NOTEP, also known as Note Panayanggool, launches her first album in a decade, an “experimental electronic pop” love letter to self-expression, self-love, and self-discovery.
Multidisciplinary Thai artist Note Panayanggool, who also goes by the alias NOTEP (No-Tep), recently made a big return to her solo music-making career with the unveiling of her new album Metamorphogenesis. An exclusive launch event for the album was held in March at the Jim Thompson Art Centre, where the 31-year-old artist gave audiences a special visual and auditory live performance of Metamorphogenesis, collaborating with other talented multimedia creatives, such as Cyrus James Khan, Saturate Designs, and Unformat Studio.
With the name of the album hinting at a profound evolution of the artist and the timing of the release indicating a readiness to say something, we sit down with Note to learn more about her latest work, how it came to fruition, and what it’s all about.
How many years has it been since your last album?
It has been almost 10 years since my last album. I was under contract with Grammy back then and released music under the name Note The Star, so it has been a long time.
How have you changed as an artist since then?
My spirit is still the same — optimistic, youthful, fun — but I’ve matured a lot since then and feel like I now have more stories to tell of personal growth that could be beneficial to share with those who are feeling lost or insecure, are doubting themselves, or are trying to find inspiration to do something.
What inspired you to get back in the studio?
What inspired me was all the experiences that I’ve accumulated in the past 10 years, especially my travels and my journey with mindfulness, sound healing, and reconnecting with nature.
Please tell us about the name Metamorphogenesis.
‘Meta’ means ‘speaking of oneself’, and ‘morphogenesis’ is a process in which order is created when an organism is being developed. Every single living thing on this planet goes through this process. Morphogenesis is truth; it’s unavoidable. It’s been happening since before we were born, and it will continue to happen in the future. I think understanding and accepting this can be so powerful. It empowers us to consider the legacy we would like to leave when we’re gone.
How long did it take to put this album together?
Production itself took about a month, but finding the time to do it took eight months and finding the courage to do it took 10 years. I had to rediscover the passion to make music again, and to do that, I had to forget about music for a while and find other mediums, like [visual] art and energy work.
Can you share a little bit about that journey?
When I started doing art again, I looked for a topic to research and develop. That was when I discovered the world of healing — because I was in need of healing myself. This eventually led me to sound healing, which can be so powerful when done right. Sound healing doesn’t just help us relax, but the vibrations can actually affect us at a cellular level. Along with this, I was reconnecting with nature. I started recording sounds in nature, and it helped guide me to the sounds I would eventually want to work with, the stories I wanted to tell, and the voice through which I wanted to portray all of this.
For future fans of NOTEP, how would you describe your style of music?
I’m not just tied to one genre of music. I’m a DJ. I’m a pop singer. I’m a music producer. I’m a sound healer. So my album has to have all of these elements. The album starts out with ambience and then goes into electronic pop and then dance. It also has a New Age vibe to it. I guess if you wanted to put a label on it, you could call it experimental electronic pop.
Do you have a song that you are most proud of on the album?
For me personally, I really like ‘Formulaic Ripples’. Ever since I started creating the music for it, it resonated with me emotionally, and I would actually get tears in my eyes. Maybe it’s the feeling of overcoming something, but when my friend Valentina Ploy helped me put words to the song, it resonated even more. “I wanted to climb a mountain. I realised I’m like the ocean.” It’s accepting who you are, the way that you are, surrendering to it and embracing it. I think this is a very important message in this album that I want to give to listeners.
Can you tell us about your live performance at the album premiere, including the visuals?
Metamorphogenesis is not just an album with music, but an experience. When you come to my live sets, there’s not just sound but also visuals for each track, as well as immersive lighting and sounds. I wanted to wear white because I feel like it’s pure and universal. Because the concept is about transformation, I wanted my dancers to look like they were just coming out of their metamorphosis. I had them dancing in netting to give a feeling of being inside a mother’s womb.
What’s on your playlist right now?
I like listening to meditation music a lot. It really calms me and grounds me. And because meditation music doesn’t really have words, I also feel like I can just put my own thoughts into them.
What do you hope to achieve with this album?
I would like to use it as an art project to spread awareness about one’s connection to oneself and also one’s connection to nature and the bigger picture. I do believe that the energy you put out into the world is the kind you’ll attract. I’m really feeling this lately as more like-minded people and projects that align with my values come into my life. It’s the fire that I need for my creativity.
Any other artistic projects in the works that you would like to tease to Prestige audiences?
In June, I’ll be headed to Potato Head Bali for a wellness festival that Erykah Badu co-curated, where I will be performing alongside her. One of my inspirations as an artist, just hearing her and learning from her is already such an amazing opportunity, and I don’t think I would have been able to do this had I not gone through my Metamorphogensis journey.
Apart from that, I’m helping to do experience design for the Dragonfly summit that’s taking place at the end of the year. My partner Cyrus and I will be collaborating on the sound and visuals. And, I just started working with Coral Gardeners! I’m very excited about this project. They’re an ocean conservation group from French Polynesia that just started a branch here in Thailand, and I’m one of their Thai ambassadors. So I’m going to be helping them with raising awareness for reef restoration and also creative consulting.
Metamorphogenesis is available to listen on all music platforms.
