Nov 15, 20233 min read

NAS 10 Questions with nOzart

This time, we get to know nOzart, a producer from Belgium with a deep-rooted love for piano and an affinity for synthesizers, he continues to forge a distinctive path in the electronic music landscape.

The track "Everlasting Post" is featured in the New Artist Spotlight Family of Playlists.

Link To New Artist Spotlight Playlists:

https://www.newartistspotlight.org/playlists

1. Tell us a little about where you are from and what you are currently doing.

I'm a producer from Antwerp in Belgium making electronic music in several genres. I don't really want to pin myself down to one particular type of music though I often tend to wander around in house, techno and downtempo music with synthesizer or piano influencers.

2. What inspired you to start playing and making music?

I'm a DJ since mid 80's and always had a dream to also start making music one day. I considered this to be a very steep learning curve. 15 years ago I first started to learn playing the piano. During covid lockdown triggered by some personal coaching I also started to visualize my producer goal more concrete. I now really wanted to become a producer aiming to one day playing my own music at Tomorrowland, a popular yearly festival in Belgium.

𝟯. Who are your biggest influences?

I joined the Finish More Music community of Keith Mills in summer of 2021 and this had a huge influence on my progress in music making past two years. As a youngster I was also a huge fan of all kinds of synthesizer or piano key related music, like Jean-Michel Jarre, Kraftwerk, Human League.

4. What are your goals in the music industry?

Besides my goal to one day play a set at Tomorrowland festival I really just want to express my emotions in all kinds of music that hopefully can also touch other people.

5. Tell us about your creative process when you make new music.

My creative process is mainly inspired and formed by what I've learned in FMM and other producers in that community. In short I always start in my DAW by first generating several short loop ideas in session view to in the end pick my favorite one and transform that into a first rough arrangement. Biggest challenge is always to beat the perfectionist and procrastinator in me, being aware to keep progressing and not stick into endlessly playing and enjoying the loop phase.

6. What is your all-time favorite song?

I only recently changed my choice to The Rapture PT. III by &ME, Black Coffee, Keinemusic. I think I've heard this track for the first time during a set of Black Coffee at the Loveland Festival in Amsterdam. The memory, atmosphere and deep emotions of that moment I keep feeling when listening.

7. What is the best advice you have either given or received in terms of music?

You can have success or excuses not both. If you really want to do it, you just do it. Excuses destroy success every time. One little step every day makes a lot of progress even only a few weeks of months.

8. Proudest accomplishment?

The amount of really cool producer collabs and official label releases in only two years of being a producer. I'm also glad I've learned to be way less impatient and to enjoy music producing more in the now. In the beginning I was just like an enthusiastic puppy wanting to reach my big goals asap. I'm now feeling much more at ease and patient to learn and grow.

9. Just for fun! What's been your most embarrassing moment so far?

In my early producer days I felt like a real PRO producer already because of putting an LFO plugin in all my project stems. I didn't hear any difference but I thought that was just me not having trained producer ears yet. Only after weeks I found out that it was not doing anything as I didn't link it to any effect setting knobs of other plugins. Still makes me laugh and feeling embarrassed at the same time when opening projects of the early days.

𝟭0. Tell us about your lowest and highest points in music so far.

Receiving confirmations from labels wanting to release my music were often among the highest points as I was so happy reaching my big goals. I've now learned that after reaching big goals you often also get into a period of kind of depression with sad feelings of not exactly knowing what's next. Besides defining big goals it's important to also define daily micro goals which you install as daily habits. That way you can just continue after reaching big goals and don't feel like going down is the only way after climbing to the top of a mountain.