Free the sound

Libratone and Nosoyo

2019-05-16

One of the highlights from our recent Libratone Live Sessions in Germany was the great energy provided by the electro-pop male-female duo, Daim and Donata, who together perform as Nosoyo.

On the week their latest single, Highness, is released, we were able to find time in their busy schedules, to get the low-down on their music and their ambitions.

In their own words

How Nosoyo discovered their passion for music

Daim: I am half Dutch half Turkish and so I lived in Istanbul for the first part of my life, where I got to absorb a lot of Turkish traditional music. In addition, my parents love travelling, and they took me on an extensive trip through the southern parts of Africa when I was a kid. In Kenya, we got welcomed into a tribe called the Masai Mara. Through them, I learned what it is to be free, how not to judge and to feel and experience the power of music at it's purest.

Although I started music at a young age, I never thought I would pursue a career in music, but after having studied molecular sciences and technology at university for a year, I decided to follow my heart and study music at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, where I met Donata.

Donata: I was born in Germany's ex-capital Bonn, just before the fall of the Berlin wall. My dad (a radio DJ, die-hard Beatles Fan and blues guitarist) showed me some basic recording techniques, and my mother (a teacher for arts and literature) introduced me to poetry. So, at aged 14, I locked myself up, recorded my first 'album' on MiniDisc and passed it on to my friends. After a self-exploratory solo-trip to Argentina, where the name Nosoyo was born, I decided to become a professional songwriter and singer. This choice brought me to the Conservatory of Amsterdam, which offers a particularly creative study in the pop music field. This sounds like a very predictable chain of events in retrospect, but it actually took me a while to surrender to the music. Once I did, there was no going back.

How they developed the band’s unique sound

As we are only two people in the studio, and on stage, we devoted ourselves to creating a broad sound with as little add-ons as possible and still keeping the intensity of two people making music together. For Libratone we chose to reduce our setup to acoustic instruments, to catch the confronting feel of our track 'Mind Game'. We constantly experiment with hybrid sound, mixing electronic and acoustic sounds, working with loops, samples, synth basses, and so on. However, every now and then there is nothing better than just taking it all out and going back to our basic instruments - vocals, drums, guitar. Our music evolves around the lyrics, we let them inspire us to let the sounds live up to the different facet of the words in each context.

What inspires them?

Our personal experiences in life inspire our music. We sing about what we go through and aim to translate our emotions into music. It is a challenge to really write from the heart, and the best moments are when a feeling of anxious excitement sets in - a little bit like 'oh wow, this is so honest, can I really say that?' Then you are heading in a good direction! Authenticity is very subjective and getting to know yourself keeps you on your toes without ever reaching a goal. The goal is to be in the moment, although the moment is constantly changing! Accept whatever music comes out of you at this instant and embrace it.

How they spend down-time

Being in nature, cooking healthy vegan food, doing yoga (we are both trained yoga teachers), meeting friends, partying every now and then, and travel or be with family! Going to the cinema is also a quick remedy for an overly stimulated brain.

Their career highlights to date

At the moment every day is a highlight really, with ups and downs of course, but being able to pursue our dream every day is great. We try to soak up every moment, the good, the bad, the exciting. Not long ago we played a concert near Paris supporting a band called Therapie Taxi, their fans are around 15/16 years old. We got so much love from an audience that had never seen us before. Quite surprising as our music's genre does not really match Therapie Taxi's. Music unites people and THAT is a highlight.

What Free the Sound means to them

To us Free the Sound means expressing ourselves through music. Music is the only language that is intimate and universal at the same time. You can sing, dance, create and cry out to it - we like to do all of these things as much as we can!

Working with us!

Working with Libratone was a wonderful experience. Professional, relaxed and enthusiastic. It is great fun to collaborate with a brand that puts effort into bringing across the artist's sound the way it was intended. It has become normal to listen to music through phone and laptop speakers, and even though we plead guilty to doing it as well at times, it does not do justice to the music, and the intention behind it.

What’s a goal you have for yourself that you want to accomplish in the next few years?

Our second album which we are very excited to be releasing soon! We want to keep travelling the world with our songs, play festivals and connect with our audience. There are soooo many ways of doing that...!

You can hear Nosoyo’s brand new single, Highness, here.