Nozart (aka Noah Kellman) was only twelve when his arms first seized up. He yelled across the hall until his mom heard, bursting into the room to find him having just barely managed to get his own underwear on. He had spent the night before in the studio recording the audition tape that would ironically launch his early career as a jazz pianist. It would take 12 years, 17 doctors, 9 physical therapists, and a great deal of pain and frustration before he would finally discover that he had a rare neurological condition that severely inhibited his ability to use his arms. Now, the New York City-based artist emerges with his debut record, Puppet, a haunting journey through the depths of a world composed of nostalgic melodies, irreverent production and cinematic orchestration, all carried by an alluring post-rock skeleton. It is a work conceived in the restlessness of a budding talent forced to be patient, imagining fantastical musical worlds in his mind while physical limitations prevented him from realizing the music— that is, until now. “I cannot possibly describe to you the frustration of sitting helpless for months, knowing that inside I was overflowing with musical ideas and that I had no choice but to wait until my body was finally healthy enough to conceive them,” Kellman reveals. Now an accomplished composer and pianist, Kellman is a self-proclaimed “musical storyteller,” often writing music for film and video games. His cinematic sensibility is blatant throughout Puppet, as the songs themselves flow with clear narrative, each telling a different fantastical story. The album draws clear influence from film composers, such as Danny Elfman and John Williams, while also living in the world of alternative rock groups like Muse and Radiohead. The music journeys through dark, dystopian images, while also carrying the listener through positive landscapes filled with hope. There is an undertone of nostalgia throughout the album, perhaps alluding to the childhood sense of wonder that Kellman brings to life in his music. His years of jazz training can also be heard in the choices of acoustic instrumental performances throughout the record, almost all of which are live recordings of various virtuosic musicians in NYC. “I may never be fully free of my physical limitations in the real world, but love telling stories, and it’s such a joy to bring them to life with music. I’m so thrilled to have finished this album, and having made great strides in understanding how to manage my nerve condition, I’m going to be making a lot more music and sharing it with the world.” Outside of Nozart, Kellman also plays keyboards / synthesizers for Elliot Moss and was part of the band that toured the country with the Cold War Kids in 2015. He also composes frequently for film, game and other multimedia.