
Nora En Pure
Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Deep House DJ Nora En Pure On Her Signature Sound, Photography & More
Swiss deep house DJ Nora En Pure chose her stage name because she wanted to sound more exotic.The moniker reflects her work: mysterious, unique and authentic.
En Pure capped off the resurgence of Winter Music Conference on March 22 with an intimate conversation covering her creative process, thoughts on the current state of dance music, and her deepest inspirations and dreams.
In 2013 En Pure emerged onto the scene with the breakthrough single "Come With Me." Just a few years later, she has her own Sirius XM's Chill channel show called "Purified, " which serves as a vehicle for her to curate "the finest indie dance and deep house music." Her latest EP release, 2017's Conquer Yosemite, showcases her free-flowing house production prowess.
As a pianist, composer and DJ, En Pure celebrates the authenticity and spark of "live" music from the perspective of orchestrated electronic beats. She's become known for the striking chord progressions, inventive piano chops, and affinity for strings her music often employs.
"You have to have something special about your sound in order to make it long term," En Pure says. "Once you develop your signature sound, that crisp clear sound that I have… the energy of the sound makes people realize, 'Oh, this must be a Nora En Pure track.'"
And how does one develop that drive to hone in a sound?
"Personal things are more important," En Pure says. "Be stubborn about what you want to do."
She is also admittedly self-critical of her work, but her stubbornness and self-critique derives from her innate sense of determination. En Pure has found her way to success by sticking to her instincts and honing her style. But finding her audience has also required focusing on the delivery platform.
"Spotify is very important," En Pure says, "and YouTube. In some countries, YouTube is very important. Sometimes you always underestimate some markets, especially South America, but it's a really big thing."
When not helping shape the evolving landscape of dance music, En Pure likes capturing literal landscapes with her camera. She is an avid photographer — not to mention a proud dog owner — and while she uses Instagram for her photography, she admits to despising social media, preferring human conversations instead. Professionally, En Pure hopes to score a film someday.
More dates added #SPHINXtour pic.twitter.com/tKhTy2Sgp4
— Nora En Pure (@NoraEnPure) March 20, 2018
For now, En Pure is living in the moment, admitting, "I'm not on the phone all the time, so I don't see a lot of stuff in people's stories." Instead, she's currently out on her Sphinx Tour spanning North and South America through the end of April, with more dates to be announced soon.