Nobu Woods’s ‘CHIMERA’ Was Inspired By Cocteau Twins & Batman

Please welcome to the stage... Mood Board, a new ShelfMAG series highlighting need-to-know creative people with new projects — and all the books, films, shows, and more that went into the making of them. It's not procrastination if it ends up in the final draft.

Nobu Woods has built a universe, and he’s named it CHIMERA. The mixtape, out Nov. 14, details a deeply poisonous relationship while drawing inspiration from an obscure Scottish rock album, DC Comics’ Gotham City, and ”Toronto’s signature dark R&B sound.” Ahead, Woods reveals to ShelfMAG what influenced his most experimental project to date. 

Trilogy by The Weeknd 

“I listened to a lot of his music growing up, and I still listen to that album now. I try to take inspiration from that sound because it was such a pivotal time for R&B. It's very different from everything else that was dropping at that time, and he changed the sound forever with that. With this project, I'm also trying to fill [the genre] with that dark R&B.  

[The Weeknd] has this specific way he balances his voice being so hauntingly calming and the instrumentals being so dark. It gives this contrast I really love, and I try to bring that same kind of contrast into my music.”

Mezzanine by Massive Attack

“That’s another classic. This project is a year in the making, I would say, and I was listening to that a lot. That Mezzanine project has a lot of very dark, very deep production. I take inspiration from that production with CHIMERA for sure.”

Heaven or Las Vegas by Cocteau Twins

“I was listening to Las Vegas and Mezzanine by Massive Attack a lot while creating this album. The euphoric feel from Las Vegas made me feel like I was in a different place. It puts me in a different world, and I try to do that with my music as well — create a space when you listen to it that just feels like that project.”

The Batman (2022)

“Being that the movie is really dark, there were a lot of moments where the reds really stood out, even with the logo. The contrast with the black and the red was very important for me for this project, but for me, it's kind of a different approach. The red symbolizes romance, passion, and those highs. And the black, the darkness and how things change and shift within that.” 

The Penguin

“I was watching it throughout [the writing and recording process] as well, and it was one of my favorite shows. The outfits inspired a lot of the outfits I've been wearing for this rollout and videos. There's also that red theme that spoke to me.”

Batman Beyond 

“Batman Beyond is one of my favorite things to watch. As you can see, I'm a big, big Batman fan. It's based in the future, and during this project, I had it on a lot in the background. I think it inspired a lot of the production or helped me build that world. My production on this project feels more electronic in a way — like synth-y. I think it definitely played a big part.”

What else is Nobu Woods into? Get real-time updates at shelf.im/nobuwoods.