Nørus : New Perspectives
With the music he releases under the moniker Nørus, Brazilian producer Felipe Bortoloti constructs introspective beats informed by the chaos of urban life and the tumults of a rich inner life. His new album finds Felipe exploring different forms of expressions, writing a soundtrack of sorts, continuing an artistic quest for meaning. We caught up with Felipe to learn more about what he’s been up to, the projects he’s excited about, and of course, the process behind his new EP, Our Special Place.
How have you been doing lately?
It has been a tough year for everyone but I've tried to keep my mind clear. I've worked on new projects and It's something that has been helping me a lot, because I found a new way to express myself through my music, and it opened new doors to me as a music producer.
You'll soon be releasing your EP Our Special Place. Can you talk a bit about this record? What was your mindset when you produced it?
I really enjoyed the process behind this EP, because it was something really natural. I tried to put different feelings in there exploring different styles of composition, but always thinking about the whole thing as one.
This is a special record because I've tried something new in my creative process, thinking about it as a short film. So, before I started to work on it, I wrote an imaginary script in my mind. It showed me a whole new universe in my way to compose music, and I've been doing this since then.
Do you have a creative routine when you start a new track?
I like to say that my creativity is the most crazy thing in this world because I don't have any control on it hahaha
Sometimes I dream about something like a chord or a timbre, sometimes the idea appears to me when I find a good song or listen to a different kind of music.
But in this pandemic situation, I've been working to find a new way to compose, because my creativity is fully connected to the environment I'm in, and it's really bad to me sometimes.
Your new album features some pretty complex drum parts. How do you usually develop the drums in your tracks?
I can say that listening to many genres is helping me a lot. Also, I studied drums when I was a teenager, so developing my drums is a nice process for me.
I try to be really patient and keep my eyes open to the details, not only on the drums, but on the whole track, even when I'm doing it in MPC 1000. Sometimes I like to mix the MPC with the Ableton's Drum Rack, exploring the best of the two worlds. It allows me to find a good and natural sonority to my elements.
In a recent interview, you spoke of your love of "artistic chaos". How does this chaos influence your music?
I'm based in São Paulo, a huge city with a crazy lifestyle.
Living among a lot of people brings you a new perspective about life and the strong cultural diversity inspires me a lot to improve myself as a human being and music producer as well.
Besides that, nightlife here is awesome, you can listen to all kinds of music in the same night! There are a lot of talented producers and DJs, and it's impossible to not feel inspired by them.
What's your favorite production tool at the moment?
My MPC 1000. Everything sounds great there! I like to use it to do my drums and to pitch down/up the elements.
I know you're also working on a new project named Abysmal. Do you approach it differently than Nørus?
This pandemic un-inspired me a little bit to create dance music and showed me a darker experimental side that I've never searched for Nørus before.
I saw a new opportunity to express myself through a new project and I did it.
Abysmal brings to me the chance to explore a different universe of my music, from the composition to the mixing process, being something more intimate to the listeners. The whole process is totally different, and I've been working this way to create a distinct sonority between the two projects.
You founded the label Matter of Time. Do you think this project has influenced the way you make music? Or your relation to music in general?
Absolutely! I found a new perspective of my life and myself as a human being in this pandemic, and it's totally connected with my relation to music in general.
These projects, Abysmal and Matter Of Time, are the results of everything I've been passing through these last months, the process of self-knowledge and acceptance of what I didn't want to accept before.
Do you have any recent music discoveries that you can share with us? Which tracks have kept you inspired lately?
Yes! The most beautiful album i've found recently is called Nice to Meetcha from Horatio Luna and Foshe.
The last album of Lapalux has been inspiring me a lot.