Fabio Friedli chose his moniker, Pablo Nouvelle, as a reference to both the French architect Jean Nouvel (Friedli studied architecture before turning to music and film-making), and the most stylish film genre in history, nouvelle vague. This nugget alone should give you a sense of what the Swiss musician, who is also the latest signing to the UK’s Black Butter Records fam, is all about: making the kinds of existentially-tinged, mournfully soulful tunes that Anna Karina would slink down the alleyways of Paris to while wrapped in a fluffy fur stole.
Nouvelle is also part of the crop of young producers who are reclaiming the sounds of classic soul and hip-hop to inform their pop-oriented recordings. “It was like looking behind the curtain of hip hop and understanding where it all came from,” he says about the influence of soul music on his work, “That changed my life.”
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Draw yourself a bubble bath, maybe invite Nina Kraviz over, and listen to Nouvelle’s latest offering, “Wrong.” Plus, show him some Facebook love for a free download of the supremely chill-out-worthy track.
Michelle writes think pieces on DJs who can’t dance – @MichelleLHOOQ
