For the latest installment of the L.A. TACO Mix Series, we welcome N8NOFACE—a singular voice in modern synth-punk whose music fuses raw poetry with the scars and survival of real-life chaos.
Check out N8's L.A. TACO mixtape below.
Emerging from the underworld of Tucson’s street scenes and now thriving in Long Beach, N8 channels the same urgency that once fueled his darker work into something deeply personal and alive. His exclusive 47-minute mix is a reflection of that journey: a gritty, intimate blend of old punk, post-punk, spoken word, and rare synth gems that speaks to both the past and the future of life on this extraordinary planet. It’s a soundtrack for anyone who’s found beauty in the wreckage and poetry in the static.
About N8NOFACE
Photo Credit: Sela Shiloni
N8NOFACE (pronounced “nate-no-face”) had already barely survived an insane Hollywood biopic of a gangster/rockstar life long before he joined Limp Bizkit’s Loserville tour, playing arenas across the US and Europe. His drug-addled ultraviolent lifestyle in Tucson, AZ, shaped the dark themes and chaotic sound of his music. Now on the other side of that turmoil, after relocating to Long Beach, CA in the early 2010s and cleaning up, N8 makes his debut on Stones Throw.
As Of Right Now was born from the collaboration between N8 and producer/songwriter Marcos Garcia (aka Chico Mann, founding member of Antibalas and Here Lies Man) who had previously backed N8NOFACE as his touring guitarist/keyboardist. The two bonded while on the road and started working together, with Chico Mann co-writing and producing As Of Right Now. Where N8's earlier music was fueled by his addictions and the dark tales of hometown friends associated with Mexican drug cartels, As Of Right Now is a collection of love songs.
On As Of Right Now, N8 keeps one foot firmly in the synth-punk world while also exploring his more vulnerable side.
N8 explains, “Most songs I have written have come to me through things I have seen or experienced (drug tales, border life and the streets), But I have always been a fan of love, and wrote about that too. Love found in the darkest places, sometimes by the scariest people. I always bounce back and forth from heartbreak in the streets or from a lover.”
On these anarchic pop songs, lush synths and shimmering guitar lines are a backdrop for searching lyrics about desire and living in the moment.
“The title track is a story about two people on two different paths, crossing paths,” N8 explains, “Thinking how good it could be, but as of now, it’s all wrong.”
“Waiting To Wait For You” is a take on the day-to-day frustrations of love.
“I watched you try five outfits on, I’d wait and watch five thousand more,” N8 sings on a synthpop hook.
“It’s about still finding joy in watching your partner try outfit after outfit on,” he says. “Feeling like your whole night is waiting to wait, and you can't wait to do it.”
Having once trafficked in dark, violent tales, N8 now sings of loving life in the present – as of right now.
N8 has announced a series of West Coast dates in October:
Oct 17 Oakland, CA – Eli’s Mile High
Oct 18 Sacramento, CA – Starlet Room
Oct 20 Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court
Oct 22 Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad
Oct 24 Tucson, AZ – The Rock
Oct 25 Las Vegas, NV – The Usual Place
Oct 26 San Diego, CA – Soda Bar
Oct 30 Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theater
As of Right Now is Out Now!
Tracklist
1. As Of Right Now
2. Waiting To Wait For You
3. The Way Out Of Here
4. It's Happening Again
5. Everything We Thought We Knew
6. I'm All Yours All The Time
7. You Dance Alone
