Getting to Know… Non Stop Erotic Cabaret | Interview 🎤

For our 129^th interview on The Musical Hype, we have the pleasure of chatting with both members of synthpop duo Non Stop Erotic Cabaret.  

“Our lyrics are intelligent and thought-provoking and explore all sorts of concepts and ideas about life and death and everything that comes between the two, but our tunes are also hooky and danceable, which makes our songs irresistibly sing-along-able,” Damo Devotion asserts when asked about what makes Non Stop Erotic Cabaret (NSEC).  His partner in crime, Timmy Faith, rightfully asks, “Is that a word?” (I was thinking the exact same thing!).  Anyways, for the in-depth, 129^th interview on The Musical Hype, both members of the Yorkshire synthpop duo treat us with the answers to our burning questions.  There’s definitely not a dull moment here as these two bounce off each other superbly.  So, without further ado, here is Getting to Know… Non Stop Erotic Cabaret: Interview #129.

Let’s get this started off right. For those who may not be familiar with Non Stop Erotic Cabaret, what would you say makes your band distinct or unique? How do you rock the audience’s socks off?

Damo Devotion (DD): Non Stop Erotic Cabaret are a synthpop duo from Yorkshire who live up in the Pennines, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by sheep, trees and howling winds.

Timmy Faith (TF): We rarely meet, except when we play live, and we collaborate entirely online which, bearing in mind all that is going on right now, has really worked to our advantage.

DD: Our productivity has gone through the roof since lockdown began, as there have been far fewer distractions.

TF: All we can really do right now is sit in our respective studios and create, which suits us just fine.

DD: When it comes to rocking the audience’s socks off, our lyrics are intelligent and thought-provoking and explore all sorts of concepts and ideas about life and death and everything that comes between the two, but our tunes are also hooky and danceable, which makes our songs irresistibly sing-along-able.

TF: Is that a word?

DD: It is now!

TF: We’re not trying to be cool. We just make the kind of music we love…

DD: …and we love the kind of music we make.

Okay, let’s explore some juicy backstories. How did your Non Stop Erotic Cabaret form and what were some of the goals or the visions you had as a band early on?

TF: We met at a music festival years ago. 

DD: We got [to] talking, stayed in touch, and I invited Timmy to do a guest slot at one of my club nights. 

TF: We’ve been working together, on and off, ever since. 

DD: We started out creating mashups and remixes to play out, and the only vision or goal we really had at the start was to have fun.

TF: Otherwise what’s the point?

DD: Exactly. But it also turned out that other people really like the music we produce, which is an unexpected bonus.

Let’s talk more about goals. Have your goals or your perspectives changed since first starting out? What do your aspirations or goals look like now? 

DD: Our goal now, as it ever was, is to have fun, but we would also to get our music out to a much wider audience, so that they can have fun too. 

TF: “Connected”…

DD: Available now on all major platforms! 

TF: …is our debut single on The Animal Farm label, and thanks to them it has been getting airplay all over the world.

DD: Signing to a label was a really big deal for us. Up until now, we have been completely self-sufficient, but The Animal Farm are helping us reach a much wider audience.

TF: We’d love to play live at more festivals once they are back up and running.

DD: We do love a good festival.

TF: But something we were surprised to find out was the number of new tracks which are getting released.

DD: Over 40,000 tracks are added to Spotify every day which is, quite frankly, astonishing. That’s around 15 million tracks a year! 

TF: One of the reasons why we signed to a label was so they could help us and our tracks, stand out from the crowd.

DD: And from what we’ve seen so far, it seems to be working really well.

Everybody is influenced by somebody else. Who would you consider some of your biggest musical influences and how are they influential?

DD: People often tell us that everyone from Depeche Mode to Daft Punk can be heard in our tracks, but what’s really amazing is that perhaps one day our work might be influencing other artists.

TF: Bands like Kraftwerk, A Certain Ratio, New Order, and Happy Mondays have been a big influence on me over the years, especially in terms of the sounds they use, the way they structure their tracks, and the sheer danceability of their songs. 

DD: Whilst I am a big fan of the pop anthems produced by people like Erasure, Prince and Human League, I also have a love of folk, classical and opera which I inherited from my parents.

TF: Our songs are influenced by pretty much everything we have ever heard.

DD: Except jazz. We don’t do jazz.

Ah, the fun stuff. What’s your craziest tour story or the wackiest thing that’s happened during a performance? Feel free to be creative. 

DD: We always perform in astronaut suits and helmets, which means that before and after we are suited up, we have a certain level of anonymity, which means we get to hang out backstage with other bands, and they have no idea who we are.

TF: It also means that we can go out into the crowd when the other bands are performing and not get hassled, which is cool.

DD: Our best festival experience was probably Beat-Herder. We played a storming set, and then danced ourselves dizzy to disco ’til dawn.

TF: We ended up covered in mud, glitter and glory.

DD: During our set there was a whole group of young women at the front dressed up as old ladies who were frugging away like there was no tomorrow, which was surreal to say the least.

TF: It’s truly wonderful when people let go and lose themselves in our music.

DD: We’ve got to meet all sorts of wonderful people over the years through what we do, and that’s always amazing. Vince Clarke was a highlight for me, as I have been a fan of his as long as I can remember. It wasn’t what you’d call crazy, but it was a real pleasure to get to spend some quality time with one of our musical heroes.

TF: We also got to play pass the parcel with Bez from the Happy Mondays. Now that WAS crazy, but probably the less said about that the better…

Up until this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special?

TF: We have recorded a lot of tracks together, and my favourite is usually whichever one we are currently working on, but when I go out walking out on the moors I often listen to our back catalogue, and I’m always amazed at what we have produced, and how good it sounds. It’s like listening to my favourite band. And it’s us.

DD: Our current single, “Connected,” (Available now on all major platforms!) is a real favourite of mine, and it really gets the crowd going when we play live, but our next single, “Mr. Moogie” (Available soon on all major platforms!) is the one which got us our label deal, and that is probably my favourite out of all of the tracks we have recorded together but, as Timmy says, we never stop creating, and whatever track we are currently working always has the potential to take the number one slot.

Is there anything else awesome, cool, or left of center the world should know about you? Secret talents or surprising tidbits?

TF: I am a fully qualified Chef… 

DD: …and I am currently working on my PhD

Closing things out, what is Non Stop Erotic Cabaret currently working on, promoting that you can share with us or want us to know about? We love secrets, but there’s no pressure.

TF: We live in an age where there are very few secrets left…but what we can tell you is that we are currently working on some new interactive visuals for our live shows, which will take our performances to the next level.

DD: We are always creating all sorts of things as well as our music, like videos, photographs, artwork…

TF: …and home-made synthesizers.

DD: We want to bring all of that together on stage when we play live.

TF: If you Google #nSECmUSIC, you will find links to all sorts of things we have produced on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.

DD: We also upload our demos to Soundcloud, so if you are interested in hearing our newest tracks, that’s usually the best place to go.

TF: We also manage all of our own social media accounts.

DD: People always seem surprised that it’s actually us.

TF: Next time you’re online, stop by, say hello…

DD: …and get “Connected.”

📷 Photo Credits: nON sTOP eROTIC cABARET, Brent Faulkner, The Musical Hype