Nobuki on Creativity, Culture and Crafting Music that Resonates
Photo: Zane Qureshi
Tell me a bit about yourself:
My name is Kaicey Fukuda also known as Nobuki. I am a producer & artist from the Adelaide Hills and I like to make music.
Why did you choose the name Nobuki?
So the name the Nobuki is actually my middle name. Because I’m half Japanese half Australian so Kaicey is like my Australian name and Nobuki is my Japanese name. It only made sense to use that.
How would you describe your style of music?
I would say my style of music is indie pop, bedroom pop, pretty relaxed and chill, nothing too serious. When people listen to it, I want them to feel warm and upbeat, but nothing too crazy.
What is the feeling or listening experience you want your listeners to take away from your recent song - River st?
River St is a song about a shared house of my mates and me, and the memories we all had together in the past year. So if I want listeners to take anything away from the song, I guess I just want them to feel good vibes and beg a young person.
What does your songwriting or production process look like?
My process is very experimental. I started making music through production perspectives, so typically I’ll start in Ableton from my laptop and make a beat. Then from there, once I’ve got an idea or something down, I’ll write some lyrics. I guess in some ways it’s the opposite of the more traditional approach of writing the song acoustically and then transposing it and putting it into the studio. I am still experimenting, though, because sometimes I’ll start with a guitar and then some lyrics or sometimes I’ll make a whole beat and find some lyrics that work on top of that. I’m still trying to find out what works for me the best.
What artists and musicians inspire you and your music?
When I started producing, my number one inspiration was Joji. He was quite a big inspiration for a while, and then that’s when I started making lo-fi hip hop and just more low fidelity stuff. From there, I guess I have inspirations such as Easylife, Still Woozy, Mac Miller and a lot of local people as well.
Who are other people in the industry you would love to collaborate with? Whether that’s fellow artists, songwriters or producers.
I think it only makes sense that I make music with my mates because I’ve a few close friends who are musicians as well. I think to start, it’d be fun making songs with friends, but when I started making music, I was like, one day I’ll meet Joji, one day I’ll collaborate with him. So that’d be fun as well. But at the same time, I will take whatever comes my way. I don’t have my eyes set on one person. I’m just excited for whatever comes.
So this magazine is titled “The Kids Turned Out Alright”. Can you describe your childhood or teen years a bit?
So growing up, I’ve always been nurtured in the things that I’m interested in. Since I was a kid, I’ve always been into making stuff. At first, it was filmmaking, then it was dancing. I’m in a dance crew called Freak Elites or Freak Nation, I’m a B-Boy. I’ve also been into creative media for a large majority of my life. Over the last few years, my creativity has been channelled into music, and I’m very thankful that my friends and family support what I am doing.
Finally, what can people expect to see from Nobuki in 2022?
This year has already been a very crazy, rollercoaster of a year but I’m still trying to figure out myself. Ultimately more music of course. Maybe some live gigs as depending on where I’m located. I might not be in Adelaide, I may be on the road but regardless more music, content, and maybe video.
