Leopold Nunan
Leopold Nunan discusses the inspiration behind Ready to Go, exploring disco’s enduring spirit, creative independence, artistic community, and the power of joy, friendship, and music to bring people together.
1. Ready to Go feels like both a tribute to the golden age of disco and a celebration of modern pop. How did you find the balance between honoring those classic influences while creating something that feels fresh for 2026?
I never wanted to recreate the past. The past already happened beautifully. I wanted to steal its courage.
Disco wasn’t just a sound—it was a revolution. It was queer people, Black artists, immigrants, outsiders, all deciding that joy was an act of resistance. That’s what I borrowed. Not the costumes. Not the nostalgia. The spirit.
Then we filtered all of that through today’s ears. Bigger drums. Cleaner production. More cinematic textures. It should feel like you’re driving into tomorrow while every ghost from Studio 54 is riding in the backseat.
That’s the party I wanted to throw
2. The song is built around themes of joy, friendship, freedom, and living in the moment. In a music landscape often dominated by more introspective or melancholic songs, why was it important for you to release such an uplifting anthem now?
Because joy deserves better PR.
We’re surrounded by reasons to be afraid. Every headline asks us to shrink a little more. But dancing has always been humanity’s oldest way of saying, “We’re still here.”
Ready to Go isn’t pretending life is easy.
It’s saying life is difficult—and we’re dancing anyway.
That feels revolutionary to me.
I want people to call their best friend, get in the car, roll the windows down, and remember that happiness isn’t something you earn after surviving life.
Sometimes it’s how you survive it.
3. Your vocal performances are bold, theatrical, and full of energy, recalling the spirit of classic disco icons. How did you approach the vocal arrangements, and what emotions were you hoping listeners would experience when singing along?
I’ve never been interested in sounding perfect.
I’m interested in sounding alive.
I grew up loving singers who weren’t afraid to be dramatic, playful, vulnerable, glamorous… all in the same verse. I wanted every vocal layer to feel like another friend jumping onto the dance floor.
By the end of the song, I don’t want people thinking about me.
I want them shouting the chorus with strangers.
If a song can make people forget themselves for three minutes and remember each other—that’s magic.
4. The music video combines fashion, sci-fi, and time travel into a vibrant visual journey. What inspired this creative concept, and how does it expand the story and message behind Ready to Go?
I’ve always believed fashion is a time machine.
One jacket can send you to 1978.
One pair of sunglasses can take you to 2126.
So we asked ourselves: what if two friends could literally travel through music history looking for the greatest dance floor ever created?
That’s the adventure.
The video is full of ridiculous glamour, beautiful chaos, impossible worlds, and a reminder that every generation thinks it invented fun.
It didn’t.
Joy has been traveling through time forever.
We’re just adding another stop.
5. This project was written, produced, financed, and released entirely independently. What were the biggest challenges and rewards of maintaining complete creative control, and how has that independence shaped your artistic vision?
The hardest part?
Nobody is coming to rescue you.
The best part?
Nobody is coming to rescue you.
Every frame, every costume, every rehearsal, every late-night edit happened because a small group of friends believed in an impossible idea.
We all have day jobs.
We all get tired.
We all wondered if we were crazy.
Maybe we are.
But independence teaches you something very powerful.
Permission is overrated.
Sometimes the most beautiful things happen when you stop waiting for someone to choose you and start choosing yourself.
6. Leopold, your career has been dedicated not only to creating music but also to building artistic communities and championing independent voices. What continues to drive you after all these years?
Hope.
I’m still completely fascinated by what happens when artists find each other.
Every concert is a tiny civilization.
Every rehearsal is an act of faith.
Every audience is a room full of strangers deciding to dream together for an hour.
As an immigrant from Rio de Janeiro, I’ve learned that home isn’t always a place.
Sometimes home is the people who clap when your song ends.
If my work has any mission, it’s to build those rooms.
To remind people that art isn’t a luxury.
It’s how we recognize ourselves in one another.
And as long as there are stories left to tell, songs left to sing, and dance floors left to discover…
I’m ready to go.