Born and raised just outside Toulouse, France, NAUD is making a name for himself with a unique blend of funk, disco, hip-hop, rock, and electronic textures—reflecting the spirit of joyful chaos beneath the polished veneer of his pop sound. On his new album Un Gars Bian, NAUD turns the microphone inward, creating what he calls a “free therapy for aspiring optimistic people,” exploring themes of self-confidence, modern masculinity, and letting go of toxic ties—always arriving at a positive resolution.
After years spent playing in bands, teaching himself production, and honing his craft, NAUD took the plunge with his debut EP CAMES. Un Gars Bian is the culmination of a decade-long musical journey, shaped by life lessons in Marseille, meaningful relationships, hard-won resilience, and a rediscovery of creative freedom. The LP reflects those highs and challenges in vivid color, all wrapped in his distinctive bilingual identity. Though French, NAUD began writing in English, drawing inspiration from UK, US, Australian, and Canadian pop. It wasn’t until performing live in France that he decided to “Frenchify” his music.
In this exclusive interview with InMusic, NAUD opens up about his journey from rural Toulouse to Marseille, the evolution of his sound, the story behind Un Gars Bian, and how working with limited resources led to his most authentic project yet.
How would you describe your music?
A free therapy for aspiring optimistic people haha! Even though my music sounds happy most of the time, lyrics can be a bit deep, dealing with self-acceptance issues, how to be more confident, how to cut toxic ties without hurting, how to be a “modern man” without perpetuating old-fashioned cliches… but always in a positive way, with a happy ending!
Could you elaborate on your musical journey and the path that led you to where you are today?
Ok, let’s write a book then because it was a long and pretty non-sensical ride. I started and failed at both classical piano and guitar at 7. Started singing on my own, playing the bass and writing song snippets around 10. Then a load of YouTube video tutorials and jams with friends until I reached 15. Then I started composing, taking more formal lessons, learning the guitar and piano, as well as butchering a lot of song drafts on my computer. Then for roughly 10 years, I joined a few bands, formed some, refined my production craft, gigged and travelled a lot abroad. It was a big journey because I didn’t have many music partners around me so I had to learn all the jobs you need to do to produce a record! And then at 25, the Naud adventure finally started with my first “CAMES” EP.
Your music crosses genres, languages, and cultural borders. Was that a conscious decision from the beginning, or something that evolved naturally over time?
Ah, you got me! It was not conscious at all! Weirdly enough, I started singing in English even though I’m French: all my influences were indeed from the UK, US, Australia, Canada,… I wrote French poems on the side but it was a separate thing. For some reason, I couldn’t connect my English music with my French texts: each language sounded different do me (in its rhythm, pace, intentions…) and I couldn’t blend my influences. But after a few gig in France, locals made it clear that I had to sing in French to gather bigger audiences and connect with people more. So I took on the challenge to “Frenchify” songs that were not influenced by the French pop scene at all. I timidly started with a few ad libs here and there, spoken interludes, sections, full songs… and then the thing became natural! Now, my signature sound is to move from a language to another within a verse or chorus, depending on what I want to say and how I want to say it. Different tools for different purposes!
Can you tell us about your new album, “Un Gars Bian”?
My pleasure! Un Gars Bian is simply a recap of the very intense 3 years I went through after my arrival in Marseille a vibrant city of the Mediterranean coast. Even though, I was in my late 20s. That phase felt like I was 18 again, I got to learn so many people, gather so much new influences, experience relationships in a much tougher and intense way… it was a decade of life packed in a few months! Un Gars Bian is simply me sharing what I learned to hopefully inspire others to grow their own way. Keep trying, keep falling, us humans are designed to hop back on our feet pretty quickly! 🙂
The LP is the result of 10 years of musical exploration. What made you feel like now was the right time to bring all those years together into one cohesive project?
Confidence! It might sound arrogant, but with a “Un Gars Bian”, I finally accepted that my craft will never be perfect and that I should focus more on sharing it and seeing how it could resonate with people then obsessing over details or an endless quest of quality. Ultimately, the records we love the most are not necessarily the ones with the best “sonic” or “musical” quality but the ones that embrace vulnerability and deliver a strong story! I don’t know if I achieved that with my album, but it was just refreshing to leave all the ego and taboo stuff on the side and simply focus on the music.
Can you share any behind-the-scenes stories from the making of the album?
I think the main one, that’s always surprising when people ask me about “how I produce my music” is that apart from vocals that are recording in a pro studio, everything else is done with an audio interface, a few plugins and a laptop haha. I tried to make material constraints a strength to craft my own sound. I’ve always wanted to record a real drummer for my tracks but never had the budget nor the opportunity to do so… so I went around the issue and created “surreal” drum kits with weird sounds and tried to make them mimic the behaviour of a real drummer by carefully programming them as is!
If you were a listener picking a song from “Un Gars Bian”, which track would you choose and why?
Let’s discard the singles as they are pretty obvious songs for their catchiness haha. I’d pick “Bloom”, the first track of the album. It’s vibrant, it’s energetic, it features both French and English lyrics focusing on being more understanding with your own little flaws. I’m just very happy with its vibe. I just wrote it as a “Nike ad”: a sort of song you could blast out in the morning to give you energy and set a great positive tone for the whole day!
What do you hope listeners will take away from your music?
I hope listeners will take away a sense of strength from my music. I think I’ve done a good job at putting the message through in all three of my songs that we are worthy of being treated correctly. I would love it if more people (particularly women) knew their boundaries, their worth, and most importantly that they know what they deserve. It is not always the easiest thing to walk away from something, but it will always be worth it in the end if we are choosing ourselves and putting you and your life first. I hope people put my music on in a time of weakness or celebration to remind themselves what they ARE that girl!!
Listen to Naud’s “Bloom” on our Spotify playlist:
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