Nocturnal is the newest music project from Perth producer Louis Rendle-O'Shea. Featuring an elegant blend of modern pop and soulful R&B. Darting between his own studio and Blackbird Studios, Rendle-O'Shea is enlisting the mega-talent of producer Dave Parkin (Spacey Jane, Pond, Drapht) to help capture the nuance and detail of Nocturnal's finery. Although the brainchild of Rendle-O'Shea, Nocturnal features the very legendary rhythm section of bassist Jon Stockman and drummer Steve Judd of Perth's all-time biggest heavy act, Karnivool.
Nocturnal borrows the best aspects of 'super producer' mainstream R&B, giving his tunes a gold leaf finesse that will appeal to discerning contemporary listeners. Nocturnal's self-titled debut album is available now through all major streaming services
Thank you for taking this interview! How has the New Year been for you so far as an artist?
Thank you for the opportunity. The New Year has been very busy. In the past I’ve been in bands where you can sort of share the load. Being a solo artist means you have to be the artist, publicist, manager, media manager and everything else involved so it has been very busy. That hasn’t been a bad thing though. I’ve really learned so much this past year and am grateful for that. I've just had to stay very structured to make sure things don’t get missed. Everything I’ve been working on has been leading up to the release of my self-titled debut album on May 6th. Since the release I’ve received so much positive feedback and love from people which I really feel grateful for.
Can you tell us how you've transformed from the beginning to now as an artist?
I’ve been playing guitar and have been surrounded by music almost my entire life. When I was younger I was into a mix of different music. I’ve always enjoyed lots of different genres and bands from Meshuggah to Massive Attack. I’ve always loved the diversity in music and I think that is something that comes through in my own writing. I think this latest release is no different to that. I think the listener will find lots of different feels and genres in there. It’s also my most honest project so far. Growing up I lived writing music that had a darker feel. I forced myself in my 20s to learn how to write happier sounding songs. This time around I wanted to just write whatever came out without trying to steer it in a certain direction. I wrote these songs after my father passed away. I hadn’t written music in about 5 years and I just started writing them as a way of dealing with the loss. I wanted whatever came out to be honest and not forced. If I wrote 20 of the most depressing songs, I would be ok with it because it would be an honest representation of how I was feeling at that time. I think as a result it is my best work yet.
How did you come up with your latest project?
As I just mentioned I started writing these songs when my dad passed away. I needed a way of expressing myself and something to keep me busy. My dad had a lot of demons he felt throughout his life some of which I have lived with and this was my way of telling our story. I’m a little old school when it comes to the art of music. I love traditional albums. In some of my old bands we only ever released EPs so it was a bit of a life goal of mine to release an album. It’s not really something that happens for new and upcoming artists these days. It’s smarter business wise to release a flurry of singles as you go and then once you have enough you put them on an album. If I had my time again I’m not sure whether I would have done it the same way but either way I’m happy I did as I’ll now have something out there forever. The name came about after a few songs. I had trouble sleeping after my dad died. I would wake up about 3am and decided to chuck my headphones and at least be productive with the time. Almost all of these songs were written at those early hours so I naturally named the project Nocturnal.
Where are you from originally?
I was born in England but have lived in the northern suburbs of Perth Western Australia since I was 1.
Where do you live now?
Still chilling in the northern suburbs of Perth
Do you think where you live impacts how your music is made?
Absolutely. I think our surroundings shape the way we experience life and how we view life. One thing I’ve always loved is writing music when it’s raining. I love listening to ambient/atmospheric music which goes hand in hand with the rain. It doesn’t rain a heap in Perth. I wonder if it did rain more, whether I would enjoy the ambient elements in music as much.
What was the inspiration to make music your career?
I grew up in a house full of music. We grew up in church. I remember at one point the whole family was in the church band. My mum, dad and sister were all singers and my brother is a drummer so it was almost a natural pathway for me to take. I kind of wanted to play drums but my older brother beat me to it so guitar was the natural choice. I have vivid memories of my brother and I setting up in the living room when mum and dad were at work and jamming Sevendust songs. My poor mum would come home from a long day’s work and kindly ask us to stop. Music really is in my DNA and I will be writing music for as long as I’m around.
How do you want to shape your career?
My goal is to just continue to write and release music that I love and that people can connect with. I feel so blessed to be given the gift of music and many of us do and I want to continue to express myself in that way. Whatever success or opportunities come from it are great but in the past when I’ve focused too much on that stuff, I’ve become burned out so I view that stuff as a positive by-product. What I love doing is writing and recording those ideas to try and shape songs that I enjoy and are a little different.
Do you work on a tight timeline always or do you go with the flow when it comes to your music?
When it comes to writing I try not to structure it too much. I feel if I structure some of that stuff it becomes less spontaneous and enjoyable. I just prefer doing it because I feel inspired. There are times where I have had writer's block. I’ve found writing through the block useful at times but also just as useful is having a short break. Writer's block for me usually comes from writing too many of the same ideas or taking the same approach to writing, so having some time off or writing on a different instrument can help that.
Having said that, everything around the music I feel needs to be structured and thought out and almost treated like a business as after all you are selling yourself. I am a very organised person and like to keep on top of things, so structure around the business element of my music is essential.
How did your latest title of your music come to be?
I named the album Nocturnal because most of the songs were written during the early hours of the morning.
Is it hard to let go of the music when it is done?
Personally, no. I actually find it quite the opposite. I am a bit of a perfectionist and go through every element of my music before releasing it. I start with the skeleton then rewrite parts, rewrite lyrics, things about structure and change when it doesn’t quite flow right, change instruments and get feedback from close family and friends and that is just for the demos. I then re-record everything properly whilst having midi versions available of every key track. Then it comes to mixing which as Dave Parking will attest to can be a long drawn out process. Credit to him he was lovely and patient with me. Then there’s mastering and all the promo videos and social posts that go into a release. So long story short when it comes time to release I am more relieved to have made it through lol.
Do you feel an emotional attachment to your music?
Absolutely I think it is hard for any artist who has put in months or years of work to get something sounding a certain way, not to be emotionally attached. I love my songs and am very proud of them but I do feel in a sense that now they have been released that they don’t fully belong to me anymore. Like a child turning 18 and moving out of home lol.
How would you describe your music in one word to someone who hasn't listened to it yet?
Soothing
Where do they go to listen NOW?
Available on all major streaming platforms
What has been the best fan reaction to your music?
Honestly I’ve just received so many messages of support and love. I really do feel blessed to be able to be in a position to release music and do what I love and to have people reach out saying how they connect with songs that I’ve had locked away for over a year is beautiful and something I will never take for granted.
Is there anything exciting coming up for you?
Just more of the same from me. I want to keep writing and releasing music I’d want to hear.
Are you performing the song anywhere LIVE?
Due to COVID and other situations I’ve been unable to perform these songs live. I have however released a live video with the full band setup which we filmed at Sumo Studios. Also have an acoustic live video of my song ‘Collide’ coming out very soon which I’m excited to release.
Socials to follow:
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/album/6hPKqD17deqC1iNZC4Pyfe Apple Music - https://music.apple.com/au/album/_/1613367201?app=music&at=1000lHKX&ct=linktree_http&itscg=30200&itsct=lt_m&ls=1&mt=1 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nocturnal_nocturnal/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/nocturnal_nocturnal Bandcamp - https://nocturnal6.bandcamp.com/ Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-n4RcWjdYVjtx5Kugr95fQ Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/user-695581088 Unearthed - https://www.abc.net.au/triplejunearthed/artist/nocturnal/
