Interview with Daniel Faria of Trismegistia

Trismegistia: Alchemical Music

 

 

Hailing from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Trismegistia is the brainchild of Daniel Faria, creator of the Santuário Lunar (Moon Shrine) website. A musical project steeped in paganism and mythology, I was intrigued, and after listening to the tracks on Spotify, was lucky enough to grab some time with Daniel to find out a bit more about this relatively new project.

 

Mabh Savage: How did this musical project start?

 

Daniel Faria: Trismegistia started by chance. Jesse Guelfi and I shot the short film Nunnos in December, 2016. The idea was to make a short film honouring Cernunnos. The video would be part of Jesse’s new videobook and would also be posted on Santuário Lunar, a Pagan website we own. During the editing process I made the soundtrack. We showed the video for some people before uploading it to YouTube and the reactions were all positive. Among the comments, people praised the ‘relaxing music’. Jesse then asked me: “Why don’t you make a song from this track?” And then I made Nunnos’ Healing Song.

 

For releasing the song, I needed an artist’s name. We tried many different things, but one night I dreamt of Hermes Trismegistus and I saw the name ‘Trismegistia’ written in many different places in my dream. Then it was set. We considered the process of creating this project as being alchemical, so I thought Trismegistia was a good name for that reason.

 

MS: How is the band made up?

 

DF: I, Daniel Faria, am the creator, producer and composer of Trismegistia. I’m 27 years old and I’m from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I work with digital marketing and I created Santuário Lunar (Moon Shrine) website for sharing posts related to the Goddess in her different forms around the world, as well as other issues related to Witchcraft and Paganism. Nunnos Short Film was part of the site, which led to Trismegistia. Everything is connected.

 

Nunnos’ Healing Song features Jesse’s voice. Jesse is an actor, singer and English teacher from Rio de Janeiro too. He is 49 years old. He will be back on more tracks as long I create them.

 

MS: How would you describe your musical style to someone who had never heard you before?

 

DF: Trismegistia is a mixture of sounds of nature and new age, ambient music. I would describe it like this. I’m thinking about using different nature sounds on each track. For example, in Nunnos’ Healing Song there are birds; in Hounds of Hekate there are dogs, wolves and crows – leading to another track. In other tracks there will be some sounds from the sea and from other animals.

 

MS: Where does the influence for your music come from?

 

DF: Musically it comes from great artists that I admire since I was a teenager like Enigma, Deep Forest, Delerium and Enya, for example. The influence for the song themes, however, comes from the nature, from the Deities, from the Elements. I usually dream a lot about them.

 

 

MS: Hounds of Hekate uses breath as a kind of percussion, which makes the overall sound more intense. Where did this idea come from?

 

DF: In the beginning of the video we see Vanessa (our pet dog) sniffing. It’s like the dog is in the mind of the person and not there physically; it seems Hekate is trying to communicate with them. I love dogs and I wanted somehow to insert them in the whole song. So after the initial sniffing, the sniffing sound becomes some kind of a beat and then the song starts.

 

The idea of Hounds of Hekate is to continue the story from Nunnos. In Nunnos we meet a character who is injured – many people told me they could see themselves as the injured character in the film – and then, after drinking the magic potion and being healed by the flute Nunnos plays, the person sleeps and then wakes up in the forest.

 

Suddenly they start listening to a dog sniffing in their ears.

 

MS: You’ve mentioned the short film Nunnos. Tell us how this came about.

 

DF: Nunnos was shot to be part of Jesse’s new videobook and also to be part of Santuário Lunar. We chose Cernunnos to be the first honoured God because we really love him and we see him like one of the main symbols of fertility and abundance among the deities around the world. And the description and images we have about the ‘Winter Cernunnos’ protecting the animals and the forest matches Jesse. The story shown in the short film was written by myself right after I asked Cernunnos for some inspiration.

 

MS: Do you think Cernunnos is still as powerful a figure in modern Paganism as in ancient times?

 

DF: Yes, I do. Cernunnos may not be as popular as other Deities due to the media. But among us, Pagans, I do believe he is one of the favourite ones. I believe whenever we think of the Wheel of the Year, Cernunnos is the first God we think of.

 

MS: So far you have two singles on Spotify. Will there be an album soon?

 

DF: Yes, there will. I’m planning to release an album in 2018. I don’t know the precise date, but I’m sure it’s going to be in 2018.

 

MS: Who is your music aimed at? Who will get the most out of it?

 

DF: The music is aimed at people who enjoy new age music, music for introspection, relaxation and similar ideas. I think the songs from Trismegistia invite the listener to an inner journey where they can be in touch with themselves and forget about the hectic world we live in.

 

MS: Do you have any live shows coming up?

 

DF: No, not really, I don’t think about making any live shows at the moment.

 

MS: What compels you to write Pagan music?

 

DF: It is my way of honouring the Goddesses, the Gods and the nature. Through these songs I make a tribute to them and I create enjoyable music which anyone can listen to and also be in touch with these energies. I think this is somehow a way of contributing with Pagans all over the world, offering one more option for their repertoire.

 

MS: What’s next for Trismegistia? Where should we expect to see you this time next year?

 

DF: Currently I’m working on the album. I can say there are going to be more singles, music videos and short films until this time next year. Many Goddesses and Gods are going to be honoured in them all.

 

MS: And finally, what’s your favourite season or festival, and why?

 

DF: Mabon is my favourite festival. I always enjoyed autumn and winter. It’s the best season here in Brazil, the weather is very nice. I was born on March 22nd, which is Mabon here in the southern hemisphere, maybe there’s a connection, I guess.

 

Thanks for talking to Pagan Pages, Daniel! Follow the progress of Trismegistia on Twitter, Spotify or at the website. Music is also available at iTunes, Google Play or CDBaby.

 

***

 

About the Author:

 

Mabh Savage is a Pagan author, poet and musician, as well as a freelance journalist.

She is the author of A Modern Celt: Seeking the Ancestors and Pagan Portals: Celtic Witchcraft.

For Amazon Information Click Images

 

 

Follow Mabh on Twitter, Facebook and her blog.