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Photo by Steph Swart

Brimming with honestly and a melody even when speaking, Noah very much carries himself as a musical being, a curious seeker collaging sounds with experiences in a profoundly relatable way. Especially when being interview huddled over a desktop recording space where inspiration can be immediately transcribed, a place where snippets of his upcoming work where sticked together. The presence of this Omaha-now-Nashville artist is palatable, a depth of perspective and its corresponding appreciation evident even across a cross country zoom. Wanting to learn more about this latest release, his upcoming work and more we decided best let this exuberant talent so the talking: 

OnesToWatch: Why are you an artist? What is your purpose? 

Noah Floersch: Well, if you asked me 5 years ago, the answer would be different. If you asked me 10 years ago, I'd say, well, I'm not an artist yet. I didn't even know that was a proper career path. But, the motives for becoming an artist definitely originated 10 years ago. The reason the music started was: girls. I was writing these love songs that I was never gonna show them. It grew from being something that I wanted to impress people with, to being this thing I kept to myself. And then my frontal lobe started to make some attachments, and I realized I was making music for my soul, and I wanted it to do those things for other people. I had a similar moment in high school when I was in choir. We were doing this choral collaboration with the Omaha Symphony, performing a part of Mozart's Requiem called Kon Futatis. It's very powerful, starts with the tenors and the baritones, and then after about 30 seconds it all cuts out and it's these high violins and the sopranos... It's a really cool moment. I remember hearing that for the first time in rehearsal and weeping. Just breaking down and going, “oh, I want to have this sort of effect on people. I want to move people with music.” 

And that led me down the path of being a composer for a year, but I found my way back to songwriting because that's what compelled me the most. Now, the thing that drives me, I would say it's twofold. I'd say one, writing is so therapeutic. It's so lovely to work out my life in my art. It's such a gift to have that be my job, to go into a writer's room and talk about these things with other songwriters who understand, rather than letting my feelings fester… it’s a really good thing. And secondly, it’s the connections you make as an artist. I started touring for the first time last year, and having conversations with people who have been affected by my music is just so amazing. To hear that someone got engaged to this song, or that song helped them through a dark time, those moments are such a fuel to my own creative journey. It’s just cool to make stuff that moves people. 

I love that. There’s my subheader, “Noah wants to be Mozart.” It's a humble ambition for an Omaha boy. I’m curious, were there any other creative outlets for you that competed with music, or was it always music? 

Music was always the art form that drove me. 

I took a couple of art classes in high school, but I do not have that visual gene in me. It’s something I really appreciate; I love going to museums. Everytime I’m in New York I go to the Met. But I don't have that bone in my body. I will say this though.

I'm a big soccer guy. I've been playing soccer my entire life. And there is art there. There is creativity there. Again, I wouldn't say I'm a savant, but, I see these other guys playing a couple levels better than me, and I’m like, “there’s an artist.” You get to see it in real time as they're making these creative decisions on the field. So I’d say soccer for me is a muscle that, creatively, I definitely still flex. 

I have played tennis most of my life and I do think there is a poeticism to how you play. There’s also some parallels in tennis and soccer, in that people of all athletic boundaries can play and that informs their game in a way that's really interesting. It's a little bit like music, right? They come from a different place and they approach things differently and it's fun to watch. So, I totally understand where you’re coming from. When did you start writing songs? 

It was right around that seventh, eighth grade time. I got a banjo because Mumford & Sons was popping off at the time, and to me that was the coolest stuff ever. Going out into a field with one of those microphones that’s suspended by four strings and you let it rip. I got the banjo from my folks, or Santa… but I realized within a couple of months that I was not going to excel at the banjo. I had no discipline to sit down and teach myself these impossible movements with both hands. But I was compelled to still make music. I had tried to learn with tabs and sheet music and all that. It just wasn't clicking, and I was getting really frustrated. But I had learned five or six chords... And that was enough to start picking away. The first song I wrote was about a girl I had a crush on from like a Bible camp and it sucked.

It wasn't good. But, I had a voice memo of it on my iPod touch. And that was the beginning of it. I started messing around on GarageBand. I didn’t realize, but I was creating these arrangements. I was familiarizing myself with the keyboard and taking this cloudy understanding of what chords were and how they moved, and eventually that crystallized. High school is when I started properly making songs. I would tape my iPad under the strings of my brother’s guitar, or the upright piano, and record like that. 

I love these answers because they give me so much context. Moving forward to now, do you have a process for writing songs yet? Do you have one way that always works for you? 

I don’t have a surefire system. I feel like if I was too ritualistic about it, it might be a reverse Pavlov dog situation where I can't write unless I've got three candles lit, you know?

For me, the only throughline between the writing I've done for the past two years now is in the origin of the music. It tends to be a melodic line or a lyric, or both. Something I write in my notes, or voice memos. Most of the time I'm not struck with inspiration while I'm writing, it’s from moments when I’m out and about. It's something I capture, like a butterfly and a butterfly net. 

Then, I’ll sit down right here and write it out. I’ve got this shoddy little writing station with a Focusrite, and gear my folks got me in high school. If I’m making a little demo, it works, and it’s surprising how much of the lo-fi stuff makes it on the final song. Sometimes there's just enough taste and vibe in it. 

I’m one of those people that loves artist demos more than the finished versions, because I love live music so much. To me, sometimes it’s ruined with all those plugins and filters and compression.  

It’s a dangerous game. But, I think in the past year and a half, I've done so much more co-writing than I've ever done. And that has changed the game a lot. It’s reinforced the “capture and bring to a session” kind of mentality. I like to have two to three ideas to bring to my co-writers so we can write on what everyone’s most compelled by. 

The reason we’re here today is your most recent song, “Growing Everything Out.” How did that song come about? Was that a co-write?

Yes, I co-wrote “Growing Everything Out” with Travis Heidelman. He's a writer and producer on this song, so he was demoing as we were writing. And we also wrote it with Ricky Manning. We wrote it when Travis was in town for a couple sessions – in Nashville – and this was only my first or second time writing with Ricky. This calls back to capturing an idea. I was getting ready for a shower, looking at myself in a mirror, and I was looking proper scraggly. Beard out, untrimmed, needing a haircut. I was like man, I am really growing everything out. And that felt like a line. So, I’m in the shower, thinking about the concept. The initial concept was a big long metaphor for a quasi-humorous relationship, where you’re avoiding your barber and he sees you and you look terrible. But the next day, Travis and Ricky and I were all together, and we started to chase this concept of looking like shit and feeling like shit and seeing how we can spin it. Through the verses, we go through these different scenarios of just catching a glimpse of yourself and thinking, “what am I doing?” Whether it’s waking up the morning after sleeping with someone, or getting sick after a night of drinking… we’ve all been there. Then the chorus gives you this triumphant melody, with the most defeated language. We wanted it to feel like giving up. Really rolling around in the mud. And it’s funny because some people hear the chorus and think it’s us turning it around. And, to you, if this is a song about picking yourself up from your bootstraps, let it be that. That certainly wasn't my initial intent, though. 

When was this song written? 

I believe late summer of ‘24. Yeah, not quite a year old. 

When you're sort of like picking songs to put out there, are you picking from dozens of options or is it, this is the best thing I'm working on right now, and I wanted to just get it out there? How do you pick what to put out there? 

It's a newer process now that I’m signed and there's more voices to be heard. At one point, it was more of a social game. I would put out a snippet a day, and if something pops, that’s what you put out. It has been nice to not play by those rules, and to work on a project that’s not dictated by the masses. For example, I picked the songs that are on the album as a whole, and then it’s strategy for the singles rollout. “Growing Everything Out,” felt like a song that wasn't so alienating from my past work, but that still felt like a fresh take on what I've been doing, and a good introduction to the project as a whole as well. It’s a tone setter. 

Can you hint about what's coming next? 

I would call “Growing Everything Out” the beginning of a new era. I would call it the start of a really fun year. 

I'll take a fun year. I’d love to know what you do to relax, mellow out, re-garnish some inspiration? 

Soccer’s my big one, my good, healthy answer. I’ve been out for a week though, because my knee is messed up, and I'm going crazy. I feel the effect on my body and my mental when I’m not practicing. I also love to go out, so thematically, in “Growing Everything Out,” it makes sense. Also, just in terms of growing up in Middle America, the Midwest is probably pretty hot on a heat map of alcohol consumption. A lot of the songs on this project do come from thoughts on those nights. 

I think a lot of people will relate to that. If you could play “Growing Everything Out” anywhere, and have any guest performer, where and with whom would you perform it? 

Because the bridge has a powerful gang vocal, I’d want some outdoor stadium, and let it ring. It would need to be an amphitheater. It’s sold out – we crushed, but that’s just color for the story. I’d also bring on a gospel choir for that section. 

That’s a vision. Last question! At OnesToWatch, we love to hear about some up-and-coming artists you’re listening to that deserve some more flowers.

I just came across this song “Gold” by Derby, it was on my TikTok and I’m really digging it. Also, I don’t usually listen to heavy metal, but I came across this song that bridges metal and a shoegaze feel, which is also not really my world. But, this song, “Pale” by Modern Color, I really like it. Last one, he’s not super small, but I’m listening to a lot of Ben Queller lately. 

Those are amazing. I’m so excited for you, and congrats on everything!

Thank you!