Over six months in the the making, we were overly excited to see Noa raise the bar once again. He didn’t disappoint. Head Noise is fucked up. At a packed house last night in Costa Mesa, an intimate crowd of 80 people watched in awe, as Noa went for broke on every wave. His affinity for bigger ramps makes Head Noise stand above every other short movie in recent memory. Sprinkle in some signature Volcom editing and music and you have a recipe for success.

We recently caught up with Noa recently and chatted about his movie, music and his performance in Hawaii (as seen in issue 20).

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What’s going on in your world?

NOZ: What’s going on brah.

Where are you headed?

I am flying to West Oz.

How’s the movie coming along?

Pretty good. It’s almost done. I’m just trying to get a lot of variety in there. I don’t have any lefts yet, so I’m searching for some lefts, but not on this trip. I’m going straight into more rights. But as soon as I get some more lefts I’ll be stoked.

What’s the premise of the movie?

Volcom was excited for me to do it because my new clothing range is coming out. I’m just looking at it as doing another part, which is putting in the same amount of effort as I usually do…which is a lot.

Who else is in it?

I think there is going to be other people in it. I think Shaun (Manners), and hopefully Ozzie and Creed, unless they’re over it. Ozzie is coming on this trip.

Are you making the music for it?

No, I wanna buy some good songs.

What bands do you want to use?

I wanna use a Sonic Youth song. I kind of want to use a Slayer song too. I’m going to see Electric Wizard here in a couple of weeks, I’m frothing.

They just played in LA last week.

I just missed Primus and Ween over here. They just played. I blew it.

How’s your band coming along?

It’s been slow…which is fine, I don’t really care. I’ve been surfing heaps.

How’s Toby’s (Cregan) band? They look like they’re blowing up. Is that crazy or what?

They’re massive.

Would you like to put more energy into music like them?

No, I used to be in that band. [Laughs] I don’t really care. It’s just fun for me. I don’t have to try to get all big. And I probably wouldn’t, haha.

Surfing is your priority?

Ya I guess that’s what I’m saying. I’m stoked for the boys though. They don’t work or do fuck all now. They just play in the band, which is sick.

Are you editing your movie or is Volcom doing it?

Mikey (Mallelui?)and I are doing it. I think it’s easier because we have most of the clips. That way we are not going back and forth with it. They can tell us what they need out of it. Too much back and forth makes you trip out on it for sure.

I saw a big alley-oop of you at North Point. Fucking pretty massive.

Ya I reckon. It’s definitely one of the biggest airs I’ve ever done. Definitely the biggest alley-oop I’ve done for sure.

Have you landed anthing else that’s going to blow people’s mind?

I think people will be stoked on that. I’m just trying to do bigger airs. It’s hard. I keep breaking my boards or not landing them. They’re hard to land. But it’s good.

 How much bigger do you have to go these days to stand out.

You have to go big for sure. I just think the waves make a difference, I really don’t want any small waves in my video. It’s cool to see people doing airs on bigger waves and not two-foot beach-breaks. Just bigger waves.

How hard is it to differentiate your movie from anyone else’s these days?

I think it will be unique because I am not dropping clips on insta before it even comes out. I think only half the people would even bother to see it otherwise. I can’t handle people posting their best stuff on Instagram ‘cause then there’s nothing to wait for. When I hear about something coming out it’s nice to anticipate it.

Tell us about your experience in Hawaii?

Pretty crazy. It was just super weird because I was at home and the waves weren’t breaking for two months before I left. I was losing it like, Fuck, it’s going to be 100 feet, and it was. It was pretty solid, I was like, Fuck it, just fire up. After that, the dudes in the (Volcom) house like Tai and Kaimana made it better. I didn’t feel any pressure. It was cool to hang out there with some good vibes at the house. It was easier not to have a meltdown.

You packed a couple huge rights. Is there times when a bomb comes in and there’s no turning back?

Yeah when something good comes at you, you’ve got to just go with it. I don’t hunt for super big waves but if one comes then I will go. The comp just kinda makes it hard because there is a bunch of fucking people watching. If there’s no one on the beach you’d be way less nervous. But maybe the nervousness helps. I think anyone will go during the comp no matter how gnarly it is. That’s kinda what’s happening.

Would you pay 5k to surf 6-8 foot Backdoor again with the occasional 10-footer?

Yeah, for sure. I would be less scared this time. You don’t really get pumped…the wave is so fucking gnarly! [laughs]. It’s so perfect on some of them, it’s fucking crazy. Clean and 8-foot. The last day of the Volcom comp was so insane, how good it was.

Any heavy beat-downs though?

I had one the same day as when Dusty got smoked. I got steamrolled by a 3-footer on the inside and went head first and just got shanked by a rock. It made this crazy lump in my back that didn’t go away for like 2 months. It was this little shit thing on the inside. Just goes to show it doesn’t matter, you can get fucked up anywhere. You can get smoked anywhere. I was just trying to get out on dry reef jumping over waves and it swatted me.

When you see a web clip come out, with shitty music do you turn it off right away?

Yeah 100 percent. I would just turn off the music and watch it.

Do you pick a song first or lay down the footage first for a video?

It’s a bit of both. I try to pick a song and if doesn’t work I just pick another one.

Do you hear a song sometimes and instantly go, “Fuck, that would be sick in a surf vid?”

Yeah I think so. There’s definitely ones that do that.

Did you see the clip of the wave pool with the air section on it?

Yeah, I don’t even know what to say. It looks pretty pretty fucking crazy.

Did you see Seth Moniz’s backflip?

Yeah, I heard it took him 7 tries. Which is pretty hectic. That wave must have some juice behind it. I reckon the section has some power behind it.

If you had access to that wave would you want to build a part there?

I don’t think it would help you that much in the real world, but for practice it would. Hitting that same section over and over you’d get pretty rattled because you’d go for a real surf and you’d never get a section like that. I think Slater’s is way too small. But the one in Texas with the ramp on it looks way more fun. The waves are all different with the wedge and get weird. Have a couple beers, surf it and have the best time ever.

It seems like these wave pools are fun. People take it to a crazy level and overthink it.

If they wanna get all crazy with it, they have to make it six feet. Or at least four feet. It seems like just a fun wave. I’d rather just go surf it and not film it and just cruise on it. It would be sick.

What if you have access to it for a week to film a part? Would you be down for that?

Yeah, that would be pretty fun. Cuz you could just try Kickflips and shit. I’d just be trying to land Kickflips or a big spin with no grab or something like that. Or just Shuv-its on it maybe. Just mucking around on it because you could just try it over and over again. You’d know that section was there everytime. You’d get the full motion down. It would be pretty sick.

If you could bring one band to the wave park, and bring 4 people, who would it be?

Ozzie (Wright) would pe pretty epic. And have Droid (Andrew Doheny) come. And maybe (Dustin) Dollin. Remember when we tried to get him that one time in Austin?

Ya that was probably a good thing it was closed.

And Primus, have them come play. That would be epic.

Who’s your biggest influence outside of surfing?

I think just videos and stuff. I guess that’s weird to say but I like watching skate videos. I think that influences me.  Watching live band videos on YouTube is pretty good, Sonic Youth. Shit like that. I’ve been watching the Osbourne’s heaps and that’s pretty funny. The music I listen to influences me for sure.

If you were going to die tomorrow, what would you like to be known for?

I don’t know. I don’t really care [laughs]. Fuck it.

What if the plane is going down, who would you call?

Probably my girlfriend.

What would you say…Return those videotapes?

Ya return those video tapes. Haha. Nah I’d say you’re lucky you’re not on the plane. -WY