Artist Interview: 1-on-1 with Pablo Nouvelle

Vulnerability is a dance music album which, by my standards, is hard-hitting, but without losing the sensual and emotional side. No matter how upbeat and danceable the beats are, I want to touch people’s hearts with my music and remain true to the Cry on the Dancefloor genre.

Swiss artist Pablo Nouvelle released his new album Vulnerability a few weeks ago. I was blown away with the album. EVERY song keeps me begging for more. Hit singles like “You Make My Days Better” (maybe my favorite song on the album) and “Lovesongs & Sextapes” steal the show, but start to finish this is one of the best albums I’ve heard all year. I didn’t know much about Pablo, so I did some digging and found other songs I immediately fell in love with.

Vulnerability features 14 songs, is 55 minutes 55 seconds (do you think that was on purpose?) and takes you on a journey of sound. You simply can’t listen to this album and not feel something. He released Stones & Geysers in 2021, Obsolete in 2020, and Atlas Internet Cafe in 2019. He has 4 other albums and I am tempted to take a week and listen to nothing else. His debut artist album dropped in 2014.

I was so impressed with this album, I reached for an interview. I am listening to Vulnerability as I write this, and hope that you will, too, while reading. It is my absolute pleasure to introduce you to Pablo Nouvelle.

You just released Vulnerability, your eighth studio album. I listen to a lot of music, but this may be the best thing I’ve heard this year! Well done, man. Tell me more about the album, your inspiration behind the release and how your sound has changed since you released your first album.
Thank you so much that’s very kind and a huge thing of you to say. The best you heard all year… You have obviously great taste in music or just listened to a lot of mediocre music all year… (Laughs.) Vulnerability is a dance music album which, by my standards, is hard-hitting, but without losing the sensual and emotional side. No matter how upbeat and danceable the beats are, I want to touch people’s hearts with my music and remain true to the Cry on the Dancefloor genre.

Setting out to create an album that is in tune with the spirit of the times but which still has a timeless quality Vulnerability is a wide reaching collection of modern sounds I’m interested in. I want to walk the fine line of being as versatile as possible by unreservedly exploring what interests me, further developing my own signature sound that is getting recognised more and more and yet never writing the same song twice.

This album is a lot more dance floor oriented whereas my very first was based on sounds of Motown and soul inspirations mixed in with electronica, probably more pop leaning whereas this just drags you to the dancefloor (I hope).

Tell me more about the singles on this album and the journey you are taking us on? While no 2 songs sound the same, the collection of songs works.
Thank you. I wanted to take the listener on a journey. It started with “La Sensación Es Real” in January 22… And I subsequently released a single every 6 weeks that should take the listener on a journey that will be at times challenging but always has you second guessing what might come next, a journey through my electronic world that the album inhibited, born out of lockdown and still inspired by my time previously spent in London. My music is always about a journey…

I’d love to see you live. What can fans expect from a live performance? Any plans for a tour in the New Year? If you are hitting the road, make sure Southern California is on your list!
We have scaled things up for our live show and are now playing with 3 large LED screens behind us which add an incremental part to the show that we bring to any club. the sounds are more compact the beats are harder, there is more club atmosphere and I’m not giving voices as much space anymore in comparison to my more organic soul and electro mix of my earlier years.

I am accompanied by 2 musicians, guitar and drums in addition to the visual art on the screens and some techno strobes for lights we want to create a very intense live experience. Unfortunately not as easy to transport which means for the time being we are focusing the shows on Switzerland and surrounding nations like Germany or France.

You released Vulnerability on Armada Music. What other record labels have you worked with over the years and what was the experience like working with Armada?
I have been working with Armada Music, Black Butter Records in the UK and Bakara Music in Switzerland. They have all been great partners in my journey and Armada stands out in terms of their loyalty and help – it’s been a long standing great relationship built on mutual respect and them letting me develop my art and be a great supporter along the way.

What is your process for producing a track? I am curious where you find inspiration for a new single, how long it takes you and how you take what you hear in your head and translate that to a record. I am inspired by your artistic vision and what makes you tick.
Could be anything as a starting point, an old record that I like to sample, a writing session with a singer or another producer, it’s often very spontaneous and can be a super quick process to get to a starting point.  I also compose a lot of music for film and tv which means there are always a lot of ideas around that might get pulled out of a drawer and used in a different context than originally intended. Travelling the world is a major influence and going hiking, mountain biking, ski touring in Switzerland are all great sources of inspiration

Thank you for doing this. I know you are busy and I am excited to share this with my readers. In all of the interviews I do, I always give the artist the last word. Go.
Bed time for me. Good night.