Notic Nastic perform for UMASAN at Berlin Fashion Week 2013

New York and Berlin based music group Notic Nastic performed live on the runway at this year’s Berlin Fashion Week for high-end vegan fashion label UMASAN. Very different from their iconic sound and the classic electronic beats we usually experience on the runway, Notic Nastic gave a gentle but passionate performance with a much more organic sound in keeping with UMASAN’s earth conscious promise.

The Upcoming spoke to the band about the experience and their plans for 2013.

How would you describe the sound of Notic Nastic?

This is always the hardest question. For an artist, there must be nothing harder than trying to explain what you make. It’s like a Chinese water torture or something ‘cause it isn’t like it should actually hurt to do it, but it drives you crazy!

But let’s see … It’s kind of wild, electronic, slightly humorous, rough beats.

Acoustic, body, vocal. Poppy, addictively catchy …

What drives and inspires you to create your music? Where did this drive and inspiration come from?

It just comes from the universe. That might sound cliché or pretentious at first but it is honestly the closest way to describe it. Maybe we are just vehicles or scribes for a greater energy source and it comes out in our music. Life is inspiring. Sometimes it sucks and sometimes it’s amazing but it always is inspiring in one way or another. That is art in a nutshell!

Is there a message that you strive to deliver through your music?

Open your eyes and be aware. We are especially critical of the system, but it isn’t about anti. Being anti-everything gets a bit tiresome.

The message is about pro-awareness and pro-action and pro-empowerment.

Why did you choose to collaborate with UMASAN?

Because we share the same message: “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Besides they also have great style and it felt good.

How was the experience of performing live at Berlin Fashion Week 2013?

A lot of fun. We like fashion week and we like our job. Whenever we work we are happy. It is that simple! And it is nice to do a live performance for a fashion show because it is a little bit different. This time we did very slow acoustic music, which is a contrast to the usual pumping sounds of a runway. That was fun. It was all very moody in a nice way!

What can we expect to see from Notic Nastic in the coming year?

You’ll see more of our face and we will bring on some new sounds. In 2012 we talked about opening the eyes and being aware. That is the first step. 2013 is the year of showing solutions …

For more information on Notic Nastic click here. Like them on Facebook to be kept up-to-date with their latest activity.

For more information on UMASAN click here. For their online shop click here.

Nia Hopkins