Oh No Noh (Interview)
Today we’re listening to Oh No Noh, a German multi-instrumentalist and composer based in Leipzig. The project is from Markus Rom, who picked up the guitar at age six and started playing piano in his late teens. His music is lowkey and curious, and gives one the feeling of having been invited to his vibrant home studio (pictured below) for a private listening session. Earlier this month he released As Late As Possible. This record begins with guitar-led instrumentals with synth accompaniment, tracks with leftfield chord progressions reminiscent a bit of Pat Keen. As the album progresses it sort of decoheres, and the frequency-jumping glitch effects of Chase Bliss pedals occupy the foreground. The coda, “Ore,” leads with bare, lofi guitar with a subtle vibrato. Featured guests include KMRU and Liz Cosack. We’re also playing his 2022 record, Kanzi, which has a similar recipe of transmogrified guitars and synths. A conversation with Markus follows the streaming links.
As Late As Possible - Oh No Noh (31m, no vocals)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Bandcamp / Tidal
Kanzi - Oh No Noh (29m, no vocals)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Bandcamp / Tidal
What's your earliest memory of music?
That was probably the kitchen radio in my parents’ home.
Where did you grow up and where are you based now?
I grew up in a village near Weiden i.d.Opf. It’s in the east of Bavaria. Currently I am based in Leipzig.
What instruments do you play, and what's your history with each – like when did you start playing each one, and did you take lessons? Teach yourself?
My main Instrument is the guitar, and it was also the first I picked up by getting lessons at the age of 6. I didn’t enjoy those a lot until I discovered indie music as a teenager and got an electric guitar, that is when I really got into music. I ended up studying jazz guitar, where I also got a bit of piano lessons. Over the years I realized I didn’t identify so much as a jazz guitar player, or maybe not even as a pure guitar player in general, that’s when I got into all sorts of other stuff (synths, Ableton, circuit bent instruments and Midirobots).
Where does the name Oh No Noh come from?
In the beginning I wasn’t sure if it would stay a solo project, that’s why I didn’t want to perform under my real name. I wrote lots of syllables on a piece of paper and somehow came up with Oh No Noh, I liked that it has kind of a symmetry to it.
Tell us about your studio setup.
My guitar is a Heritage 535, which has been with me for 17 years now. I use a Fender Blues Junior Amp, which I prefer to record with a Sennheiser 441 mic. Guitar FX I have quite a lot, for the album I used a lot of Chase Bliss Blooper and Thermae, as well as Red Panda Particle. I have a Critter and Guitari Organelle which I use both in recordings and live for mostly arpeggios and mangling samples. Other synths very present on the album are Korg Minilogue and Yamaha Reface CS. Also on the album is a Nylon String Acoustic guitar and a six-string-banjo. The album also has some guest instrumentalists - Damian Dalla Torre played clarinets and bass clarinets on one track, and three tracks have Andi Haberls drums on them. Apart from that, there are two tracks that came together with feature guests Liz Kosack and KMRU.
I record everything with Ableton Live, which I also use for my live setup.
In my live setup I use Solenoids controlled by Dadamachines Automat Toolkit and Servomotors controlled by Arduino via Ableton Connection Kit.
What artists/albums have you had on rotation the most the past few years?
I keep on coming back to catwalk by Schntzl, here is always somewhere else by Jenny Berger Myhre, and Revelationes by Tape.
How do you discover music these days?
The best way is through friends and colleagues, but of course also through social media or streaming services directly.
Name an underrated artist from the past 50 years.
I am gonna go with Delia Derbyshire, a pioneer of electronic music who deserves more attention.
What are you working on next?
Usually I like to work on several things simultaneously, at the moment it’s an idea for an audio installation, some add-ons to my live setup, an upcoming theater music and my next album.
