your question, everything can become a source of inspiration: from literature (e.g., Ken Kalfus and his novel “The Commissariat of Enlightenment”) to cinema (Dziga Vertov) via historical and philosophical nonfiction, such as the memoirs of Lya Zbarsky, the biochemist who served as the head of Lenin’s Mausoleum. Not forgetting the many musical references that inspire us every day, from the old mesmerizing Avraamov’s “Symphony Of Sirens” to the latest releases Wolf Eyes or The Body.”

You play your own style of post-hardcore. How do you define that genre, and how does it relate to the band’s connection to punk and extreme music?

Marco: “When we decided to anticipate the new album with a single, we’ve chosen ‘The Leader Is Dead And Everyone Is Grieving’ because that song perfectly embodies our current style, always suspended between the urge to express ourselves in hardcore rants and the need to experiment with more experimental and noisy parts. However, faced with an album that has built itself up along unexpected, unplanned lines of development, at times surprising its own creators, it is difficult to define what post-harcore would mean for us: we love playing both fast songs and others that border on the granite cadence of doom, even falling sometimes into moments of pure delirious improvisation. And perhaps that is also why the record is appreciated by lovers of a wide variety of sounds, from metal to hardcore to experimental rock. Anyways, if we have to resume what’s the meaning of this genre for us, we have to say first that is a tension-laden sound, a tension that can be liberating in its expression and fruition, but that sometimes comes across as rough and impactful.”

The production of your album saw a complete DIY approach. You recorded it in your own studio. Can you explain what that means and why it was important for you to take that approach? Were there any challenges you faced during the process?

Marco “Demikhov is a multi-headed machine that, in its movement, resembles an open laboratory, or a self-managed construction site, where all ideas and proposals are shared and screened together, whether it is a new song to be composed, a concept to be polished or a new T-shirt to be printed. The writing of the album and its recording, in this sense, are no exception: every stage is leaded together, almost always physically present, from the first steps of composition to the grueling hours of mixing at Produzioni Rumorose. Only in some passages did we opt for an exception to this style, that is, when it seemed interesting to open the project to the creative input of friends: the case of Nordra and Torba as guests on the record, or of the graphics by Officina Infernale, which all constitute fundamental parts of the record itself.”

Heavy music has a certain degree of catharsis. How do you use your music as a tool for processing difficult emotions, both personally and for your fans?

Marco: “Playing a certain kind of music, possibly sharing it with an audience that feels the same emotions, really produces a cathartic effect! Despite the insistent volumes and sound pressure, despite the fatigue of the performance and the non-typicality of the musical style, there is always in every gig that moment when a smile appears on our faces. It is a smile of amazement at what is happening on and off the stage, but it is also a smile of gratitude that we exchange with each other for this moment of sharing, among ourselves in the band and among those who are present at that moment. It is the main way in which we process not only difficult emotions, but also, more generally, everything in our lives (thoughts, desires, relationships) that struggles to find the proper way of expression.” 

As an independent band, what are some of the biggest challenges you face in terms of getting your music heard and reaching a wider audience?

Marco: “Being an independent band entails a specific characteristic, one that presents itself at the same time as its greatest asset and its greatest limitation, as far as the possibility of reaching a larger audience is concerned: the choice to rely mainly on friends and fellow travelers known through years of DIY activities and concerts, all situations therefore of mutual esteem and respect. We have just released a new record, and this certainly creates interest, but in the independent circuits everything is handled in a more relational and less commercial way: in short, betting on the credibility built over years of activity and not only on the sensational charge that a new release brings. Of course, there have also been numerous direct invitations, from venues and promoters who have been impressed or even just intrigued by some reviews or live footage; we are certainly happy with these demonstrations of interest as well, and we hope that they too could help us to open up new pathways and meet new people.”

Many bands in the post-hardcore and punk scenes have strong DIY ethics. How has that ethos influenced the way you approach creating and promoting your music, and what advice would you give to other independent musicians trying to make a name for themselves?

Marco: “As we just said, one of the fortunes of the underground and DIY circuits is to be able to count on the support and initiative of those you meet and know through years of gigging and sharing. We will never tire of repeating it: at these levels, collaborations proceed in parallel with friendships, and this helps to enrich mutual support and trust. DioDrone and Nàresh in Italy, Ivan and Kontingent in Bulgaria, Christos and Sweetohm in Greece: before labels, before distributions, there are the people with whom we shared important moments of our human and musical adventure. But in a DIY perspective, before having the chance to get noticed by a booking or an agency (that could manage travels and fees much better than us), the mutual esteem that can be initiated at a distance is often the first necessary step: once it is accomplished, then we can proceed with setting up not only a tour or a date, but mainly our own credibility.”