Music Critic Archie Marks talks with Canadian singer-songwriter Justin Nozuka about tour life, process, TikTok and Ethel Cain
On a cold Thursday evening in Digbeth’s O2 Institute 3, I sat down with Canadian singer-songwriter Justin Nozuka before his Birmingham headline show. Here was an artist so far into his career (having released his debut album in 2007), so relaxed in his own skin and – as our conversation revealed – so confident in his own craft. We talked about his latest album, the dreamlike alt-R&B effort Chlorine, as well as its eponymous supporting tour, of which Birmingham is the second European date.
Archie: When did you arrive in Birmingham?
Justin: We got here yesterday. We got some food, and then went to the place we’re staying, about half an hour outside of the city.
Archie: Whereabouts are you staying?
Justin: [Asks his tour manager; neither of them are sure.] Some place with lots of stadiums around.
Must be a really memorable and exciting place!
[Laughs]
So, you’ve been on this tour for a while, right?
Yeah, we started in the States on October 11th, so about six weeks ago now.
Can I ask which city so far has had the best crowd?
The ones that stand out for me are Washington, D.C., Atlanta, uh, Los Angeles. Santa Ana, the energy in that crowd…
Is there a city you are excited to play in Europe?
I really enjoy being in the Netherlands, I always have a great time there. We’re playing Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
What are you doing on tour to keep sane? Are you the type of guy who likes exploring or are you focused on self-care, working out, resting, that sort of thing?
You know what, it’s an interesting thing; when you’re on tour it can be difficult to do anything other than just wait for the show. Mainly I just eat, rest. Having your phone is the most distracting thing, and with the weather being as chilly as it is, time just sort of wastes away.
…when you’re on tour it can be difficult to do anything other than just wait for the show.
No, I get that. Are there any albums you are listening to or shows you are watching that are keeping you afloat, then?
The main thing I’m listening to now, and what I was listening to a lot on the bus when we were in the States, is a playlist called Ambient Dreamscapes.
Is that a white noise sort of thing?
No, not quite – although, I was actually listening to white noise last night to help me get to sleep. No, it’s more like this [plays an excerpt from his phone], this really textural, peaceful stuff with no lyrics.
It’s beautiful! It makes me want to go to sleep.
No, literally.
Okay, album time. Your latest album is called Chlorine, which is such a striking title. What led you to that name?
That title really just came out. The song ‘Chlorine’ happened first, and it wasn’t really clear that I was making the album until three or four other songs were written. But I remember when we came up with the song ‘Chlorine’ in particular, something about it just felt a little more special. Then, once we had a blueprint of the album, it felt like that word – chlorine – ignites the same feelings in me that the whole project does.
There’s this element of summertime – that ease and excitement of being by the pool, the smell of the chlorine. Then there’s also that toxic, poisonous element, and the album sort of delves into this self-induced negativity – it goes to this darker place. So I found Chlorine (as a title) to fit both of those things.
Yeah, that’s sort of what I got from it. If I think of the way chlorine is used in a pool, it’s safe and even useful when it’s at a controlled level. But it’s obviously a strong chemical, and the things that you are talking about on this album… the lyrics are very sharp and evocative and direct.
Yeah, definitely.
You mentioned that it took you three or four songs into this process to realise that Chlorine was a project worth pursuing. Did that differ from the way your other albums have come together?
Well, this album is my seventh. I think there were two out of those seven that were, from the jump, an album – we were writing songs for that album specifically. Whereas with the others, the albums sort of revealed themselves naturally.
Sometimes you just have to put a song on ice after you write it, just not visit it for a while. That’s part of the process, you know?
What, through just writing songs sporadically?
Exactly. Then, after doing that for a while, it finally was like ‘we’ve got something here’. There was a point where it made sense to start putting the project together, if that makes sense.
It does! Okay, I wanted to say that my favourite song from the album is ‘Berlin Spins’ – it’s such a longing song with these abstract lyrics. The instrumentation erupts from nothing into this big chaos of emotion, it’s so good.
Thank you!
I wanted to ask, do you have a favourite song from the album?
I mean, I haven’t really taken the album in for a while. ‘SUV’ feels really good to sing live. I do really enjoy playing ‘Berlin Spins’, that one’s a bit more of a beast. But ‘Berlin Spins’ was a standout for all of us creating the project, it had a real journey.
It is a rollercoaster of a song.
It was a rollercoaster to make!
Can I ask how long it took?
Definitely a few months, at least. Sometimes you just have to put a song on ice after you write it, just not visit it for a while. That’s part of the process, you know? Then come back with fresh ears and you can hear it more clearly. But yeah, ‘Berlin Spins’ is definitely a favourite of mine, I’m glad you like it.
Of course! It has such an impressive build for just a three-and-a-half minute song. I mean, one thing that really struck me when I listened to the whole of Chlorine was how concise it was (the album is 12 tracks total, just over 22 minutes long). There has been a lot of discourse happening about songs getting shorter for TikTok, which rewards a shorter attention span. Your songs on this album are quite short, too. Are you writing songs with that audience in mind?
Not really. I’m not writing TikTok songs. I will say that my preference in song length has changed over the years. There was a time not too long ago where I would love a song to be seven minutes long, but now when I listen to a project, I just love a concise song. When I make music I’m trying to trim the fat, get to the point. I want the song to hold me, you know? And that tends to sit in the two-minute realm.
I will say that my preference in song length has changed over the years. There was a time not too long ago where I would love a song to be seven minutes long, but now when I listen to a project, I just love a concise song.
Yeah, you say what you need to say and then get out.
Exactly. And if you can journey within that, and it feels like a longer song than it is, then I think that’s kind of fun.
Absolutely. I feel like there are some artists who get away with having much longer songs, someone like Ethel Cain-
Who’s that?
You haven’t heard of Ethel Cain?!
Let me check my music library. [He does so.] Nope, I haven’t heard of her.
Yeah, she makes these crazy, expansive songs that go on for seven or eight minutes.
[Checks Ethel’s profile.] Hmm, Preacher’s Daughter.
Your homework for the tour bus is to listen to that album.
I’m gonna download it right now.
But yeah, there are artists like her on one end of the spectrum, then you have someone like Charli xcx who says what she wants to in two minutes and then dips.
Yeah. It’s all about what holds you, and what the song needs.
You’ve been in the industry for a while. Have you seen it change in any way?
It seems to change every week, to be honest. I came up at a time when MySpace was really popular. Things were already transitioning to digital, and the industry was trying to figure out how to bounce back from Napster. You had all this music pretty much going up for free, so record sales were going down. We then had that transition to the streaming services like Spotify.
Now we have TikTok and all this social media. I remember when Twitter and Instagram first started out, the vibe was sort of like ‘you gotta be doing this now’. And I was like ‘f*** that, I’m not doing that!’ But then you realise that everyone else is doing it, and you sort of have to join in or you could risk being left behind. I remember the days when all anyone got from you was the music and maybe a video.
The pace of things is also getting insane. The amount of music that’s going out every day is, like, more than what we’d get in a year back in the ‘80s.
The pace is crazy. I was reading an article the other day about Billie Eilish – she took a break of three years in between albums and the writer called it a hiatus! To me three years sounds like a normal amount of time to write an album, shoot the videos, plan the tour…
Yeah, the expectation of pace… it gets daunting.
Last question: I have a friend who’s looking at bleaching their hair, which you did recently. Do you have any tips or tricks for doing it and maintaining it?
Well, my hair took a little more time to get properly bleached. You definitely want to get it done by someone who knows what they’re doing.
No box dye?
No, I went to get it done by a professional. Then again, it is only hair, you can change it up. I know purple shampoo is really good for bleached hair. And keep it hydrated!
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