Last month, I had the privilege of sitting down in Tokyo, Japan with Orono Noguchi from Superorganism, and her Dad – the namesake of her new project Nose Noise‘s 2025 LP TOM.
Orono and I last formally sat down back in 2018 while they were on ground at The Great Escape in the UK, ahead of their first visit to Australia to play at Splendour in the Grass. At the time, the band were riding the wave of their debut, self-titled album. They were a cross-country collaborative project before the COVID-19 Pandemic made it the the only option for many, with artists from and based all over the world – from London to New Zealand. The music they created was, and still is, a case study in the artistic vibrancy that is created when a variety of creative forces connect.
Some seven-and-a-half years later, Superorganism aren’t over – Noguchi confirmed in our chat there should be a new album on the way in 2026 – but after the release of their follow up LP World Wide Pop in 2022, the members have been busy focusing on other projects. For Orono, 2024 saw the soft launch of cheese touch, a collaboration with Mitch Marsico (aka crazyfrogfan42069, pictured with Orono above), a collaborative project that brings to mind influences like Radiohead and Pixies. Do I want to hear Black Francis cover “SPACE”? Yes, yes I do.
2025 then saw the launch of Nose Noise, an alliterative beast (just try to say it ten times fast) that feels born of the Superorganism universe. What is surprising here is not the music, but the musical legends she collaborated with for it. The project is an effort between Orono, Tim Lefebvre and Tyler “Falcon” Greenwell. Falcon is well known as a founding member of the iconic blues rock outfit Tedeschi Trucks Band. Lefebvre also has played in that project, and appeared on David Bowie‘s final album Blackstar as a bassist, which this month celebrated its bittersweet 10 year anniversary.
The band’s name, however, wasn’t the invention of its vocalist. It came from a dream. Orono told me, “My bandmate Falcon texted me, and he was like, I had a dream, and you were in it, and we were on a TV show, and we had shirts that said nose noise… So I was like, OK! Coming up with band names isn’t really my thing, and I didn’t really care.”
And that was that. Nose Noise was born. And if she seems laissez faire about the band’s name, you won’t be surprised to hear her approach to the music.
“I feel like it wasn’t super intentional. The way I approach music, just in general, is kind of like a science experiment, where different combinations of different people in different settings just make different things. So, I try to be in the moment and just be like, ‘let’s see how this goes.’ I don’t have an Excel spreadsheet with like lyrics and different combinations of ideas… I don’t do that… It’s a shit show in a good way. It’s very all over the place. So it was kind of hard to make sense of (what Nose Noise was), but I feel like all three of us came with the kind of “trust the process” approach to it. ‘Cause, you know, we’re all talented musicians and bring different things to the table, and we got along.”
“They’re all good songs, I think. And they’re all like, to me, they are just like snapshots of that particular moment in my life, and the lives of the other people that worked on it. So, yeah, it’s just like a photo.”
And so what was the impetus to start working together? Well, it was through her Dad, Tom Noguchi, that they all met. And he is also responsible for them working together.
“My Dad wanted to start a record label, and asked me to make an album for it. And a lot of people ask me, why don’t you do your solo record? When’s the Orono record coming out? And I think eventually I will, but I want to do it when I want to do it, and I don’t want to do it right now. So, I was like, yeah, I’m not doing an Orono record. It has to be something else. And that’s kind of how it started. I’d known Tim for a long time. Hadn’t really met Falcon before, but we got along really well.”
Nowhere on the record is their collaborative presence louder than on the track “timwrld”. I was curious about that song in particular, and it turns out that comes to show a lot about the trio’s collaborative process.
“So we’d be in the studio and I did most of the engineering and producing. Sometimes I would get into my engineering hole and sit at the computer and just be like, ‘yo, hold up, guys. Let me just do this one thing,’ and I would just be sitting there for hours. Being in my own head about it. Working and tweaking. And during that time, Falcon and Tim would be jamming on their own. Tim usually had his headphones in, and he was on his laptop with his weird gear that he has, pressing buttons. And then he would come back to us, I don’t know, 30 minutes later, just being like, ‘yo guys, check this out!’ And it’d be the craziest insane beats. And so we were like… Oh, you were in Tim world, weren’t you? So that was one of the “timwrld” beats. And we were like, okay, let’s just call it “timwrld”. And, cool, we have a song. So that was mostly just Tim, just being into his world while I was in my world.”
And it also turned out that another “Tom” had an influence on that song, and its lyrics.
“So Tim is obsessed with Tom Brady. Because he’s from Massachusetts, right? He just loves Tom Brady. I’ve stayed at Tim’s apartment in L.A. There’s a framed picture of Tom Brady on the wall. He is obsessed with the man. And so, when we were editing the song, trying to make sense of it, me and Falcon were at the desk, and we were like, ‘this needs some kind of vocal. Why don’t we look up Tom Brady quotes? Let’s just make this a tribute song to Tim, and you know what, Tim loves? Tom Brady.’ So we looked up Tom Brady quotes, and they were the dumbest quotes ever. Like, ‘I’ve never tried strawberries.’ So I had Falcon read them out, pretending he was Tom Brady.”
And though the album is named after her father and not the famed American footballer, there are many ways that the album’s title can be interpreted. As Orono said they pointed out in the studio, TOM also serves as an acronym for the members who participated in the track “Corn god energy”, with Tim, Tyler, Orono and Mitch from cheese touch blurring the line between her projects.
“Mitch was there filming and hanging out, so that’s kind of why he ended up on one of the songs. And then, it became like a cheese touch song as well.”
Though they collaborated on this project, the music of cheese touch feels much more cohesive than Orono’s other material, even though there’s only been a few songs released of it.
“Mitch comes from a film background. He went to art school and studied film. He made a bunch of music videos. He edits a lot. So he’s kind of like a director guy. And so, you know, director guys are always thinking about the big picture, you know? So he definitely brings that to the table. He has very strong opinions on the aesthetic and the vibe and stuff like that. And I do care about that. But Mitch definitely cares more. I guess, where I’m just like, whatever, it’s fun and it looks cool… whatever!”
So if you kind of compare the two processes… which is easier for you to create music in? Something where you are kind of controlling the chaos or where someone’s reigning it in under an idea of what they want out of it?
Hmm, that’s a great question. I don’t know if there’s an easier one because I feel like both options come with their own set of challenges. Because when you have a bandmate with really strong opinions, that’s fucking annoying sometimes. But then, when you’re on your own, and you’re free to do whatever, you’re just like… I actually don’t know what I’m doing. I wish there was someone kind of guiding me a little bit, you know? So it’s both easy and hard at the same time.
What does nose noise look like as a live project? Is this something that you’ll tour, do you think?
I mean, I would like to. But Tim and Falcon are very professional musicians, in sessions all the time or touring all the time. Like, Falcon’s in Tedeschi Trucks Band, and they tour nonstop. So, if we can find the time… I would love to do it. We haven’t done any shows yet. But I was thinking about it just the other day. I think it would be really cool.
You have played shows with cheese touch though? You toured with Ben Kweller earlier in the year? What does that look like live? Is it just the two of you?
Yes, it’s just the two of us. And it’s, like, T-Pain. It’s just us on stage with a backtrack and auto tune, and we’re just messing around. Screaming, having fun. And it’s really refreshing because the Superorganism shows were so built out that there was, like, no flexibility. Although I didn’t really find it stressful, the others were really stressed out, especially the people that were behind the tech of it all. Because we had this stupid box of cables and I don’t know what, but it was this expensive box that ran everything. And we took it around the whole world. And it would break all the time. So there were so many times, at festivals where the rig would shut down right before we were about to go on, and we can’t fix it. Or it shuts off during the show, and it’s just like ten minutes of nothingness.
But for me, that was the most fun because it meant, okay, now I get to do whatever I want and no one can stop me. I mean, maybe this is my ego talking, but people seem to enjoy it, too. I think they enjoyed it because that’s such a unique experience, that can’t be recreated ever. So it’s just so exciting, you know? Be like, oh, yeah, I was at that Superorganism show, and the rig failed, and then Orono did this thing… so I’m all about those creating those special moments.
So me and Mitch try to incorporate stuff like that into the show. We have a song called “Bad Boy”, and usually at the Ben Kweller shows, because the fans were kind of Gen X people, we would bring up a middle aged man on stage and kind of serenade him, and you know, dance. And that was fun.
What do you learn going on the road with someone like Ben and his band?
I think I’m feeling very egotistical today, but I think I’m really good at touring. I think I’ve cracked the code to touring. And… I feel honestly like I have my shit together the most out of anyone. I don’t really drink. I have a routine. I’m nice and respectful to the venue stuff. Not that anyone was being disrespectful, but, you know, just like little things like that. You gotta be on top of it, you know?
And I was also tour managing for that tour. So I had to really get my shit together… And I loved it because, like, when I was on tour with Superorganism, my best friend on the tour was our tour manager, Gavin. I loved watching him work, and I’ve always loved planning and logistics and problem solving. So, seeing him work was like, oh my god, I would love to be a tour manager. He was very inspiring. So, I tour managed for the cheese touch tour with Ben, and it was really fun. I would love to do more of it. I think part of the job of tour manager is to have your shit together.
And speaking of having your shit together, I want to talk about the last track on the album, “i don’t get by.” It feels like the anthem for the modern touring musician, as a modern artist. And a catchy-as-fuck by chorus as well. Was there a level of catharsis in kind of putting that out and ending the album with that?
I think I’ve already experienced the catharsis in the past. I don’t know when, but I think when Superorganism was really happening, I was struggling to come to terms with the stuff I talk about in the song. And making life really difficult for myself, because I was really struggling with the fact that I had to become a product. And I was like, oh, I didn’t start making music to be the product. I don’t want attention. I don’t want anyone to look at me, in fact. I just want to make music. So, I found it really frustrating. But when we wrote, “i don’t get by”, by that point, I had already come to terms with all that. So it didn’t really feel like a big deal. And also, it was working with Falcon and Tim. They’ve been in the game for so long.
I’m sure they added their own perspective to that.
Yeah, definitely. Well, I remember that song we wrote towards the end, and we were like, we need one more song, and we needed it to be a long song. And I was like, okay, let me work on something. And then I wrote “i don’t get by”. And when I showed it to Tim, I remember him going, ‘…that is so true. I don’t get by. I haven’t even made any money this year yet, you know?’ And he’s a big deal. And he still experiences that. So that’s just the reality of being an artist. And I think some people may find it scary. But then you can be working 9 to 5, they could fire you at any moment. So I don’t really think there’s difference… it is just a job. And that’s why the song, it’s like, find me on LinkedIn, you know? It’s kind of like my resume song. I’m just like, this is my job. Here you go. Take it or leave it. That’s the vibe.
What does 2026 look like for you?
Um… Cheese touch. I think we’re planning on releasing singles and videos. We’ll see how that goes. Maybe we’ll drop an EP or an album. cheese touch is such always, like, chaotic vibes. But, also, potentially, Superorganism, or some variation of Superorganism is also in the works. We’re finishing up the album for that. So I think that’s coming out in 2026.
And is that the Superorganism we know? Or have there been some changes.
Less members. Right now, it’s four. And it will stay as four.
Would you add more to the touring ensemble?
Maybe, but now that we’ve experienced how difficult it is to have so many people in your band… like, when we were doing interviews at the time, we were, we would say like, “oh, it’s awesome. Like, it’s actually really fine. It’s not difficult at all.”
We weren’t lying at the time. It seemed easy because people weren’t speaking up. And were avoiding confrontation. So we were holding stuff in. And that’s why it worked. But it didn’t really. It was very unhealthy. So now we’re like, let’s try to keep it compact. Let’s be really good at communicating. Let’s talk as much as we can.
It’s also just growing up, huh?
Yes, that too. Yes. I was a baby. So, yeah. That’s a big one.
But that’s part of it, right? Like, you kind of, you, you kind of have to go through those pains of, the expectation of the industry around you that you then put on yourselves. And until you get a moment of distance from that, you can’t you can’t stop it. The wheels keep rolling. It’s why so many bands break up. Because when they actually stop and step away from it, they go…
(both) What have we done?
Yeah, totally. It was hard. I feel like they were, by they, I mean, I don’t even know who I’m talking about. I guess a combination of the label, the audience, management, just like a big they. I feel like they were projecting what they perceived as Superorganism onto us. And because we weren’t even supposed to be a band. We didn’t know what we were doing. So we were like, “Okay, I guess we’ll give that.” But it wasn’t quite as authentic as people may have thought it to be, I feel like.
But I feel like now, I feel more in tune with myself, and I’m able to express myself in a more authentic way. But also, I’m able to separate like real me and public Orono, you know? There’s a separation now. And I feel like that before. I didn’t know how to do that and no one taught me how to do that.
So, I feel like I’ve levelled up and so has everyone in Superorganism.
TOM is out now. Download it now on Bandcamp:
For more about Nose Noise, head to their official website.
For more about Orono and cheese touch, visit her official website.
For more about Superorganism, visit their official website.
