In Conversation With #111 - Chris Noah
Riga-based artist Chris Noah combines authentic raw vocals with a guitar driven sound to creative gripping melodies on his new EP - ‘Distance Deluxe’. Creating the release with London-based producer Kristofer Harris, who has worked with the likes of Bears Den and Ghostpoet, Chris is certainly proving himself to be one of the most promising acts from his region, he took a moment to talk to us about how the EP came together.
Hey Chris - how are you? So, your EP is out now - how does it feel to be releasing music during such a troubling time for the creative industry?
First of all, thank you for featuring me here on WTHB! I’m still pretty excited about the release and trying not to think about the cancelled shows and the current situation too much.
In my opinion, new releases are one of the few things that keeps us, artists, alive mentally in this situation. The whole release process is pretty fun - following the stats, going through feedbacks and talking with media, so it’s keeping me afloat and taking my mind off everything else.
It is titled ‘Distance Deluxe’ - does that hold any certain meaning to you?
I’d say it is an honest retrospect of the past and a lot of observing of what’s happening around me. It for sure has a meaning - “Distance” is the title track that I wrote a while ago (couple of years), being away from home, and the song is about how social media allows us to follow each other without actually communicating. It is kind of sad, but common, especially in the process of moving on and being in a perpetual battle with yourself. So the song is about that.
EP “Distance” was released on 20th March, just a week after the pandemic hit Latvia, so people asked me if I deliberately chose the word “distance” for the title as everyone was socially distancing. Obviously, I didn’t as I had chosen the title a good few months in advance. Funny enough, the deluxe version of the EP came out on the day when Latvia declared the second state of emergency. I guess it’s a continuing theme.
This EP sees you working with Kristofer Harris, who has worked with the likes of Bears Den, Ghostpoet and more. How did that partnership come together? And what was it like working with him?
Ahh, yes, this is a question people ask me a lot in my home country - Latvia. Long story short - I started doing some songwriting with a guy I knew through other musicians and he happened to have studied in London. After the first songwriting day, we already knew that we’re really similar in our creative direction and we came up with some great tunes (River, Fall Through and others) in a pretty short period of time. I invited him to take care of keys in my band, and we’ve been making music together ever since. But back when we just started working together, we were looking for a producer who could add something fresh to the sound. So, he mentioned Kristofer as he had briefly worked with him in the past. I messaged him, sent my previous stuff, and not long after he flew to Riga for a session. We did the first compilation of tracks - Fall Through, River and Inside Out, and we’ve kept in touch ever since. At the end of 2019, we recorded the EP “Distance”. I really like working with him and he’s such a great guy, we will definitely do some more work in the future.
What are the key themes and influences on the EP?
There are a lot of influences - starting from John Mayer to Bon Iver, The 1975 and bunch of other great artists. At least in my head. But I cannot name one specific, since we didn’t have one, specific reference.
Now, looking back and listening through the EP, I can definitely say that the key theme of the Distance is modern-day relationships where people tend to be egocentric and are constantly looking for a place to belong.
Do you have a favourite lyric on the EP? If so, which one and why?
It is pretty hard to choose one, but maybe “Double standards are a standard we employ and refuse to see”. Why? Because I feel like double standards are getting more and more common and I am seeing this quite often in my everyday life. And at the same time, it is a good reminder for me to analyse myself more than other people, otherwise, I would be a hypocrite singing a lyric like that.
Now the EP is out there, what next for you?
This is the worst time for planning since we have no clue what will happen in a month or two, but all I can say is that I already have new demos and I am constantly writing/recording more, so I am looking towards getting in the studio and improving myself by writing more tunes!