Rising Spanish producer Nau Leone returns to Canadian imprint You Plus One with the standout four track ‘Universe’ EP this month. We’re excited to present an exclusive sliver from the release in the form of a full premiere of ‘Luna’. What’s more, we took five to catch up with the Be Your Own Studio founder. It’s all below, enjoy!
WWD: Hey, how are you, what’s good, what’s bad in your world right now?
Hey, first of all thanks for the interview!
Right now.. I’m very happy with the consistency of my releases and projects in which I’m involved. I’m very happy about connecting with beautiful people around the world such as You Plus One, XYZ, When We Dip or The Outlaw Ocean for my releases. Also very happy with my Be Your Own and Studio label that is celebrating its first anniversary soon.
On the bad part… I have been involved in lots of projects and have been pretty busy in the last months and I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed. Luckily I’m going back to some normality soon, and this is helping me invest in studio equipment, so.. not so bad!!
WWD: How have you survived the last year, what’s kept you positive?
I discovered that life is a moment. And I feel like I have been living with my eyes closed for a long time. This year helped me to start living the present more than ever. I’m taking risks, and going for what I want with more energy in my music and being surrounded with my loved ones is keeping me very positive!
WWD: Did you pick up any new hobbies or new skills with all the extra free time?
Mmmm… I discovered the power of a good meditation. Then I took advantage of the extra free time to expand hours in the studio so it has been quite normal for me in that sense.
WWD: Has it been weird making and listening to dance music without any clubs? Has it turned you in a new direction musically at all?
Nothing at all. I missed clubbing a lot but before this situation my music was already a mix between ambient, progressive and club. I keep working the same way. Maybe during this time I have created more ambient tracks than usual to relieve a little bit of the stress and anxiety.
WWD: Tell us about your “Universe” EP on You Plus One – what inspired it?
Lately I have been thinking a lot about us as human beings. It is quite normal to see a film where we literally burn earth and we have to go to another planet to start ‘a new life’. I feel like this is also happening in real life and it’s really important to take care of our planet. I started composing the Universe EP in 2019. I did ‘Universe’ and ‘World’ first. I loved the songs but didn’t see a great opportunity to release it until I met Siavash and we started talking about releasing something. Then I made ‘Nebula’ and ‘Luna’ to make a more complete and well rounded EP. I also remastered ‘Universe’ and ‘World’ in the process.
WWD: What gear did you use, are you a hardware or software person?
For Universe it is almost everything digital, I recorded my own voice, pianos and a couple field recordings.. I work a lot with software, but it is very important for me to record some instruments and imprint a piece of my soul and energy into the songs. That’s why I think I will always keep playing and recording instruments. Lately I incorporated a Prophet 6 in the studio and I quickly fell in love hahah
WWD: Do you think the dance scene will be different when we’re all back – more local talents and stuff? How do you feel about that?
I think it will be great. The golden days. We will connect together after a long period. At the beginning it will be slow and people may be shy.. but then I think it will be great. To feel the power and energy of live shows again… Also it will be easier for small promoters to include more local talent, which I think will be great to make cool scenes (a lot of cities still need to create scenes!)
WWD: What else have you got coming up/are you working on?
I can’t talk too much.. but I have been working for an audiovisual project, more music, and Be Your Own Studio Label with great artists.
WWD: What have you missed most about not DJing in the last year?
Connecting with people and expressing myself in other artistic ways. It’s very beautiful what a nice live set can bring. Pure joy, happiness and soul connection.
Nau Leone’s “Universe” EP is out on 28th May on You Plus One
Order it here – https://www.beatport.com/release/universe/3402820
https://www.facebook.com/nauleone
https://soundcloud.com/nau-leone