Artist Interviews 🎶 Studio Tours 🎛

Hello music people 👋

Today in the spotlight, Novak The Enjoyer

Currently in United States, he has a diverse background with Balkan roots and influences of Thrash Metal and Classical Music all of which, come out in his music 🎶

Interview & Studio Tour

Who are you and what is your relationship with music?

Thanks for having me! I'm a Los Angeles native. Music has always been the way I've felt and understood the world around me. I'm first generation American. My parents are from former Yugoslavia, so I formed all of my musical structure on a foundation of Balkan music.

I grew up performing in a Balkan folklore tamburitza group where I mainly played the prima (similar to a mandolin). My big brother introduced me to Kill 'Em All and Master Of Puppets as a little kid in the 80's which got me into guitar and it was a combination of thrash metal and classical music throughout my youth. I could always pick up any instrument and get something out of it, so I attached myself to music pretty early on.

I was in a band with friends through the 2000's. It wasn't until about 2010 that I got more serious about composing music for TV/Film. I didn't quit my day job, however, working in the trades, running a painting business, and moving on to building and running the scenic department for an experiential marketing fabrication shop. Recently I formed a business with a partner composing music for TV/Film.

On the side, I have an online store at novaktheenjoyer.com where I share some products that I make. It's not much, but it's a way for me to extend the ways I express my creativity, and to learn how to start and run a shop. I'm excited to expand the product selection and find my niche there.

Youtube is the most recent thing I started doing and I'm really excited about it because it also feeds the creation station. Like the shop, it's another open-ended and undefined thing that is evolving. Between the music, the shop, and a family with young children, I have my hands pretty full.

Which piece of equipment in your studio is essential to your production process?

For the last 10 years I would have said my entire modular system. The only thing I wanted during that time was to be left alone, locked away in my office with my cables, studying and learning each module and different patching techniques. Disappearing into sonic multiverses became quite solitary. The only people into modular are the 300 people you connect with on Instagram, otherwise you're the wierdo at the party who is causing all the eyes to glaze over when you start talking about sawtooth waves and lowpass filters.

This year, however, I came out of that blackhole when I picked up the OP-1 Field. I'm back to songwriting on a 4-track with my acoustic just like when I was a kid. The two go hand in hand for me at the moment, but the OP-1 Field revived me. I've gone through creative dry spells that have lasted years. I would never have imagined it possible to go so long without writing, so I really do appreciate when the iron is hot.

What is the least expensive piece of gear that gave you the most results?

$5 Shaker, maybe? It just spices everything up.

Walk us through your process for creating and producing music.

Professionally, it starts with a conversation with my partner about the project before we distill it down into a few prompt and then I go to town on some sketches. It depends on what it is, but I usually start with the modular. It's a really easy and quick way to build a launchpad to take off from. If it needs some life, I'll mic in some organic instruments like guitar, piano, etc...

We reconvene and from there and drill further down. Hopefully after a few rounds of notes everyone is happy. My partner has a very good analytical mind and ear and is such a great resource of honest criticism considering how difficult it is to listen to the music you create with a fresh perspective. I'd say it's the most important part of our process.

If I can point my satellite in a general direction and then forget about transmitting signals, I find it hard not to come up with something fun I can operate on. I then take that idea and , at least lately, expand on it with the OP-1 Field. It's not easy, but the challenge of editing and honing my ears for the performances and production quality aspect of that machine is part of the process and the appeal. There's something about that brand of inhumane punishment that just gets me going.

What is a production technique that you always come back to?

I have to constantly remind myself that less is more. My ultimate production technique is remembering that sometimes the cello, backup vocal, doubled guitar, reverb, or whatever else shouldn't be heard as much as it should be felt.

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How would you describe your style?

Not a fucking clue. That's one reason why I'm throwing it up on Youtube at the moment. I'm hoping I'll be able to stand back at a certain point and see or hear a common thread connecting it all. Speaking of GAS, going from modular to cameras and video was not my best move.

What is a big challenge you have as an artist?

My biggest challenge with all of this stuff is committing. I find that in the endless variations of emotions, the infinite choices and possibilities, the countless ways of expression, it can be impossible to commit to anything. I can work a piece straight into the ground very easily. It's very hard for me to hold onto a vision. I can get into a frame of mind where the song could go anywhere, say anything, and then I just get frustrated.

I try to avoid that train of thought by working relatively quickly, using spur of the moment decision making, as opposed to potting and planning.

I find that it's more beneficial to spend that energy on tightening things up once they're in place.

One more thing that never gets fully solved, I think for most people but especially for me, is not having every piece of hardware hooked up and at the ready. My studio is always in a state of flux. Today it's a subset of my modular system, tomorrow it could be a pipe organ for all I know, but I can never have that dream state where I can just walk in, flip a switch, and whatever I touch is on and ready to record.

Has building a hardware setup changed your perspective on music or life in general?

My modular setup taught me one of the most important musical lessons I've ever learned. Don't be precious about your stuff.

I was a control freak before my modular. When you unplug that thing, that shit is gone and that was the best thing for me. It translates very well to the OP-1. Without that undo feature (please give it to us TE!) you just have to do something else. That something else is like lifting a barbell. The more reps, the stronger you get. After a while, you notice that it gets easier to just do something else and not worry about whether or not it's going to sound as good as the last, or be good enough to keep going.

Just create.

One tip on how to spark creativity?

Mess with a piece of gear you haven't touched in a while. It works like a charm for me. It just takes one spark, and that spark typically comes from a happy accident. Two birds, baby. What better way to sharpen your skills than to pickup an old piece of gear and maybe write the next cultural revolution?

A book, movie, article, or album that has inspired you?

Cosmogramma, by Flying Lotus turned everything inside out. It entirely changed my perspective.

Do you have a question in mind that you think I should have asked? Or anything else you'd like to say?

Question: GAS must cause some people to buy things they shouldn't. Any buyers remorse?

Anything else?: YES. My OP-Z hasn't gotten any of my attention. I know how valuable it is in terms of features, but it's been a dust collector ever since I bought it. I crossed the bandwidth threshold, and now I have too many things to learn and play with before I get to it.

Where can people find more of your music and connect with you online?

youtube | website | instagram | music production company

Gear List

• My white board

• Apple - Mac Studio | Logic X

• Teenage Engineering - OP-1 Field | OP-Z

• Martin - 000-15SM

• Moog - Sound Studio

• Yamaha - Hs5's

• Arturia - Keylab 61 | Polybrute | Minibrute

• Nuances - Midi Controller

• Young Chang - Baby Grand Piano

• All of my modules

• Fender - P-Bass | Jazzmaster

• Gretsch - Power Jet

• Ampeg - BA-115

• Orange - Micro Terror

• Marshall - VS-100

• $5 Shaker

• Chase Bliss - Gen Loss MK2 and other pedals

In Case You Missed It

138 - Anna Sharifi

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Giannis @giannis.kampiotis