by martina rexrode
photo by ray swartz
Noah in the Open is an up-and-coming alternative-indie artist based in Boston who should be on your radar. After touring with Noah Kahan as his guitar player for the past couple months, he is ready to make his unique perspective in music known through his newest single "Mission Failed" which features a minimal, raw production style different from anything he's released prior. To keep up with Noah in the Open, be sure to follow him on social media (@noahintheopen) and look out for his next release.
You’ve toured with Noah Kahan as his lead guitarist for a couple months this year, give or take. How has that experience been?
Noah: “It’s honestly been the most amazing and pivotal experience in my life to date. As my own artist project is obviously growing at a much different rate than Noah Kahan’s, I had never played for a crowd larger than a couple hundred people. To go from that, straight into music halls filled with 5000+ people has truly been the experience of a lifetime. Not to mention that NK and his entire band/crew/team have been the most welcoming and genuinely kind people to someone jumping into this at such a young age.”
Has being in a touring band impacted the way you view or work on your personal music at all?
Noah: “I won’t lie, before I came on board with this, I had my worries that touring like this would cause me to neglect my own artistry. But honestly, I’ve felt that this whole experience has only elevated it in almost all aspects. I regard Noah Kahan as truly one of the best songwriters I’ve come across in this industry and to be able to take inspiration from him every day into my own music is a privilege in itself. Additionally, aside from the value of getting a true touring experience to really see how things actually work at this level, the consistency of new surroundings and copious amounts of free time have allowed me to write more music than I ever have before.”
Your recent single “Mission Failed” is such a raw, stripped down song compared to your other releases that feature more layers of production. What inspired you to explore this style for this specific single?
Noah: “I wasn’t initially inspired to make something like this. The song underwent three completely different production styles before I landed on the final version. All three of them just didn’t tell the story how I wanted it to, and I wasn’t a fan of just playing it on an acoustic guitar, so I called up a dear friend, songwriter, and musician whom I admire so much. I asked Cameron Thistle (1/2 of The Thistle Bros) to let me use his upright piano in his Boston apartment to have him play the piano part for me. We set up 4 microphones around the room and took a couple passes through the song, and eventually landed on this stripped piano and vocal version. The simplicity of the production, I felt, elevated the songwriting to a level that additional production would only distract from.”
How has the release of “Mission Failed” been different from other singles you’ve put out?
Noah: “Aside from the difference in the typical upbeat alt-pop production I usually have on display, this specific release has managed to gain a whole new fanbase supporting and cheering me on. Ever since I joined Noah Kahan on the road, a select number of his fans have found me and started to follow my music and my journey. After the first leg of the fall tour, I was surprised and extremely grateful to see that my numbers/followers had nearly tripled, ‘Mission Failed’ was organically climbing in listeners after every show, and I all of a sudden have been receiving demand to play solo shows in cities I’d never been before.”
I saw that you wrote this song in 30 minutes! Is this the first time you’ve gotten lyrics on a page so quickly? Do you think the specific circumstance behind the song helped to allow the lyrics to flow so freely, almost like a journal entry?
Noah: “I actually think that’s pretty on the nose. I don’t typically write a song that fast, but when it’s a situation where I’m writing a song because I need to write it for my own way of coping, the words spill out almost instantly, coming a lot easier than if I sat down to write a song just to write a song.”
Is there anything you can say about what listeners should expect from the eventual concept album this single is introducing?
Noah: “I don’t want to give away too much, but I’ll say this. This song is the start to a collection of work that will tell one huge cohesive story. It speaks about death, the different ways I’ve perceived it as I grow up, and the pivotal relationships in my life that have led me to where I am now. Very excited to eventually have this out for the world.”
Will future singles follow the same stripped down style, or will they showcase a mix of styles?
Noah: “As I am 20 years old and constantly changing as I grow, I think it’s safe to say that my music will follow suit. The only promise I can make is I will always continue to make the music that makes me happy.”