Music Q&A with The Nocturnal Broadcast
Photo by Ari Ross
This past Friday, indie rock band, The Nocturnal Broadcast, released their latest album, null! The band is made up of Connor LaCour (vocals/guitar), Drew Brunson (guitar), Annie Carlson (bass), and Taylor Stoma (drums/vocals). In this Q&A, they talked about the album, who they would collaborate with if they could, and more!
Congratulations on the release of null! What does the album mean to you?
Thank you! For the band, null is the manifestation of our newfound ability to compose as a unit. Connor still remains the driving force behind the songwriting, but the time spent arranging and developing rough versions into final versions as a group brought a new level of nuance and detail to our music. As for the content of the songs themselves, null means a lot as it is largely an exploration of the Self and, more importantly, how that Self sees others and is seen by others.
What’s your favorite song off null?
This often fluctuates, but I feel that “Snowed In” is our strongest display of songwriting and dynamic range. It's about the feeling of being confined inside one's own head and seeks to represent the dichotomy of both one's resignation and frenetic resistance to that feeling.
When did you realize you wanted to create music?
In some ways, since I was about 15. But, it wasn't until my early 20's that I began to give myself permission to take that desire seriously.
If you had a chance to collaborate with a musician, dead or alive, who would it be?
Andy Hull, Chris Thile, Robin Pecknold, and Evan Stephens Hall are all high on the list.
What is your favorite thing about making music?
As a generally shy and soft spoken person, making - and especially performing - music is the only time where I feel like I'm able to fully express my most authentic self. There is also something to be said for the sensation of walking the tightrope of performing and having one's undivided attention devoted to the current moment of creation.
We all have our days where it may not be going as well as we’d like. People deal with their worst days in different ways. What helps you get through the bad days? How do you stay positive?
I've worked a great deal to better react to "bad days," to not catastrophize, to not hyper-focus on whatever might be going wrong at the moment. I'm certainly still a work in progress, but staying positive often means giving negative feelings the respect they deserve while maintaining the perspective that they, and whatever might be causing them, will pass in time.
Thank you for taking the time for this Q&A. Any last words or final message for the readers?
You are loved and you deserve to take up space in this world! <3