Interview: Rory Noble On The Release Of His Debut Single 'Team', Working With Kanye West & More

Rory Noble, one of New Zealand’s hottest producers – whose credits range from Kings to Kanye West – is stepping into the spotlight as a solo artist. Today, Rory released his debut single ‘Team.’

We caught up with Rory and spoke about the release of ‘Team,’ working with Kanye West, being a triple threat, and more.

HUA: How does it feel knowing your debut single team is finally out

It feels good. I think it’s been a long time coming for my artist thing,but I sorta had the idea of doing this for the last 3-4 years. Just being a producer, I make songs for myself, and just having one sorta out is...is like..after all the years, I didn’t think it would come to the time of having something out. Now that it is, it’s weird but it’s special, I think. The song too, I know a lot of artists get caught up with figuring out, especially when it’s a debut release, what to put out for their first single. Everyone gets caught up in this thing...like this song is who they are and that’s why they get a bit scared, they think everyone’s going to think that’s who they are, whereas this song, I’m like yeah, this is me, and this is a good starting point on where I can see my artist thing going.

HUA: The first line on the track is “I took a flight up to Hollywood to build my ultimatum” …. What made you want to start the song like that?

I wrote ‘Team’ after a trip to LA and I’ve done maybe 4 or 5 trips to the States as a producer and a writer. I think the feeling of that trip and coming back made me want to sort of sum up...I’ve had some crazy life-altering experiences while being in the States. And I feel like that trip I was on, emotionally, I was feeling like...man I need something to come out of this trip, or I feel like I’m kinda going nowhere.

HUA: I get that, that’s what I’m like when I go to LA. 

I feel like that last trip was a bit different from the others. The others were quite chill, and this was like man, I have to go there and not fuck around. I gotta make something happen while I was there. 

HUA: And you feel like you did something?

Yeah, I think the events of what happened there, sorta uh.I worked with this duo called Finatik N Zac while I was there, and from that, we started working on stuff for Kanye’s ‘Jesus Is King’ album, and it went on to Kanye using quite a few pieces of mine...That was a really cool achievement. Yeah, I don’t know why I opened it like that. I think it was just like….I don’t know. It’s just what came out. I didn’t know what that word meant before I said it, I said it and I googled it just to make sure, and I was like, fuck, that’s hundy what I felt.

HUA: Speaking of Kanye, what was it like working with him. I mean, only a handful of New Zealanders can say they’ve worked with Kanye West. That would have been crazy.

Yeah, it was weird. I mainly deal with Finatik N Zac , who are great producers from Australia, fucken great dudes. Um, we were doing all these ideas for his album, like making gospel loops and stuff, that Kanye could sample or make a song out of. Um, yeah, he picked up one of my ideas, and it was a weird experience coz of how last minute it was, like all of a sudden we got an email from his lawyer saying, “oh yup, Kanye wants to use this tomorrow in a live opera.” I think it was a weekend and I was in Australia when it happened, and I had to contact my lawyer and sort out the contracts and shit...Like a day before it happened. It was full-on aye. It gave me a lot of motivation. Like what he’s built, coz I’ve been a Kanye fan, a big Kanye fan since forever. Production-wise, I grew up on it. Artistically, what he’s about. He’s been one of my biggest idols, and then to get one of my first major placements straight with the King himself, it was a weird, but humbling experience.

HUA: Have you met him yet?

Na, I haven’t. I haven’t talked, I haven’t met him. I just have this great link to get stuff in front of him, and the fact that he likes it and fucks with it. The whole ideas were made out of my voice. My take on what I thought what a gospel choir would do.

HUA: Which track did you work on?

It’s not even a song. What placed was an idea that we were doing for the ‘Jesus Is King’ album that didn’t place, but when he heard it, half of the album had come out and he wanted to use it. I remember getting a call from Finatik N Zac, they were like “So Kanye heard one of the ideas that we did”, and he was in the studio with Big Sean, and they were fighting over who was going to use it. Two days after that, Kanye announced his opera, which he performed live, and he had the choir sing it, and his band played it...It was epic, to a crowd of 15,000 at the Hollywood Bowl in LA. I watched it live on TIDAL in Melbourne and thought, “fuck, this is buzzy.” Kanye was narrating over the top of it. It was weird, it was a really weird experience.

HUA: That’s awesome. You started making beats at 13. Did you realise then that music would be a career choice?

I think so. I definitely feel grateful that I was able to aline my passion and know that it was going to be my career from a really early age. At the same time, throughout my teen years, it was the only thing I really loved doing, and I did it heaps. There was a time when I didn’t know where it was going, but I knew that’s what I was going to do. To be able to get those building blocks in early, I was able to get where I am now.

HUA: You’re pretty much a triple threat. You’re a producer, songwriter and artist. Are you going to focus on being an artist or producing for others?

Being a producer is my passion and a writer.I feel like the goal is to equality achieve all three. I hope that my artist thing can start taking off...Even if it doesn’t, production is still my main thing. I’m lucky to be doing...

HUA: Anything that’s to do with music.

Yeah, that’s what I’m about. If it’s not my artist thing that’s the big thing that I’m putting all my time into, it’s other people’s music which I had a passion for my whole life. 

HUA: What’s the difference between the music industry in America, compared to NZ? I’ve heard stories of like Atlanta and LA, there will be a studio full of people, writing, producing…

As a producer, working over there I felt like..I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing, but lots of people do very specific things...There’s a producer, an engineer, a couple of top-line writers may be in the room...Like only people who are really good at one or two things.Whereas here, the attitude is a bit different. There are not as many people to pull in. You have to learn a lot more things. A lot of the producers here are also really good at recording vocals and engineering and then mixing also. That’s also the time we live in. You can pick up all these extra things. Anyone can just produce, write, record, mix and master a song from scratch. At the same time, I would like to be in more sessions with a lot more people. I think here, the population is a lot smaller and it’s harder to get specialist people. I like the idea of being able to do a lot of things. 

HUA: What advice would you give someone wanting to start out in the music industry?

Be as boss with it aye. I feel like we’re encouraged to...these are things I feel strongly about. We’re always encouraged as artists and writers...we’re meant to live this life where it can be unsuccessful and even broke, but I think...you need to shut out the expectations of people completely and if you have an idea, you gotta run with it, and keep pushing for it. Usually, when it gets really hard, that’s when you’re about to do something really good, and it’s like a race of who pushes over that line. I honestly think anyone can do what I do. Be confident...

HUA: Put in the work…

Definitely put in the work. Every time, you know, every hour you work hard, a lot of other people aren’t, and that’s one way to get ahead, and be open-minded and be confident.

HUA: Now that ‘Team is out, what’s next?

More music. I gotta EP in the works, which is a mixture of songs..I’m still trying to figure it out and get it right, but it’s a bunch of songs that I thought would just fit with the vibe of ‘Team,’ also it helps tell a bigger story of what ‘Team’ is about and sort of my life over the last 2 years. All songs that I felt emotionally made sense. It’s a bunch of stuff I did a couple of years ago, some new ones and I think it all fits.

HUA: Thanks for your time and congrats with the release of ‘Team.’

Stream ‘Team’ below.