Q&A: NOEL Is Finding Cathartic Relief In New EP ‘Mementos’
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY MARIAH ESTRAN ☆
Photo By @ph__any
DIVING INTO DEEP EMOTIONS ISN’T EASY— for singer/songwriter NOEL, this was the case. The process of opening up and unveiling the truth was a hurdle to overcome. But when finding interest in music, those barriers began to fall away.
He recalls listening to Lewis Capaldi for the first time and hearing his voice hold such emotional depth. “Something sparked in me, I was blown away – that got me into music,” he says.
By the time he was 17, music took center stage. He had stopped playing football due to an injury, so immersing themselves in the craft was a seamless transition. NOEL began uploading covers to TikTok and stole the hearts of millions. At the start of 2024, he released his debut EP, Headed North.
Now, on November 15, he follows up with his new EP, Mementos. With vulnerability as the driving force, he’s finding solace in the sense of release that songwriting provides. NOEL took a moment to elaborate, telling us more about his summer singles, production, and what to expect next.
Photo By @ph__any
LUNA: You released “Out of My Mind” this summer. I understand it unpacks the anxiety from pushing down the demons we sometimes face. How did writing this song help you recognize these emotions and release what was weighing your mind?
NOEL: I sometimes find it quite difficult to talk to people about those dark thoughts and anxiety because I'm generally such a happy person. Since I started making music, writing songs, and even listening to songs, it gives me a platform to express those feelings, which is nice. While growing up or getting older, dealing with those emotions and facing them through music has helped me a lot with processing them.
LUNA: Most people would stray away from diving into those darker subjects. What is it about music that helps you find your safe space to be vulnerable and honest?
NOEL: It's quite difficult to describe, there’s something almost magical with music. I have this thing, I sing when I'm super happy because it's my way of expressing emotions. When I’m happy, I just sing happy songs all day. It’s the same way when I'm sad, I’ll sing these sad ballads.
I've always been not much of a talker. I've always been good at keeping my emotions in. Since I started making music, it has given me a platform to get all that out.
LUNA: You’ve shared that you wrote this song with two friends who are songwriters as well. What was that collaboration like while creating “Out Of My Mind?”
NOEL: I wrote it with two of my best songwriting friends. That day, there wasn’t a clear creative direction. We weren’t sure what we wanted to do, and they had to leave in a couple of hours, just, like, quite stressed. Then instantly, the melody for the chorus came about – it was such a powerful, emotional melody.
So, we instantly took it from there, because we felt like the lyrics almost wrote themselves. We could just put words to that feeling.
Kris Eriksson, who produced it, I know him very well and I know how talented he is. I had full faith in him, I knew that he understood the vision. He just leveled it up and made the vision I had in my head fit perfectly. So, I'm super happy that he made it, and that I got to make it with two of my best friends.
LUNA: The track captures these strong emotions, and you wanted it to be as if it could soundtrack a movie. If you were to have a song be a part of a soundtrack for any type of movie, what would you choose?
NOEL: That's a difficult one because I really like my movies. For this song (“Out of My Mind”), I’ve thought about it. I feel like it should be the climax of a movie. Like, it's very intense.
I thought about one of my favorite movies ever, Prisoners. It’s a thriller and it's quite dark but super intense. I’ve watched it many times, I feel it could work quite well in that one.
LUNA: You started pursuing music at 17, now, you're 21. You’ve released your debut EP at the beginning of this year. How have you developed your sound and grown musically over the last few years?
NOEL: It's been such a ride, but it's been so fun. I come from a musical family, but I always ignored music, because that was my sister's thing growing up.
Then at 17, there was a switch. I stopped playing football, which I had done all my life, and I remember hearing Lewis Capaldi for the first time, something sparked in me. I was blown away – that got me into music.
I wrote my first song three years ago. At that point, it was just writing and writing and writing. I wrote over 150 songs to find my sound. You start from the point of having listened to other people's music. I developed a sound [using] inspiration, but found what I wanted to make and what I enjoyed making.
I'm still doing that, the first EP is very different from the second one. My music taste constantly matures and changes. I enjoy making what I like to listen to and what I'm feeling now.
LUNA: What can you tell us about your summer release, “Flowers At a Funeral?”
NOEL: It is the most honest song I have ever made. At the beginning of this year, I was a part of my first breakup, and it's basically about that whole thing. It was difficult, and the relationship was up and down. But writing it was also therapeutic for me. It’s about how when things end, you can see the beauty in it. Looking back at it — you can finally see those beautiful moments and appreciate the whole thing more.
LUNA: What can we expect from the rest of your upcoming music?
NOEL: I'm working on the EP, and it's almost done. We're just finishing it up, so I'm super excited to have everything done and be able to listen to it all the way through.
I'm excited to get into playing it live. I started music so recently, and I never went to a music school, so I have no experience playing live. I'm looking forward to getting into that.
