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Photo by Gretchen Robinette

Great to be featured this week in an interview with Independent Artist Buzz.  These guys ask some funtastic questions!  Here's how it went down:

We think it’s safe to say that when you think of ROCK, cello is not one of the first things that comes to mind. Since rock’s inception though we’ve come to realize that rock music is more about rocking than it is about fads and stereotypes. 

Noah is here to rock and debunk all the false notions you have about what that means. 

We sat down with the NY native and asked him a few questions about his cello rock release Play Human.

1. Do you feel that rock is more “exposing” than classical music? Which genre feels more revealing to your fanbase? 

I don’t think either is really more exposing. They both expose me in different ways. Playing classical music, I’m able to really bear my heart through another person’s composition. When I play, I’m expressing who I am while trying to bring out the identity of the composer as well.  With rock, I’m doing it through my own music. Same passenger. Different boat. Both ways, I feel really exposed!  Since my rock music is new for my fans, it’s like opening another door for them into who I am. They’re hearing a side of me they didn’t know was there. That’s fun.

2. Cello-Rock is a hybrid between classical and rock. How do you dress for that part?

Haha! It’s not so much a hybrid of classical and rock as it is about bringing a typically classical instrument -the cello- into a rock setting and then using it to rock the f out. I think leather is the best option, don’t you? 

3. What are you listening to these days for musical inspiration?

I’ve been watching the “Muscle Shoals” documentary and that’s been inspiring the hell out of me. All the truly great artists who made music in that one spot- Aretha, Wilson Pickett, Etta James, and so many more, along with the amazing backing band and producer-. If you haven’t seen the movie, do yourself a favor. The passion that came out of that place is a great reminder of what music can be.

4. There’s a lot of graffiti in your videos and photos. Is there something that draws you to this imagery?

That’s a good question and one I’ve never asked myself. I can’t say for sure why I’m so drawn to it, but I’d guess it’s ‘cause graffiti is a form of art that inherently bucks the system. By its very existence it’s violating the rules and telling the powers that be that it can’t be controlled. I think all art should play that role, especially in our society who’s priorities are so backward, where greed is king and racism keeps us from caring for our brothers and sisters. I hope my music conveys some of the same message as graffiti does. 

5. What is your favorite Bowie Phase? Favorite album or track - tell us more in depth!

It’s always changing! Right now, I’m in love with the early album 'The Man Who Sold The World.’ 'The Supermen’ is my favorite track. It’s an album where fantasy really rules the lyrics and David’s conjuring up these amazing images of an ancient world or maybe a world outside of time. I love it that he’s willing to go there. Not so different from Zeppelin singing about the Hobbit I guess, except Bowie does it in his own special way. It’s outrageous as always. If you don’t know it well, check it out! Nirvana of course did a great cover of the title track, but the original is super powerful.

Listen Here to the new album Play Human and Follow me on SoundCloud!  I'll follow you too!

It was great to be asked by AntiMusic to share the genesis of a song of mine. I chose to write about the spooky supernatural origins of 'Stop Slow Down,' from my new album Play Human. Here's how it went: 

It was at this spot in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, that I had a strange experience a few years back. Today I find myself here again, strangely enough at the time of this writing. Taking refuge from the crowded city, I had found a lone tree overlooking a sprawling meadow. A great stand of oak and pine bordered a long spread of grass. The hot New York Summer was in full bloom and I needed some shade to cool off and collect my thoughts.

I sat back against the big oak trunk and tried to think. The school year would soon begin again and with it my teaching and 'real life.' I needed to start planning. But I couldn't bring a single thought into focus. I was pooped. All I could feel was a big blank staring back at me from within.

All of a sudden though I began to feel a strange surge of energy in my chest. A subtle sense of connecting with something bigger than myself. I was accustomed to having similar experiences while meditating or doing yoga but never while just hanging out. What was going on with me? Too much heat I figured. But then a new phenomenon joined the energy boost. I heard some words inside my head. I couldn't call them thoughts, because I wasn't thinking them! I felt totally divorced from any sense of making them happen and didn't have the usual sensation of 'this is me' that usually accompanies thinking. Instead, I had the opposite experience- that these words came from somewhere outside myself, or if not outside, from someone deep inside that I hadn't ever met before.

"Stop. Slow down. Remember who you are."

Those were the first words I heard. Then, the stream continued, "we came to be totally free, exactly who we are." This was getting weird. I wrote down what I was hearing on my phone. It was like a passage from a book on metaphysics or philosophy, only I wasn't reading it in a book. And It wasn't written by any author. The words were somehow coming to me from an unknown source, beyond my understanding.

When I got home that evening, I realized that I'd received a long chunk of text, almost like a poem. I was amazed by the knowledge that I could never have come up with such poetry- it was much deeper than I normally think or write and carried an authority I don't claim to have. Keeping an open mind and allowing myself to think outside my normal boundaries had led me to an altogether new mental or even what you might call a spiritual experience.

It wasn't long before I had set the words to a melody and chords on the piano. 'Stop Slow Down' was born, and in a short while I began to cast the song in sound in the studio, creating the third track for my new album, Play Human. The song fit right in with the many other rock tracks on the album also dedicated to a spiritual or humanitarian message- 'Let's get ourselves right so we can get the world right.' Little did I know it that day in Prospect Park, but I was given a precious gift. Whether it came from someone outside, like a spirit from another plane, or from somewhere deep inside myself, a layer I hadn't known before, I will maybe never know.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself as you watch the video here and learn more about the album right here!

Noah Hoffeld Music, DVDs, Books and more

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Very excited to share that I'm actually IN this great movie by Oscar Nominee Christian Frei, all about lost love in New York City.  Christian also had me play a movement of one of the Bach Solo Cello Suites on the score of the film.  I'm in a long and intense scene giving a 'therapy' session to one of my cello students who's been dumped.  Its not without humor though!  Our scene got a big laugh at the NYC premiere last night :)  It's opening in select theaters nationwide this weekend.