A Conversation with: Rory Noble

Read Time: 15 mins

When we think of a kiwi who’s cracking it globally and is at the forefront of bringing new music from Aotearoa to the world stage, the first person that comes to mind for us is Māori producer, artist and multi-talented instrumentalist Rory Noble. With producing and writing credits for Kanye West, Ruel and Tinashe to name a few as well as heading up the powerhouse Five AM, he chats to us about his latest single “High Again”, his production process, the biggest lessons he’s learnt in his career so far and more.

We’d love to know a little bit about your musical journey so far from when you first started getting into producing!

I guess music has always been a part of my life literally from birth. My dad was an entertainer, he was a crazy singer, and he got all my siblings into instruments. I’ve been playing keys and guitar ever since I can remember (laughs). I don’t know why he got us all to play instruments - I always make a joke about it but pretty sure it’s so he could have a free band to play at all his gigs (laughs). We played a lot of really random gigs everywhere in the country, to the smallest towns and taverns on state highways that you didn’t even know existed. And we were young as - I remember going on tour when I was like 8 or 9 or even younger (laughs).

But then I got into production - I got introduced to it by my brother Matt in intermediate just because he was making beats. I remember getting an MP3 player, putting my beats on it and showing other kids at school (laughs). I think naturally after that, I just always had a passion for it because it’s so fun and it’s such a creative process. You’re putting things out there that were never there.

What I feel like I’m somehow lucky for is that I’ve always really had a mind to want to experiment. And also with my parent’s music that they listened to and music my dad would sing was quite wide range, everything from like 50’s to today. I liked all that music and that sort of shifted into my production. From quite early on in my production days, I always liked doing weird stuff and a lot of stuff that most people probably wouldn’t wanna listen to (laughs). I love doing that now still in a really pop sense - I think it’s still cool to mix things together and try make it work. And most of the time, naturally, when you throw out of the box things together, it does sound like something that is cool and unique. For me, it feels like whenever I do that, that is my sound.

Yeah totally - I think experimenting is what music’s all about and finding those new sounds. Because there’s so much music that’s been created already, it’s like, what new sounds can be created now?

Yeah, hard!

And on the singing side, has that been a recent venture for you or have you always been singing?

I was always singing as a kid - my parents got me to sing a lot when I was quite young and even at some of the gigs we’d do I’d sing some songs (laughs). I don’t know if it’s a bad habit, but when a song I knew would come on, I’d always sing the harmony. Every time to the point that it would piss you off. But I’d always make weird harmonies that would still work but aren’t conventional so I think that also helped piss people off (laughs).

I guess when I started really trying to hone in on production, when I was like 19 or 20, I liked songwriting and making people’s voices sound good. And then apply that same effect to myself (laughs). Also being a producer and working a lot with of Mikey Dam, we got to understand the difference between singing live and performing, and singing in a way that translates what you’re writing when you’re writing a song. They’re too completely different things, and both amazing for different purposes I think. We really tried to learn how to portray the right emotion to what we were writing. So I feel like I got kinda good at singing like that, but recently because we’re gonna try start doing gigs and stuff, I’ve gotta get it down to a T for live (laughs). I’m confident - I just want people to watch and be able to portray that emotion again in the songs on stage but then be able to perform them good (laughs) and not muck up any of the notes or anything. So in one way I have been singing, but in the other way this is a new thing for me which is cool. I love the journey of it.

Yeah I guess there’s singing at home or in the car, and then there’s singing where people are paying to see you which is a different thing (laughs).

Yeah! (laughs)

Well we’re loving your new stunning single “High Again”! Can you tell us about the concept of this track?

The EP is finished so I guess “High Again” plays into like a further concept of the EP. I’ve had the song for so long. The period that that sort of happened, my dad passed away late 2017, and I’d taken on a studio lease at Parachute which was gonna be my first leap into the big world I guess. That first half of 2018 was getting this new studio, moving up to Auckland - it was this weird period of mourning mixed with new beginnings and having to hustle and strive to prove something. But I guess that mixes in a pretty interesting emotional state, and an even more interesting breeding ground for songwriting. I was just writing songs all the time - all the songs in the EP have just come from a random thing that pops up in my head, either a melody or a line, and I’d just put it down in the most natural way possible. So “High Again” sort of formed out of that. I remember listening to it to the next day and being like “alright this is dope” and then not touching it for a while (laughs).

And then somehow it came to the front when I did “Team”. I guess over the last 3 years, I started to look at what having an EP could look like. I’ve written a lot of songs over the last 3 years, and really trying to consider what I am trying to say and “what is this project for me?”. “High Again” is the beginning of that phase and I feel like my EP ends up to where things are at now.

I think it’s great that you can sit on music and that there’s no real pressure or time limit on it, and it naturally comes to where it needs to be at some point without forcing anything.

Yeah I think that is the best time to create, and another perfect example of this is the Niko Walters “Not My Neighbour” track because that came out of that same situation.

Absolutely love “Not My Neighbour”!

It’s a banger aye! To be honest, when we made it we had no idea. It was me, Ryan and Mikey - Ryan Hobbs is a really good friend of ours that we’ve done a lot of collabing with. It was a night before we did a trip to LA, and we were at my studio all super sick, and we were just like “let’s just chill and write something really random that we kinda don’t care about what we say” (laughs). And that came out of it. I remember listening to it the next day and being like “oh that’s kinda cool” and none of us touched it. I tried to pitch it to Ruel as I was working on some of his stuff, and I just sent that in because I was just kinda going through and seeing what fitted the vibe they were trying to go for. They had little play around with it. That would have been kinda interesting if it took that path. But at the same time we got Niko to record it, and they loved it.

Amazing! And getting Kiana on that track must have been an absolute dream!

That was sick! When I heard the verse with her, and they trusted me to mix that version which I was stoked about. She’s so hard man, she’s so good! So I think that was just kinda a real cool extra thing - real grateful that a song was able to be made in that process and was able to get a US feature on it, double platinum here and a radio song. Maybe that’s the formula - just don’t care about it. We were stoked.

That is so cool. Going back to “High Again”, what was the writing and production process like for that?

This song is interesting from a production point because it took a few different turns from where it started. I think I’ve made 3 different projects for this song (laughs).

I’ve been using Ableton for the last 4 years - I love it. I think it’s the coolest, most creative DAW personally. It’s built in a way that being able to do wacky shit is so easy and you can really use it as a canvas and be able to freely do stuff. My studio - I think it’s over the top because I believe that you only need the basics, and I’ve gone way down the rabbit hole of buying gear, but at that point I just had a shitty guitar, a laptop, my speakers, I had a mean mic which was fire - the Manley Reference C - that’s what I record everything on.

The cool thing about it actually is the help that I got on the track. I remember my homie who lives in Switzerland playing electric guitar on a lot of it, Simon Gooding who mixed it jumped on it and did some additional production stuff, Mikey co-wrote the second verse and then we got my other homie Ben Malone. And then the bro Dan helped me to the gang vocal part at the end. It’s one of the only tracks where I’ve actually got all my close homies on which I think is a really cool thing. So I think that helped me finish it - to open up to people’s opinions on it and that’s something I’ve been trying to do more of for my own stuff.

I think it’s good to not be precious. I see a lot of artists are still quite precious, and for good reason as it’s their song and process, and I guess they don’t know how to let people in and edit their ideas or offer ideas. So for my artist project, I wanted to be in a real open space for collaboration, especially with the crew around me. They have to want to listen to it, you know? I don’t think I can be the person that knows what everyone likes and what is best. Just because I’m making the song, doesn’t mean every one of my ideas is right. The best things that you’ll ever make will be because someone offered to bring up an idea or you allow their idea to come in. I’m open to anyone’s suggestion - you never shut out anyone’s voice. You just never know. Even if it’s just some random person that you don’t even know - you just never know that one of their ideas could be something! That’s my approach as a producer I guess.

Love that advice! Also, huge congrats on producing with Kanye - that’s such an amazing accomplishment!

It’s weird but I’m scared to hype things up because I don’t want that to be it. I suck at celebrating that’s for sure (laughs). I guess sometimes you’ve got to take that moment. It’s kind of cool to actually really think about it.

I’m already trying to move onto the next thing, like “how do we get the next single?” or “how do we get the next Kanye placement?” or “how do we get on Drake’s album?”. And that’s really been my life this whole year (laughs) - just trying to push that next international thing as well. I want to contribute to putting NZ on the map in that way and that’s the next goal.

The boys that I worked on with it, Finatik N Zac, they’re so dope. I’m such a fan of their story - being two guys from Perth in Australia. And then now, they helped produce the Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber “Stay” track which has been the longest Billboard Number 1 single. They’re the boys - I’ve been working on stuff for them for most of the year so it’s cool. They’re smashing it, I’m aspiring to be where they are. There’s some cool stuff I’ve got with them that I’m hoping comes out. I’m grateful for those dudes because they come from an equally far away place and cracking it on that global stage out there in LA and it’s mean. I feel that love for the kiwis that have done that, and I also feel that love for the Aussies that go and do that too because that’s hard. It’s hard to crack that point. It’s such a cool feat to see for a producer that’s aiming for that and that it’s doable. It’s cool to work with people who have done it and are doing it on another level. It keeps the passion and drive there. Praise to them, Finatik N Zac. And the best thing about their feedback is how cut-throat they are if it’s like, “yup this is in the right ballpark”, or no. It shows the honesty is right and I know exactly what to do.

Who are some of your favourite NZ artists right now and are there any songs in particular that you especially love & connect with?

I feel like we’re seeing a really heavy rise in new artists this year and even over the last month. There’s a lot of people doing some really cool shit actually. This is quite biased in a way but Matthew Young’s project that he’s just rolling out now I’m just a big fan of. He’s a great human - I’ve got to create some really cool shit with him and he’s a total artist.  He cares about his message and what he’s saying and what he’s trying to do. He’s just fucking talented. I remember getting shown his stuff in early 2018 and I was like “how the fuck did I not know about this shit?!” (laughs). That was to his songs “Hey” and “Collect” and “Panama City”. Give him credit for this - he helped me find my cheeseburger game. He knows his burgers. I respect him at that level too (laughs).

Again, I’m gonna be really biased to my own crew just because I believe in it. I hate to plug the Five AM artists but I overlook all these projects and I’m 100% passionate with my heart about what we’re doing. BEXY who just dropped her single - she’s so good and so talented as a writer and as a visual artist too. Her vision for what she wants to do is just sick and I’ve been supporting her for a little minute now. HINA - we’re dropping a cool cover for her this week. Her projects are something I’m really active in. Adam Snow - his EP is fucking fire. I do think Adam is hella underrated at the moment, I think it’s more because there isn’t a lot of his stuff out. But this project we’re working on, he’s a true creative and truly talented at what he does when it comes to being a songwriter, musician, and especially a singer.

What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learnt in your career so far, and what advice do you have for new artists out there?

One of the biggest lessons is to accept lessons when you are given them. Trying not to be a young guy about it and think that you know everything. I was happy to talk to anyone, and didn’t really see anyone as above anyone else. You could be the CEO of this label, it didn’t matter. I don’t think it affected me early on because I feel like I had this don’t care, don’t give a fuck sort of attitude (laughs). I’ve got to have a lot of cool conversations with people who have been around for a while and seen a lot, and now I just always take in what they say. Even though the times, platforms and the content is different, it’s good to listen to some of these people because they know.

Even now with my manager, he’s one of the best at what he does in the game, and even with him, he gives me really straightforward, cut-throat advice and opinions on everything and I love that because it helps me understand. There’s a reason for why their opinion’s like this - they’ve been in these situations before and they’ve tackled them multiple times. So it’s so cool to be able to absorb info and learn. I think that’s one of the coolest things you can do - being open to information. For me, I feel like that’s how I’ve got good at the things I think I’m good at - just because of other people telling me how to do them (laughs).

Naturally, if you have an opinion that’s different from someone else, you can easily go into a defense mechanism of like “nah I’m right about this”. It’s even just realising “okay, why do they do it that way?”. When you get to absorb their information, and mix it into yours, then you’ve got a new way of doing something. Among many lessons I’ve learnt, I think that’s been the key thing - just accepting those lessons (laughs). It all comes out through the music I make I think, and it’s all about the music being the end result.

Thank you so much Rory! Make sure to keep up with him on Instagram, Facebook, Spotify or Apple Music.