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Read moreWax Meets: Noxz
Posted on: May 28, 2023 – Words by
As we meet Enoch Kolo, a.k.a Noxz, he’s grooving to his Teenage Engineering OP-1 at the centre of the stunning Greenwich Park. ‘I used to come around a lot during lockdown, it just gives me a certain sense of calmness’. Home to immensely intricate architecture and sweeping green spaces, Greenwich Park is the ideal inspirational combination for Enoch’s architectural and musical passions, ’I would come out to the park, make music, watch people and just catch a vibe’.
Trained originally as an architect, Enoch has recently left his full-time job at Zaha Hadid to release his debut album after gaining traction on social media from sharing his mixes throughout Lockdown.
Enoch’s debut album “Things We Feel” comes out June 9th 2023.
Noxz wears Didcot Shirt White Geo Lace & Dean T-Shirt Black
Where did your love of music begin?
My love for music came from when I was little. I started banging on pots and pans in my mum’s kitchen and rather than telling me off, she actually enjoyed it. At the age of five, I started playing piano, at the age of six I was playing drums and it just kept growing from there.
Where does your career as an architect come into this?
I kind of fell into architecture. I wanted to be an aeronautical engineer. I was an ambitious kid, but I couldn’t get into any of the universities that were offering it as a course. But then my cousin told me about architecture and how it’s very similar and creative. As a practical person, I also wanted to be grounded in the practical side of things. So when I started architecture I realised that it was the perfect balance.
Architecture and music seem like they would be complete opposites. Is this true or are there hidden similarities?
They both have properties that overlap. The architecture side has informed a lot of my music side, and the music side has informed a lot of my architectural side. You can see it when you walk into a building, the way a building makes you feel the same way you would feel when you listen to a piece of music. So I think there are similarities you can take from architecture and you can implement them into music and I think that’s why my music stands out a little bit because I approach it from a design point of view.
Is this why you create music and perform in so many interesting places?
I do believe your environment informs your output. It’s one of the reasons why whenever I’m travelling or going somewhere new I always try and take a piece of equipment that I can use to create some music because I never know when inspiration is going to strike. It could be the environment of where I’m going to, it could be a building, it could be someone that I see or something that I listen to on the street. Wherever I am, I am inspired and I use those moments to inform the music that I am creating.
Your social media has helped spread your musical talents out into the world. What is your relationship with social media platforms?
Social media is great because it is a way that you can express yourself, it’s a way that you can connect with others. I have connected with so many people across the globe that I have not met physically but we are in sync when it comes to being creatives. I think it’s great in the sense that people can showcase their passion, showcase what they’re into, showcase their creativity, and it makes the world a much smaller place. Of course it comes with a negative side, but I think that is something we all must be mindful of, and personally I’ve had a great experience with it.
Thanks to this exposure, you are now set to release your first album. Can you tell us more about this?
‘Things We Feel’ is coming out June 9th, it’s a collection of pieces I’ve been making over the past year. I have posted snippets of most of them on social media. Originally they were just a means of me expressing myself, but the funny thing is I started seeing people relate to lots of those pieces. I decided to take time out from my full time work to compile them together and release them. The Album comprises tracks people wanted me to release and tracks people haven’t heard, but I’m excited for people to experience the whole shebang.
How do you go about constructing an album?
When I’m putting together an album for an artist or for myself I kind of need to know what the end goal is whether they want people to feel a certain way at the end of the album. Once that is established we can start picking out the sounds that match where the artist is or where I’m at. The way that I’ve arranged the album, it can be listened to on shuffle and it wouldn’t break the experience, but ideally, I would say listen to it in order because it will take you on a certain journey. There’s gonna be highs, there’s gonna be lows, it’s gonna make you feel reflective, it’s gonna make you feel happy, you might get up and dance, it’s one of those things that will give you a means and an outlet to express yourself in whatever mood that you’re at.
You’ve very kindly constructed a playlist for us, what was your thinking behind these choices of songs?
I made a playlist for Wax and I have nicknamed it Hazy. I would listen to it when you have one of those days where you’re not sure what’s going on. You’re not sure whether you’re going to leave your bed, or whether you’re gonna go out and see a friend. You’re just sat in this moment where things are just unclear. When you listen to it, you’re going to listen to people like Reuben James, Robert Glasper, Summer Walker, and it’s gonna give you a sense of ‘things are not clear’ but it’s ok. You can just be in that moment and enjoy it.
1.
vibes don't lie – Noxz
2.
Fault – Kaleem Taylor
3.
Heaven's Here – Robert Glasper, Ant Clemons
4.
Means The World – Reuben James, Braxton Cook, CARRTOONS, Gareth Lockrane
5.
To Summer, From Cole - Audio Hug – Summer Walker, J. Cole
6.
Galaxy Swim (Deeper) – JVCK JAMES
7.
Don't Stop – GoGo Morrow
8.
Know The Truth – Fridayy
9.
Undercover Lover – Tay Iwar, Twelve XII
10.
Commotion – Jozzy
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