Recently presented with the “Listen to Berlin” award, NOSOYO managed to create a stir for their upbeat and poised alternative pop – far beyond their current hometown Berlin. We had the chance to chat with the ambitious duo – read on!
Tell us a bit about NOSOYO. How did you get started?
We were two students in Amsterdam and decided to be in a band together. In the beginning we played small gigs in cafés and did pretty much anything to get by with music, that has never really changed 😉 We ended up going to Berlin, where we recorded our debut and the rest is history.
In your bio, you state that in Berlin you’re confronting your demons. So, what’s bringing out the demons in Berlin? With regard to the art you create: Is confrontation a trigger for your creativity?
Berlin is definitely less cozy and less pretty than Amsterdam, took us a while to get used to people’s boldness too. The winters are darker, the summers hotter. In general you have less social security than in the Netherlands, where you can always feel pretty safe, financially and workwise. It’s a different system over there.
And about the confrontation – well we are a working couple, so there are tensions in the room sometimes that you just cannot always avoid. In the end it is always interesting how we creatively involve both of us while still being 100% happy with the result – there can be blood and it’s worth it 😉
Major vs Indie vs DIY – how do you currently exploit your music?
We just founded our own label and after so many years in the industry we feel free for the first time. It was one of our best moves ever and it gets better with every month. Of course it was helpful to collect some knowledge from experienced companies, but in the end we noticed that they do not know more than we do.
What the upsides and difficulties on embracing a DIY mindset?
We see music as a teamsport. So yes, DIY musicians do a lot themselves and do not work with big corporates – but it does not mean that they need to do EVERY single thing themselves. There are a lot of great very skilled and well-connected freelancers out there who are dying to work with nice people and good music.
So in the end you have the freedom not just to build your own career but also to create your own network, your style.
When you look back to your first release in 2015. In regards of how you produce and release music, what would you say changed the most since then?
We have become more relaxed about it, we know the process, what needs to be done when etc. We make decisions faster, we know more people and can get stuff done the way we want it to be done. This might be the most important aspect – with each release you get a little closer to what you really want.
Playlists have become a major driver for reach amongst an audience. How do you manage to get your music added to big playlists like Spotify’s Feelgood Indie?
We work with a distributor and also we cooperate with Digital Wolves. In the end none of these partners can guarantee anything, but it helps to get a chance in this crazy overflowing market.
How do you deal with the visual concept on your social media?
We try around a lot, sometimes we dive into cohesiveness until we are fed up with it and just splash out lots of colors. We are doing our best to mix professional looking images with more personal content, which can be fun, especially if you look into some older photo-collections from touring etc.
You’ve been busy touring lately. Do you have some insights on running a smooth live show?
We had some performance training last year, which helped a lot. Being with only two people on stage can be confusing and unsatisfying, we learned to connect even more and work with what is there instead of thinking about the live band that we are missing so much (…one day!!).
It is always good to talk about the show before starting the rehearsal, taking time to really build a setlist that makes sense. The more you think about what kind of vibe you want to create the more the purpose of the show crystallizes, which makes it much more fun to perform.
2019 has been a productive year so far – you already released 4 singles. What’s next for NOSOYO?
We are excited to release our EP on the 13th of December, which is also connected to a fundraising festival we are organising in Berlin right now. We are collecting donations for a pro-choice organization in Argentina, the profits of the party and the merchandise we created for it go to them. The 4 singles and some non-album tracks will be on the EP. The album is coming out next year 🙂
How important are data insights for your – strategic – decisions?
It is very important to keep track of where your last release has done well. It gives you a good overview to plan the next steps. Besides that we come across some interesting facts. For example our followers on Instagram are EXACTLY 50/50 male/female. Amazing, right? Very symbolic for the values we stand for!
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