Contributing Writer
We have the pleasure of speaking with William Noble, the London based DJ and tastemaker to celebrate his latest EP on Lit Music. We discuss his route into music, the influence behind his sound and more…
Hey William, great to meet you and love the new Ep on Lit Music 🙂
Thank you and nice to meet you too.
Summer is here – is that good or bad for you when it comes to your sets? Do you like warm weather and playing sunnier tunes?
Finally yes! I think people are generally more down to party in the summer months when the weathers good so I’d say yes it’s a good thing. I can’t stand the cold, I much prefer the heat, whether it’s from the sun or inside a sweaty, hot basement club.
I’m not so much a classics guy, and I don’t like to play “sunnier” music (I presume by “sunnier” you mean vocal deep-house / funky-disco house music?)… I don’t know if my music style changes too much in that respect.
What was your route into house music? What made you fall in love and want to be part of the scene?
Years back when I moved to London I went with some new friends I met to a festival in Mexico; I remember being stood there in front of the speakers thinking “this is total madness and I love it.” From this point in time I immersed myself in electronic music, raves and all that fun stuff that goes with it.
How has your taste, styles, and sound evolved since you first got involved? Are you always evolving or do you feel you have found our own musical ID?
For sure, even over the past year, my tastes have changed. It’s always evolving and for me developing. I’ll hear something new and be like “how can I work this?” Or explore into that artist or label. I don’t think I have entirely found my musical ID as of yet, but I’m getting close. I think the music in our scene progresses so quickly you can always have an idea of a sound you want to have, for me it is a constant work in progress, if you remain stationary you may get left behind.
You’ve been resident at various places before now – how different is that role compared to being a headliner?
Headlining is a lot more nerve-wracking, but obviously a really cool experience. Those who know me well know I can be an anxious wreck before I start playing, but as soon as I play my first track, the nerves go entirely away. There’s a lot more thought ahead with what to play and understanding what will best work for you, the crowd and the venue.
When you are the resident somewhere, you tend to know your audience, and I guess you can be more experimental and take more time with your mixes.
Tell us what The Space Cowboys is all about, how you got involved, what it’s like being part of that?
My dear friend Lars Larsson (the coolest cat in London!) runs the Space Cowboys. We’re a set of DJs and artists based in London, Berlin, and Barcelona. Lars throws parties, and a few years ago he asked me to play for them. It’s been an excellent opportunity for me; we’ve traveled and played all around Europe together as a result of the contacts we’ve made from our parties in London.
Tell us about your new tune on Lit Music – what inspired it, where was it written for, what time in the night?
In January this year I was invited to play in Berlin. The music I heard that night inspired me to make something that sits between tech-house and minimal. I think ‘The Music We Like’ is a club-play song, the bass line rolls and can really shake the whole room. Recently I’ve been spending a lot of time in Miami, so I would love for it to be played at Space Miami. For me it’s the best club in the world at 7am when the party starts to get going.
What gear did you use? Are you someone who has a big studio or are you happy writing outside the box?
My tools of choice are my drum machines and Ableton Live. I work in a studio with two other artists; we can proudly say we have a lot of the right toys to get our work done there.
What else have you got coming up/are you working on?
I have two EP’s coming out on Planet Underground and King Street Sounds (NYC) this summer. Next month, July 20th, I play for my first time at Fabric alongside Pan-Pot, Housekeeping, The Badin Brothers and Marcello Miele, so this is the big one on the horizon!
Who’s gunna win the world cup?
England, I hope! Kills me that Mr. Southgate left Jonjo Shelvey behind tho!!!
I saw something about Chotto Matte Miami on your insta – what’s that about? Are you involved?
Chotto Matte is my favourite restaurant, they have one in London and one in Miami. I am the Chief Sushi Taster 🙂
William’s ‘The Music We Like’ is out on Lit Music on 22nd June
Pre-order it here – https://www.beatport.com/release/the-music-we-like-ep/2310016