NOAH SLEE: Soul Creations
An interview by Sarah Kidd.
Laneway 2018 is upon us and while there are a plethora of outstanding acts worthy of your time there is one particular artist whose name should certainly be circled in red on your schedule for the day. Initially beginning his musical career as a member of the group Spacifix under his real name of Tau Manukia, Manukia sadly became disenchanted with the music industry due to the untimely demise of his former band. That was until his musical spirit was reawakened by the spectacular ‘Eraser’ album by Thom Yorke.
Remerging as Noah Slee and delivering not only an EP in 2016 but his stunning debut album entitled Otherland late last year, he is now making a name for himself internationally as a solo artist with a unique blend of traditional and contemporary soul flavoured cleverly with several other ingredients. Currently based in Berlin, his home for the last four years, Slee is looking forward to returning home for Laneway.
Hi Noah, how are you?
“Hi! It’s nice to hear a New Zealand accent”
[laughs] Yes, well I am about as Kiwi as they get… Now you’re a Kiwi yourself and you are currently living in Berlin, is it the old adage that to be successful as a New Zealand musician you have to get out?
“I don’t think so … I don’t think that’s true actually. There are obviously a lot of examples, Lorde is still based in New Zealand, and so are a lot of other musicians. I think it comes down to – for me anyway – it was kind of a creative choice. I just felt like I wanted something different and a new environment, and a new space … I just wanted to feel something.
Before Berlin I was actually in Australia between Brisbane and Melbourne so I’ve kinda been away from home for a while”
Being based in a city like Berlin with such an amazing history, do you find that it does indeed infiltrate your music?
“Yeah, without you even noticing sometimes; I think as soon as I landed here I was writing sad songs, it was so gloomy and it was dark by four pm and yeah even like the history … society in Berlin and just how liberated the city is, is quite refreshing but then versus the rest of Germany quite interesting too.
But yeah all of it plays a huge part in my songwriting and my daily thoughts. Sometimes I even refer to certain areas I’ve based myself in, or use German words as kind of more of an inside joke but with certain things I guess only Berliners would know because I have gotten used to the city. But yeah it’s cool. It’s my new home.”
Yes well there are some pretty amazing artists based out of Berlin, such as Peaches and Black Cracker…
“Yeah I actually didn’t know that Peaches was in Berlin until recently; we have the same sound girl and I have got to see Peaches a couple of times now, she’s really great!”
I am particularly fond of Black Cracker; I think he has an amazing sound and a unique aesthetic to his character.
“True … true. Yeah, they’re definitely like a crazy talented couple there for sure.”
You have often been touted as ‘Pop-Soul’, do you agree with that title? How would you describe your own sound?
“Not too sure, I have never heard that before but it doesn’t surprise me. I guess, everyone tries to put it in some kind of box so that they can understand it; but my album that I just released has quite a mixture of sounds and styles and songs, but most of it I guess is coming from like the soul, funk, R&B world. Even a few of my tunes are quite poppy too.
I think I just make the music and don’t really think about it too much until it’s out and then you’re like ‘Oh that’s how people perceive it, that’s pretty cool’. I totally hear it in a different way, you know what I mean? But I think I’m pretty open to how people perceive it too, because it kind of like helps you to understand the influences you do have without even knowing it which is kind of interesting.
Like about a year ago everyone was just putting the word ‘future’ in front of everything [laughs] everyone was just like ‘future R&B’, ‘future soul’, and now that’s kinda of … disappeared.”
One thing that really stands out on the album is your voice, the one word that immediately springs to mind upon hearing it is soothing – you have a voice that you can really chill to. Did you have any formal training?
“I guess I never really stuck out with the training that I started. I did go once or twice to some vocal training in high school, which was really, really cool. I went to Avondale College and I actually got to attend a program where they had some of New Zealand’s best singers in to teach.
I think in a way that was really crucial training, what we’d do is sing like huge pop songs and by the end of the course you’d have to be able to nail the biggest note and all the acrobatics in the song; it wasn’t theory it was more practical. It was more like an experience, like how to tense your shoulders, like you’re about to do a fart or something and it helps to bring out your biggest note… [laughs] I don’t think I’ve ever learned that in proper formal training so I was definitely appreciative of that.
I went to Auckland University for a little while and I think all these little bits and pieces that I absorbed from different teachers and just different experiences that I had definitely made me the singer I am today. Also a lot of it is like singing with friends; all of the time. Whether it is in a party situation or with the family; I think those things just made my voice and helped me learn my voice.”
Well that’s a very Kiwi thing isn’t it? To sing with our friends and whānau all the time! [laughs]
“Yeah … everybody sings, all of the time!”
With your debut album ‘Otherland’, which is absolutely fantastic, was that a labour of love for you?
“Yeah … Otherland was … creating Otherland and also being able to release it, is definitely a labour of love for me and definitely one of my most favourite musical experiences ever. I was collecting demos for almost a year and I got to the point where I wanted to release a mixtape but I was definitely in a darker place at the time … [luckily] I had some good people around me at the time to just really push me on and be like ‘why don’t you just put all of that into your music?’
It sounds very typical and kind of cheesy in a way, but I can’t really express how valuable and how important finishing this record off and releasing it was. It’s one of those moments that just happened back to back and the right people came into place and it was all quite easy from then.
I was able to move forward in life and making this and telling these stories helped hugely. I’m pretty blown away by the reception of it; I’ve just been playing a little bit around Europe and the UK and it’s just really nice that I’ve had a responsive crowd, that’s a huge bonus for me. I kinda like pinch myself sometimes.”
It is an outstanding album, I can hear the New Zealand sound to it and it reminds me of certain places around the country…
“Ah… thanks!”
Obviously it’s a very personal album as well; I do have to touch on the track ‘Told’, what prompted you to write it?
“I think … ‘Told’ is a song that I have had for a while but it wasn’t … it didn’t sound like the way it came out. It was an acoustic song actually and it was much more like laid back; it was a bit more down tempo.
I guess at the time I was really frustrated at how hard it is to come out, you know what I mean … heh … I mean, I know what I mean but I was just super frustrated at how this thing had a burden over my life for all these years!
I wrote it a few years ago actually, but yeah, I think that a huge part of it was like you know I’m no different than … I wrote it about … I guess a lot of the people around me; that I was no different to them and why it was so hard to be able to express this. And [then] yeah this beat came along and I was like ‘this is the beat for the song’, because people are going to boogie to it and they’re gonna want to know what I’m on about and it’s nice to kinda have that contrast in there.”
You will be performing at Laneway this year – exciting?
“Yeah very exciting, it’s a festival I’ve always been into. I’ve never been, I’ve kind of always missed it or been here when I’ve wanted to go; but it should be very exciting!”
Laneway Festival hits Auckland City tomorrow. Tickets are still available but are expected to sell out so get in quick if you want to head along. You can catch Noah Slee at Laneway Festival on the Thunderdome Stage from 6:10 – 6.55pm.
