Noise Traveler

Today we’d like to introduce you to Noise Traveler.

VH: Marla and Marco, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
NT: Noise Traveler is a synth-pop duo that consists of the collaborative efforts between Marla Lueur and Marco Demarco. It all started in late 2010 when we met in our hometown of Brownsville, Texas. I was a singer/songwriter straight out of college from Berklee College of Music in Boston. My original compositions were mainly derived out of folk and pop-rock in Spanish. However, making a synth-oriented album had always been at the back of my mind. My appreciation for 80s treasures and exposure to new sounds in the Northeast led me to an obsession with synths. Due to the lack of synth-enthusiasts in lower South Texas the synth project was postponed.

During this time Marco was a member of an indie-rock band. His desire was to point his band in the direction of electronic music. Things didn’t quite turn out that way. On the side he took on DJ’ing with vinyls to experiment with electronic music. Upon our meeting we shared many unspoken interests that slowly led to the birth of Noise Traveler. It was the move to Miami that led the band in the direction of synth-wave. Miami’s thriving electronic music scene, as well as the luscious landscape of palm trees and mystifying neon lights was a major inspiration for our debut album Countless Moons, set to come out in early 2019.

VH: Can you give our readers some background on your art?
NT: We create our own interpretation of synth-pop. Eighties cinema is much to blame for our approach towards the production of the music. We base our inspiration on antiquated visuals and sentimental melodic synth lines. Over the years we’ve acquired a few synthesizers and studio equipment to be able to produce our own music. I focus on the songwriting while Marco creates most of the sounds for the music from scratch including the percussion. Most of the songs usually contain non-romantic lyrics. I believe the world has plenty of music to choose from in relation to love between two people. We hope to create music that touches other areas of life such as anger, death, depression, animals, unseen forces, addiction, insecurities, hope. Our goal is to create music that people can identify with and feel those other areas of life that rarely get sung about. It’s the sort of music that makes you feel like dancing and crying at the same time.

VH: What responsibility, if any, do you think artists have to use their art to help alleviate problems faced by others? Has your art been affected by issues you’ve concerned about?
NT: The role of the artist has pretty much always been the same. Artists use their art and music to create change in the world and provide a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves. The difference between the artist of yesteryear and the artist of today is the internet. Social media has impacted the way the artist communicates with its audience and maybe even provide fans with a more down-to-earth perspective of their idols. Through social media the artist has instant access to its followers and a wider platform to share and talk about important issues. The role of the artist has changed to that of having a stronger presence today than it did a few years ago. As new generations shift the perspective on politics that take place in the country and world, that shift also affects the perspective on the type of art and music that is being created. We create music focused on the darker side of human emotions and mental health. We only hope that with time people will also change their negative assumptions of issues involving mental health.

VH: What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
NT: At this moment, our music is under production, therefore no official music is out on the web. However, for those who wish to follow our progress there are several social media platforms you can choose from. We also have a few raw songs on SoundCloud and you can support us by attending one of our shows. We do our best to post new shows promptly. - Voyage Houston