Below the Radar Transcript
B-Side, Track 8: The Regular — with Ness Nöst
Speakers: Samantha Walters, Am Johal, Ness Nöst
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Samantha Walters 0:03
Hello listeners! I’m Sam with Below the Radar, a knowledge democracy podcast. Below the Radar is recorded on the territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. On this episode of the Below the Radar B-Sides, we’re joined by Ness Nöst, an independent singer-songwriter. Enjoy the episode!
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Am Johal 0:26
Hello, welcome to Below the Radar, delighted that you could join us again this week. We have a special guest with us at our studios at 312 Main, Ness Nöst is with us. Welcome Ness.
Ness Nöst 0:38
Thank you so much. Really excited to be here.
Am Johal 0:42
Ness, maybe we can start with you introducing yourself a little bit.
Ness Nöst 0:45
Yes. So my stage name is Ness Nöst and I'm originally from Ontario, and I moved out west, where I am now in Vancouver about nine or 10 years ago. And I'm a singer songwriter, working musician, sometimes working actor here on the west coast. And very excited to be here.
Am Johal 1:08
What brought you out to the west coast from central Canada?
Ness Nöst 1:15
First I was— right before BC was Montreal. So I went to school, theater school there and then after graduating, stayed there for a couple of years. Loved, loved being in that city, but eventually, sort of felt this need for change, and I didn't know exactly what that looked like. I just knew I wanted to get away from the east, the winters, and ended up in the small town of Golden, BC. Which is a little mountain town, which sounds totally random, but I was seeing someone at the time that had moved there, and I went just to visit, and ended up falling in love with British Columbia. And loved the mountain life there, and was pursuing music more heavily, and then realized this small town is not a place to really grow a career. And the whole town itself too, really was like, You got to get out of here, girl. So I moved to the next big city, which was Vancouver.
Am Johal 2:17
Nice, nice.
Ness Nöst 2:18
And got sucked in by the beauty and the mountains and the ocean here.
Am Johal 2:23
Not the affordability issues.
Ness Nöst 2:24
No...
Am Johal 2:27
You mentioned going to Montreal for theater school. I'm wondering if you could share a little bit of how you got involved in music. I imagine you've been playing since you were young, and, you know, going to theater school, there's a bit of music and singing you do there. But in that relationship between theater and music as well, because I imagine there's a bit of push and pull, given you're still involved in the film industry a little bit.
Ness Nöst 2:53
Yeah, so I really— the music comes from family, I would say first. I always credit the fam, because it's a pretty musical household. Pretty much everyone, my brother, sister, father, actively make music in some way or another. My mom always sang growing up too and and even my extended family. My dad's one of five, they all grew up singing in the Anglican Church and singing outside of that as well. And even their kids are also, a lot of them very musical. So it was around and then not just that, but I had a— I have a brother who is a huge music aficionado, and he kind of gave me a major education at a young age. I have a big age gap between me and my siblings and my parents. And my brother used to sit me down and we'd listen to records, front to back, full CDs. And I found it a very unique experience, because it made me really appreciate music in a way that I think now is lost, really largely lost. So I just connected with it so so early on, and then I would compose a lot at quite a young age. I'd sit at the piano and tinker out without knowing how to play it, melodies, and I was always writing, and poetry was another big love at a young age. And my dad's a big poetry writer as well, and his dad was. And so then you blend making melodies with writing poetry, and you kind of just have songwriting built in right there. So I just expanded on that. That was always just for fun, for passion. I thought acting was going to be number one. And then after university, I was a little bit soured by the feeling I was getting in some of the acting spaces I was in, and decided, you know what, I think I'm going to try my first biggest love music a little more seriously. And I was also encouraged by a lot of people growing up, which I used to kind of, you know, push aside. People would say, you know, you really meant to make music. And I'd say, no, no, no. It's, you know, yeah, but it's acting. It's acting. And then I think somewhere in my gut, I knew that, like that was music is the thing that was so intuitive and intrinsically made sense in me that it was a no brainer kind of.
Am Johal 5:34
So, when you were a kid growing up, what's the type of music you would sing and play, and who are you influenced— Whose music influenced you when you were younger?
Ness Nöst 5:45
For sure, it was the singer songwriters of, I guess, sort of like the Americana canon, but really, Joni Mitchell, for sure, Crosby Stills, Nash & Young, Neil Young, his solo career. So a lot of... and people like Mamas and the Papas and and then eventually soul and a lot of great Jazz. Jazz was a big influence on me, the jazz singers, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, R & B. So I kind of had a big range of interests. That's another thing that I think makes me me now, my sound, and why I find it very hard to describe my own genre now, because I've been so heavily influenced by a huge array and way beyond the people I listed. But I think in terms of songwriting, it really started with those Joni Mitchell, that Joni Mitchell crew, the Bob Dylans of the world, and then it just kind of expanded from there.
Am Johal 6:49
Don't mean to put you on the spot, but could you—
Ness Nöst 6:51
Yeah.
Am Johal 6:51
—belt out a little bit of Joni. Just a little Joni.
Ness Nöst 6:54
Oh, I didn't do a vocal warm up. I love her song, Both Sides Now. I've looked at love from both sides now, from up and down, and still, somehow it's love's illusions I recall. I really don't know love at all.
Am Johal 7:18
Wow.
Ness Nöst 7:21
Oh, man.
Am Johal 7:23
Thank you. That was that was unfair of me to ask you for that
Ness Nöst 7:27
Totally unfair!
Am Johal 7:28
I think it's great. So when you went off to theater school and had that training, and you know, move towards music, what is it, perhaps inside the theater training that you still hold inside you, in making work, in music and performing?
Ness Nöst 7:49
Yeah, I would say performance is the biggest influence. And for sure, my theater training, not just at university, but I was lucky enough to go to an arts High School as well, public school in Ottawa. Canterbury High School, which was phenomenal and foundational for me and many of people that I know, friends that I have in like starting our deep interest in the arts and so all of that training helped me with, it really helps you with confidence. It really helps you with being comfortable presenting in front of lots of people. And maybe even the biggest thing is being comfortable being yourself and being weird. Like being a musician, it's kind of weird. It's like you're in front of all these people, and who are you and what are you about? And you might make weird faces. You might get really into it, and you have to be comfortable being able to let out whatever, whatever comes in that moment and theater is, I still think, one of the last sacred performance, or last sacred parts of the arts, that hasn't changed in that it's live and it's different every single night. And new things come from that, from each performance, the same with live music, and that's really special. So I think for sure, the training helped me feel relaxed in who I am. I mean, it's still challenging sometimes, being perceived, being seen by hundreds and sometimes thousands of people. But we're being perceived now in a different, in a digital way, by so many people. So it's interesting to think about it that way.
Am Johal 9:41
You know, we work out of a School for Contemporary Arts at SFU, music, theater, visual arts, dance, many people working in an interdisciplinary way. And, you know, people graduate from school, they're, you know, have student loans. They're trying to pay their rent. They're in that moment where they're trying to make a go of it, and their work is still, they're still developing their practice, and there's obviously a challenge in that time period, as you're emerging to making something economically viable so you can do it full time. And I'm wondering if you could just share any thoughts around, you know, some of the struggles of trying to get started in an industry, and the kind of barriers that come up when you're in the moment early in your career?
Ness Nöst 10:31
Yeah, I think it's a little bit old fashioned how to get started as, in my opinion, as a performer. I mean, some, some musicians just want to stay in the studio. So it's different for everybody. But the way that I did it was going to bars, going to, you know, knocking on doors, essentially saying, hey, I'm a singer songwriter, you know, can I play in your club? And doing that in Montreal, in Ottawa, in Vancouver, in Golden, in Calgary, like every city or town. I've lived all over the country. And just like throwing your hat in the ring, especially coming here to Vancouver, when I was new, I didn't know what to expect. I just emailed everybody, and surprisingly, got some yeses, and you kind of just start building from there. Again, your confidence on stage, your repertoire. And then one thing that happens with playing live is you meet people, and you'll hear not just in music, but in performing arts, in film and in theater, that it's a people's business, it's who you know, and it really is sometimes that one person that saw you play that said, oh, well, I've got a club across town, or I've got a, I really like your style. Like, do you write? Do you this? Do you that? Things can really start to happen from just literally putting yourself out there into the world, that's like, that's how I would say to start. And then you meet people, like minded people as well, which we need community and support as artists, it's really tough. You need to have friends that understand you, that are going through the same things, and you do that by going to shows, playing shows, networking. If you hate that word, then, just like, because some people hate the word networking, I get it, but it essentially is just connecting with other people. And then on the financial front, yeah, I mean, one thing I'll say is that nowadays, you can do an incredible amount that used to cost a lot more with hardware and analog, you know, set up with recording. You can essentially do what it used to take many people and many, many 1000s of dollars, on your laptop. So there is that accessibility that's great for some people that can't afford to go to the studio. I mean, I even do half and half with certain records, where I'll hire session musicians for certain things, and then for this EP that I'm releasing now, I took on the role of mixing it myself and producing it, which was like, a passionate thing I wanted to do. But it also helps when you're not, you know, making high level, celebrity level money as a musician, which most people aren't. So you have to get crafty. You have to be resourceful. That's huge as well. Is like, being resourceful, knowing how to do a lot with a little, being willing to put yourself out and connecting with people, and also being shameless is huge. I would say you really, like, I have friends that still say to me, like, I can't believe you did that. I could not do that. I'll reach out to people, I'll email, I'll— maybe it's cringey, but it's not. It's like, even I'll see an act that's pretty big, and then message them after and be like, you guys are incredible. Blah, blah, blah. Sometimes you say, hey, if you ever need an opener when you're coming through town, and I've had people say, yeah, I'll actually put you in mind, if you become the opening slot for an artist that's bigger than you, that could launch your career like and all that happens from having the guts to say, hey, like, I think I'm worth betting on, which I know, for a lot of artists, is like their nightmare. Just the last thing they want to do, but you gotta, you gotta be willing at some point.
Am Johal 14:45
Yeah, thank you. Thank you for sharing that. Yeah, I wanted to talk a little bit about your album Working Hours. Maybe we can call it a concept album, or some kind of thing. But where did the idea for it come from?
Ness Nöst 15:00
I always wanted to do a themed project, and pre pandemic, like, right before, really, right before, I had this feeling of, you know, I'd worked in the service industry 11 years, every position, well, not every— I never worked in the kitchen, but everything else. And I just was like, this is, this topic has... Every day at work. I'm like,tThis is a movie. This is, and now we have shows like The Bear. And I feel like restaurant life is getting its flowers as some people say, it's getting its spotlight, because the scenarios that go on, the intricacies, the characters, like, it's incredible content for storytelling. And I had already written a bunch of— all the songs on the the EP collection, were written at different times. They weren't like, I didn't sit down and go, I'm gonna write five songs about working in a restaurant there. Some of them aren't even directly about that, but I found the through line in them. And then when the pandemic hit, I had a lot of time, and I decided, well, this should be maybe my first big project. So I crowdfunded for it on Kickstarter, which was a big undertaking, and basically a full time job getting that going, and then got the funding and put it all together, and had a lot of amazing friends and colleagues help me along the way again to go back to, like the how to make something work with either maybe you haven't done it yet or you don't have the budget for it, like a lot of people came in and helped me with creative elements of it. And yeah, I'm really proud of what it came together to be, which is like the story of a woman, the plight of a woman toiling her way through the service industry on her way to bigger things and all the obstacles and people she meets along the way kind of thing.
Am Johal 17:08
The song, The Regular, really resonated. A bunch of articles written about it. There's a working class ethos in the songwriting and wondering, you know, what were the kind of influences you had, particularly for the album, and if you could walk us through some of the songs and what they're about,
Ness Nöst 17:28
Yeah, so The Regular, it's, maybe I'll start at the top. So Maid 4 U is the first one. It's spelled, maid as in housemaid, 4, number four, U. I was a maid as well as working in restaurants, and that was supposed to be one of the fun kind of anthemic songs. It's upbeat, acoustic, and it's really kind of like a stick it to the man song like, screw you. You think that my dreams aren't worthy of pursuing, because it's not like a regular adult nine to five job, screw you. It's also like a lot of these songs for me, underpinnings were like anthems for women, especially working in these, in those industries, because they're up against, we're up against a lot working in those front facing public service jobs. The next song was The Regular. So yeah, The Regular, for sure, was the standout track, like for me personally, but then to see it resonate at that level is a pretty amazing feeling to be like, oh, this does connect with people for a reason. And it's about the perspective of our protagonist dealing with one of her regulars at work who comes in and sort of mistakes her friendliness, her work friendliness for something more, which is like the tale as old as time, you know. She smiles at her regular and he takes it as, oh, I can ask right on a date. Oh, I can follow her home. Oh I can like I have ownership over her somehow, because I see her every day and I pay her like, there's really weird dynamics in that setting, working as a service worker. And at the end of the song, she finally stands up to him, as he's like, literally following her home. And I left the song a little bit open ended. You got to hear it to understand what I mean to be like, you know, she stood up to him, but did it do anything? Did it actually work? Did it end this story of this, like, kind of weird manipulation going on, yeah, so that was the big tune that seemed to reach people the most. And funnily enough, the music video for it is coming out officially Thursday... It's November right now, but it'll be out by the time this airs, which is also very exciting, that we pulled together with volunteers. Couldn't believe it, like 20, probably, incredible people helped me put it together. And so you'll get the visual story of this, which I think is key as well. And then the song after that is Overtime, which is kind of about like the mind of our protagonist, a woman who can't seem to live in balance. It's always like, I have to be, I want to be happy, but I need to be thin, or I need to be this, but I have to be that. I want to be rich, but I can't do this. It's like all this back and forth energy. It's a little more dark rock, that song. And then, we have Slow Quitter, which is about being caught up in the nightlife aspect of service industry, which is another huge thing for a lot of people. Alcohol, you know, working in spaces with people that are getting inebriated all the time, and you're seeing a lot of stuff that's really, I can't probably talk about on this show, but it's like, it's a dark— there can be a really dark, sinister energy that you can get wrapped up into that's really hard to to emotionally get away from. And you're working late nights and your sleep patterns messed up, and it's just you're just in this fast paced life. And the song is about slowing down and like getting back to homeostasis, I guess. And then the last song is The Fool, which is really a little sort of like, you need to not give up kind of thing. Don't let your anxieties and your worries in your life take over the bigger picture, and to have belief in yourself. And that's all five songs.
Am Johal 22:02
Whoa. Thank you for that. Well, I can feel like a little bit of Dolly Parton in there, a little bit of Neil Young, some Guess Who, John Prine.
Ness Nöst 22:12
Love John Prine.
Am Johal 22:16
And what was it like touring that album?
Ness Nöst 22:21
Yeah, so the tour... The tour was fun, but definitely a learning experience. I mean, I booked the whole— I did it all myself, which some people thought was insane, but again, it's another like, you got to just do it. You, anybody can do this. You can just, you just have put, have to put yourself out there. Have a plan. Have a package and say, hey, I've got this great project. Do you guys have an opening? Yes, awesome. So we did Vancouver, Calgary, supposed to go to Saskatchewan. Unfortunately, had to cancel that one. Then Ontario, a few places there. And, yeah, it's great. I mean, I did a solo tour, so you don't have that energy of other people to play off of, which I can't wait to do. I hope that's not too far in the future. But, yeah, it's just, it's, to me, it's like a dream to be able to tour and connect with people all over the country.
Am Johal 23:21
Have you had a chance to play in the States?
Ness Nöst 23:23
No, not yet. That's like, huge on the list. I've spent quite a bit of time there recently, so I've had a couple of gig offers as well, too, which has been really tough to turn down because of you know, you got to get your visas in line. But that's for sure, on the horizon for next year. I hope, if not...
Am Johal 23:42
We actually have a bigger audience in the US than we do in Canada, which only happened this year. We don't know why. So if you're listening out there and your book music venue. Yes. So wondering if you could just share a little bit about your time in working in the service industry, you've got probably tons of stories. We're probably like a rated mature show. So you can share some of them. We're not PG 13. We're maybe pre rated R so yeah, any stories you have for...
Ness Nöst 24:11
Any stories? I mean, I feel like I've seen it all, like it's... It really is like a movie. I've worked everywhere, from four star fine dining to dive bar so that's something fun to like, really see the range of of how operations work. Stories that stand out. I mean, the regulars at the bar really become characters, like I found, you know, you get to know these people really well. You know their ailments, you know their relationship status is like, I've seen breakups happen at the bar. I've seen, you know, people on dates, and then their dates leave, and the people that got dumped end up sitting together like on one side of the bar on another side of the bar. Like, if you look you're you're serving a couple, and you look at one of them wrong, and then the other one's fighting with the other, saying the waitress is flirting with you, and then the whole night's ruined for them. I've seen like other employees just go off at customers and decide, you know what, I'm not going to be a nice girl anymore and just like, ream them out and be like, you're being rude. You're being... And then the customer calling out the employee, and then at one place, the management being on the side of us, being like, yeah, like, get the f out, sir. I've seen— one of the craziest things I had happen was in Montreal. I had a couple drive in from the States, and they were so tired, and they had their kids, and the kitchen was really slow, and it was the end of the night, and I tried, I remember, I genuinely did everything I could to make this experience good for them. And everything went wrong. Everything was slow, the drinks were slow, the food was undercooked, and this guy stood up and screamed in my face and finger in my face and said, this is the worst experience I've ever had in my life. And just screaming at me, and I'm like, holding back tears, like mortified. And stuff like that, really builds your character. I mean, that's the other thing is, like it toughens you up, and it makes you very capable to handle people in a lot of stressful situations, like serving is one of the most stressful jobs. I'm sorry. Especially in a busy place. You're juggling not just items and tasks and things you have to do, but people's emotions. So, I mean, that's just a few things that came up. If I dig deeper, I could get pretty, pretty dark.
Am Johal 26:48
Wondering if you could talk about your latest work, Glimmers?
Ness Nöst 26:53
Yes, that's a three song EP. It's just a little snack of music. Stuff I wrote in the spring, and this was less thematic, but I love themes, so I tried to find a through line through these three new songs that I'd written as part of a workshop. I did a workshop with School of Song out of the states. It was really great. And this was led by the artist, Buck Meek, who's the lead guitar of the band, Big Thief, who are fantastic. So out of that workshop came these songs that really, really came from a different part of me. Working Hours was really narrative heavy and lyrical heavy. And like it's telling a story. You know, it's painting a visual. And Glimmers is way more emotional and vulnerable too. Definitely the most vulnerable songs I've written in a while. And I put two of them out, and the third will be out in the new year of 2025. And I'm excited about them, and I did take on the whole project alone this time. So from writing to recording to producing to mixing, and that was a lot, but I knew what I was getting into. And it was nerve wracking, kind of putting them out because of that, being like, you know, will it be at the standard that it needs to be, especially after putting out an EP like Working Hours that kind of got me further along in my career. To put something out after that, that I made entirely myself. At that point, you have to just let it go. And as they say, Jack White said once, which I repeat a lot, he says, when you release music, it's not yours anymore. And I love that, because it kind of helps you let go too to be like you don't know how it's going to be perceived, or how it's going to resonate, or how you know, people might take things from it that you didn't even, had no concept of. But so far, I've been really very touched by how the first two songs are resonating. They're called; The first is, So I'm Told, and the second is called Wielding.
Am Johal 29:12
Now you've mentioned about having sort of themes to your music related to the ecological, the environment, nature, and you grew up in a farm, as you said earlier. But wondering if you can speak a little bit to kind of how, you know, that broader piece of environment and nature is inflected in your recent work?
Ness Nöst 29:33
Yeah, so Glimmers, and by the way, I'll just mention what Glimmers means. So glimmers, the word, how I learned about it in recent years is it's sort of little sparks of joy in the darkness or mundane parts of life. So I was asking my audience, you know, what's your glimmer? What gets you through the tough times? And it's it's not about being a big, profound thing. It can be something like, my socks were matching this morning, and it made me feel really, it just was like, oh, today's gonna be a good day. It can be that small to something really profound. So each of the songs for me is like, has an element of hope through the toughness, but I recorded it and did all the producing on my family farm in the summer. And, you know, there's cows roaming by, and there's chickens outside. And I made all of Working Hours there too. So it's a very sacred place, and nature is just so important. I mean, part of why I live here in Vancouver, and people would say, well, why haven't you moved back? Why aren't you in Toronto? Why aren't you in Montreal? That's where all the the fuss is with music and stuff. And I go there regularly. But there's something about the natural landscape in BC that is so profound to me that like changes how I feel emotionally and the appreciation for it too here, I think is amazing. And I've been learning a lot about Nordic countries too, which is my ancestry, Norwegian, and how nature is such a fundamental part of children's upbringing there, and people just day to day, and how that affects the well being of the society there. And I just feel like that's so... It can't help but show up in ways in my music, whether it's literally talking about nature or whether it's sort of how my environment shaped how I recorded it. I released a couple singles in the past that directly talk about this, one song called Nothing, and it's, it's about like we're running out of time. We need to fix this disaster, kind of. Yeah, so it affects me, and I hope to make more work that really touches on it in a bigger way.
Am Johal 32:02
I'm wondering how you think through that question. You know, when there's social, political or ecological themes in music, you know, any artist, whatever discipline they're working in, how to make it work aesthetically or musically in a way that isn't didactic. Or in the songwriting, let's say, how you work through that tension, where there may be a political or a social message in the music, but to also make it work artistically?
Ness Nöst 32:33
Yeah. So, like, how to weave the two, you mean? Yeah, like, I would say with, for me, Working Hours, had a lot of that because I was trying to send a message with the music. And that was important to me, like with The Regular especially, I wanted to open the dialog for women in the service industry to be like this is not, you know, we need to talk about what goes on at work. So I tried to tie in that project when I did the release party with a couple organizations that I was sort of ambassador to or ambassador with. One of them's Good Night Out, which is, it's originally from London, England, but Vancouver is the first city, I'm pretty positive, in North America that's adopted the program. And they're amazing, amazing harm reduction team that works in nightlife, in restaurants, as well as festivals and clubs. So shout out to them. They've been, I've worked with them on and off throughout the years. They work— They do an amazing program on the weekend on Granville street, walking up and down between midnight and 3am to help people out. Usually people coming out of clubs, giving them— they're like guardian angels of the night. Is really a very unique program. And then this other group, organization called hashtag not me, which, for me, is the solution to the problem that I talk about in the song The Regular, which is like, how do we deal with these uncomfortable relationships that make us feel really not okay at work? And they're an app based company that is a reporting system for exactly that. They're based out of LA and I just thought I was like, wow, if I had this when I was working, it would have been a game changer. You can report anonymously anywhere in the world as an employee, but also even as a customer. If you say I'm at XYZ bar, and I just saw the manager like harassed one of the servers, you can report that anonymously. And all the data goes to the team, each restaurant team, and not just restaurants, any type of organization company. So to me, I was promoting these groups, and to me, that was my way of using a bit of activism tied into the music that made sense for what the storytelling was in the songs. And then also like meta to actually perform them in bars with those employees that I'm singing to service industry people about service industry, and then talking about service industry services. Say that word again, yeah, so that was for Working Hours, it really made sense to use kind of advocacy woven into how I put it out into the world.
Am Johal 35:37
You talked about the dynamics of women working within the service industry, but also as early career musician. The music industry is also heavily dominated by men. There's a bunch of barriers and structural cultural issues, depending on which parts of it you're intersecting with. But wondering if you could speak a little bit to kind of the culture of the music industry, and kind of the barriers and other issues that arise from the way that it's structured?
Ness Nöst 36:09
Yes, for sure, we're not equal in the music business, the music industry yet, no matter what some folks might want to say. The biggest way to notice that, in my experience, is walking into any music studio or music records you know, like record executive office or music studio or music space in general, a music store. Long and McQuaid, like it's all dudes, sorry, but it's largely the case. And so it can be very, not just intimidating, because I don't want to give that much credit to like, oh, you know, all these spaces are intimidating, but frustrating. And like, you know, I've played so many shows over the years and I'm so used to it. But the connection you have with someone like you is like nothing else, so it's nice to be like, oh, there's a woman here that I can get support from, or we, you just relate on a different level. And the other thing is, I had a project a few years ago, and I wanted to do all women team like produce, mix, engineer, all the musicians I wanted to do, this is all been made by women. And really sadly, I put the call out for some of these positions, and I could not get, I could not find somebody to fit all the roles. And I even reached out to other friends in the industry, and I was like, I need to, you know, do you have any recommendations? And it was like, it was slim pickings not because women don't exist in all those roles, but it's just, it's not set up. The infrastructure is not set up to, like, allow there to be more women in these positions and spaces. Like engineers is a big one, and producers is a big one. It's just so... the ratio is so off of men to women. And so that's something that I notice everywhere I go and venues. The other thing is, like, when you don't have an equality in those spaces, like there's an imbalance of power too. There's a lot of things that go on behind closed doors. I've heard many, many stories of people taking advantage, manipulation, men taking advantage of women. Being in these spaces, you're alone at night, a lot of the time, recording till 3am whatever, there's just, it's just like a different vibe, so that's just, that's just like the sheer experience of being in all of these places. But then in terms of, I mean, I don't have all the numbers and statistics, but like the charts, festivals, like, is it equal in the lineup of for women and non binary folks and people of color? And you know, we're we're moving in a good direction. I know you'll see in every festival application now, and every grant application, they're getting the analytics of like, okay, we need to represent more people, and it is getting better, but it's definitely not... I think sometimes it's a little bit greenwashing, or what, I don't know what the equivalent would be, but like, brownie points. Look at our poster. We're representing all these people, but then on the internal side, it's still super out of whack. And I also, you know, like women in positions of power, a lot of good things come from having women and non binary represent different sectors of the workforce, like it's just. It's an energy, it's an intelligence, it's a capability, and we need to just, we need to push for it, because it's not a... I don't think we can sustain this way.
Am Johal 40:13
I know that you do work in the film industry doing voiceovers, other types of— I saw you at the VIFF piece, but wondering if you can talk a little bit about how you intersect with the film world?
Ness Nöst 40:26
Yeah, film I'm very excited about right now. I can't wait to get more involved as a performer in film, but I just love being on set too. And I've always been a big movie buff. Watched a lot of— we watched a lot of movies growing up again, of varying genres. It's big in my household. Movie references were like encyclopedias of lines from different movies, all of us. And yeah, I just love cinema. I've loved it as a fan, and now to think about being in movies is a thrill. I did my first feature role a couple years ago. Well, I think, did it come out last year? Called Don't Look Away. Vancouver production, horror movie, feature film. It played in tinsel town at the Cineplex, which was very cool. We shot it in Victoria. It was like the most fun I've ever had, amazing crew of BC based artists and film crew. That was the first feature role that I've had. But I've worked, I've done background, and it just, I think that's kind of where I want to land as an actress, to go back to my roots, rather than theater, film excites me. Just, it's a whole different beast from theater acting, of course. But yeah, it's, I just think it's great. I mean, we have all these streaming services, but going to Vancouver Film Festival, it was really fun to see Canadian made movies in theaters and talk to all these incredible filmmakers. And I was there as part of the VIFF amp cohort, which is for music in film artists to come and meet each other. That was totally, that was just one of the best weeks I've had in a long time, composers, songwriters, interacting and mingling with directors, producers, actors from all over the world. And it really lit a fire in me to not only work in film as an actor, but in any way with music, whether it's songwriting or scoring, just it all excites me.
Am Johal 42:48
Wondering if you could share any sort of future unrealized music projects or things that you have under development that you'd like to be working on in the next few years?
Ness Nöst 43:01
Good question. There's so many unfinished songs, like a lot of musicians, that I'm like, yeah, that needs to see the light of day. But I guess one of the big ventures for me coming up is working for the first time with a producer, a serious, you know, producer that I'm excited about. I've been shopping around a bit, and I think I found a couple that I'm very excited about. And for me, that's a big step, because I've made everything largely myself. To take my hands off the wheel and say, I'm going to have somebody guide this, and I'm the instrument, essentially, rather than trying to do it all, so that's a big thing. And also venturing into the world of co-writing, which I also really haven't done, working on songs with other artists, is new for me, actually. And another big thing for me is building up a new band. It's really a different feeling to play with other artists. And I've had variations of bands here in Vancouver that I love, but I'm eventually moving out east, actually, back home, so I'm going to need to build from scratch. And that gets me excited to to meet people that really want to stay together as a tribe and like tour to places like the US, to places like the UK, and take music on the road. That gets me really excited. Those are the three big things for me coming up.
Am Johal 44:36
Ness, is there anything you'd like to add?
Ness Nöst 44:40
I would say anyone listening that's in any type of hesitation about their artistic project or pursuit, just do it, because there's not a lot of time. You know, we don't know what tomorrow holds, so don't worry about being embarrassing, and just go for it and you're gonna feel awesome that you did.
Am Johal 45:02
Ness, thank you so much for joining us on Below the Radar.
Ness Nöst 45:06
Thank you so much for having me. This was great.
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Samantha Walters 45:12
Below the Radar is a knowledge democracy podcast originally created by SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. The Below the Radar B-Sides are supported by Vancity Credit Union. Thanks for listening to this episode with Ness Nöst. Find out more about her work in the show notes. Thanks for tuning in!