New on the scene, though a long time together, N.O.A.H. are the product of a lot of formal musical education and years of friendship.
Named in reference to a beacon of hope, there are a couple of albums worth of tracks ready to go for the three-piece, but for now we’ll have to make do with popular debut single, euphoric indie anthem ‘Shine’…
Congratulations on the first single. Can you tell me a little bit about the story behind it?
Like most musicians in 2020, we found ourselves with a lot more free time to create and write new music due to the ongoing pandemic. We wrote ‘Shine’ pretty much in the middle of the lockdown, at this time we were all writing with each other remotely, sending music and lyrics back and forth over the Internet. We would say that ‘Shine’ definitely brought an optimistic light to the band, it kept spirits high and kept us going.
The song itself is about a journey, one which we must all have to make at one point in our lifetime. Sometimes we do not know where we are going, but ultimately, deep down, we know something greater and more powerful is guiding our way. In essence, ‘Shine’ is a story about keeping good faith when in uncertain times.
You’ve already had some RTE radioplay. How did that feel?
It is definitely a great feeling to be recognised by the country’s national broadcaster, we have been frequently played on both RTE Radio 1 and RTE 2FM. The support from RTE, especially in the first week of our campaign was amazing, we were announced as RTE 2FM’s ‘Track of The Week’ and have been played every morning on the breakfast show with Eoghan and Doireann. It is just really cool to be recognised on such a platform.
What are your various musical backgrounds?
Music has always been a huge part of our lives, we’ve all been playing music from really young ages, like 9 & 10. It is only when we started secondary school together that our passion for music aligned. After secondary school we all went to study music. Ronan and Ryan went to BIMM to delve further into their instrumental craft, while Adam went to Maynooth University to study music technology.
Have you taken a different approach in launching music because of the pandemic?
Definitely, its a completely different experience. The standout reason for this is that we cant play live gigs. We have had to fill that void with more online material, with livestream gigs and other interactive pieces of content to engage our fans. On the whole, it is upsetting not to play live but hopefully in 2021 we will be back at it again!
I understand the name relates to the ‘biblical’ Noah and the idea of being reborn. Is there an element of rebirth in the band for you all?
Yeah absolutely, the band was created from a previous musical endeavour that we were all involved in. At the start of the year, we felt that we needed a fresh start, something new, to keep the spirit of the band alive and ultimately gain more traction down the line.
Obviously you’re emerging as a ‘lockdown band’ in a sense. How does that work in practise?
The nature of the lockdown has of course had its affect on the band, in terms of being able to play live and tour. At the moment we are trying our very best to establish ourselves without this working aspect, we have had to keep our online content as up to date as possible by doing livestream gigs, posting regular videos and as I mentioned earlier, keeping good faith for the foreseeable future.
Have you even thought about what you might do as a live act at this stage?
We love to play live, it’s one of our favourite things about being in a band. Our time is now spent, writing and rehearsing new material that we hope to play live. As well as this we have spent a lot of time discussing what we want to do with our live show. Influenced by bands like U2, we are obsessed with the idea of making our show as performative as possible, with a huge emphasis on making it a real working production. We want to create something that leaves people amazed at what they just saw.
Some of you went to BIMM – how helpful was that for developing a band?
Both Ryan and Ronan went to BIMM in Dublin. As musicians the guys improved tenfold, it is very evident in their playing. Overall BIMM provides the tools for you to improve, as a performer, a writer and musician, but like with all forms of education, it is what you do with the knowledge that really matters.
How many songs do you have written at this stage, and what are the plans for unveiling them?
Oh, we easily have over 40 or 50 songs on the go at the moment, some are completely finished, some are still in the early development stage. We have a few songs planned to be released between now and the new year, but no dates have been confirmed. But there will be more new music!
What are your hopes going forward?
Right now, we are doing what we can to promote our new single ‘Shine’ and build a steady fan base. We have a music video for ‘Shine’ which is soon to be released. So, it’s a very exciting time to say the least and we are all really loving the direction in which the band is heading.
