What can we expect to see from you over the next year?
Over the next year I plan to travel to the UK & Canada to play some shows and am orgaising a remix of my new album, Perilous Times - I’ve already got a few people lined up to remix some tracks. I am also keen to do a few music videos for tunes off the new album and some new tunes too.
On top of that, I run workshops on audio production & album release so I’ll be doing a few more of them…I’m also working with Michel Tuffery on the “First Contact” multimedia project, hopefully we get to travel international with it! Last of all I will hopefully get to start working on the next album and will continue mixing albums for other artists.
What advice would you like to give to other aspiring musicians?
Most of all - work as hard as you can. You also need to have a real good name/branding that stands out and you need to be pro-active at networking and using things like social media. Another word of advice is to tour lots and push your merchandise hard. Lastly but definitely not least - you need to have an amazing relationship with the other members in the band, it’s like any relationship really: if you don’t communicate and keep the relationship tight it will fall apart.
Who would you most like to support live?
I’d love to support DJ Shadow - he has always been a mentor of mine, I’d also like to support Damian Marley.
How do you believe The Nomad fits into the NZ music industry?
Well I have been part of it for a long time - I started producing music in 1996 in Christchurch and played at all the classic NZ festivals. I have also worked with a lot of NZ bands/producers and have played a big part in shaping the scene, something that I continue to do to this day.
How do you describe your music?
My music is very diverse, it has a reggae influence but crosses many styles & BPM’s (Beats per minute)
What is your favourite NZ venue?
I’d have to say The Garden Club in Wellington - it’s a great room with a good PA & you can see the stage well from the dance floor.
What is the best part of being a musician?
The freedom of doing what I love & working with positive talented artists, also finishing an album and getting to play it live.
What is your most embarrassing on tour/gig moment?
Once I played a gig in Wellington at an outdoor space and the speaker fell off the sub and landed on my turntables. I was playing the Salmonella Dub remix “For The Love Of It” and the bass was so big it shifted the speaker right onto the decks. Thanks for mixing that tune so fat Tiki!!
What is your favourite place in NZ to be?
It’s got to be Wanaka, Kingston and the Catlins, it’s so amazing down there, and it makes me feel so relaxed when I spend time around those parts.
What inspired you to become a musician?
I had no idea I wanted to be one. I got an on the spot job offer for work as a DJ because the manger of a bar thought I was one, so I lied and said yes, I’ll do it…then I had to teach myself to mix & scratch! That was in the late 80’s, now look where I’m at.
How did you come up with the name The Nomad?
It’s Damon backwards, simple. I also have always been a big traveler ever since I was a little man.
What is the best gig you have ever performed at, and why?
The best one was the opening of the Sydney Festival 2011 with Michel Tuffery & Jason Naranfor the “First Contact” project. It combines visuals, art & music and really pushed the boundaries. We had the best time playing to 30,000 people.
What rumor would you like to start about yourself?
I’m buying a big mansion in Italy and a private jet with my own pilot.
A pioneer of the electronica music scene in Aotearoa New Zealand.
After a quarter century of pushing boundaries and frequencies Daimon Schwalger, aka The Nomad, firmly fits the bill as a pioneer of the electronica music scene in Aotearoa New Zealand. Since his first album release Movement in 1998, he has gone on to release nine full length albums, remix albums and various singles while working with some of music’s leading talents.
"The nomadic traveller working on beats all day" has compiled an impressive body of work, which features collaborations with many different artists and musicians from New Zealand, Australia, UK and Jamaica.