Rotterdam-based artist, songwriter, and producer Nouri Frenken, known as Ohnoah, brings a formidable track record to their solo project, having contributed to over 100 releases and earned gold records and chart placements through ghost production and songwriting for artists including Steve Aoki, Miss Montreal, and Wulf. With a background shaped by personal adversity and resilience, Ohnoah now steps forward with a debut single, ‘Student loans’, released on July 3rd. The track introduces an alternative pop sound defined through explosive guitars and commanding drums, channeling the pressures of modern life into a cathartic anthem. This release marks the beginning of a series of singles and establishes Ohnoah as a compelling new presence in contemporary pop.
In this written interview, Ohnoah opens up about their journey from behind-the-scenes hitmaker to an artist square in the spotlight, the personal truths fueling ‘Student loans’, and what comes next.
What inspired you to launch your solo project, Ohnoah, after years of success as a ghost producer for artists like Steve Aoki?
For the past 10 years I’ve been putting my own emotions in other’s people’s songs. This is what makes a song hit your heartstrings in my opinion. But this means I do have to translate it so it makes sense through the lens of someone else. I started out as an artist, but writing and producing for others was how I paid the rent. Then that side of my career exploded, it got so big and demanding that my own voice was completely sidelined. I just didn’t have the time to release my own music.
But this past year has been difficult, in my life I was faced with a lot of battles; homelessness, abusive household, depression and ptsd, but this is one of the hardest things I had to go through. I got a double herniated disc that took away my ability to walk. I went from being able to do everything to sitting in a wheelchair in the most pain I’ve ever experienced.
When you’re stripped of your independence like that, it completely shifts your perspective. You realise how short life is, and how I’m spending all my precious time building someone else’s career, while my dream sits on a shelf. This was the final push I needed, it gave me the clarity to say, from now on, my voice is the priority.
How did earning gold records and chart positions while writing for icons such as Miss Montreal and Wulf shape the way you approach your own music now?
I have released over 100 songs and every song taught me something, I cannot put into words what every song taught me exactly. But I did take note of every release strategy, every TikTok, every gig. And I tried to put that all into my own marketing strategy. And music wise I think writing for stadiums is something you don’t do when you start out smaller, but seeing how my own songs work in an audience of 200.000 people shifts your perspective as a songwriter. And the momentum and feel of a song become a bit more important.
In what ways did growing up non-binary and queer in a challenging cultural environment influence the artist you’ve become?
The truth is, without this, I wouldn’t be a songwriter. As a kid, I was deeply emotional and expressive. But expressing emotion wasn’t safe for me, and I was punished physically just for crying. By 18, I was completely numb and deeply depressed. I didn’t even realise I was depressed.
But the moment I sat down to write, a dam broke. I spent ten hours a day filling notebooks. Songwriting literally gave me back the voice that had been beaten out of me, and it’s been my purest form of truth ever since.
Note to author, idk if this is too graphic, you can edit this!
Could you share the inspiration you had behind your new single, ‘Student loans’?
The song is about the ultimate millennial trap. I was working 60-hour weeks, buried under 60k of debt, and couldn’t even pay rent. I got kicked out of my place and was literally living in a van at the time I wrote this song, but driving an Audi A4 to studio sessions just to keep up appearances. ‘Student Loans‘ is about that exact contrast: the fake luxury on the outside versus the total financial claustrophobia on the inside. I actually played with the idea of selling my royalty ownership of student loans for that exact 60k right now just to wash my hands of it, so if anyone is interested, hit me up.
What do you hope listeners who feel the weight of societal pressure and financial struggles will take away from the themes in ‘Student loans’?
Music for me always made me feel heard and seen. So with not just ‘Student Loans‘, but all my other upcoming songs, I want to make my listeners feel seen and heard. This world can be such a lonely place, and I’m trying to change that song by song.
How did you translate the suffocating mental pressure of debt and expectations into the minimalist build that explodes in ‘Student loans’?
At a certain point you just go; “Fuck it”. I tried to put that feeling into the song, the world sometimes feels so messed up, that you just need to laugh about it. Cause crying all the time is boring.
After using music for years to avoid facing your own reality, what has it been like to finally turn that vulnerability into the core of your solo project?
It feels right, when I got my first reactions of listeners that felt so heard and seen I felt lighter. It feels like this is what the music scene needs, and there’s some artists that do it already: People like Lauv and Jeremy Zucker. But then I miss the oldschool Sum 41, Blink 182 attitude in that music.
Do you see AI as a threat to musicians, a helpful collaborator, or something else? How do you plan to keep your music relevant as the industry changes rapidly because of these tools? By embracing AI, avoiding it, or taking a different approach?
It’s scary, and honestly, I try to completely avoid using it. It became incredibly personal for me just last week when I found out that Suno legally overstepped and used a massive portion of my own catalog to train their algorithm without paying me a single dime. There is a massive ethical line being crossed when tech companies build profitable platforms off the backs of artists who gave everything to write those songs, without offering any compensation or choice.
I try to look at the bigger picture, though. Part of me hopes that AI will eventually phase out some of the redundant jobs in the industry, which could theoretically clear a path for human creativity to take center stage again and put more money directly into the hands of real, working-class creators who actually need it. But looking at the landscape right now, the outlook isn’t great. We’re in a wild-west period where tech is taking without asking, and until artists’ rights are fiercely protected, it’s a dangerous time to be a creator.
If you could revisit one decision from your artistic journey and do it differently, what would it be?
I read a great book about grief once that explained how ‘what if’ thoughts are completely futile, so I genuinely try to avoid them. I’m incredibly happy with where I am right now. But if I’m forced to look back and give an answer, it would be that I wish I had put myself first from the very beginning.
On the other hand, if I had done that, I wouldn’t have the massive foundation I stand on today. I wouldn’t have the experience of writing and releasing over a hundred songs for other artists behind the scenes. That decade was my training ground. It taught me the industry inside and out, so now that I am finally prioritizing my own voice, I have the execution down to a science. I’m doing it perfectly this time around 
With this debut kicking off a series of new singles, what part of sharing this next chapter excites you the most?
I actually sat down and made a list of all the subjects that matter most to me, things I’ve kept inside for years, and built the music around that. I’ve got seven singles lined up to drop every single month, each hitting a different, deeply relatable part of life. We go from ‘FMU,’ which tackles substance abuse and using partying as a distraction, to ‘Love on the Weekend’ about weekend sleepovers. There’s a track called ‘Myself’ where I question my own relationship with depression. Listening to that one in my car was the first time my own music ever moved me to tears. It gave me real solace, and I think listeners will feel that honesty. This entire release cycle is building toward a definitive goal: playing Glastonbury 2027. Which is also pretty exciting, if I say so myself 🙂
Stream ‘Student Loans‘:
Follow Ohnoah:
Website – Instagram – TikTok – Youtube – Spotify
