Photo of NVDEs' Josh Ocean by Alex Tracey

NVDES, the brainchild of Josh Ocean, has released his debut Life with Lobsters EP, out Friday (Nov. 18) via B3SCI Records.

The collection's arrival caps a buzzworthy year for the producer-musician, who began releasing glitzy-pop gems last year under the NVDES moniker, while keeping his identity obscured. 

Variance talked to Ocean about his new music and what comes next. See our discussion below, followed by the EP. 

Why did you choose to keep your identity a mystery at first?

I chose to keep my identity secret at first because I wanted to establish the world in which NVDES exists in. My goal with NVDES was a to create a place that I could collaborate freely with other artists and friends without out any pre-disposition as to what sound should be expected.

With Ghost Beach (your previous act) being a fairly recent project, what was the motivation to start something different?

The motivation was simple. I had something different I wanted to express. I wanted to pursue a different sonic experience and feel complete freedom as a producer to experiment.

"NVDES" is definitely a bit provocative but also ambiguous. What's the background for that name?

The name originated from a drive past a strip club on La Brea in Los Angeles. I saw a flashing sign that said "live nudes" [and] the goal of my new project was for me to be Nude, meaning honest and unapologetic with my work. "Nudes" was taken, so I used a v. And NVDES was born.

What's the meaning behind the ongoing melon artwork?

The melon represents the world in which all my music exists. It's the world in which I tell my story. It's the place I created for people to feel NVDE with me.

With the EP coming out now, what are your plans after that?

We are playing in France at Transmuicales festival in December and then I'm currently finishing a handful of tracks for a release early in 2017.