NTO Shares How He Stepped Back to Move Forward on ‘NAKED’

NTO sat down with EDM Identity to discuss how he found renewed purpose in family, peace, and making music, while working on his newest album, NAKED.

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For over two decades, Anthony Favier, better known as NTO, has reached milestones that many artists spend their careers chasing. From producing with some of the music industry’s most respected artists to touring the world and performing major festivals like Tomorrowland, Sonar, and Timewarp, his career has taken him far beyond what he could have imagined.

For NTO, achieving these goals defined success, but also led to a more complicated realization: reaching the next milestone doesn’t necessarily bring lasting fulfillment. The French artist eventually found himself needing to step away from that constant pursuit of what came next to slow down and rediscover the person behind NTO.

In doing so, he found meaning in simpler things, including time with family, peace, and the renewed excitement of a new melody. That shift in perspective helped shape his newest album, NAKED, a deeply personal project built around grief, vulnerability, connection, and the delicate balance between life and artistry.

After NAKED’s release, NTO sat down to talk about the experiences that shaped the album and what this new chapter means to him. Listen to the album on your preferred platform and read on for the conversation.

Stream NTO – NAKED on Spotify:

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Bonjour NTO, thank you for taking the time to chat with us. After all these years of producing, touring, and playing festivals, you said you needed to “slow down, breathe, and become Anthony Favier again”. What do you feel you’ve learned about yourself, both as Anthony and NTO, since?

I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is that I don’t need to constantly prove something to feel good about myself. For a long time, music was taking almost all the space in my life. And I loved it, of course, but at some point it’s easy to forget who you are outside of your work.

Today I feel much more comfortable just being Anthony. I spend time with my family, do simple things, and enjoy life without always thinking about the next step. Strangely, I think it made NTO a better artist, too. I’m less afraid of being myself in my music now.

You dedicated “Fior Di Macchia” to your father after discovering his artwork, lyrics, and guitar chords. Did any of those writings or musical ideas make it directly into the song, or any part of the album?

After my father passed away, my brother and I found all these drawings, paintings, lyrics, and musical ideas signed “Fior Di Macchia.” It was like discovering a secret artistic side of him, something we didn’t really know about.

The track wasn’t really about recreating his music. I wanted to translate what this discovery made me feel. His artistic universe became a big inspiration, not only for the track but, in a way, for the whole album. The idea of transmission, of keeping something alive through creation… that’s something very important to me now.

Photo Credit: Julien Mignot

This album, Naked, was born from a period of grief and loss. Was there a point during the making of this project when you realized it was a way to process grief, rather than just creating another collection of songs?

Not really one precise moment. I was making a lot of music during that period, probably more than ever. At first I wasn’t really questioning why. I just needed to spend time in the studio; it was a place where I felt good. Then, slowly, I started noticing that all these tracks were saying something about what I was going through.

The interesting thing is, the music wasn’t just reflecting my emotions anymore; it was also helping me understand them. That’s when I realized this album was becoming something much bigger than a collection of tracks.

You’ve described this album as a journey between grounding yourself and embracing vulnerability. Are there specific tracks that represent the two opposites of that journey?

I’d say “Fior Di Macchia” represents the vulnerable side. It’s connected to something very intimate: the loss of my father, but also love and transmission.

For the grounding side, I actually think of two very different tracks. “Monday” is a sunny, positive track; it’s about the simple joy of being alive, feeling good, and enjoying the moment.

Then there’s “Solo Yo,” which is much darker but talks about something equally important to me. Sometimes, the need for solitude, to disconnect from everything and reconnect with yourself. I like that these two tracks express almost opposite emotions, but in the end they’re both about finding your own balance. And I think that’s a big part of what NAKED is about.

“Validation, Medication” explores how we often search online for approval. How have you stayed grounded in a world driven by validation and metrics?

I think I’ve become much less interested in numbers over the years. Of course, when you’re an artist, you can’t completely ignore them. Streams, followers, ticket sales… they’re everywhere. But I realized that if you start measuring your happiness by these things, you’ll never really be satisfied.

There’s always a bigger number somewhere. Today I try to keep some distance from all that. My family helps a lot, and I have a life outside music too. I still love what I do, probably more than ever actually. I just don’t want my happiness to depend on how successful it is.

Photo Credit: Julien Mignot

You have collaborated with artists ranging from Paul Kalkbrenner and Monolink to Sofiane Pamart. What do you look for in a collaborator? Is there anyone you haven’t worked with that would be a dream collaboration?

I think the most important thing is having a real connection, both musically and personally. I love working with people who have a very strong identity, even if their music is completely different from mine.

That’s often when things get interesting. Working with Sofiane Pamart, for example, was amazing because we come from different musical worlds, but we share a very similar relationship with melodies and emotions.

As for dream collaborations, there are so many… I’d love to explore more collaborations outside electronic music. Maybe with a singer or a musician who would take me somewhere completely unexpected. That’s what excites me the most: learning something new from someone else.

Since Apnea, you have reached some incredible milestones, from earning hundreds of millions of streams to playing major festivals around the world. Was there a point when you achieved something that you dreamed of, only to realize it wasn’t as fulfilling? What feels most rewarding to you today?

Yes, definitely. And I think that’s something many artists experience but don’t always talk about. You spend years dreaming about playing a certain festival, reaching a certain level, and when it finally happens it’s amazing… but a few days later life is exactly the same.

And you’re already thinking about the next thing. I don’t regret chasing these dreams at all. They gave me incredible experiences. But I realized success isn’t really a destination where you suddenly become happy.

Today what feels most rewarding is much simpler. Having time to make music without pressure, being with my family, feeling healthy and peaceful. And still being able to enter the studio after twenty years and feel excited about a new melody.

That’s probably my favorite kind of success now.

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