INTERVIEW : Noble Oak
To listen to Noble Oak’s music is to step into an alternate reality. Fuzzy and colorful like the clouds that reign over a sunset, it envelops you and fills your head with light. Horizon is the new album from the Vancouverite, it features dream pop with chillwave and psych rock influences. Its confidential and grandiose movements capture and magnify the best of everyday life in gemlike hymns. It’s the quintessential summer album, perfect for soundtracking days at the beach and nights in the woods. We connected with Patrick Fiore to learn more about the creation of his new LP and the influences that run through it.
Your new album marks an evolution in your sound. What were your desires when you started working on Horizon?
This album was meant to be a slice out of my world at the time of writing it, from 2017-2019, and was always going to be wide-ranging. It's a reflection on the things that were changing, restoring and bringing about new experiences, both in my personal world and the world I saw. I feel the evolution in sound is just that: a progression or evolution of the things I've learned, both emotionally and from a production aspect.
You said your goal was to make the most beautiful songs you possibly could. Can you take us through the different steps of your songwriting?
I don't know if I ever feel fully "done" with a song, but there's a point where it's enough. I experiment with sounds and ideas on the piano or computer and see what appears, usually when I'm feeling particularly heavy with a certain variable emotion. Lyrics come about the same way, by hitting record and seeing what appears alongside a melody. It seems like the most organic way to let words come out.
What’s your favorite beautiful song at the moment?
A tie between Appetite by Prefab Sprout and Refuge of the Roads by Joni Mitchell.
Your song Dream-Spark is one of your most played tracks on Spotify. Do you remember writing and producing it?
That song definitely sat well with me for a long time, but I didn't expect it to become so popular. I remember writing it in the summer of 2013, during a period where I felt I was in a creative stride. Dream-spark wasn't meant to be special and came together very quickly within the course of a day, but the fragile air of it seemed to strike a chord with people. I can never say what it must mean for people who hear my songs, but I can only hope it's a feeling of lightness and perhaps joy, too.
How’s the artistic scene in British Columbia? Do you think the place where you live has inspired your creative process?
The artistic scene in BC hasn't inspired me nearly half as much as the visual and environmental scene. Being here and surrounded by ocean and mountain has been the driving force for not only a sound of my own, but an appreciation for other musicians' sounds that would recall this landscape. It's become fundamental to my mental well-being to stay in touch with nature here as much as possible. Nothing stokes my inspiratory fire quite like absorbing the atmosphere of the forests, lakes and vistas that I am fortunate enough to live so close to. The art scene has some tremendous creators here, and I know the environment attributes to at least some of their ideas, as diverse as our inspirations may be to us all.
When you think about the making of Horizon, is there a moment that stands out? Something you’ll remember for a long time?
The moment that the lyrics and melody for In Series appeared in my head was striking. It was all there immediately. I often yearn to have that experience again with a song, and it did happen another time last year, surprisingly.
Horizon is available now via Last Gang.