Artist Interview: Nicole Gisbourne
Meet Nicole Gisbourne, a musical artist known for her unique blend of "dreams with distortion." Her music, which she describes as "sonic fairytale," is a journey into a world of contrasting sounds and personal storytelling. In this interview, we'll delve into her creative process, her influences, and what inspires her to create music that is both ethereal and grounded. Join us as we explore the mind of an artist who uses her music to communicate, connect, and, most importantly, escape.
Tori: You're known for blending dreams with distortion in your music. Can you elaborate on how you achieve this unique sound?
Nicole: I like to explore contrasts. In "Butterflies," this is the distorted guitars against the textured, intimate vocals. The vocals and some of the synths I've made (often with my voice) are the "dreams," and they contrast the distorted guitars which I fell in love with at the start of "Butterflies'" production. I love that even the more intimate sounds have a sense of largeness—something ethereal, massive, and untouchable. I also realized how powerful my own voice could be for creating texture. I value balance too; having contrasting sounds keeps me grounded. I also like to play in the sonic space, where movement through panning and other techniques almost turn a track into its own soundscape.
Tori: How do you balance personal storytelling with genre expectations in your synth-pop tracks?
Nicole: Storytelling always comes first, in both the lyrics and the sound. I mould it to a genre as much as it needs to be. If I'm stuck for direction when creating a track, I'll return to genre expectations. I think genre provides a good structure and a good stimulus if you haven't got one. More often than not, my inspiration will be from a completely different genre, and I'll only search for something that sounds similar once it's complete to help ground my visuals. I don't think it's useful for me to push a track into a specific genre when I'm creating, as it makes me feel limited, which takes out a lot of the enjoyment of expression.
Tori: What inspired the title "Butterflies," and how does it reflect your artistic vision?
Nicole: "Butterflies" is simply what stood out the most in the song, and it aptly encompasses everything I was feeling at the time: nerves, excitement, uncertainty, anxiety, fireworks—everything that makes your stomach flutter. I'm drawn to the liminal, the ethereal, and the fierce. I value honesty with myself and with my audience in my creative process. "Butterflies" helped me find my artistic vision and understand these things. The sound developed after a year of searching and learning, and when it appeared, a confidence in myself also bloomed. I think the goal for me has always been to be understood and to be able to express myself, and my music gives me a way of communicating myself without the pressure to conform or squish myself down into bite-sized chunks. The feelings attached to the track are often the same feelings I experience when I express myself, plus the freedom and beauty of doing so.
Tori: You've cited APNOIE, Lana Del Rey, Wolf Alice, and Grimes as influences. How do these artists shape your musical style?
Nicole: A lot of these artists I found after I realized I had created something that somewhat fits the synth-pop genre. It took me a considerable amount of time to find where I fit; even now, I'm uncertain—my sound still feels pretty experimental and instinct-driven. Some of these names are ones listeners have compared me to, which really helped me find a place. When I did discover them, there was a sense of home. I remember listening to Grimes' "Oblivion" and feeling an instant connection, maybe more in mood than in sound. I think there's a touch of undeniable self in her live performance that might be perceived as alien but feels like a reflection to me. St. Vincent is probably my biggest influence overall, even though she sounds quite different to me sonically. It's her boldness, her attention to texture, and the way she merges vulnerability with strength that's had the most impact on how I approach music.
Tori: Can you walk us through your creative process when producing a new track?
Nicole: My process is very messy and very explorative. I like to produce from a place of discovery and exploration. I don't have a particular structure, but I definitely have some tools to get me started. After a cup of coffee, it's usually the search for something new, be this a new sound, or concept. If I genuinely have nothing, I'll develop my skills, produce in a specific genre, or go and gather inspiration. Once I've found something, it's trying to capture that idea as quickly as possible, either with a voice note or by running straight to the DAW to record. Sometimes I just sit down at the piano and play around with sound instead. If I hit a wall, I tend to just leave the project and let my subconscious work over the course of a week, maybe journaling a bit if that's appropriate. I usually find that I gain another puzzle piece when I return.
Tori: How do you see your music evolving in the future, and what can fans expect from your upcoming releases?
Nicole: At this very moment, I am unsure. I'm coming to the end of my initial plans, which have also been halted. I really wanted to release a track that would, in a way, create a bridge for me to share my orchestral and classical stuff with greater ease. Right now, the track feels like it would be overshadowed, and I'm not quite ready to leave the synth-pop world I've begun to explore. I know I've already got a bit of a split audience, some who prefer just the acoustic tracks. These tracks deserve more attention than I give them. I have loads of creative energy, so I have plenty to give, just what and how much really depends on where I decide to go. I'm currently in a state of finishing collaborations and learning a lot. I'm excited to see where the next few months take me, and I'll keep you all updated along the way.
Tori: Your music is described as a "sonic fairytale." What does this mean to you, and how do you incorporate these elements into your songs?
Nicole: I think good fairytales always have a few key elements: something that lifts you out of your current reality, a story, and often a point or a message. My music is a place I escape to, and I wanted others to be able to do that too. That's the pull away from reality. All of my lyrics come from my own life and the stories that naturally form from those experiences. But there's got to be something fantastical woven in to escape a moment—a shimmer, a strangeness, something liminal. That magic is transportative.
Tori: How do you connect with your audience through your music, and what message do you hope they take away from your songs?
Nicole: I think art in any form is about communicating. Possibly there's a subconscious attempt to communicate myself and my experiences, but there's no pressure for my music to be interpreted that way. I think any communication of experience and emotion becomes a connection because it's how we relate and understand each other. I'd like for a sense of ambiguity to be left around my music so that the interpretation is open. It's less about offering a clear message and more about creating a space where someone can find their own—a space for feeling.
Tori: What role does experimentation play in your music production, and how do you stay innovative?
Nicole: Experimentation is usually my starting point. I'm always looking for something new to inspire me or something I may have explored before but not in much detail. I feel like there's always something new to discover, and when I find that stimulus, I tend to chase it by feel. If you've got enough theory and experience to support you, it becomes like an open-world game. You can go anywhere, try anything. One thing with experimentation is that often I'll try things and they won't work. Honestly, I have a lot of music that will never see the light of day—some of it's average, some of it is awful. I think there's beauty and freedom in that, however. You keep going, and eventually something gorgeous starts to form. It's all good practice. To stay innovative, I often draw inspiration from something that is almost completely alien to what I'm working on. I feel like having something completely contrasting often creates an interesting problem to solve, and it's in trying to fit a square puzzle piece into a circular hole that magic happens.
Tori: Can you share a particularly meaningful or challenging experience you've had while creating music?
Nicole: The process of "Butterflies" has been one of the biggest learning journeys. It took me ages to find a sound that felt right for the track. I think the only reason I finally finished and released it was because the track became emotionally relevant to my life again. Before that, I tried to mould it into a genre, but it has this sort of liminality inherent to it—"stuck between two different lives". It's transitional. I wrestled with it for a long time and eventually learned to just let it go and let myself go with it, and so it became what it is now—a little more magical and infused with a sense of longing. This was why I decided to have a go at vocal chops, which I'd never attempted before now. It felt right because the song is personal, so using my own voice in the texture allowed me to express everything that the lyrics themselves couldn't.
Tori: How do you handle the pressure of living up to your influences while forging your own path?
Nicole: Enjoyment—it's always been why I picked this path in the first place, and it's what I come back to. I often struggle with feeling "unprofessional" and "inadequate," particularly as I'm really learning as I go along, especially when I start comparing myself to my peers and my influences. The track which I'm proudest of the production is "Lipstick Interlude," which is possibly the most whimsical of my songs. That kind of reinforced how following my own intuition and my own exploratory process always feels so much more comfortable to me, and often I appreciate the result much more.
Tori: What themes do you explore in your lyrics, and how do you approach writing about personal experiences?
Nicole: More often than not, I start writing from feeling. While I've always loved fantasy, stories that feel like real life, maybe a little more dramatic or cinematic, have a sort of magnetic pull. That's what I wish to create: the story fits the feeling. I've noticed all my song titles carry a softness of femininity to them, like "Butterflies," "Lipstick," and "Honey". It was not intentional. I think I allow myself more space to express that than I do in my everyday life, maybe because I enjoy it more this way; it feels more precious. There is one recurring feeling that I nearly always return to, and that's the feeling of longing. I think it's quite cinematic in a way. "Honey" was written longing for my partner to come home again, "Lipstick" is longing for the things you love that you've lost, and "Butterflies" is longing for another life or a fairytale.
Tori: How has your background influenced your approach to music, and what unique perspectives do you bring to the industry?
Nicole: I knew fairly early in my education that I wanted to be in the music industry, which is a certainty not a lot of people get. It meant I had a direction for both my formal and independent education. This really gave me a lot of time to play with sound and experiment, build up knowledge, and develop as a musician and composer. I remember being quite worried about having a "voice" or a particular "style" in my music while I was learning. As one of my first major projects was coming to a close, I realized that it had a "something" which felt like me. From that point, my journey became less about finding a style and more about expressing my voice with greater intention—sometimes as simply as choosing sounds and techniques that I enjoyed creating with and listening to. Film is a big influence, which is probably why I enjoy writing soundtracks and why I like to leave my music with a touch of the cinematic. Some of my favorites are Anna Karenina (2012), Dune (2021), and Point Break (1991). I also move about a lot on my motorbike or just public transport, so having something to listen to that keeps me moving is important, and I think that also reflects in my music.
Tori: What advice would you give to emerging artists trying to make a name for themselves in the music industry?
Nicole: Find a community and embed yourself in it. Support them and grow with them. Most music is meant to be shared, so find people who share your situation and who will support you, your sound, and just let you be yourself. They will be such a blessing to you, and you to them.
Tori: Are there any upcoming projects or collaborations that you're particularly excited about?
Nicole: There are some classical recordings I'm working on which I'm really excited to share; the musicians are excellent, and it's such a pleasure to listen to as I work. Everything I've worked on with Jasmine Catherine too, from "Rise" to the single on the way. I love listening to her voice; it's so powerful and gorgeous, and the stories she creates just transport me to another world for a few hours. As I've been mostly focusing on collaborations lately, my own projects are more learning-based, particularly to further develop my production skills. I've been dabbling in a bit of cyberpunk stuff, which is quite cathartic to create. Learning how to build the genre from the ground up has been a great exercise. I'm not certain they'll ever see the light of day, but it's been fun to explore that creative space.
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