Rave It Up recently had a chat to Australian musician Noah Earp about his latest single The Raw And The Cooked and his debut album Disinheritor.
Noah, since this is your first time on Rave It Up, we’d love to get to know you a bit better. Firstly we’d all love to know, how did you originally get started in the industry?
I’ve been writing songs since I was 15, I went through a few rock bands in high school and after, and just sort of made my own way and kept going.
Were there any other careers that you wanted to pursuit in your life or was it always music?
Yeah, I went through a few phases of wanting to be a film director, wanting to be a dancer, wanting to be an archaeologist or a linguist. The funny thing is I haven’t really abandoned any of those interests.
What have you found the hardest thing about the industry?
The hardest thing about the industry is that there’s actually not much of an industry. If you asked 100 musicians how many were actually earning a decent income from their original music, you’d probably only get a couple.
Have you had any issues with haters or bullying throughout your career?
No, I think the people who hated my music were nice enough to keep it to themselves, haha.
What advice would you give to the readers who might be experiencing some bullying in their life?
I think the most important thing is to remember that people who bully often do it because they feel completely powerless in other areas of life. Once you realise that, a bully’s words or actions aren’t that significant because it’s not really anything to do with you, no matter how personal it feels at the time.
You have just released a new song called The Raw And The Cooked. What is the song about? Is it inspired by anything in particular?
The song is kind of based off people I knew at the time, stuck in a bad social scene. It’s also a love song. And it’s also about being an Australian.
Why did you decide to name the song The Raw And The Cooked?
I guess once I’d written the chorus, it seemed like a natural title. Plus, it’s also the title of a great book of anthropology by Claude Levi-Strauss, a guy everyone should read, even though it’s not necessarily relevant to the song.
The video clip is also now up on YouTube for everyone to check out, and it was made by yourself. Have you found any challenges with making your own video clips?
Yeah, making videos always presents a set of challenges – the biggest one is organising your time so everything runs smoothly.
What has been biggest lesson you’ve learnt in the music video process?
The biggest lesson is probably that you’ve got to really work hard with your actors, take them through their characters, even if the characters are kinda silly and cartoonish. And work hard with your available light as well.
Why did you decide to film The Raw And The Cooked video the way you did?
My basic philosophy of music videos is: either make them with a big budget and make it art, or make it with a small budget and make it funny or quirky. I went with the latter approach.
How come you decided to not feature yourself singing in the video clip?
To be honest, I find those sorts of things a bit contrived. I mean, why sing when we know it’s not live? It’s just a genre convention I didn’t really see any need to include.
We hear that you love filmmaking. Can we expect more filmmaking from you in the future, on the side of your music career?
I hope so. It’s a question of time and energy, but I’d love to try a more ambitious shoot at some point in the near future.
Your debut album Disinheritor is out now. What’s your favourite song off the album that everyone should check out first?
This is a tough one. If you like folk duets, ‘Alone’ with Gretta Ray. If you like dark stuff, go with ‘The Messenger’. And if you like global apocalypse (don’t we all?), listen to the last track…
Why did you decide to name the album Disinheritor?
It took quite a while to name the album. In the end, I went with that title because it seemed to sum up a lot of the lyrical currents in the songs. There’s a certain feeling that the world has cut us off from a great inheritance, somehow.
Even though you have already achieved so much in your career Noah, what else can we expect from you in the future?
My next plan is to burrow a little bit and write some new material, and see if I can get this album out and about in Europe and the US.
What advice would you give to the listeners who want to follow their dreams of becoming a singer?
Just get out there and do it as much as you can. Nobody can teach you anything as much as you can teach yourself by being there.
Now we do have a funny question to ask you. A question that all your female fans would like to know the answer to….Are you single?
I am indeed single.
What do you look for in a partner?
The main thing I look for in a partner is an ability to keep relationship statuses absolutely secret, because the last thing I’d want to do is upset all those female fans, you know.
Knowing what you know now Noah, what would you tell your 14-year-old self?
I’d look my 14 year old self straight in the eyes and say, “use credit default swaps to bet against the US subprime mortgage lending market, there’s going to be a recession in 2008.”
If the listeners would like to contact you or find out what you are up to, where should they go?
My website www.noahearp.com or my Facebook
Thank you so much for chatting to us today Noah.
– Interviewed by Lauren Yeates
