My first experience with Notaker‘s music was like love at first sight. His Monstercat debut “Infinite” was – simply said – one of the most beautiful and astounding pieces of synthwave I had ever heard.
When I had the opportunity to listen to “Shimmer” a couple months ago, I was absolutely stoked for the song to be unveiled to the rest of the world. The song almost feels like a more melody-centric rework of “Infinite,” pulling the track’s best elements and layering over its minimal feel with indie dance flavor and bigger synths.
Along with being able to cover this masterpiece of a track, I had the honor and privilege of conducting Notaker’s first-ever interview, which you can read below:
What makes “Shimmer” really stand out from other Notaker releases?
I think it’s the vibe or mood that really sets this one apart from the rest. Most of my productions go for the “epic” sound but for “Shimmer” I really felt like this had a warm “feel good” sound to it, very happy.
What kind of struggles did you need to overcome while producing this track?
There actually weren’t many struggles with this one. I wrote it over 4th of July weekend in about two days. It came together really smoothly and there weren’t too many setbacks. The only issue I had with it was getting the key of the ‘shout’ sample that’s prevalent at every snare hit to match the key of the rest of the track. The problem I had was when I pitched the sample up to the right key the sample quality diminished horribly. So to solve this I pitched everything in the track down to match the sample. A long tedious solution to what seemed to be a simple problem, but it worked, so yay!
What has been your favorite thing about working with Monstercat so far?
My favorite thing is working with their team. Everyone at the label is so passionate about music and are such die hard Monstercat fans. They’re also just really cool people. Love those guys.
How does it feel to be releasing on a label beside names like Gareth Emery, Marshmello and Seven Lions?
It’s kind of surreal. I feel very privileged and humbled that those artists and I share a similar platform that we release music on.
Do you have any exciting collaborations or big projects you’re working on?
I do! I have a few collaborations that are in progress and a few collaborations that are finished, hoping I get to share them soon.
Who are some of your biggest influences when it comes to music?
Some of my biggest influences are Hans Zimmer, deadmau5, Eric Prydz and M83. The way those artists capture emotions and moods in their songs is what I long for as an artist.
Your music seems to be very influenced by the retro. What tops your list for classic video games?
My top classic video games would have to be Earthbound, Zelda (any of them) and Super Metroid. I just recently fired up the SNES to beat some of my old favorites again.
Last one. What’s your favorite pizza topping?
Going basic, I’d have to say pepperoni. It’s just got that classic pizza flavor that I crave.
Notaker’s “Shimmer” is out now. Grab it here: Monstercat.lnk.to/Shimmer
