Nora En Pure is the Deep House & Indie Dance music sensation that is rippling through the sonic sphere with her beautiful blend of electronic beats. A core member of the Helvetic Nerds group, Nora leads listeners out of the darker realms of Deep House with intricate instrumentals and enlightening melodies. Every track she gets her hands on turns to gold and every performance she gives leaves the audience in awe.
Moving far away from her home at an early age to Zürich, Switzerland, Daniela found herself longing to touch base with her South African roots. Growing up listening to classical music and playing the flute and piano, she began creating her own electronic beats. 2009 saw the beginnings of her musical career, releasing her debut tracks via the Enormous Tunes and Tonkenish imprints. Her breakthrough track ‘Come With Me’ catapulted her into the spotlight in 2013. Sparking wide interest in her sound, the track received extensive support from industry tastemakers and captivated a large and ever-growing legion of fans. Collaborating with the likes of Wretch 32, Aston Shuffle, Adrian Lux and Klingande, Nora En Pure infiltrated herself into the depths of the dance music world.
Catch Nora En Pure at Old Man’s Bali
How did you get started in music from the beginning?
When I was younger there was a lot of classical music influences in my family and my brother listened to rock music, therefore I was exposed both. I always loved music, but I did not expect to end up in electronic music at all. It became a hobby when I met some friends at university who had their own studios. They showed me how creative you can be. After that I started on a new project, but initially it was just on the side. Then all of a sudden it just took off you know!
Who or what would you say is your biggest musical inspiration?
I really enjoy film soundtracks. Like for example ones from Hans Zimmer. His works inspire me the most because to takes you away from where you are and puts you in a different place and feeling entirely. That is what I try to emulate! Some sort of elegance.
What’s the story behind your name?
In the beginning I was mostly inspired by deep and tech house in Germany. There were a lot of really random German names. So I wanted something a little more exotic that sticks out. But it is random and doesn’t actually mean anything, but ‘Pure’ strongly relates to my organic sound..
Describe to us your sound ?
I want to achieve the feeling of wanderlust. A feeling that makes you want to go travel somewhere and explore through its melodies and sounds. I like it to sound organic, but still pretty raw and chilled out. My goal is for listeners to transport themselves somewhere like a beach or jungle in their minds!
ince the start, you’ve been with Enormous Tunes and have released most of your tracks with them – what is your relationship like with the label?
I started with them in the beginning, when I first got into the studio. They were the guys who had all the equipment. I’ve been working with them pretty much since. Even though the label does a little bit of different music now, in the beginning I was always the odd one with a bit more indie dance and more melodic, at the moment they’re releasing a bit more future house. They always have a good quality of music, the mastering and the mix-down is always super crisp. Obviously their bouncey bassline – which is like a signature of the label.
What inspires you to produce this melodic house style of music?
For me, melodic is all emotions and it’s a little bit more behind – closer to classical music than just using samples. It’s just timeless and I like that.
Your track names are always interesting and really fit the music, how do you come up with them?
Some of them, I like to relate to nature, sometimes I Google ‘beautiful spots’. Sometimes when I think of a track, I’m already thinking of scenery and I want to translate that. Sometimes I come up with names but the label says “it sounds too melancholic – let’s look for something more positive”, so we change it. But I mostly have a nature theme around Nora En Pure.
Could there be a Nora En Pure album on the cards?
All the EPs and singles could easily fill several albums! But nowadays albums maybe don’t make as much sense anymore as they used to. As hardcore fans and even as an artist it’s nice to have an album. Maybe sometime soon, I would always appreciate having an album. However, given the current scene with streaming it’s not as practical anymore.
https://soundcloud.com/noraenpure/sets/homebound-ep
How do you manage your time with producing, constant touring as well as organising your weekly ‘Purified’ radio show?
I don’t manage always! I always have people chasing me. I definitely also have some help, like with the radio show – I have a timeline when I need to deliver the tracks/tracklists – someone helps me mixing it down, because otherwise I would always have to be back in Zurich to mix it, and with Logic I take too long. It’s quite a lot, producing sometimes I’m only able to do some drafts/ideas and then I have a studio partner in the States (Nashville) – so at least when I tour in the States I can go in between the weekend there and work on something or otherwise in Zurich. So those are my two home bases where I can actually work on music.
Do you have any upcoming projects and/or collaborations you can tease?
There are a few things outstanding but this time it’s me chasing them – nothing I can really say at the moment though. But I’m looking forward to a lot of upcoming projects!