Rediscovering that queerness is holy: A walk in the woods with Noah Slade aka PROTOZOA

In the increasingly deafening world of punchy, TikTok-baity songs and saccharine Top 40’s hits, sometimes it’s best to take a breath and slow down a bit.

And one such sonic landscape that you could visit to get some fresh air is Noah Slade’s debut project under his PROTOZOA moniker, Loving Here. Listening to Noah’s record is a bit like opening Pandora’s box in the middle of a Hayao Miyazaki-animated forest: it’s meditative, it’s lush, sweeping, and incredibly human all at once. Yes, I promise it’s just as poetic as it sounds. 

At first listen, it becomes crystal clear that Noah’s musicality strives to uncover answers to the spiritual questions many of us have had as queer folk. What does it mean to navigate a world so painful and maintain authenticity? Is who I truly am at the core of my being enough for God? Is it enough for me? Like a yell thrust out into an empty forest, the shoegaze-y vocals of PROTOZOA proclaim that of course we’re enough and we do in fact make a sound. 

Based in Bridgewater, Noah has been making music his entire life — being raised by his musical parents and godfather (who mixed Loving Here) while taking up the piano at a young age. Noah is also no stranger to the familiar pressures thrust onto him due to his religious upbringing. Naturally, a lot of these faith-based anxieties have directly inspired his album.

“Queerness is central to my music making,” he said. “When I was much younger and in the church, before my queerness became in conflict with it, I would write worship music from my heart unadulterated. But when the pressures of the church crept in, my music became depressing because I was trying to achieve something outside of myself. Now it’s gone full circle and my lyrics and music are coming from me again.”

What’s truly integral to the identity of this album is a sense of healing or a sense of rebirth. And luckily, now that Noah has found the strength within himself to accept his identities unabashedly, he’s chosen to share his story with all of us.

However, Noah’s healing work doesn’t start and end within the music of PROTOZOA. Since graduating from Temple University with a degree in Music and Sociology, he’s dedicated himself to help low-income, marginalized communities with the gift of music therapy and self advocacy. When I asked Noah how he would like the music of PROTOZOA to manifest in a live space, he immediately mentioned the idea of wanting to create sound baths that heal BIPOC individuals. He imagines this to take place in somewhere like a cathedral, a cozy house, or (understably so) out in nature. It’s almost like the tracks in Loving Here act as a re-invitation for us to connect with not only our own spirituality but also the intrinsic spirit of the world around us. 

A great deal of storytelling takes place within this album without even the need for discernable lyrics. First off, Noah plays every instrument recorded on Loving Here — whether it’s synthetic or organic. If that wasn’t already a feat in and of itself, the sounds of kalimba, flutes, a harp, and even tambourine give an incredible sense of varied flavor to the music found on the record. 

Secondly, a good amount of the vocals on the album are muddled with filtering and static — giving each listener a unique experience to how they could approach consuming each song. This approach to bedroom vocal production recalls the sounds of early Grimes (Halfaxa, 2010), Cocteau Twins, and Stereolab with its cutting timbre and esoteric incantations.

When I asked Noah more about this strategy, he said, “I love the idea of the vocals being an instrument in that way. Whenever I write lyrics, I’ve found that I’ll sing music in just vowels. Lyrics will show up and give meaning after I meditate on it.”

Take the standout track “Oh! Flower”, for example. The song comes across as almost an ancient hymn and in Noah’s words, a melody enchanted with “reverence and a lure for life.” 

“It’s a very queer song. My queerness is holy and it’s blooming within me now.” 

As for the future, Noah has shared that new PROTOZOA music is already beginning to percolate. Even so, he’s still enjoying the high of excitement that’s come with this debut release and eventually, he hopes to collaborate with visual artists in order to bring the “character” of PROTOZOA to life — à la Gorillaz. All things considered, this is an impressive and fleshed-out start to Noah’s burgeoning career. And the verdant paradise of Loving Here is open to peoples of all kinds.

“God, whatever you like to call it, is present with everybody at all times,” he said. “I think it’s a beautiful observation that I’ve been able to make — my queerness, my blackness, my whole journey is interconnected. We have a wonderful opportunity as the queer community to connect to spirituality.” 

Loving Here can be streamed in full on Spotify.

@noahkprotozoa & @noahslade_.