The indie-pop artist takes us into their world.
Noah Bates recently released ‘For You,’ a track that captures that feeling of wearing your heart-on-your-sleeve at the wrong time.
First emerging in 2024 with his independently released debut single, ‘Coffee In Japan’, Bates has continued his upward trajectory.
We sat down with Noah to talk about the past, present, and all things future!
Take a look into Noah Bates’ world below.
HAPPY: What’d you get up to today?
NOAH BATES: Nothing crazy today. I hung out in the studio working on some new stuff, getting things in motion for the next release.
HAPPY: Tell us a little about where you’re from, and what you love about it!
NOAH BATES: I was born in the Netherlands and spent a lot of my childhood living overseas.
Now I’m based in Brisbane City working out of a few studios. I love the creative scene in Brisbane—there’s so much life and excitement across all of the different scenes it’s hard to feel bored.
HAPPY: ‘For You’ captures that painful moment of questioning your place in someone’s life. What was the specific spark or memory that made you start writing this track?
NOAH BATES: This one started out with some chords, then the melody sort of followed.
I think the spark for the actual lyrics came right at the beginning of the session when we were just talking about life, and that conversation kind of seeped into the song as we started writing.
HAPPY: Lyrically, there is a huge shift from “holding on” to “acceptance.” Did the resolution of the song change from the first demo to the final version?
NOAH BATES: Originally the song was written from the perspective of two people going through a turbulent part of their relationship, but as the song progressed into the production phase, a couple small rewrites shifted that idea from not wanting to let go of your partner to accepting the reality of the situation.
HAPPY: What is the one lyric in ‘For You’ that you are most proud of, and why?
NOAH BATES: I think the “something new, something blue” lines are my favourite.
I love the way it plays with wedding tradition and puts it into a brand new context, capturing not wanting to move on while also mourning the future you thought you might have had with that person.
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HAPPY: ‘Coffee In Japan’ was your debut and it’s now crossed 58,000 streams. Looking back, what did that first release teach you about yourself as an artist?
NOAH BATES: It taught me to stop overthinking everything.
I had no idea what to expect from my first release, so it’s been really special to see people still discovering it and connecting with it.
It also gave me the confidence to keep developing my sound and start taking myself more seriously as an artist.
HAPPY: You’ve released tracks in 2023, 2024, and now 2025. How do you feel your songwriting has evolved between ‘Gotta Go’ and ‘For You’?
NOAH BATES: I feel like my writing has become a lot more honest over time. With “Gotta Go,” I was still figuring out my sound and how I wanted to tell stories.
With “For You,” I felt more confident in the lyrics and more comfortable letting emotion and truth come through in the song.
HAPPY: If you had to describe your creative “safe space” (where you write best), what does it look like?
NOAH BATES: A dark studio with air conditioning, lots of guitars and keys, and not many people around.
I write best when there isn’t any pressure to finish something and I can just follow an idea wherever it goes.
I love experimenting and not taking the songs too seriously.
HAPPY: Who is the one artist (alive or dead) you would most want to open a show for, and why?
NOAH BATES: Definitely Sam Fender. He’s had a massive influence on how I go about songwriting, production and live performance especially as another solo indie artist.
I love how he can make something feel intimate and personal while still creating these huge moments that captivate a huge crowd. Opening for him would be the dream.
HAPPY: Lastly, what makes you happy?
NOAH BATES: My dogs. Music is pretty good too.
