Interview: Rising Indie/Folk Artist Nolwenn

courtesy of Nolwenn 

Meet Nolwenn, a rising indie/folk artist from France! 

Interview by Tara Saraf

I sat down with Nolwenn, a singer/songwriter currently pursuing a master’s degree, in her bedroom in Lyon to discuss music, nature, and where her artistic journey is headed! 

Your debut album, Moonflower vol. 1, features songs in French and in English and was released in November 2024. First things first, how did you come up with the title?

I love flowers, I think that’s a big part of it. And I talk about my twin sister a lot in the album. We’ve always been compared to the moon and the sun. A sunflower is a flower, right, but the sun is my sister and I’m the moon. So I thought, “I’m going to put moonflower.” 

That’s a really interesting title. Each song on the album corresponds to a different color of the rainbow. How did that color scheme and theme come about? I’ve just always loved rainbows, I guess. The fact that it’s a pride symbol also matters a lot to me. I love colors and I thought it would be nice to have a color for each song. There are thirteen songs, so for each one to have a color was doable. 

Is there any thematic or lyrical connection to the colors or is it purely based on vibes? The fifth track, “still the same” is orange because it’s also about a friend of mine who has orange hair [laughs]. And like “Racines”, the eighth track, means roots. A tree is green. For the rest of them it’s just vibes. 

You put a lot of work into the album rollout and in your lyric videos. Is your music related content more difficult to create than your regular lifestyle vlogs or is it the same? It’s harder to create and it might sound like nothing but putting in the lyrics is a lot of work. There’s actually a lyric video for each song on my new EP. It always takes me a lot of time. The creative part of it is always bigger than on the regular vlogs. 

My personal favorite song from the album is “roof”, and in your explanation of the song’s meaning, you mentioned that happiness is very complicated. I think that many people can relate to that sentiment. As you said, you can still be grateful for what you have but still feel as though something is missing in your life. Lyric-wise, did some songs come more naturally to you than others? 

I think I wrote “roof” in one sitting. Some songs were much harder to write— “Prelude: childhood memories” I began writing in 2014 and I finished writing in 2021. Some songs can’t be complete without more experience and time. 

Got it. I also noticed some references to nature across the album. Specifically in songs like “Symbiose”, “Lone little bird”, “le soleil et le fleur”. Why do you think nature is a common theme in your music? 

Well, I’ve always loved nature. My mom is a huge fan of flowers and plants. She has raised me to love them too. 

You put out a cover of “deja vu” by Olivia Rodrigo: who are some of your other inspirations and how did they influence your sound? 

Two of my biggest inspirations are Sam Fender and Dodie. Sam Fender is a rock artist so he’s influenced the songs that have more elaborate production, like “Missing Out”. Dodie’s more of the calmer songs. She uses violin in her songs, so I put violin in “roof”.

Awesome, thank you for your time. I’d also recommend everyone to check out the debut album because it really encapsulates her story thus far. Can you tell us anything about what you’re working on now? 

There’s going to be an EP that’s called “pieces of me”. There’s a single that’s out right now called “pieces of you”. It’s about a breakup that I experienced a while ago and I’m struggling to move on from. The EP has eight songs. It’s a really sad EP, I’m going to be honest with you. There’s not a single happy song. I feel like on the album there were a few that are happy. I don’t really know when it’s coming out, I’m just waiting for a verse from a friend of mine to send a verse for the sixth song called “piece of meat”. It’s about the way women are treated in today’s society.