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Bobby Nourmand Talks Inspiration, His Sound, & More [Exclusive Interview]

June 1, 2016 By Brian Schultz

Bobby-Nourmand

One of the RaverRafting crew’s favorite parties during Miami Music Week this year was the pool party hosted by The Magician. Great scenery, and a great lineup of artists made it an easy pick to check out. One of the stand out artists we had the opportunity to see was Potion label mate Bobby Nourmand. His deep house sounds mixed with classic throwback samples were nothing short of perfect and groovy to get down to. We had a chance to catch up with him and get an interview with the rising star, and we weren’t disappointed. Interviewing this soft spoken gentleman was quite the treat, and to be honest, seeing how passionate he was about his trade, was extremely inspiring.

So you’re from LA, would you say your sound is more of a west coast sound?

The rock and roll, classic rock is definitely more a laidback classic sound, especially “Smokin’ Joe”. I was born and raised in LA, hollywood-ish area, I was put on to classic rock when I was really young by my dad who went to Woodstock; that’s kind of where the rock-stuff comes from. The dance-y stuff is much more east coast from my mom. My family is from New York, and I lived there for about 10 years and I’d go back and fourth. I was influenced by her, and used to do Studio 54, along with being a member there. Being influenced by both, that’s how my I got my sound.

What was your inspiration to start producing music?

This might sound funny, but when I was a kid I was born with perfect pitch. I used to be able to play the telephone. When you dial a phone, different numbers made different sounds. Between that, and learning to play the violin at age three. Then I stopped playing violin and started to play the saxophone in middle school. From there I moved onto drums and other things. I really got into listening to music and burning CD’s for my friends. LA has a huge music culture, and everyone want to play the perfect mix at all times. What inspired me was playing a show in Barcelona in front of 8,000 people, where I decided it was time for me to start making my own music. There was too many things that I couldn’t do with the turn tables and needed more control.

Who were your inspirations artists wise?

I would say Sasha and (John) Digweed, for sure. Their sets were epic to me. And also my father always said he wishes he was a musician even though he’s a doctor, so I have a lot of inspiration from like my roots in my family.

How long have you actually been producing your own music?

I would say that I went to school to produce, to learn how to actually be an engineer, probably about 5-6 years. I was touring, I was playing all of the night clubs in New York, Miami, LA, Vegas, and Russia, but I was also was going to school in New York called Dubspot. I went there to learn Ableton. I had everything in my head, and has been doing it on Audacity, not making my own music, just using it to make bootlegs and stuff, and I wanted to take it to that next level so I went to Dubspot to learn how to produce. From there it was countless hours of just messing around until I actually knew how to use it. Knowing how to use buttons and how to use the machine is one thing, but then applying it and matching it to your voice and your sound, takes a long time to do.

You’ve got a very particular sound, that you’ve done with some pretty recognizable songs..

I always wanted to be able to introduce these songs, like “Because” and “The White Album”. That is such an obscure album, when I was a kid in high school I used to listen to it all the time, and I feel like the next generation, it’s like, anyone can go on a chart, on Billboard, and i’m not knocking it, but there’s a big market of artists that are just DJing the most popular songs right now. As much as i’m intrigued by a lot of the music to really want to remix it, I feel like i’m doing my audience, or myself a favor by bringing something to people that they haven’t heard yet, in my own way as well. Kind of like educating the crowd. As a DJ that’s what you want to do.

It really sounds like your heart’s in the right place, you really seem to have that musical drive..

I did move to New York, to pursue a real estate career, and I was like the top of my company, and I ended up becoming a developer. I left that career because I got a gig DJing, and when they tried to pay me, I didn’t want their money, I said just let me do it again. And I couldn’t balance both. And I was just like either i’m going to build houses, or do that and make all kind of money, but the mystery or where this could go, of that adventure, was so intriguing that I left and I never looked back. It’s hard, and becoming an artist is not easy. But I can say that signing a record, and having significant people starting to catch on to what im doing, and getting that approval, not that it’s necessary, but getting the approval and recognition is a very satisfying feeling. To all the people that don’t have that yet, don’t ever f*cking give up. That’s my message, don’t ever give up.

What are some of your current favorite tracks you like to play?

I would say Kidnap Kid – Moments, Alex Metric – Bad Habit. I really like Icarus – Home. Anything The Magician does i’m down with, obviously, he’s the man.

Bobby also dropped a new track about 2 weeks ago titled “S I S T E R”. It’s got a very classic recognizable sample that we all know and love if you’ve ever listened to classic rock. Add Bobby’s signature soothing deep house sound, it’s an easy addition to any playlist. It’s already gotten over 100k’s plays, and if you ask us, it deserves a lot more. Give it a listen and grab the free download.