Name: Nathan Thomas aka Nate08
Nationality: Indian
Occupation: Producer, songwriter, performer
Current release: Nate08 's new album TWENTY SEVEN is out via Needwant.
Recommendations for Mumbai, India: There’s so much good food happening in the city right now. My favourites in rotation currently are Khao Man Gai and Seefah.
Topics I am passionate about but rarely get to talk about: I have another project with one of my closest friends and bro Dhir Mody called Drum Ani Bass. It’s where we make jungle and drum and bass inspired music and play it live. It’s another side of me musically that I’m really passionate about and we’ve been working on a bunch of stuff which should hopefully be out soon.

If you enjoyed this Nate08 interview and would like to stay up to date with his music and upcoming live dates, visit his official homepage. He is also on Instagram, Soundcloud, bandcamp, and Facebook.



When it comes to experiencing strong emotions as a listener, which albums, performances, and artists come to mind?

Honestly, there are too many to pick from.

But albums like Voodoo by D’Angelo, 99.9% by Kaytranada and New Energy by Four Tet have definitely stayed with me.



They all make you feel something without trying too hard.

There can be many different kinds of emotions in art – soft, harsh, healing, aggressive, uplifting and many more. Which do you tend to feel drawn to most?

It really depends on where I’m at.

I’m usually drawn to whatever feels genuine in that moment

I have had a hard time explaining that listening to death metal calms me down. When you listen to a song or composition, does it tend to fill you with the same emotions – or are there “paradoxical” effects?

Yeah I fully get what you mean.

Again, it really depends on where I’m at. Sometimes I’ll listen to really heavy music on flights and strangely, it actually helps me sleep.

In as far as it plays a role for the music you like listening to or making, what role do words and the voice of a vocalist play for the transmission of emotions?

For me a vocal is an instrument.

It carries emotion straight from the voice to the listener and it plays a really big role in how a track connects.

When it comes to experiencing emotions as a creator, how would you describe the physical sensation of experiencing them? [Where do you feel them, do you have a visual sensation/representation, is there a sense of release or a build-up of tension etc …]

It’s pretty subtle for me honestly. I can usually just tell when something feels right or off.

There isn’t a big build up or release. It’s more about feeling my way through it and seeing where things go from there.

When it comes to composing / songwriting, are you finding that spontaneity and just a few takes tend to capture emotions best? Or does honing a piece bring you closer to that goal?

For me more often than not it starts with spontaneity. The early ideas tend to capture something.

After that a bit of refining helps shape it, but I try not to polish the life out of it.

How much of the emotions of your own music, would you say, are already part of the composition, how much is the result of the recording process?

A lot of it is already in the composition I’d say. The main feeling usually shows up early.

And then the recording process just helps bring that out and shape it rather than changing it completely.

For TWENTY SEVEN, what kind of emotions were you looking to get across?

I wanted it to carry a sense of release and growth.

A lot of the music came from letting things go and moving forward without forcing any big statements.

How do you capture the emotions you want to get across in the studio?

I don’t try to force it too much to be honest. I start working and follow what feels right in the moment.

If the emotion is there, it usually shows up on its own and my job is just not to overthink it or get in the way.

What role do factors like volume, effects like distortion, amplification, and production in general for in terms of creating the emotions, energies or impressions you want?

It’s interesting how sound design can completely shift the feeling or intention of a track.

Small changes in volume, distortion, filters, textures etc can change how something is perceived even if the idea itself stays the same.

In terms of emotions, what changes when you're performing live on stage, with an audience present, compared to the recording stage?

I would say it’s very different for me.

On stage while performing it’s more about intention and how you choose to release what you’re feeling in that moment. The energy from the crowd feeds back into the performance.

In the studio, it’s more personal. You’re alone with the music and fully in that creative zone.

How does the presence of the audience and your interaction with it change the emotional impact of the music and how would you describe the creative interaction with listeners during a gig?

The audience definitely makes everything feel more shared. Their energy feeds back into what you’re doing so the emotions feel more immediate.

There’s a constant exchange happening, where what you’re feeling on stage and what the crowd is giving back shape each other and that back and forth shapes how the gig feels.

What kind of feedback have you received from listeners or concert audiences in terms of the experience that your music and/or performances have had on them?

The most meaningful feedback is when someone says the music helped them feel something or get through a moment.

It’s pretty wild to think something you made has made a difference in someone’s life. That still trips me out.

Would you say that you prefer to stay in control to be able to shape the emotions or do you surrender to them and allow the music to take over? Who, ultimately has control during a live performance?

You need enough control to set the direction, but you also have to know when to step out of the way.

In a live setting the moment takes over pretty quickly. There’s not really one specific thing that has control during a live performance. It’s a bunch of things all happening together.

The emotions that music is able to generate can be extremely powerful. How, do you think, can artists make use of this power to bring about change in the world?

I honestly don’t think it’s always about trying to create change directly. Sometimes just making honest work is enough.

If the music connects with someone or makes them feel seen, that itself can have an impact.