Feature: Nølah [Interview + Premiere]

Nølah is a talented producer and DJ from Lleida -northern city of Catalonia near the Pyrenees- although she has settled now her residence in Barcelona. Her passion for the music started at the early age of 7, studying classical music and then, after a while later, being part of a rock band as a guitarist and composer. This whole path of experiencing and learning can be perceived in her particular sound.

Hi Nølah, thanks for joining us, tell us a bit about yourself, how did you discover electronic music and what led you down the path of wanting to be a producer, DJ and ultimately a live performer?

I started to get interested in electronic music in a more serious way when I finished college. I began producing riffs / loops with my guitar and rhythmic bases with logic, until I decided that I had to get serious and learn to work and use a DAW.

In the end I decided to learn Ableton since I always wanted to perform live, in fact it's something I've done since the very beginning.

Tell us about your record collection, where do some of your early influences lie?

I really like many styles of music, not just electronic, but the music that made me want to dedicate myself to this started with Radiohead, and more specifically the remixes they had on their albums artists such as Caribou, Modeselektor, Jamie XX. Following this I started to get interested in other artists like Aphex Twin.

So you have quite a musical history then, from studying classical music to being in a rock band, how important is music theory if you want to become a successful electronic musician, would you say it’s essential?

I do not think it's essential but it helps a lot if you want to play live and improvise or make variations live. As for the production, with all the resources that currently exist it's not essential but obviously helps improve productions of course.

There is a mystical feeling in your productions, is this something you strive for and what do you want your music to convey to the listener?

Yes, I always try to make my music feel something, because I do it with feeling and it's great that people can feel it.  I want people to feel, take a trip, get excited and enjoy.

Tell us about Barcelona, how has living there shaped your sound and career?

Barcelona is a city with a lot of movement in the electronic scene, and that is very positive because you can meet very interesting people with whom you share ideas and learn a lot. But about the style, I do not think my sound fits 100% here, but I do not see it as an inconvenience, rather a challenge.

We love your artist name, it’s not your real name so is there a story behind it? and how did you end up settling on Nølah?

When you start as an artist and decide that you want to use an aka it is always difficult to find the best one, and in my case it was the same. I thought of many possibilities but none was part of me and I decided to use Nølah which was my nickname in my gamer days hahaha.

Your live performance for Cercle was amazing, it must have been an incredible experience, and how did that come about?

Yes, the truth is it's something I will never forget, one of the best moments with Nølah.

As it happened, everything was very fast, my agent told me that there was this possibility two weeks before the date but it was not for sure so I started to rehearse and prepare the set a bit anyway. It was almost a week before they confirmed it and luckily it was in a place relatively close to Barcelona, then I took my synthesizers, I put them in the car and with my brother we went to Pont du Gard.

 Do you have a preference between playing live and DJing? Or is DJing something you primarily reserve for podcasts and such?

The truth is that if I have to choose, I prefer to play live, even if it is more complex, I really like to play live. But I do DJ sets sometimes and of course I also mix for podcasts.

When you were finding your way and finding your sound at what point did you know you wanted to play live in addition to being a DJ?

Since I started producing electronic music, I was very clear that I wanted to do live, it was not something that came later, and on the contrary, it has always been what I wanted to do. It a bit unique I guess since in general many artists start as DJs and producers and then they go to live.

You have an amazing EP out soon on Timeless Moment, we’ve premiered ‘Ansuz’ , walk us through the production process on that one.

Well, this EP is composed of two tracks plus the remix from Lunar Plane. They follow the line of my productions, emotional and melodic, maybe with a more rhythmic point in the second track (Dragaz). Like many of my tracks I always start with the melodic idea and from there I develop the theme. I finished these tracks time ago but they are still very special for me.

Timeless Moment has quickly established itself as Brazil’s premiere progressive house/techno imprint, how did the EP end up on the label?

Well, the truth is that I started listening to some of the tracks that came out on Timeless Moment and were really good. Later Danilo asked me that if I wanted to send music to the label because my style fit perfectly, and it was there when I decided to send these two tracks that had just finished. Luckily, Danilo liked them and that was it.

Lunar Plane is a great remixer choice on the release, were they someone you had wanted on the project from the beginning?

Yes, the truth is that the Lunar Plane remix is spectacular; it is an honor that they have remixed my track. This time it was the same label that I'm looking for someone to do the remix, and of course, this has been the best choice, I love the music they do and the remix they have done is extraordinary.

How do you feel about your work being remixed in general?

I love it, I really like when other artists remix one of my productions,  I think that the track is improved or it is facing another style and I like that a lot.

Where can fans hear you in the coming months and what new music can we expect before the end of the year, anything you can share with us?

I am currently working on new projects, and I hope to release some EPs before the end of the year. What is sure is a track on a compilation of the German label Steyoyoke.