What's your name?
Nobel Yoo
What are some things that you've done so far that you're really proud of or really happy about?
The biggest thing I've done that I'd want people to know about is Syzygy! I've put a lot of time and effort into making it what it is and it's probably still the thing that most of my time and effort goes into. It's the most complete culmination of my knowledge and experience and I'm always excited to be developing it more and pushing it further and further.
Besides that, I'm really proud of is related to music and music technology. This video provides a quick taste:
I've also developed applications for automatic DJing, automatic remixing, jam session automation and automatic composition.
What are some things you're excited about doing soon?
I'm really excited about trying to get a VGM community going through Syzygy. This combines a ton of my interests: creating a music scene for a style of music that I love, providing lesser known musicians with opportunities to perform, providing lesser known musicians with connections to game developers to monetize their craft, provide a space for a niche community that doesn't currently exist in the Bay area. The second thing that I'm excited about is using Syzygy to connect individuals and leaders across intentional communities throughout the Bay area (and maybe beyond?). I think that there's a ton of knowledge and experience that could be shared that's currently siloed in relatively insular places. If I could open up that silo, I think that'd be huge across all these intentional communities.
What are some things that have been inspiring to you lately?
Generally, I'd say that my friends are consistently the most inspirational things in my life. I think it's incredible to see people grow and develop, get out of their comfort zones to learn and try things they've never done before, and relentlessly chase their passions. However, as true as that is, it's also kind of a boring answer.
I've read the Promised Neverland lately and I feel like it's one of the best stories I've ever experienced. It has some incredible characters and character relationships, will have you on the edge of your seat and is beautiful in so many ways. I highly recommend either season 1 on Netflix (DO NOT WATCH SEASON 2) or the manga!
Porter Robinson's Nurture is fantastic musically, but has been hugely inspirational to me mostly because of the themes and the lyrics. There's so many things in this album that I feel like I've needed to hear for a while, that it's worth it to work hard for the things that make you happy, that creating art is valuable, even when it's just for yourself, that the pain of failure is still worth the joy of creation.
Circe by Madeline Miller is a retelling of the story of Circe from Greek mythology. It's an incredible story about learning to love yourself and trust yourself when nothing in the world seems trustworthy and eventually, learning to turn that love and trust outward. It's not glorious or epic, like so many other Greek tales. Instead, it's earnest, relatable and humanizing. I loved the incredible character development, the complex world building, and the insightful commentary on the effects of stories, the experience of marginalized people, and the effects of systems more powerful than any individual.
If people want to follow you online, where should they look?
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/nobelyoo Twitter: https://twitter.com/nobelsucks