The brilliant NOTD have just delighted their fans with new single ‘I Wanna Know,’ and there is more new music on the way. We’re premiering a special video the guys made about the chance to remix Rihanna and DJ Khaled, and it’s a great little insight into how NOTD work.
Enjoy!
Hey guys, good to chat to you! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself as an act… what is your signature sound?
So we are Tobi and Sam – Tobi is 19 and Sam is 17. We met in high school and started the NOTD project there. We’re an act who loves making music that gets people dancing. We put energy in our tracks to get people to move their hips a bit, while also having a pop/commercial vibe to it for radio. Production-wise, plucks and vocal chops are two elements we always find a way to incorporate into our work, but there is so much more than that and it’s changing constantly. 
What are some of the most important lessons you’ve learned since you started making music? What have been some of the challenges so far, both individually and as a pair?
Biggest lessons we’ve learned is that nothing happens without putting in the work and also do not compare yourself with anyone else other than yourself. Some of the biggest challenges we have is staying focused on becoming the best that YOU can be since it’s all that we have control over. Between the two of us, we come with different creative ideas and it sometimes is tough to find a middle ground on where we are both happy, but we always find a way and when we do it is great.
Do you remember what first got you into wanting to create music? What do you listen to when you’re not making it?
Tobi – For me it was close to 6 years ago, my inspiration back then was Martin Garrix and Flume. I listen to anything when I don’t make music: it could be heavy trap to chill music, to pop, to soul/jazz.
Sam – I got inspired at age 14 by friends who were making music, and basically I just wanted to be better than them, haha. Then after learning a bit, I really enjoyed it and continued pushing. I listen to a lot of different music, and it’s hard to say one genre because I get inspired by so many different sounds.
Your new single ‘I Wanna Know’ with Bea Miller is such a catchy track! How long did it take you to put together and did you enjoy making it?
We started working on it over a year ago and actually put it together kind of quickly in the first session. After many months we decided it was going to be released, so we spent an additional week or so to finalize it. Then Bea Miller came in and sang it and brought the song to a whole other level. This song is our favorite song we’ve ever done and pushed really hard to make it happen for a release.
What’s the story behind it?
We knew right away we loved it. The story it tells is so relatable about wondering if your ex is happier without you. Even though you probably shouldn’t be wondering about it, you just cant control yourself. The story behind us creating it was that Sam started the production and when he played it for me (Tobi), I at first didn’t say anything. I just replayed it a few times and said ”This is fuckin great!” After that we just started working on it together and knew by the end of the session it was a winner.
We’re pleased to premiere the cartoon video to your ‘Wild Thoughts’ remix for DJ Khaled & Rihanna– where did the idea for that come from?
The story behind making the ‘Wild Thoughts’ remix always made us laugh, so we were trying to think of a creative way to tell the story. The animations really bring the details to life about how bad my (Tobi) teacher wanted to fail me for missing so many classes. Once we had the cartoon made up we couldn’t stop laughing at it. Every detail is 100% true, which makes it even funnier to us.
Could we expect similar videos from you in the future?
Yes, this is Episode 1 of many. We have a lot of funny stories to tell.
Do you feel that it’s important your fans get to know you on more of a personal level?
Yes it is, the fans make our career. We try to get everyone involved on social media and answer everyone who messages us or comments to us. It’s amazing what music can do and we will never take it for granted. We try to Skype with fans every week or so and it’s such an enjoyable experience.
Lastly, what have you got coming up next? What are you most excited about for 2018?
A ton of new music. We will also begin working on a live show and of course, continue our personal growth.
Have a watch of their new video of how the duo got to remix Rihanna and DJ Khaled…
