Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with NOCHVNCE
NOCHVNCE is a music project from producers Shaun Charlton and Callum Long. Born out of a shared desire to shake things up and make something fresh, the two teamed up to explore new ideas and see where the music could take them.
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
[Shaun] For me, it’s the memory of my mum playing the same two songs on loop for hours at a time, every day. One was Oooh La La by a band called The Rubettes and the other was a song called Living Next Door To Alice by the band Smokie. I thought they were so catchy and fun to listen to. I remember being amazed at how these two songs could make one person so happy. There’s also a line in the first verse of Oooh La La that I used to find hilarious and even to this day, it makes me do that childish giggle whenever I hear it.
[Callum] I would have to say it is the memory of me sitting in the car with my dad, and he played Jump Around by House Of Pain. I remember looking at my dad in amazement, being blown away by the beat and pure infectious energy. I demanded that was the only song played on car trips for at least a month afterwards.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
[Shaun] My nan was a big fan of the singer Meat Loaf and she had the Bat Out Of Hell Live In Concert DVD. I remember sitting down to watch it with her when I was about seven years old and I got completely fixated on the drummer. He was utterly insane, and I thought he was the coolest person on that stage. The very next day, I went to school and asked the music teacher if I could practice on the drums during break times. Originally, he said no but after a few days of pestering him, he finally said yes and everything went from there.
[Callum] I started writing poetry at a young age to help with grief after a relative had passed away that I was very close to. I fell in love with the process and loved crafting unique little stories. Around the same time, I started listening to a lot of Hip-Hop like NWA, Cypress Hill and 2Pac. Their songs felt like poems to me, but the music made it hit a different kind of emotion, so I started doing that with all the poems I had written.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
[Shaun] No chance originally started as my own personal project. At the time, I was part of a heavy rock group, and I wanted an outlet for the softer, poppier lyrics I had been writing that didn’t quite fit that heavier tone. I had done a few demos for the song YOU when I started producing tracks for Callum for his own project that he was trying to start.
After we got to know each other more and became comfortable with each other, I played him the demos, telling him to ignore the vocals because I wasn’t happy with them just yet. Callum came back to me saying he loved the track and if I wanted him too, he would sing the final version, and I agreed straight away. After the vocals for YOU were recorded, I asked him if he was interested in being the second half of No Chance and he said yes without even thinking about it.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
[Callum] Our first few singles and EP have that commercial pop sound but heavily inspired by 80’s electrofunk. Shaun’s a sucker for that era of music. However, as we have created more tracks together for our debut album, we’ve found we have naturally shifted towards more of a synth-based R&B sound, and we’re excited for people to hear it. We are going to re-imagine our singles for the album, so it has more of a consistent sound throughout, but we won’t be removing the original versions
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music? [Shaun] the one thing that changed the way I make music was learning that perfection
doesn’t exist and is the enemy of finishing a song. No matter how finished you think a song is, there will always be an “oh, I wish I had done this instead” moment the next time you listen to it. I used to obsess over tiny details way too early in the project, and it would kill all the flow and feeling for the track and I would just give up and start fresh. Now I’m not afraid to start it messy, nail the overall vibe and emotion, and then clean it up later. Ironically, the songs got better the moment I stopped trying to make them perfect.
[Callum] Learning to be easier on myself in terms of my vocal takes has changed my recording process and made me enjoy it so much more. When we first started recording, I wanted my vocals to be the cleanest and smoothest that they could possibly be. I would do take after take, trying to be perfect, to the point where my throat would be sore for days after sometimes. Now I’ve learnt to be confident in my own voice and I have found a vocal range that I’m comfortable in. Now I’m able to pour more emotion into the track as I’m focusing less on how my vocals are while recording.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process? [Shaun] Everything starts with my MIDI keyboard. I produce the base idea for the track
using that and get it as polished as possible before moving on to recording over it with any live instruments if the track calls for it. Live instruments vary depending on the track and what the song would benefit from, but it can range from bass guitar, guitar, drums, and saxophone. For software, I bounce between Logic and Cakewalk, depending on
what kind of track we’re making, what kind of workflow I need, and what kind of plugins I think we’ll need for that track.
[Callum] I now use a Rode NT1 microphone to record my vocals. It has a professional sound, works extremely well in small environments, as I tend to record vocals in my bedroom, and it was surprisingly affordable for the quality you get.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
[Shaun] At the minute I’m addicted to an artist called K3NDY, especially her song Who’s To Blame. That’s been on loop for a good few weeks for me, but every one of her releases so far are different in vibe and she’s an amazing vocalist.
[Callum] I’ve been listening to an artist called Scout recently. She makes dreamy pop tracks. Her song Where’s My Mind has been living rent free in my mind for a while now.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision? [Shaun] The vision for No Chance is basically built from the things I’ve lived through.
Sleepless nights, anxious overthinking, fantasia, complicated relationships, that feeling of wanting to escape from reality but also needing connection. Those experiences don’t just influence the lyrics, but the textures, the mood, and even the visuals.
[Callum] I pull a lot from the environment around me when I’m trying to write new songs. Whether it’s weird conversations, or the people in my life at the time. I don’t really separate my personal life from my lyrics. I find that really challenging. I think that circles back to me starting off by writing poetry.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
[Shaun] I hope it makes our listeners feel understood. Especially with our upcoming stuff as a lot of it deals with mental health issues. I hope they take comfort in feeling like they haven’t been there alone and someone else has been there too but even with our more
upbeat, happy songs, if someone listens and thinks, “yeah, I’ve felt that” then that’s amazing but, I don’t want to tell people how they should feel when listening to our music. I would rather the music meets them wherever they’re at and whatever emotion they take from it is valid. I just want it to resonate with them.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
[Callum] The biggest thing music has taught me is patience. Nothing ever sounds the way you want it to on the first try, and you can’t force it or rush it. Learning to trust the process and ultimately trust myself has been a huge lesson.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
[Shaun] The 02 in London or Glastonbury. I’ve literally had dreams about that. [Callum] Madison Square Garden. I could retire happily after that.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why? [Shaun] Without a doubt, it would be Prince. That dude is a legend, and he was such a talented musician. I feel like if you spent a week in the studio with him, if he was alive now you would leave a much better musician. His debut album is such an inspiration to me personally. 27 different instruments in that album and he plays all of them. He composed, produced, and wrote everything on his own too. In a world where a pop song can have upwards of ten people on the writing credits alone, we need more artists like prince.
[Callum] I’d love to do a project with Eminem. His word play is on a genius level. The way he can connect and construct words and verses is genuinely breath taking. I took a lot of inspiration from Eminem when I started writing poems and even more so when I started making music. His writing style is incredible. He has this ability to tell complete and genuine stories on most of his tracks, and most artists today struggle with that.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links) You can follow and support us on our Instagram and TikTok pages. We were a little late
to the YouTube game, but we’re trying to build our official YouTube page right now. Other than that, you can listen to our music on your favorite streaming platform such as Spotify, Apple music, Amazon music, etc. Instead of a long list of links, we will just attach our Linktree that has all our links on it.
https://linktr.ee/projectnochance
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
[Shaun] To be honest, we haven’t thought that far ahead yet. The next chapter for us right now is working on and releasing our debut album. I’ve always wanted to make a concept album, one that tells a story from beginning to end, and that is what we’re working on right now. I just hope that this album is received well enough to warrant making a second one in the future, and I don’t mean financially well received but that it resonates and connects with people.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
[Shaun] That we’re more than just aesthetic. We took inspiration from the likes of Daft Punk and Deadmau5, in a sense that we’re trying our best to refrain from showing our faces on our social platforms. We’re not trying to hide who we are, if you google our names, you’ll easily find us, we just want the music to speak for itself and for that to be what gets your attention and keeps you coming back. The aesthetic we’re trying to build for NOCHVNCE is fun, but I hope people discover that the music itself comes from real experiences and real struggles and connect with that.
[Callum] I hope people discover our growth, and I don’t mean growth in popularity. Every track we work on teaches us something new, and I want listeners to feel like they’re a part of that evolution. The more you follow along, the more you’ll see how the project expands and shifts.
