NVTE

New Braunfels, USA

DREADMIST

ElectronicHip-hop

Behind the Music

My music for The Outlaw Ocean Music Project takes a deep dive into the emotions that I experienced seeing all the footage from Ian’s reporting and reading the stories Ian recorded through his travels. I wanted to represent everything I personally saw and felt, from serenity to adrenaline-charged moments of anticipation, and share it with my listeners. I want people to feel everything I did. It was one of my favorite aspects of participating in this project.

Combining music and journalism strikes a balance and creates a harmony that each medium by itself can’t accomplish individually. When it comes to storytelling, music is what drives emotion and enhances our perception of what we are absorbing. I believe music pulls forth emotions that words can’t express, hence why I favor an erratic and energetic style that’s extremely expressive. Song is the only way to show how I really feel, and having the chance to harness my musical skill to create a soundscape that accompanies something as serious and impactful as Ian’s reporting was an experience that took me on a journey as I crafted each track. I hope it has the same effect on others. 



NVTE
About NVTE

NVTE, aka Nathan MacPhearson, is a 20-year-old American producer, electronic musician and songwriter living in New Braunfels, Texas. Born in Landstuhl, Germany to military parents, and having lived for years overseas in countries such as Turkey and Japan, NVTE was quickly exposed to varying types of culture, and developed an appreciation for music in particular. Early piano lessons and music theory study uncovered a true love for how music is made: the tones, beats, harmonies, etc… So NVTE began learning to construct, produce and record his own music at the age of 11. 

NVTE eventually developed a strong appreciation for beat/synth-heavy rock bands like Depeche Mode, Linkin’ Park, Nine Inch Nails and Dream Theater, all of which—in addition to rap, classical and ethnic music—greatly influence his style today. As an up-and-coming Trap/Wave/Downtempo producer with over 1,000,000 online listens, NVTE has worked closely with and/or collaborated with vowl., IGAZI, LUDICY and others. His original music is currently available on Spotify, Bass Nation, Tribal Trap, 808 Underworld and Accidental Poet.



Winner of the 2021 Scripps Howard Award for Excellence in Innovation in Journalism

The Journalism behind the Music

All music in this project is based on The Outlaw Ocean, a New York Times Best-Selling book by Ian Urbina that chronicles lawlessness at sea around the world. This reporting touches on a diversity of abuses ranging from illegal and overfishing, arms trafficking at sea, human slavery, gun running, intentional dumping, murder of stowaways, thievery of ships and other topics.

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