“I’m always unsure of myself and it still blows my mind that people dig this,” confesses Nathan Hose, better known as N8noface. “That’s why I love the internet, because I can throw something on there and then just quickly turn it off and walk away.”
N8noface’s discography is renowned for brash vocals, intense synth distortion and heart-pumping tempo. His live gigs can be characterized as sweaty and frenzied—all controlled by N8’s clenched-jaw attitude and coupled with a fan base that spans generations and isn’t afraid to get in each other’s faces.
So it goes without saying that Hose’s offstage, shy demeanor is more than surprising.
He’s quick to pinpoint his musical interest to his adolescent years spent in Tucson, Arizona. It was the ’90s, and he found himself drawn to musical biopics like La Bamba; he hung around his aunts and uncles and heard them playing Prince tracks while getting ready for the club; and he relied on MTV to introduce him to new sounds like Suicidal Tendencies.
Although not classically trained, Hose made the decision to pursue music while in high school. He’d hang around local music stores and browse their magazines—familiarizing himself with the gear not offered for sale in store.
“I always looked at drum machines and samplers,” says Hose. “Since I wasn’t musically trained I thought that I could make a collage of sounds via samplers.”
He eventually saved up to order a SP-1200 beat sampler from an ad in the back of one of those magazines. That gear paved the way for his decades-long musical experimentation and growth.
Crimekillz was the first project Hose presented to the world with a hometown friend. The duo classified their sound as “Game Boy punk,” due to their literal use of modified Game Boys and screamy vocals. Soon, the project gained some traction. They were booked for shows in LA and even had songs licensed for use in episodes of Workaholics, but according to Hose, the duo eventually crashed and burned.
Now, he’s the center of attention with N8noface, a personal project which found its stride and audience during the pandemic. When the world stopped, Hose was willing to stream performances while other artists were reluctant. These relentless efforts to create music has earned Hose a badge of respect in various scenes, and that ambition led to collaborations with other artists and eventually transformed him into a full-time musician.
“I would definitely say that this new spark came from the project with Eyedress, Don’t Dial 911,” says Hose. The 5-track EP was released in 2020 and remains his most popular. The songs clock in just under two minutes but pack the abrasive truth of life’s harsh realities with chantable lyrics.
Even if this is the sound that drove his popularity, Hose isn’t afraid to write outside of the box.
“I want to make a song so goth that when you hear it you would think I’m decked out in leather and lace. I want to make a song that sounds so punk you think I have studs on,” he says. ”My motto is always, ‘save the genre for your momma’.”
N8NOFACE With Soft Vein, Spelling Hands. December 8, 9 p.m., $15+. The Usual Place, eventbrite.com.
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