by MERYANA TAMERA
Dreamlike sonic meditations, rich orchestral textures and deeply emotional soundscapes define the extraordinary musical world of VENESSA NOLAN.
With her heart in SOUTH AFRICA, Venessa’s story of her life-in-music is deeply personal and inspirational. Now based in Mauritius, VENESSA crafts exquisite music with a TRIP-HOP & ALT edge; her vocals defining the beauty of each track. Awarded our EDITOR’S CHOICE accolade in October 2026 plus our HOT NEW ARTIST award the same month, VENESSA is a musician to pay attention to. Read her story below & click through to listen to her music. We’re fully INTERACTIVE.
Listen to VENESSA NOLAN’s brilliant track “Paranoid Vocal Track” here:- Here’s the track description:- “Manic or paranoid with an almost ethereal mood.”
MUSICA Magazine: Venessa, your music occupies that fascinating space between Trip Hop, Indie Pop and darker electronic soundscapes. If your music were the soundtrack to a film, what kind of story would it be telling?
VENESSA NOLAN: My music comes from a very personal, probably quite self-indulgent place. I find it really difficult to write when there isn’t something going on emotionally that I need to get out. And more often than not, that comes from feelings of uncertainty, worry or just struggling internally with something.
So if my music were a film soundtrack, I think it would be one where something is slowly unfolding. There’s a bit of mystery, something you’re trying to figure out, and probably a little pain involved somewhere along the way.
MUSICA Magazine: You’re classically trained, with a strong background in jazz and contemporary music. What’s one musical rule you’ve particularly enjoyed breaking?
VENESSA NOLAN: I think classical training is amazing. I started very young, but it does come with limitations. You’re conditioned to certain structures and chord progressions, which can be hard to break away from. That’s actually why I went on to study jazz at university. Not because I particularly loved jazz, but because I wanted more freedom to experiment.
I’ve always been drawn to unconventional notes and chords that create tension. Things that shouldn’t really work together, but somehow do. I hear it a lot in electronic music, where many artists haven’t had formal training and aren’t bound by the same rules. There’s a freedom in that which I love, and I think I’m still trying to unlearn some of those rules myself.
MUSICA Magazine: Your sound often embraces atmosphere, understatement and emotional depth. What do you hope listeners discover when they really lose themselves in your music?
VENESSA NOLAN: For me, music has to evoke some kind of emotion. It could be tenderness, peace, sadness or just something that makes you stop and think. It doesn’t really matter what the emotion is, as long as you feel something.
If something I’ve written doesn’t move me in some way, I generally won’t finish or release it. That’s really the whole point of making music for me. So I suppose I hope listeners find something in it that moves them too, whatever that feeling might be in the moment.
MUSICA Magazine: Thanks Venessa. We celebrate you & your musicianship. Love from Team MUSICA.
READ THE FULL MUSICA Magazine INTERVIEW WITH VENESSA NOLAN in MUSICA ISSUE 34 – NOVEMBER 2026 here:-
