Bötschi asks Pablo Nouvelle "I decided to always wear proper trousers to work in future"
12 months, 24 songs: Pablo Nouvelle released two songs every month in 2025. The 39-year-old tells us which outfit he never works in again, what his collaboration with Nemo looks like and why Spotify lacks love for music.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- The work of Burgerdorf musician and producer Pablo Nouvelle, who has lived in Zurich for ten years, is extremely diverse.
- For his new album "2025", whose 24 tracks he has been releasing continuously over the past 12 months, he brought Nemo on board, among others.
- "Nemo and I have been friends for years and initiated the '2025' project together in 2023. We created initial ideas for possible songs and thought about the direction it could take," says Nouvelle in an interview with blue News.
- He continues: "A day in the Swiss mountains makes me happier in the long term than giving a concert."
Pablo Nouvelle, I'm going to ask you as many questions as possible over the next 30 minutes. And please answer as briefly and quickly as possible. If a question doesn't suit you, you can also say "go on" once.
Go on.
Rosalía or Taylor Swift?
I'm a huge Rosalía fan and would have loved to go to her concert on March 26, 2026 at Hallenstadion Zurich. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get a ticket. The four of us sat in front of the computer and tried everything when the advance ticket sales started.
After all, I saw them live on the Gurten in Bern in 2023. It was just great - and afterwards I didn't know whether I'd just seen an art installation or sat cuddling on the sofa with Rosalía.
Day or night?
I used to be a night person. Since becoming a father, I prefer the day. I'm like a plant that needs regular sunlight.
An idler or an overachiever?
Nerd. Standing still is almost unbearable for me. I have to do something all the time.
Please describe your life in one sentence with five words.
Making music between changing diapers.
About the author: Bruno Bötschi
blue News editor Bruno Bötschi regularly talks to well-known personalities from Switzerland and abroad for the question-and-answer game "Bötschi fragt". He asks them lots of questions - always direct, often funny and sometimes profound. It always remains open until the very last question as to where the fast-paced ping-pong will lead.
What is your earliest memory of music?
I have hardly any memories of my childhood and I think that's a good sign. Everything went smoothly and I experienced a lot of warmth. My first memory of music? The song "No Limit" by the Eurodance group "2 Unlimited", which was released in 1993.
Recorder - yes or no?
Yes ... for a very long time and even private lessons at the Burgdorf music school.
Sounds like a great love.
No, no, I just always missed changing instruments (laughs).
What was the first concert you went to?
Backstreet Boys - together with my father.
Your favorite instrument?
The piano.
The most important instrument for making your music?
Laptop.
Your explanation as to why hits have a bad reputation?
A song has to follow certain patterns in order to become a hit. These guidelines are often at odds with the idea of what art should be.
In February 2025, Büne Hüber told me in an interview: "I have the feeling that Pablo Nouvelle will soon be very much in the spotlight."
Nice.
Did Büne already know about your music project "2025" back then, i.e. releasing 24 songs in 12 months - or does he have clairvoyant abilities?
I can't answer this question with one hundred percent certainty. There is a chance that Büne already knew about the project, because he and I are signed to the same music label.
How did the "2025" project come about - or to put it another way: who is to blame for the fact that you released two new songs every month last year?
Nemo has helped me a lot. We've been friends for years and initiated the "2025" project together in 2023. We created initial ideas for possible songs and thought about the direction it could take. Unfortunately, Nemo ran away at some point and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö. After that, I had to see what I wanted to do with the songs on my own ...
... and seriously?
When we started the project, we agreed that Nemo would do the songwriting but not be involved as an artist.
On the December song "Walk Away", Nemo can be heard as an artist. Is it really true that you only finished producing the song in your studio the day before it was released?
It wasn't clear for a long time whether we would finish the song in December. However, that sounds worse than it actually was. We didn't completely rewrite "Walk Away" the day before it was released, we just slightly changed the first few lines of the lyrics.
Is "Walk Away" something like the icing on the cake of the "2025" music project?
For me, it's the essence of the album.
Nemo returned the ESC trophy he won a few days ago - would you like to comment on that?
I'm impressed by how eloquently and on point Nemo dances on the tightrope between the political minefields. Because our song "Walk Away" was released almost at the same time, I saw on my Instagram account what happens in the comments column when you stand up for your opinion. It was and is crazy what goes on there. And so once again: I take my hat off to Nemo for exposing himself on the subject and not holding back with his opinion in any way.
In 1995, the Danish director Lars von Trier drew up ten commandments for cinema, the so-called "Dogma 95 " ...
... I know that it exists. But I don't know the individual commandments.
Were there any guidelines during your "2025" project - apart from the two songs released per month that were specified in advance?
One of the requirements was that every song that featured a cheesy piano had to have some kind of creepy bird whistling in it.
In the podcast "Pablo Nouvelle - Always one step ahead of AI", you talk about how the 24 songs were created in a 9-to-5 job. What did you do if you didn't get a date with your creativity after the first coffee in the morning in your music studio?
The creation of a new song is rarely a straightforward process. I recently read an interview with Fred Again, probably the most important music producer at the moment. In it, he talks about how he often struggles with himself during the creation of new songs and sometimes even hates himself for it. It's also happened to me that I've had a bad day and was already on my way home. While I was unlocking my bike, I suddenly had an idea and ran back to the studio. Fortunately, producing music is not so emotionally charged every day.
Do you have a hit sweater, i.e. an item of clothing in which you feel particularly comfortable composing and producing?
A few weeks ago, I was sitting in the studio wearing just a pair of tracksuit bottoms and with birch sticks on my feet. At some point, that felt completely dubious. I decided to always wear proper trousers when I go to work in future.
How much influence does the weather have on the creation of your songs?
Much more than I admitted to myself until recently. During a cold and foggy day, I remembered that I started writing songs for a triphop album a long time ago. The desire to continue working on it has grown significantly since that bad weather day.
How much influence do your two children, who are one and a half and four years old, have on your musical work?
My children have a lot of influence on my work as a musician. There's a song on the album "2025" that only made it onto the album because of my son. It's one of his favorite songs.
Which song are you talking about?
I'm talking about "Nobody As Tight". When I was out in Zurich last week, a person I didn't know came up to me and said what was actually wrong with me, that he didn't like this song at all and whether I was only making music to pocket the advance from the record company. A little later, I remembered why "Nobody As Tight" made it onto the album.
You didn't play any concerts last year because you were busy with the "2025" project ...
... that went really well.
Financially too?
Yes. I have other sources of income, including composing music for advertising. Since my girlfriend and I started a family, I've adapted my life more to the external circumstances and now almost only work during the day. Unfortunately, most of the nightlife is also happening without me at the moment.
What do you feel when you look back on the past twelve months?
Satisfaction and contentment - or does that sound too smug? It was a journey that was colorful and diverse. I was able to implement my vision, but at the same time I always had enough space to realize something unplanned. I was also very often busy producing new content for my Instagram account.
The music industry has changed because of streaming services like Spotify. You could also say that music has lost a lot of its value. True or not?
If you're talking about the financial value of music, the decline started earlier, during the episode between CDs and Napster. It was the time when music fans worldwide were able to download songs for free for the first time. I find what those responsible at Spotify are currently doing nothing but cynical.
I assume you're talking about Spotify founder Daniel Ek, who last summer bought into a company that develops AI war material.
That's right. This story is so dystopian, a normal person couldn't make something like this up. The people in charge of Spotify lack a love for music. And they couldn't care less about the people who produce it. So it's hardly surprising that Spotify doesn't let local people curate the music catalog for Switzerland.
What needs to change?
I think we need much stricter regulations and laws to protect us creatives. It's hair-raising how tech companies want to turn our society upside down and polarize us. And while we're at it: What we also need more than ever are strong, independent, reputable and well-funded media like the SRG.
Does music make the world a better place?
Absolutely.
In which situations or in which places do you not want to listen to music under any circumstances?
While I'm eating.
Is it easier to sing beautifully when you're heartbroken?
It depends on how acute the heartbreak is. You recently spoke about the same topic in an interview with Stefanie Heinzmann. The singer spoke from my soul when she said that you can write good songs and sing beautifully even when you're in a positive mood. I live a stable and happy life and still make art. But of course I also know the opposite - music makers who wrote their best songs when they were in a really bad mood. Fortunately, I don't belong to this group of people.
Is it easy to be a happy person on stage in front of several hundred people?
I think it's cool when the audience joins in during a concert and I can feel the energy of the people. But my happiness doesn't depend on that alone. Or to put it another way: a day in the Swiss mountains makes me happier in the long term than giving a concert. Nevertheless, I love giving concerts and I miss it at the moment.
Pablo Nouvelle is a stage name: who invented it?
I don't know why, but at some point people kept calling me Pablo. It started when I was a child. But it also happened to me in a bar in London when a woman who didn't know me called out: "Hey you ... Pablo guy ... buy me a beer!" At some point, my brother picked up on that. He's only called me Pablo since then.
What name is in your passport?
Fabio Friedli.
Have you ever asked a celebrity to sign your autograph?
Yes, of course. As a child, I got an autograph from the Italian footballer Roberto Baggio. Shortly afterwards, I also got a signature from SRF presenter Heinz Margot.
What compliment from your partner about your music will you never forget?
She sent me the following message yesterday morning as she was on her way to work: "I'm listening to your album right now. It's sooo good."
You'll be 40 next year: looking back, how satisfied are you with the impact of your music?
Music means that I can do what I'm currently doing - sitting in the music studio almost every day and composing. I can realize myself and make other people happy at the same time. Making music has had an incredibly positive influence on my life. I would never have dreamed before that I would pursue this passion for so long and so intensely.
How do you feel about the future?
I have good feelings about my personal future. The future of the world could become much more complicated - but as the saying goes: hope dies last. Maybe everything has to be in ashes first so that something good can emerge after all.
What is your greatest talent that nobody really knows about yet?
It's definitely not cooking, although I often cook at home for our two children. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I sit in the music studio all day and have to come up with new music, so I don't have the creativity later on at the stove (laughs).
That's a nice story, but you haven't answered my question yet.
My freestyle rhymes are more like children's poems than gangster rap, but they're still not bad.
We're nearing the end of this interview and now it's time for the self-rating test: please rate your own talent from zero points, no talent, to ten points, maximum talent. How great is your talent as a gardener?
One point.
So you even forget to water your girlfriend's cut flowers?
My girlfriend doesn't give me orders like that. She knows me too well for that. I've never gardened before. Who knows, maybe I could do it really well.
Skier?
Eight points. I can ski and I also go on ski tours.
Moviegoer?
That's a sad asset in my life. Although I studied animation film, I hardly know any films, directors or actresses. Whenever someone wants to talk to me about movies, I break out in a sweat. If you want, I can tell you a funny story about that.
Go ahead.
During my studies, I made the animated film "In a Nutshell". It was later shown at the Aspen Film Shortsfest 2017. During the festival, there was a panel discussion with the filmmakers. At some point that evening, I was asked which film had influenced me the most in my work as a director. Out of sheer desperation and because I couldn't think of anything better, I answered: Ariel the Mermaid. When the presenter wanted to know why this particular movie had inspired me, I said: Because the fish in the movie is called Fabio. Despite my clueless answer, my work won in the animated film category - and I even made it onto the longlist for the Oscars afterwards.
Are you afraid of the day when nobody wants to buy your music anymore?
No. Nobody buys my music anymore. But I have a large and constantly growing back catalog that is listened to more than my current releases. That's why I'm optimistic that my music will continue to be heard in the future. And if it isn't, I will still continue to make music. Or I'll go to work as a streetcar driver, train driver or teacher. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.
