We had a delight speaking with Nora En Pure, Swiss/South African DJ.

Please itroduce yourself to our readers.

I am a DJ, producer and label founder living in Zürich, Switzerland. 

What is your first memory of music?

Growing up, my dad and older brothers played the piano and my parents often listened to classical music so I would say that classical music is my earliest memory of music. 

Among all the festivals and events you have performed, which one embodies your personality the most?

That is a tough one! I really love CRSSD in San Diego, some years ago I played Shambhala Festival in Canada or Electric Forest in The US. Those festivals have amazing curated stages, so you have a really cool crowd and the setting of the stages were in each of these amazing too. While I think I am more suited to smaller more curated stages, there’s no denying playing a Coachella gives an adrenaline rush like no other!

What gives you confidence? 

I think the music mainly and all the work behind the scenes. I really live my sound and love thats it’s quite different and unique. A big second part about positive energy is of course the audience. When you play and you get that great vibe it really feels rewarding.

Who is the one voice that has inspired you the most in your personal life and your career? 

It’s hard to say! I have a small personal circle of family and friends and I listen to them mostly when in doubt. Otherwise I’m quite a perfectionist and mostly have a clear vision of what I want. 

What is the most daring thing you did recently and tell us something that is not on your resume?

I don’t really do daring things anymore. I love the African wildlife and I’m not really scared of anything down there. I feel the bush is my home and I might be a bit too naive of how comfortable I am in the wild and see myself basically as part of it 🙂 

What is your personal motto?

I generally take things easy and calm but always look to work on myself. 

What are your upcoming projects for this year?

I liked the frequent musical output from last year and I try to keep quite up with it, so I have a new EP coming out in April and also have more material to come which I’m quite excited about. Otherwise I’m keeping very busy with Purified Records. We have a lot of music already scheduled and constantly planning for the future. I have also got another livestream coming up from the Swiss mountains, so looking forward to that one.

Why music? What inspired you to embark on a career in this industry?

It happened pretty organically. Can’t say the industry is the most flattering or tempting one. After I released ‘Come With Me’ back in 2013, booking requests started coming in and it was at a point in my life where I decided to give it a shot. I started out playing smaller venues, and it took a lot of hard touring to grow and get to the place I am at today, but I was invested in it.

What is your work of art about and what does it mean to you?

My work of art is my music, the visual connection to nature with it, my radio show, my Purified brand in general. It means a lot to me and really is a passion project, which requires work around the clock… but I feel very fortunate to be able to call this my job and I am proud of how far we have come with it.

With work you have traveled a lot. What are some of the favourite places you have seen and been to so far and why?

There have been so many wonderful places, but often when on tour, there’s not a lot of time to explore and take it all in. I would say that a highlight was always Your Paradise in Fiji where I could usually spend a few days and take it all in. I’m a huge nature person and I have seen some amazing sceneries in Australia, Canada but also US. Apart what I got to see while working, I really love South Africa’s diversity and the Swiss mountains. 

What is your biggest outtake from last year?

I had actually planned to take some touring breaks in 2020, as I wanted to make sure I had time to focus on the label, producing and my health. I was getting sick pretty often from all the flying, jet lag and hectic schedules. I really have missed touring, but I think that 2020 made us rethink the way of life we were leading before the pandemic, and reinforce what is important to us. It definitely made us realise what we were taking for granted as well. Besides that I had an amazing time with family in Switzerland that I'm so grateful for. 

As the theme of our Spring & Summer season is ELEMENTS and it is about sustainability, nature. Tell us about your perspective on sustainability and environment.

As my sound and brand are heavily influenced by nature, this is a topic I think is very important. Discussions and efforts within the music industry and also outside of it are moving in the right direction I feel. I’m glad it has become become much more of a conscious topic.

Tell us about your recently released single 3-track Monsoon EP. 

I really just wanted to breathe life and energy into the new year with the Monsoon EP. I think it’s quite a fresh sound throughout the EP. 

How does your research process work when preparing a new set to play? Do you like to include a lot of new unknown talents as well and their music, if so where do you source these tracks?

It actually depends on the venue and also the slot I am playing as to how I prepare. When you only have an hour, you have to be a littlemore calculated in what you play.  It is a very short time and I do really enjoy taking the crowd on a proper journey through my sounds, so would always be happier with a longer set. For me a record is actually much more attractive if it’s unknown or by smaller artists, than as if every other DJ plays that track too. 

I like to support unknown and fresh talent, which goes hand in hand with my label. 

What track do you keep re-listening to at the moment and why?

I really enjoy Deviu – Go On. It was a release on our label some time ago and I still hooked. Such a trip that track. 

Can you tell me more about your label Purified Records and what do you have coming out next? 

We launched the label in late 2019 as the final piece of the puzzle (I think!) to the Purified brand. The label represents the sounds and styles of my radio show, and releases music from both up-and-coming & established producers that have played at our events. Our most recent release is 'Purified Selections’, which is a 11-track compilation that showcases music from lesser known acts whose music we want to give a platform to be discovered. 

Up next we have Italian duo Moonwalk debuting with their massive ‘Rapture' EP. 

Timotej Letonja