Noah Levine Is Turning Vulnerability into Sound with his new single "Bacteria"

Photo by Tyler Krippaehne

In an industry that often celebrates spectacle over substance, Noah Levine, a multifaceted musician—known for co-writing Noah Kahan’s hit “Dial Drunk”—is stepping into the spotlight with a voice that’s unflinchingly honest. From touring hotel rooms to inner battles with phone addiction and imposter syndrome, their newest work pulls no punches. In this exclusive email interview with Darkus Magazine, the songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist opens up about the deeply personal inspiration behind new singles like “Don’t Know Why” and “Bacteria” the emotional realities of digital life, and what it means to make music that makes people feel seen.

“Don’t Know Why” touches on phone addiction and digital dependency. What

moment or realization sparked the idea for this song?

I remember being depressed in a Toronto hotel room. It’s tough to be living out of a

suitcase for so long and not start to feel emotionally claustrophobic. I had the incredible

opportunity to tour playing lead guitar for Noah Kahan- it’s been so incredibly rewarding

and meaningful to be a part of a journey like that, but the journey is naturally

accompanied by an abundance of down time, which inevitably led to me realizing how

much of my life I spend on my phone. I was growing tired of it and was frustrated with how

intertwined our devices are into our lives. “Don’t Know Why” became an expression of

that anger and frustration towards my (and everyone else’s) dependency on technology,

and how I wish I could unplug from it all without feeling disconnected from people I'm

close with.

You described the writing process as “therapeutic.” What emotions surfaced as

you were creating the track?

I feel like music is a vessel for people to feel seen. I naturally gravitate more towards the

songs I can put myself into and feel related to by the artist. On the flip side, when I write,

verbalizing my feelings and emotions on a subject is the feeling of being seen and heard

by myself. Which, in a way, feels more therapeutic and validating than anything else.

Writing a song like that where I get to be honest with myself and write the real thing brings

on a feeling of peace for me.

Photo by Tyler Krippaehne

The lyric ‘I’ve made a home in the small confines of a routine, ‘round a blue screen

I’ve centered it all’ is haunting. Can you talk about what that line means to you

personally?

It came after feeling a sense of irony around my daily schedule on tour. I would wake up,

scroll on my phone, realize I was spending too much time on this little screen, so I would

shift and get work done on my slightly bigger screen (laptop), and when I was finished, I

would wind down by watching something on the big screen (TV). In between all this I

would walk around, eat food, live a daily life, but it was all centered around this screen-

oriented routine. My career is also so social media-dependent. It feels impossible to be an

artist in this era without having to be readily available on the internet to stay “relevant”.

This line felt like more of the realization of this stuff for me.

Do you think your generation is becoming more aware of the emotional impact of

technology use, or is it still something most people ignore?

I think both are true. It’s conflicted because even if more people like me are becoming

aware of this all, we still live in a society where we call on the phone, pay with our phones,

stay connected with people through apps. If one chooses to completely disconnect, it

becomes a drastic lifestyle change.

What do you hope listeners walk away with after hearing your new single

“Bacteria”?

Hopefully the same feeling of being seen and heard that I got from writing this song. This

songs gives the insecure narrative, telling me I'm an “imposter” in this industry, a voice.

The entire song is just crammed with my own metaphors of what it feels like to have such

crippling imposter syndrome when anything goes right in my life. I hope people can hear

it, and recognize their own insecure voices and tune it out as they continue to live their

life.

Photo by Tyler Krippaehne

You’ve worked closely with Noah Kahan and co-wrote on Stick Season, including

the hit “Dial Drunk.” What was that collaborative process like?

Honestly, a very casual and easy process. He and I both lived in Boston at the time- he

texted asking if he could come play basketball with my roommates and I, and showed up

with a banjo in hand “just in case” we ended up wanting to write later. He had come up

with that repeating banjo line that loops throughout the song, and we penned the whole

thing in maybe 30 minutes. I always find it funny because what is now a rocking, driving,

high energy song, started out as a ballad. The original demo was a slower tempo, almost

haunting, emotional acoustic song. Bringing it to Gabe Simon to produce was incredible

because he just had that vision of where to take it sonically almost immediately.

How did it feel to see “Dial Drunk” top the charts and earn such widespread

acclaim—especially with an artist like Post Malone on the track?

Everyday felt like I was living some spoiled dream. I would wake up and hear some new

outrageous statistic for how the song was performing and I could just never believe it. A

lot of these were things I'd never heard of before. I remember Noah Kahan’s manager

telling me we had the number one song on Triple A Radio, and all I asked was “what the

hell is Triple A”.

What did you learn from working on a high-profile project like Stick Season that

you’ve brought into your solo work?

Stick Season is the quintessential “song first” album. I used to make music solely for the

melodies/chords/sounds etc, because that’s how I always connected with music as a kid. I

never knew what my favorite songs were actually singing about. Being exposed to an

album like this and a writer like Noah Kahan was a monumental step in my journey to

writing songs that I actually cared about. There’s a level of care and patience that Noah

Kahan holds for figuring out what to say and how to say it, that I've really taken with me

as I write more music for myself.

Photo by Tyler Krippaehne

You’re a writer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. When starting a new song,

which role do you usually step into first?

When writing for myself, it’s usually the order of instrumentalist, writer, then producer as I

try to write songs in the simplest form first and foremost. When I'm writing for/with other

artists, I'll usually fill whatever role is needed of me at that moment. I’m grateful to be able

to be malleable in my abilities to really diversify my roles in a room, that way I'm not

limited to one specific pigeonhole for the rest of my life.

How do you balance writing for other artists versus writing for your own solo

project? Is there a different mindset you go into?

The only difference I'm really conscious of is the intention behind it, and the priority of

taste in the room. When I write for myself, my taste and my opinion takes priority. I’m

writing with the intention of making something I love and am proud of. When I write for

someone else, my taste takes the back seat. It’s still important, and it’s why Im in the

room in the first place, but the goal is to write something that feels like an extension of the

artist, not myself.

Who are some of your biggest musical or lyrical influences, and how do they show

up in your sound?

There are few artists I look up to a lot lyrically- Phoebe Bridgers, Jason Isbell, Ryan

Beatty, obviously Mr. Kahan has been a mentor and has helped write a few of my songs

with me. Part of the chemistry in my brain that helps me understand emotions is making

simple metaphors for complex feelings. Relating something emotional to something more

tangible helps me cope with my own feelings a lot easier. I feel like this is a very common

thread with the songs that I write- sometimes it’s easier for me to create a metaphorical

scenario that exhibits the same feelings I have towards a real life situation. Phoebe

Bridgers specifically is an artist who does this unbelievably well.

Photo by Tyler Krippaehne

What’s next for you? Can we expect more solo releases soon?

So much music. I have so much. And I feel like I'm practically falling out of my seat with

how excited I am to share it all.

You’ve already achieved major success behind the scenes—what motivates you to

step forward now as a solo artist?

I’ve really always been an artist. I wrote and released some music when I was in high

school, touring and writing for other people was initially a side step in my career.

Thankfully I've fallen in love with it and have been fortunate enough to make it a full time

career that I’m in love with. However, it felt like the right time to step back into my own

artistry and be able to share music that is just 100% me.

Photo by Tyler Krippaehne

Catch Noah on tour:

6.10.25 Los Angeles, CA Moroccan Lounge*

7.02.25 London, UK OMERA+

7.03.25 London, UK OMERA+

*Supporting Bebe Stockwell

+Supporting Sydney Rose 

Bacteria is out now.

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Words by Sal F.