05-03-2017
UP COMING SHOW!
On April 7th 2017 at 7:00 the debut show of Endless
Oceans will be on at Avant Garde. Join Endless Oceans, Noi Ya, Nessie and
FoOlish at Avant Garde!
LOCAL ARTIST HIGHLIGHT
NOI YA
Noi Ya is an Ottawa based artist who is making
waves in the Ottawa indie and punk scenes. He puts on an energetic and
entertaining show. Ottawa Sound talked to him about the release of his
EP.
My first question is where did you get the idea to
use Noi Ya as your Pseudonym?
It is a secret 😝 I made a promise to someone that I wouldn’t tell
anyone, and I intend to keep it.
What is the title of your latest EP?
The Self Immolation EP
How many songs will be on it?
Six for sure, aiming for around six maybe some
bonus tracks
Where did the name for the EP come from?
The Name came from a point from an assignment in
class where the Monks were lighting themselves on fire to protest the Vietnam
war and I thought it was beautiful.
Are you releasing it all digitally or will there be
physical copies?
Was thinking of doing this thing where I use
micro-sd’s and using less plastic since I’m kind of an enviro hippy. If it was
a full record I might use vinyl.
Are you playing any shows soon?
Lots of shows. Bunch in April. None this month.
Harder to get people to come out in the colder months so I’ll be playing less
until the snow is gone. I’m for sure playing on April 7th at Avant Garde.
What/who are some of your influences?
Listening to smaller artists to hear new things and
one that I’m always listening to is Beck. I like artists who do new wave and
synth pop, Joy Division, Prozzak. Small time guys include Justice’s new album
because of the funkiness and Death from above 1979. One I have listened to
quite often lately is Neon Indian’s night school.
What got you into making music?
Before this I was in a death metal band, starting
on my own I was listening to Coldplay and Weezer, Ramones. I got into music
during junior high when things got confusing and I wanted something to help
find my way. I was lucky to have a family where music was important but not
forced upon me.
Any advice for new Ottawa artists?
Realize that not all promoters are considering your
best interests, you need to work with people who consider you a friend. Don’t take
shortcuts when writing or making your music.
How is social media impacting the scene in
Ottawa?
In Ottawa? Social Media in Ottawa’s scene is
beneficial because you can reach out to people you don’t normally get the
chance to. I’m a reclusive guy and I put up a front, and it allows me to talk
to people while I work at home. There is a lot of elitism in social media and
if your rep is good then it should speak for itself. If it wasn’t for social
media I wouldn’t be able to play some of the shows I’m playing soon.
IS GETTING A RECORD DEAL STILL A VIABLE OPTION IN THE DIGITAL AGE?
In the age of Bandcamp and YouTube is a record deal worth it?
One thing all musical artists used to strive for is
a record deal. A record deal is a dream a lot of musicians never attain. But is
a record deal something that we as musicians should still work towards? My
honest opinion is that it is up to the individual artist/band. You don’t need a
label to record and sell your music for you anymore. With websites like Bandcamp
and Soundcloud you can release your music for however much you want and
whenever you want. With YouTube you can make and release your own personalized
music videos for free or relatively low cost.
Being signed to a label does have its benefits though.
Artists that are signed to a label tend to be taken more seriously by the media
and the rest of the world. When an artist is signed to a label the label will
pay for things. What many artists don’t know is that the money a label spends
on them is recoupable. Recoupable means that you must pay it back. The way
labels get their money back is by taking it off the sales of your music and
merch but once you recoup the money the label will then give you more money. It
is a vicious cycle.
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