It is quite rare to find a bass music fan who hasn’t heard of the name Noisia. The Dutch bass music extraordinaire trio have worked exceptionally hard through the years to cement their names as some of the best producers in the industry.
Synonymous with intricate sound design, Noisia are veterans who continue to learn and break boundaries with their music. The trio have done almost everything as producers, including producing music for video games like Devil May Cry. After a long wait, Noisia have finally released their second album “Outer Edges”, earlier than expected due to its leak issues. Nonetheless we got a chance to speak to Noisia about the album leak and the album itself.
Azasia – Hi guys, how are you? Where in the world are you guys at the moment?
Noisia – Good! We’re on a plane from Amsterdam to Budapest, to play Outer Edges at Sziget Festival tonight ?
Azasia – Congratulations on the new album, sorry about the leak situation. What went through your mind when you found out that the album had been leaked?
Noisia – Well, obviously we were frustrated! But when we first found out, we were in the final minutes of preparation of our Outer Edges debut, so we had to stay focused on the show first. The weekend and Monday after, we thought a lot about whether and how we should change our plans. We didn’t want to release it earlier really, but we had to stay calm and rational and not let this leak ruin any more than it already did – and in the end the decision to release it immediately was the right one for us.
Azasia – The album was initially meant to be released much later, how much has the leak impacted your plans and schedules around the album other than its official release of course?
Noisia – Well, everything is different. The most annoying is that the CD and Vinyl will still only be available at the original release date in September. We released our album in the middle of European and American summer holidays, so a lot of people have missed it because they were away. All the stuff that we had planned is now weird and late, because it was meant to come in the lead-up to the release, not weeks after it. So yeah, not very nice. But then the positive side is the response from the listeners. We still love the music, and we still loved making it.
Azasia – We have waited a long time for a Noisia album. Is there a story behind the title of the album?
Noisia – The album title had to be something about the three of us, and our process so far. But we wanted something that could also be expressed visually on the album artwork. So after a lot of brainstorming we came up with Outer Edges, which is a reference to the extremes of the musical space between the three of us.
Azasia – The album sounds amazing and quite different from your previous tracks. What was the thought process of “Outer Edges”? What influenced the ideas of the album?
Noisia – We wanted to take every idea to its extreme, let it totally decide about its own reality and not be influenced by radio or DJ formats. So we tried to be uninfluenced by anything other than ourselves, and by the ideas that the songs itselves brought along in the writing process. Obviously we are unconsciously influenced by a lot, but our conscious decisions were always determined by ourselves or “the will of the track”.
Azasia – We noticed that “Outer Edges” contains no collaborations. It’s all purely Noisia (not that we’re complaining). Was this a conscious decision to do or was it something that just happened along the way whilst producing the album?
Noisia – Definitely a conscious decision! We feel you get a better view into our creative perspectives when it’s uninfluenced by our colleagues, which is relevant in the context of an album. Obviously we still love collaborating with our friends too, but an album with no collabs just feels stronger.
Azasia – I understand that it is sometimes difficult to choose tracks for an album and then arrange them in a way that makes sense to the listener, or makes it feel like its leading somewhere, a story or something along those lines. How have you guys achieved this in “Outer Edges” with how you have structured the album?
Noisia – It’s a puzzle. Luckily these tracks only wanted to be in this specific order. Once the tracks were all pretty much done, and it had become clear which tracks would make it and which wouldn’t, we just started puzziling. This was the only acceptable solution, luckily. It would have been much harder if there were 3 or 4 solutions to the puzzle that were equal. This time it was pretty easy, almost like a logical deduction.
Azasia – How has your radio show impacted the way you guys produce music now as compared to pre-Noisia Radio?
Noisia – Obviously we are exposed to a lot of music, selecting our favorites week in, week out. This is a lot of work, but it’s worth it. We have a new way to communicate with our audience, while we are also more tuned in to new music. Everything that you hear and like is bound to influence you a little bit I think, unconsciously.
Azasia – Are there any plans for the “Noisia Invites” or the “Outer Edges” tour?
Noisia – Well of course we would like to take Outer Edges all over the world! It’s an audiovisual show with lights and visuals controlled by ourselves. It is a lot more than our DJ-set becasue of that, but it’s also 100% Noisia music, and all three of us onstage. And Noisia Invites too, it’s a way for us to try to create/curate the kind of party that we like to be at ourselves. Invite our DJ friends and create a nice vibe ontstage and in the crowd.
Azasia – Thank you guys for your time. Cheers!
Noisia – Pleasure! Hope to be in your part of the world again soon!
You can stream the entire album below.
