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Image via Nok from the Future
Daily Discovery is a feature that will highlight a new or recently discovered artist that we’re excited about. See the rest of our Daily Discoveries here.
In the age of the internet, anyone can find an audience. But as of late, a lot of artists have been taking advantage of this in different, more interesting ways. Not only are they providing music that’s wildly different from the norm and practically unmarketable, but they’re also taking advantage of the fact that their music is a product of the internet. Nok from the Future, perhaps more than any other new artist this year, is perfectly encapsulating the internet through his music, and making it presentable in the process.
Learning music from an early age, Nok began his musical life in a marching band as a percussionist. “That experience made me hate the concept of playing music because we had to play the outdated generic crap that every other school band was playing,” explains Nok. Failing to find any interest in what it was he was doing, he didn’t love music until he started creating his own. “[I] made my first track on a Gameboy with this cartridge software called LSDJ,” he mentions, adding: “Then I heard the production on Kanye’s ‘Stronger,’ and that’s when my brain changed.”
He appeared on the scene in his current form all the way back in 2013, dropping the instrumental EP Worph. Full of intense and whirling beatwork, it marks a stark contrast to the sound of his latest release, A+. Today he’s working in a realm not too dissimilar to that of Yung Lean, albeit considerably more polished and surreal.
His connection with the digital world runs deeper than that of a visual aesthetic. “When your external environment is not stimulating enough, the digital realm will feel like an escape,” he explains. “That escape will become more and more tangible in the coming years, and the line between ‘real life’ and ‘digital life’ will become exceedingly blurred.”
Individuals will connect with certain ideas and concepts whether they are political or related to daily life. Some people like listening to my music the way I listen to most music: for the beat rather than for the lyrics. Even if I say, ‘Actually, I’m trolling, none of this is genuine,’ it’s still all up to interpretation at the end of the day.
This connection with the digital world gives his music this unique quality, which also comes from his disregard for the traditional rules of hip-hop, R&B, or pop. His desire to create something with little regard for genre norms stems from being told what he could and couldn’t do as a kid: “People are still trying to tell me what I can and can’t do—I always had a strong distaste for authoritative figures given current educational environments and the generation of helicopter parents that has plagued us.”
He also tends to disregard not only what has come before him, but also that which he’s done before. He explains: “It hasn’t even been a year and I’ve already gone 180 degrees.” This also applies to his future, with him saying, “I know where I’m heading next, and it sounds incredible to the point where I want to collab with myself.” When authenticity and irony are becoming increasingly hard to differentiate, Nok comes across as one of the most genuine around.
Ultimately, whether it’s through genuine appreciation of ironic hyperbole, Nok agrees that listening habits aren’t entirely down to the artist: “No one takes anything seriously anymore because they’re not sure if it’s trying to be ironic or not, and that’s fine—interpret it however you want.” He knows that not everyone will understand him and his music, but it’s clear that this doesn’t bother him. He’s fresh, and he knows it. “People are going to shit on me in the comments section, and that’s fine, they’re just showing the world how behind they are,” he confidently says.
The future is here, and his name is Nok.
Listen to the fascinating A+ EP below. Download it free here.
