NoSo Stays Proud of Themself
written and photographed by Kate Hada
Across the East River inside a Barbra Streisand-themed room in Brooklyn, I had the opportunity to speak with indie music artist NoSo. Opening for Molly Burch across the country and releasing their debut album “Stay Proud of Me,” NoSo is taking great strides towards making a name for themself within the music industry. NoSo brings heart, vulnerability, and representation to the table, creating songs about unique topics while maintaining relatability. NoSo’s hands-on approach to creating their visuals, editing, and producing pays off every time you press play.
Kate: Introduce yourself!
NoSo: Hi, I’m NoSo! I’m a songwriter and producer based out of Los Angeles.
Kate: Nice to meet you NoSo! Let's start with your newest single, “David.” What was your inspiration behind it?
NoSo: I had a dream that I was a white dude in a church pew, and I woke up really disappointed in myself. It felt like I had taken a lot of steps back from working on internalized racism toward my own culture. Its lyrics reference the dream, but the second half of the song is based on my experiences growing up in a homogenous town.
Kate: Wow, that’s so interesting. Did that dream freak you out when you woke up?
NoSo: I just woke up feeling very emotional and disappointed in myself, because I had taken so many steps back in my progress.
Kate: How do you think “David” offers a taste of your new album “Stay Proud of Me?”
NoSo: It kind of encapsulates the theme of my younger self reconciling with my identity. I think I’m a lot more confident with [my identity] now as an adult, but it still feels like a progressing journey in itself. I feel like I’m learning more about myself every day and so I think of this album as marking progress.
Kate: Okay, so you see this album as a journey of coming into yourself?
NoSo: Yeah exactly.
Kate: What can we expect from “Stay Proud of Me?”
NoSo: It's been described as a coming-of-age album by different people; I’d say they’re pretty accurate. I’d written a lot of the songs between the ages of 19 to 22, which was a specific period in my life because in college I was grappling with certain experiences. I just still think of those as my teen years [because] even though you're technically an adult at 18, I certainly did not feel that way. Towards the end of the album, the songs just feel more mature in terms of content, and a lot of the songs were created when feeling like a misunderstood teen.
Kate: When I think of the album it reminds me of a coming-of-age movie, would you say there’s a coming-of-age film that matches the album?
NoSo: Hmm. I mean I would like to think of it as some cool indie A24 movie, but I don’t watch a lot of movies. I'm mostly obsessed with TV shows. I have to think [about] that, that’s a really interesting question though.
Kate: Is there any coming-of-age TV show that you can think of since you watch television more?
NoSo: There’s this one Korean TV show called “Reply 1988.” I felt a deep kinship with that show because it wasn’t about romance. It was mostly about community and family which I feel most of my life has been based on as opposed to romance being the centerpiece. It’s always been me being very much concerned about my interpersonal friendships and relationship with my family.
Kate: I love that. How do you think “Stay Proud of Me” will showcase your sound and essence as an artist?
NoSo: I think the earlier songs have a certain footprint in terms of sound, like “Suburbia” which was one of the earliest songs. One of the last songs I wrote was “Honey Understand,” and I feel like I just started taking more risks with the later songs. “Parasites” is another late one as well, and I feel subject-wise that one is about surgery and I never thought I’d have the courage to write about something like that. In terms of tonal choices, it became more avant-garde but also my own bravery with certain matters became stronger throughout the process.
Kate: Could you describe your process while making the album?
NoSo: I actually think the oldest song on the record is the last song “Everything I’ve Got.” That was written with just me and the guitar, which is typically my process for every song. But then while making the album a lot of songs would be me recording every instrument in Logic [music software], saving the instrumental for long periods of time, and singing over it. It was as if someone sent me an instrumental to topline over. That was a new process of songwriting I’d never done before, but yeah I did both. Overall some songs were just me and the guitar but a lot of them were toplining over some instrumentals I made.
Kate: Did you enjoy the process of producing?
NoSo: Yeah I did. It was certainly tough because I had a lot of writer's block along the way, but I found it to be an informative experience.
Kate: So you’ve toured with Yumi Zouma in the past and now Molly Burch, how has that experience been for you?
NoSo: It’s been amazing. I’d never really done a proper tour prior to these, and I think they're the perfect people to travel with because they’ve been so sweet and accommodating. It’s been a great experience.
Kate: That’s awesome! Is there a specific memory on the tour that stands out to you?
NoSo: On the Yumi Zouma tour, there was a period of time when we were staying at a bizarre hotel. We were trying to switch but were all at this coffee shop that couldn’t seat us normally, so we were all at the bar squished on one side. R&B music was blaring on the speaker above us so we were all struggling to book a new hotel, and screaming at each other because we couldn’t hear. It just felt like a sitcom. At the moment it was so hilarious but now looking back it just sums up the tour. It was so fun and felt like summer camp.
NoSo opens for Molly Burch at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg on May 9
