W: George Gray I: Macami
With September in full force the seasons have begun to change. Things are slowing down and people are unwinding as the summer madness fades and if one album or artist encompasses that, Noah Hill is doing pretty well. He may have found international success with his electro-pop group Parcels, but this September Noah’s released a debut solo album, one that goes firmly back to his folk and acoustic roots.
As debuts go, 'Ok ok now' is certainly a raw body of work. Forged from over a decade of song-writing and reflection it’s undeniably packed with emotion and honesty, and as an entirely-self made project, you can sense Hill’s presence in each moment. After a first listen I couldn’t resist the intrigue, so I took the chance to chat with Hill, both about the album and the web of memories that made it possible.
However, as the zoom link connected, it quickly became apparent that Noah wasn’t in fact experiencing the changing weather of September, instead relaxing in a much sunnier part of the world. A brief holiday, he revealed, sandwiched between his last Parcels tour and upcoming solo one. It’s needed respite given the scale of the gear change he’s making, switching from his five piece down to a wholly individual project, but it’s also a reality he’s candid about. “Sometimes I think I'm coping well and I'm managing. And then sometimes you just have a full crash landing and just realise that you're not.”
So how does he cope with it? With that very same honesty. From having to readjust plans with friends on this very holiday or having the awareness with bandmates that after each tour a few days are needed to recalibrate. Yet, at the same time, that busy schedule and quick turnaround is something Noah clearly thrives off, honing his recovery after each touring effort. “It's enriching, it's great and I'm so glad that I'm doing this. But you do learn what you need. You learn new things every time.”
It’s rare that anybody you might meet would speak so openly about their struggles and success, but with Noah it’s a clear choice, and on the LP he echoes it further. With 'Ok ok now', Noah takes the listener through the looking glass of his memory, putting the spotlight on a relationship and breakup that largely inspired the album. “I'm totally transparent throughout the process. That's the decision I’ve made from the beginning, just to go in one hundred percent with honesty and authenticity. So I've got nothing to hide at this stage.”
No where is that more apparent than on the three interludes interspersed throughout the album, 'Oranges', 'Lighting' and 'Love Story', each delivering a unique blend of Noah’s musical touch and a voice note from his then partner. In Noah’s own words, together, their combination is key for “world-building,” painting the picture for the listener beyond the lyrical storytelling. “Take 'Oranges', I'm actually writing one of the songs at that moment, and she's coming in interrupting that. It's this beautiful interplay between her and me.” Pictures of a life that solidify the intimacy of the album to Noah, “In a way it sums up the realness of it, It's like the whole record is sort of a voice note in a way.”
Adding to the fluidity of the album, Noah reveals the musical voice-note blends also act as a transitional tool, “naturally” blending the many styles and sounds that have a place on 'Ok ok now'. However, with that natural ease comes an underestimated challenge… if clearing a musical sample can have its challenges what on earth about a voice note.
“It was surprisingly easy,” Noah chuckled, “the relationship ended with so much love and respect and a want for the other person to do well, she was always encouraging me to do a solo record,” he explains. Although the album is completely self produced it’s obvious Noah’s personal connections with those around him ring true throughout the project, each track a time travel machine into his shared past.
But that feeling can take hold both in and out of the studio. “Every single moment that you work on it, you're having flashbacks. Every time I play the live shows, when I record the songs in the studio, when I'm making the music videos, I’m constantly tapping into the feeling of the record.” And it’s a phenomenon that keeps him grounded in the big moments, “there's a unique moment when I’m about to play a song live, step up to the mic and sing the first verse, where I just get transported back into what that song is about and get in alignment with it.”
Beyond the influence of his memory Noah’s new folk-tinged pop album also has a broad palette of influences, from hints of Unknown Mortal Orchestra to childhood memories of Stornoway and even harmonies from the relationship that inspired the album itself. “We used to sing together a lot, and I'd produce these little songs as just a core part of our relationship. We would do Julia Jacklin covers and Lana Del Rey covers and stuff like that. So there were a lot of songs that passed between us and in a way that helped inform the record in its own right.”
In Noah’s own words, the album's folk influence opened up opportunities for him to tackle each song head on, retelling lived experience without hesitation. “You have the capacity just to sing quite directly, so that's always something that I'm leaning on or inspired by.” An empowering feeling for the singer, “you can.just say exactly what you feel through the medium, there's nothing to hide behind, it's just you and a guitar singing a love song, to me, that's like the most powerful form of music.”
It’s been a big leap for Noah, one that started by sharing the album with his mum, who’s own musical interest and emotional resonance shaped the artist he is today. “I’ve got a lot of faith in her emotional resonation with music. So when she likes it, I'm like, cool, I’ve hit something good.” Later followed, close friends, like Tennyson Noble who’s supporting him on his European tours and catalysed his motivation, “we were both working on records, and he would send me songs and I would send him songs, we'd be having calls and just be like, keep going, you're doing well, I know this is hard.”
But for any future albums listeners will likely be tuning in to a different style once again. So dense in memory and personal honesty is this first album, that Noah revealed the future may be more abstract. “Because this album has been so dense in memory, it's kind of living in the past in lots of ways. I think I'm gonna need the opposite, something that can be a little bit more fluid, a bit more movement and less personal.” An exciting prospect for fans new and old alike.
As Noah returned to his holiday, I had one final question: what he’d be listening to himself. The answer was a variety as diverse as his contributions to this record but with one resounding message, pop music is in a good place and he’s very excited to be part of it.
Listen to 'Ok ok now' here and find out stay up to date with Noah’s work here.