HEADS KNOW TAPE 033: Nondi_
An interview and mix from the Johnstown producer and organizer.
Photo: Courtesy of the artist
HEADS KNOW TAPES is the mix and interview series curated to introduce you to the most interesting innovators, selectors, and artists from New York City and beyond.
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Nondi_ is unapologetically herself. It doesn’t matter if she’s making music as Nondi_, Tatiana Tripplin, Yakui, or Crushing Union, the Johnstown, Pennsylvania producer doesn’t need to be told she’s doing something new. “I make music so weird that there isn't anything anyone can tell me,” she tells us in her HEADS KNOW TAPE interview.
In 2023, Nondi_ debuted on London-based Planet Mu with Flood City Trax — a move that granted her recognition as the label’s “next generation.” The record was riddled with a mix of breakcore, footwork, and Detroit techno, introducing longtime electronic music lovers to a fresh sound that can only be described as undoubtedly Nondi_.
Roll the tape to hear Nondi_’s 100 percent original mix and read on for her takes on US Club, music criticism, and how politics play a role in her art.
Thanks so much for doing this and sorry it took so long. You know how it is with mania, the state of the world, etc. How have you been holding up these days anyway?
I'm doing fine, I've also been searing mad with anger from all the injustice in the world. But it's not anything new. My natural state has been rage for years now. I try to keep a good sense of humor about it so it's not all so bleak, and in general my personal life is pretty great. I'd rather things be normal and sensible in society, but that's never how it works. So, for now I'm slightly irritated all the time, but at least there's weed.
With everything going on, have you found it harder to create or does society’s hopelessness actually push you to contribute something good in the midst of it all?
My life was a nightmare for a long period of time. I've made 90% of my music under the worst conditions possible. I operate perfectly in chaos and if anything the terrible things in society just make me wanna go harder. Unless they kill me or put me in prison locked as far away from FL Studio as possible nothing will ever stop me from making music. I went through a short period of being disillusioned with dance music and questioning whether or not I want to make it at all, but I realized I was just being a grump and actually things being bad make it better. If life was all cheery I might be making epic trance or electro-swing or something and everyone would be upset.
A little bit ago, you replied to a tweet I posted about wanting to hear a life-changing album. How’s it coming along?
I've made three new albums that are unreleased. I hope to have a new album out on Planet Mu which is a mixture of this unreleased material and previously released stuff going back to like 2015. It's an album very much representative of my growth as an artist. But will it be life-changing? Only if you haven't heard Nondi_ and Yakui deep cuts before. The actual life-changing album I have planned is something I'm still coming up with, I guess. I'm already experimenting with new sounds, and the album I ideally want to make will be something I'll have to release myself. So to answer your question, yes. All Nondi_ music is life-changing so the life-changing album is coming along perfectly. I make no claims as to if the life-changing will be positive or even significant, but it will be there.
What was the first and last life-changing album you heard?
The first was probably Waveform Transmission Vol. 1 by Jeff Mills. Jeff Mills was the first Black techno artist I ever heard, and hearing “Phase 4” for the first time was actually shocking since it simply went so fucking hard. It made me love techno as my favorite genre of all time and [made] me realize my favorite type of music was rough and angry. I didn't realize Black people made music like techno so it opened up the entire world to me. I knew that I could make any kind of music I wanted [after that].
The latest is probably DJ E by Chuquimamani-Condori, which probably exists in the exact opposite universe as Waveform Transmission. It's an album that sounds like pure peace and happiness and listening to it is so spiritual and emotional that I simply don't do it often. I love that it's a peaceful album but it's also raw as fuck and sorta doesn't care how it sounds.
Does having a long involvement in music forums mean you care about what random people say about your music?
Not really. Most people don't know anything about music production or composition, and many times I've seen criticisms of my music, they’re written by people who can't even explain how I make music. Also everyone is entitled to their own opinion, which means you're free to disregard most of them. I like analysis of my music, its meaning and relation to other music, but I really don't take criticism—positive or negative. I just do my own thing, everyone is free to love or hate my music to any extent they want as long as they're not bullying me. I mostly hang around on sites like RYM and stuff because I'm opinionated. They’re actually amazing for discovering new and overlooked music, plus the people on there are "funny," not in a way they intend. Music discussion is so nebulous. People just say wild bullshit that just makes you go "Huh, that's funny." There aren't many places where you can go and earnestly see reviews that are like "I loved every part of this album and can't wait for more. 1.5/5.”
Whose opinions do you actually find most meaningful?
Probably my friends who I produce with, though sometimes I don't even listen to them. Helix in particular actually gave me tips and criticisms that either mattered or at least made me question my approach a little bit, in a way that gave me clarity. He also has deep knowledge of DJing that made me realize I was a terrible DJ, but it was constructive and now I'm not a complete ass DJ. But really, I make music so weird that there isn't anything anyone can tell me. Sometimes people tell me things to do and it just slides right off me cuz it wasn't relevant to what I was gonna end up actually doing anyway. If I ever try to make something normal for people to listen to, there is a lot I can probably learn from others, though. I'm not resistant to criticism or anything, it's just not usually relevant.
In your interview with Tone Glow, you use the “club music” as a blanket term for a lot of electronic music, which I find interesting as you’re someone who’s lived in Philly for ten years. What does club music mean to you?
I have a weird relationship with club music since I grew up listening to it and taking it for granted. I didn't even realize it was club music til like the early 2010s maybe, I just thought it was party music they played in the hood. Club music was some of the first ever dance music I was exposed to alongside house music. Though I don't make it often, it's still in my musical DNA. I'd like to focus on making it more in the future, but I'm an extreme yokel after like 20 something years of small town living, so it probably won't be that much like Philly club, even though I'm from there.
I started using “US Club” ironically, but now I can’t stop saying it. What’s your take on that term?
It's not "US" club, it's "WE" club, because We all love to be clubbing.
You have an expansive range of influences. Is there anything — doesn’t even have to be music-related — we might find surprising?
I used to write as my primary creative endeavor, but not so much anymore now that music production became my main thing. I used to write short horror stories and loved Thomas Ligotti. Ligotti is my favorite horror writer and his stories hit the same misery and paranoia of a Terrence Dixon track. Sometimes I think that if I ever stop caring about music so much I will go back to writing again, as I've yet to write my opus which is still a life goal of mine. For now, music is my main thing because it allows me to express myself in a really direct way that writing doesn't allow. Maybe the influences of my favorite authors exist in my music, but if so I'm not aware of that. All my music comes from the urge of wanting to make emotional bangers and/or confuse people.
I’ve been thinking about how DJ Haram uses music as a form of propaganda and views collaborating as collective activism. As an artist with strong political views, I’m curious if there’s something specific you use your work to do?
99 percent of my music is simply an expression of my identity and emotions, I wouldn't say I release it for any reason other than the satisfaction I get from having my work shared with the world. I have made music that is politicized, but whether that music is useful or impactful politically isn't really something for me to choose, since it is the people who choose what music represents them, and what music will represent the different social movements. There are a handful of tracks I've created that have been used by my organization for promotional and political events and these songs were made under both my aliases Nondi_ and Crushing Union, though the original intent of these specific tracks was never meant to be representative of a greater political movement, they were chosen to be that after the fact which is the nature of a lotta music that becomes associated with politics.
I've also created a handful of tracks as Nondi_ that are meant to be explicitly political music. Specifically, my track's "Victory Juke" and "Grieving Song" are earnest attempts at very directly and sentimentally stating my support of Palestine while still being in the same style as my other tracks. I made "Victory Juke," in specific, for a label that reached out to me about doing a pro-Palestine compilation, though they later rejected the track. I edited it, released it myself on the streaming platforms, played it in a few sets, and had an instrumental version used in videos created by my organization.
I consider myself an organizer. I do a lot of serious political work and I am a dedicated communist, however, I'm of no illusion that my music represents anything other than myself. I'm taking steps to create music that isn't just what I want to hear, but music that reflects social movements and the political nature of America. I think if my music stands up to enough scrutiny to really become music for the working class, that'll be pretty great. But there is a lotta music out there, a lot that has deep meaning to the people. I make music for myself and to express myself, I do believe that music can be representative of greater political will, but in the end it will be the masses who pick out which music represents them.
What do you think art would be like if it wasn’t created under capitalism?
Detroit would be a UNESCO heritage site and white men would make grunge again.
This year, Planet Mu celebrated its 30th anniversary with a compilation. Now that it’s been two years since your releases with them, how have things changed for you, if at all?
It's pretty much the same, but I get booked more. I'm sure if I lived in a different region it'd be a lot different. I live in one of the poorest regions in PA. So while other people would have done a bunch more, I'm still grinding. But that is how it's always been. I'm doing the best I can possibly do under the circumstances of my life, and big things are in the future. Planet Mu spread me to the world, now I'm just waiting to see what the world thinks of me.
Planet Mu and Hyperdub are so interconnected — how does it feel to pretty much be Burial-adjacent?
People often come up to me on the street and ask me this question and I tell them every time that the real Burial is the friends you make along the way.
It’s so cool to know people who are really innovating what music can sound like, which definitely includes you. In your mind, do you feel like you’re doing something different? I’m always curious to know what artists like you are thinking about, in terms of your own impact, as it’s taking place.
I have no clue what my impact is, other than being aware of the fact that I have a very small and dedicated fanbase. I'd like to think I'm lowkey influential, but It's hard to say. I don't hear a lot of people making music like I do, the few times I have it was jarring. I think a lot about my future as an artist and everything I do is now to build the legacy I think I'll have, but that's also me being egotistical assuming people will give a shit about me in years. So I think about my impact, in terms of how it will propel me to keep innovating as an artist. I want to continue to grow and push myself in unusual and new directions, much like Ryuichi Sakamoto did his whole career. I hope the most impact I have will be on myself, so that I keep improving as an artist.
What do you think about what’s going on in the underground right now?
Whole lotta people struggling. Whole lotta bleakness and people wondering where this whole thing is going. The music is as good as it usually is, but I don't think I know a single person who isn't going through it right now. Outlook isn't good, but people are gonna make music, do drugs, and party anyway.
Which 5 people, collectives, or labels should heads know?
Twofold, Tank Jr., Helix, Diyr, and Zvrra.
What can we expect from this mix?
It's all originals. If I try to explain what's on it, I'll only explain one half of it and not the other. It's Nondi_ type music.
Is there anything I haven't asked you that you want to talk about? Anything you want to promote?
My new EP, which includes some tracks from the mix, is out. It's pretty neat.
Support Nondi_ on Bandcamp, SoundCloud, Instagram, Twitter, and Bluesky.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
TRACKLIST
Nondi_ - XDJ Pro_
Nondi_ - EAT DIS ANTHEM
Nondi_ - Datajuke
Nondi_ - 2nd?_(VEO Range)
Nondi_ - update graveyard (burnt plastic mix)
Nondi_ - juke sunset
Nondi_ - I'm Fading Shifts Into Leather Shadows
Nondi_ - Untitled
Nondi_ - Leather Guitar
Nondi_ - Jus Hangin Out (Reprise)
Nondi_ - City Strider
Nondi_ - I'm Quitting Music Forever Cuz I Feel Bad
Nondi_ - Chillin (in the empire)
Nondi_ - Leaded Pipe
Nondi_ - Saltrun
