Coffee Break with Nandu: Out Of Options label launch
He’s a musician who continues to thrive and surprise. Embodying the sound of underground melodic techno and house, Nandu revels in the blurring of boundaries as he combines his affinity for jazz, pop and rock and reimagines them in the electronic world. For Nandu, the journey doesn’t stop at the dancefloor as his music penetrates your mind and overwhelms your imagination, transporting you to strange realms and magical places. Today, we were fortunate to catch up with him about his new label and be the first to hear all about his exciting new venture.
So, firstly, could you tell us the name of your new label and the meaning behind it?
Hi guys, thanks for having me.
So, the idea for the name came from an idea that our path is deeply connected to the past, present and future. It is guided and directed by the choices we make, and the options we choose.
Sometimes in life the illusion that we are out of options appears. In this particular moment, with our back against the wall, and an unclear path forward, we sometimes have the ability to see the blind angles and alternative moves to proceed forward.
The world of electronic music is very complex and, especially in these times, it is evolving extremely fast. For me 2020 was a very well-planned year release wise, and I’m very proud of what my team and me achieved, but on a personal level the year was very challenging. During Covid I started to feel that I lost control of not only my career, but also of my creativity and happiness. As an artist I feel there is no difference between personal happiness and happiness ‘on the job’.
So, I felt out of options, and I needed to take control - that’s the story behind the name.
Will your label have a particular focus?
Out Of Options is meant as a way for me to be free to express and create. To release music I like, without having to wait for other people’s opinion and schedules. I really like to work with different labels - each of which have a different identity and way of doing things - but sometimes the wait can be long and that can take away some of the joy. A big part of being a musician is to share your own work with an audience. But sometimes when releasing music with other labels the music ends up being more than a year on the way.
During Covid, with all shows cancelled, to release music became almost the only way to connect to the audience. It became clear to me that I needed somewhere I could release music without the long chain of gatekeepers, schedules etc.
What do you hope to achieve by creating this new label?
The goal is simple. To have fun and to keep on to the happiness and joy in the process: all the way from the studio to the ears of the audience. Also, the ability to be flexible in terms of planning is important.
Does this new project differ in any way to your previous work and experience?
I’ve actually done a few small label projects throughout the years. But as an artist I am in a different place now, and my sound is, in my opinion, more mature now (and I am too haha). This makes the work around the releases more focused than previous projects. I then got the possibility to work with Muting The Noise for distribution, whose expertise is amazing and helps getting most out of it. Besides that, I’ve been working with the amazing artist Randi Hagemann for the artwork. She really brings something beautiful to the table and helps take the project on a higher level.
You have previously told us that your music isn’t always easily identifiable as yours as your range is so varied. Do you think this label will enable you to establish your identity more or is it another way to continue with your experimentation and exploration?
What makes it fun to create music for me, is to be free. And as mentioned, Out Of Options is my sanctuary. So, this label will definitely nurture the weirder sides of my musical identity. It has never been a goal for me to sound only one way, and this label is there to help ensure that I keep on developing as an artist.
Your first EP on the label sets an atmospheric tone, ‘Interference inside’ especially – I was really drawn in by Emily Simbi’s velvety vocals. Could you please tell us more about the creative process behind this song and how you both collaborated?
The two tracks where not written in order to be on the same release. I didn’t really know who to send the tracks two, and I became more and more fond of the idea of releasing them together. The tracks are very different, but they both very much resonate with my life over the last year. So, I decided to release them together.
‘Interference Inside’ was made during the first weeks of lockdown back in March/April. I’ve been talking to Emily for a while, and we wanted to music together. And suddenly we had the time, but we did not have the option to go to the studio together. ‘Interference Inside’ was actually a finished track, but I felt something was missing. I decided to send it to her, and asked if she wanted to try to write a vocal. Next morning, she sends me a “draft” as she called it, and I literally cried when I heard it the first time. The lyrics and the vocals are so beautiful and just matched perfect. And I felt like they had always been there.
Has there been anyone or anything in particular that has inspired this new EP?
“The last time I saw you / You didn’t understand me at all
Don’t blame you, how could you / It’s only the surface you can recall.
I want commitment that’s deeper / I want a friend who’s true
I want you to listen / When I sing my song for you.
On the inside / who am I,
in your eyes? / On the inside,
who am I / in your eyes?”
~Lyrics by Emily Simbi~
‘Lemon Haze’ was actually written before Covid. But ‘Interference Inside’ is, for both of us, even if it is two different creative processes, inspired by the darkness that Covid brought, but I also feel it holds very strong emotions of hope.
Your music is very sensory and tends to take the listener on a journey through their own consciousness. In what way do you think this EP explored your own consciousness?
For me making music is kind of therapeutic, but I don’t spend energy on analysing my thoughts about the music until after it' is finished. Sometimes when listening to a finished track and I don’t really feel anything, it just ends up in a folder hidden away deep in cyberspace. But mostly the story tells itself when replaying the music.
Every time I listen to ‘Lemon Haze’, it takes me directly to a dancefloor, and when I listen ‘Interference Inside’ it feels like being back in the first weeks of isolation last year. I was in a cabin in the woods with my family totally isolated for the first weeks.
This EP kind of symbolises the time before, and the time during Covid, and now I’m looking forward to writing the ‘post Covid’ tracks.
For me, ‘Lemon Haze’ is a really dynamic and exciting track that also has an element of unsettling mystery to it. I’d love to know your thought process behind this song and how you arrived at such an enigmatic place. What was your journey?
“I found love in the weirdest place
I found love in the Lemon Haze
I’m not living a lie
But with this shit love is undermined
But I want to fall in love with you”
~Lemon Haze~
The music came easily to me on this one. I don’t even really remember writing it. But the vocals which are written and sung by me, I do remember. The whole track has a lot of mysterious energy which I wanted to somehow manifest with lyrics.
Normally when I write lyrics, I write about something I’ve experienced in real life, something close to reality. But this time I wanted to create a fictional story. I’ve just saw a documentary about heroin users here in Denmark, and how they lose themselves to the feeling drugs give them. But at the same time the thing they want the most is to feel good without it. Even though the track is called ‘Lemon Haze’, I wrote the lyrics from that idea.
I noticed that both of these tracks include quite haunting vocals. Is there any specific reason that you have decided to incorporate vocals into both tracks?
I simply love vocals. Music can be expressive in so many ways. But I love to be able to very precisely put words on the feelings I want to express.
What piece of equipment has been essential in producing this EP?
Since the tracks were not written at the same time, there was not one single piece of studio equipment that has been essential. But the EP would have been very different if there weren’t any vocals.
How have you coped without the club during this time?
End of Spring and Summer was great. But it’s been a long and dark winter here in Copenhagen (in December the sun comes up 08.40 in the morning and goes down at 03.20 in the afternoon, and it is raining most of the time). So, as for many people, it has been pretty shitty. But the days are becoming longer now and the vaccines bring hope.
What role do you think your new label will play in the post-Covid music scene?
For now, the label will mainly be for Nandu stuff. But I hope that people will quickly identify it as my label. Also, it’s important for me that Out Of Options will present music which makes people forget the hard times for a while and just have a great time. A lot of labels are very melancholic and dark at the moment, but I will try my best to bring a different vibe to the table.
What’s next for your new label?
We are a long way in planning this year, but I will keep the details for my self for now.
Last time we spoke you were enjoying a Caffe Latte. Has that been your coffee of choice for today?
Today it has been a cup of freshly made filter coffee with a bit of milk in.