As the summer quickly approaches, Nora En Pure is keeping busy ahead of the simmering season. Weeks after enchanting the desert at 2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the South African-Swiss producer is keeping her momentum going strong with a North American tour, as well as the release of a new remix of SOFI TUKKER's "Fantasy," which she worked on shortly after meeting the pair last autumn. "Sophie has a very beautiful voice and they are very creative with how they put their songs together. They sent me their track 'Fantasy' soon after and I loved the light and uplifting vocal," Nora told iHeartRadio via e-mail. "The remix kept a lot of what made the original track so characteristic, but has a typical Nora En Pure stamp with some piano chords and a powerful deep baseline."
Ahead of the release of her new track, "Birthright," which drops on May 24, the deep house DJ spoke to iHeartRadio about performing at Coachella, taking over the Brooklyn Mirage with her anticipated "Purified" series and more. Scroll on below to read our Q&A with the star!
We’re excited to see you again in New York City. What is your go-to spot while visiting?
I’m super excited to be back. New York is one of my favorite places to play. I rarely have enough time to enjoy the city and go out, but if I can and the weather is nice I usually walk through Manhattan and Central Park a bit! It helps you realize where you actually are and I always find New York city quite mind-blowing.
Purified arrives to Brooklyn on Memorial Day weekend — a kickoff to summer for many people. What makes the Purified series so special to you?
I’m a lot more involved in these events than usual NEP bookings. These are curated events where I book some of my favorite DJs or friends to join me. The vibe is usually fantastic as most people really know the music and come specifically for NEP and the lineup. Musically, it represents the sound I play in my radio shows and eventually, I also want to launch a Purified record label with club-focused, powerful melodic deep house and techno, so these events would turn sort of into a label showcase.
You're playing two sets during the show. How will these compare to one another?
One will be during sunset, the other one late at night, so probably the first one will be a little more chilled and uplifting while later I can go a little deeper and darker.
You were quite busy in April with Coachella. What was the most exciting experience to come from those two weekends?
The Coachella weekends are always a very exciting time. This time I was the second last act on the Sahara stage and with that prime slot I had to compete with all the crossover headliners as well. The first weekend I was quite nervous, also about the short set time. With my kind of music, I feel it’s often more about the journey that you can take the audience on, rather than rushing from track to track. But luckily all went well, also with the visuals as the set was like a musical and visual trip around the world. It was quite mind-blowing to perform on this huge stage at such an important festival. I also stayed the whole first weekend and got to enjoy some other acts I really enjoy like Jan Blomqvist, Bob Moses and more.
What’s inspiring you nowadays?
Honestly just to stay unique, I still take inspiration from movie soundtracks or Netflix series lately. Otherwise, musically I just want to stay characteristic and different. Nowadays, there is such an overflow of DJs and producers that it’s important to find your niche sound and if you have it, stick with it.
2019 already saw you release "We Found Love" with Ashibah. What do you plan on dropping next?
On May 24 a new track called "Birthright" will be released. It's an emotional, but uplifting instrumental piece with a powerful yet smooth piano melody on the lead. Actually [it's] really perfect for spring and summer.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Photo: Getty Images