Catching up with NoL’s frontman Ian Devaney
For my review of Nation of Language’s ‘Tournament’ I managed to throw around words such as alchemy and introspective, and drop the names of Peter Hook and Yazoo, all in an effort to have my writing match the very intriguing nature of the band. Everything from their line-up, SOUND, lyrics, and of course name is aligned with the metrics of cool. This coolness includes their positive response to doing an interview.
At the time of press the corona virus has taken the
world hostage, but not NoL who have soldiered on and done an interview for Music is Prana to defy the music industry and the
Department of Health. We caught up with NoL’s frontman Ian Devaney via the magic of surveillance the internet.
MY: In musical terms the word trio is associated with guitar, bass, and drums; yet NoL features vocals, synth, and bass. Was this line up premeditated? Did NoL have an earlier incarnation that featured classic elements of rock such as drums or guitar? Or was it a case of searching for the NoL SOUND (capital letters indeed) that resulted “dropping” instruments in the process?
ID: We did have earlier versions of the band with drums, but we arrived at this lineup through a combination of wanting to focus more on the drum machine sound, and the simplicity of keeping the band at 3 people. So much of getting a band off the ground is just getting out and playing shows – the fewer number of people in the band and the less gear, the easier it is to be mobile and adapt. Eliminating live drums allowed us to tour in small vehicles, or even on public transportation in the case of our European trips.
MY: No act out there sounds like you. It is fair to say that you have a unique sound (I didn’t capitalize it as I didn’t want to irritate the band). How does the writing process start? Do you tend to write in the studio? If so, do use the studio as another instrument to get the right textures and effects?
ID: While I don’t know a lot of bands that share our sound, I think there are enough to say we’re not completely alone. There is a cool movement of bands making synth music with similar influences, and it’s exciting to see how each one pans out slightly differently. Writing is all done at home and generally starts with the beat or a synth arpeggio, and I just improvise off of that. My understanding of recording technology is pretty elementary but I do like experimenting with it in search of a sound.
MY: As a New York band now on tour, what has been the response of audiences in other US cities? Is there a place outside of New York that you always look forward to play?
ID: We’ve had great responses on tour – I think people can see and appreciate how much the live show means to us.
Seattle, Los Angeles, and Chicago stand out as cities where we’ve always had a great time. There are also plenty of smaller cities like Louisville that we’ve only played once but really look forward to returning to.
MY: Your first full length ‘Presence’ is out in April this year, yet you have gained an impressive presence in the scene by releasing singles long before having put out an album. With that said, would you say that singles now carry more weight in the industry (a word I hate). Does the title ‘Presence’ relate to the beginning of this question? If not, where does it come from?
ID: The full title is actually «Introduction / Presence» – it largely stems from the idea that this is our first LP but we’ve actually been around for a little while. I think singles are really important in this current music landscape, but in some ways that is just a return to the way things used to be in the earliest days of the industry as we know it. I don’t have any particular problem with the way things are shifting – I like the idea of having both full albums and random singles so it’s an exciting time.
MY: Finally, will you be touring Europe any time soon? Please tell me you’ll be playing Madrid!!
ID: No definite plans just yet but hopefully some time later this summer or fall we will make it over.
Thanks
Ian
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