Set Me Free
There’s no doubt in any EDM fans mind that deep house is here to stay. Anyone who has been paying attention to music for more than a few years knows that it’s cyclical in nature. In the past two years, we’ve seen a resurgence in so many types of classical music stylings. Deep house, with it’s loungy and bass driven vibes, has a clear path to the spotlight with its heritage enriched stylings.
At this time, we feel like to introduce newcomer Bobby Nourmand. While this LA based Producer/DJ has graced the walls of TMN before, it was only for a mashup. We should add that his mashup that we posted was particularly impressive, but what we’ve really been waiting for is something original from him.
When approached with an opportunity to post his debut track, we gladly obliged, and asked to get to know this up and coming producer a litte better. With a quick Q and A fired back and forth across email, we have a little insight into the man behind “Set Me Free.”
TMN: Hey Bobby. Thanks for answering a few questions with this premiere today. Let’s kick things off talking about your musical upbringing. Were you classically trained growing up?
BN: Yes, I played the Violin at the age of 4 years old. Then one of my role models told me that girls dig the saxophone, so I quickly picked that up at age 10 and played it for 2 years. In high School I would write a ton of song lyrics and poetry, which I hope to use someday.
TMN: Fast forward to a few years ago. You gave up a very successful career in real estate to focus entirely on music. What was the breaking point for you?
BN: After getting sober, I began to follow my dreams. It started off by pursuing a career in Real estate, which was very rewarding and taught me a lot about life. There came a point when I realized that Music was my calling and I have been focused on it ever since.
TMN: With only a handful of posts on Soundcloud, it’s tough to peg who your inspirations are. Talk to us a little bit about who you look up to, and who you draw from musically?
BN: I have been listening to music since I was kicking beats in my mother’s womb, literally. She was listening to her favorite record at the time and I kicked a hot cup of tea out of her hand. Movies like Rocky and Blood Sport put me onto Electronic Music as well as bands like Depeche mode and New Order. Tupac was a family friend and I was really influenced by the amount of heart and dedication he put into his music. I’m affected by everything around me but if I had to list a few current artists: A-Trak, Gesaffelstein and Oliver. I look up to all artists who follow their dreams.
TMN: You’re currently in LA, which is a one of the most crowded markets for DJs/Producers. What do you do to keep it fresh? Do you have any advice for those kids who just picked up Ableton and a keyboard?
BN: Well, I started out dj’ing in Manhattan where it was super competitive, way more than Cali. It took a lot of hard work and dedication. Countless nights of practice, scratching, mixing, downloading music on blogs such as (TMN), researching, networking, putting myself on the line, relationships, branding, seeing the sunrise and repeating. The same goes for producing. I believe it’s very important to be a dj first, because it is the easiest way to learn music theory, how tracks are arranged and most importantly what works.
TMN: Alright, let’s wrap it up by talking about this release, Set Me Free, which is your first original release. Where did the decision come from to do a deep house track? Did the melody come first and drive the rest of the tune?
BN: This summer I was booked in Spain and on an off night I went to see Guy Gerber. The energy in the room was very different from what I was used to. The crowd’s deep appreciation for music was very apparent. It was extremely inspirational. So I quickly got on my note pad and wrote down what ended up being this track. The animal costumes influenced me to use the lion’s growl. First the kick, then the drums, then the lead melody and all the f/x. I had a lot of fun working on this track. Deep House projects are super minimal compared to the 150 track Electro House projects I have been working on. It’s like a breath of fresh air and comes very natural to me.
TMN: Thanks again for taking some time with us. We’re excited to hear more of your work
BN: Thank you for all the work you have put into TMN. It truly shows that you enjoy the process. Enjoy the music. BN
