(8.8.2020) Nautics

With their refreshing sound, Nautics based out of NYC are taking on their musical journey with passion and grace. This band of four friends, Levitt (drummer), Amir (keys), Van (bass), and Kenzo (singer/guitarist), blend their inspirations and styles to create music for any and everyone. For them this is only the beginning of a long road ahead.

Interview by Aviva Pusey

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1. Can we start with each bandmate introducing themselves and sharing anything you want the audience to know about you! 

Hey!

I am Levitt the drummer of Nautics.

My name is Amir, and I play the keys.

I’m Van. I play bass.

My name is Kenzo. I am the front-person of the band. Singer and guitarist.

2. How did you guys as a band come together? Did things click the first time you played together? Where did you each individually find a passion for music and your instrument(s)? 

Levitt: Van introduced all of us to one another. We all had a vision of just making music and playing shows since day one, and have so far continued with that vision. I personally come from a very musical family, and I had taken classical piano lessons up until my teenage years, that is when I became fascinated with drums and started taking lessons.

3. How would you describe the kind of music you guys produce? Do you see some of your individual inspirations/idols in what you create?

Van: I think we make “Indie alternative music”, but I don’t think we’re limited to that style by that title. Unfortunately I don’t really hear my idols in my music yet :/, but I think that’s something i’m aiming for every time I make something new

Levitt: I would say the songs resemble different stages in our life. We started off with more rock based stuff since that was what we were listening to at the time, and have now progressed to more pop music since we listen to people like Charli XCX and Dua Lipa.

4. Would you place yourself in a specific genre? What parts of your aesthetic do you think are essential to your music?

Levitt: If I had to I would say Space Rock Indie Pop. 

Van: I would personally like to experiment with genre in the future. I’m not sure we have a particular aesthetic that we get stuck with, but often times our music falls under the umbrella of “guitar music”

5. Can you tell us a little about your process of making your music? Does it begin with the beat then chords, vice versa? How does each bandmate add to its production?

Levitt: We are either in a rehearsal space when one of us plays a riff and then all of us add to it from our perspective instruments, or we have recorded demos individually that we send over text to one another, and if we all like the idea we then add to it as a group.

Steven Ciravolo

Kenzo: Usually it’s a lot of arguing. I like the analogy of a bunch of fists pounding into clay until it makes a piece of art. 

6. Who are some of your biggest creative inspirations? Artists that have influenced your style, producers who you love to work with. 

Amir: I think we all have the same foundational musical influences. When the band formed in our early years of high school we were listening to The Strokes and the Arctic Monkeys a lot and I think that has informed all of our tastes. More recently we’ve been listening to a lot more pop music and have been moving our music making in that direction. We really love dua lipa, Charlie XCX, and Billie Eilish 

7. Before COVID-19 you guys were playing a lot of live shows. Is that a big part of who you guys are? In what ways are live shows so important to the voice of your band?

Van: I think live shows are just another avenue to express ourselves. It’s not the main part, but it’s one of the best ways for us to experiment with our own music and just create new ideas. 

8. With that being said, how have you guys adapted to the restrictions COVID-19 puts on in person interaction? Has it made it more/less difficult to reach your followers? Why/why not.

Levitt: We are used to doing things remotely since we went to different colleges while still being a band, so we are used to it. The only bummer is not being able to hang out and make music with each other. I think that we have become a little bit more connected with our “Family” (We hate calling them fans) throughout the pandemic which is nice.

9. You guys released a single called “Thoughts on the Ceiling” back in May. How was the process of writing that song? Was it different from other productions? How did your fans like it? 

Van: I’m not sure what our fans thought, but I really liked the process. It was all before covid, but we just made it at home, and had a ball. Usually songs are written, performed, recorded then released, but we just went for it. Recording and making the song at the same time.

10. If you could tour/collaborate with any creative, who would it be? 

Amir: We would love to go one tour with some of the people we’ve been following and playing with for years. It would be really rewarding for us to take that step with them. We also rarely get the opportunity to collaborate with people outside the band so doing that with someone we’ve known for years would be great.

11. What to you is success? What goals are you aiming for, where do you want your music to take you? 

Levitt: Success to me is creating music that we love and then an added bonus is that the music is listened and enjoyed by our audience, whoever that may be.

Kenzo: I agree. It’s about making the music and everything else is extra. I hope we can touch people's hearts (metaphorically of course). 

12. If you were speaking to the whole world right now, what would you say?

Levitt: Keep being creative whether that's making music or other forms of art. If you continue to  do what you're passionate about you will have a sense of completion in life which is nice.

Kenzo: if you are gonna make music do it for the love of the music and the people you work with. I think going into something like this business first, you are going to be miserable. It’s okay to make money and be popular, but I’m not sure if that should be the main quest.

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Make sure to listen to the Nautics on all platforms!

Spotify

Apple Music