Hey guys! We’re back again with another round of Sit In On Friday! We hope you enjoyed last week’s concert with ELEN. This week we have another very special artist here to spread some smooth vocals. From a young age on he went from loving Indie music, to being was inspired by Hip-Hop and RnB acts like ASAP Rocky, The Weeknd, and Partynextdoor before getting to know the rich history of Rock n’ Roll and getting into psychedelic rock. All these different influences inspired his projects and contributed to making NAIM the multi-faceted artist he is. He translates all these influences into his music, pushing the boundaries of genre by fusing Indie and Rock n’ Roll and Trap with each other, creating albums so diversified, they act like a cocktail mix of different moods. Although he 22-year-old Swiss/Angolian singer, songwriter, rapper, guitarist, and record producer is used to performing to a dark club filled with sweaty, moshpitting kids, this week he shares his talent with us. Ladies and gentlemen, this is NAIM!
How did you get to making music?
My dad used to sing and play guitar in an African band. Growing up with my fathers absence, music always connected me to my African heritage, my roots and gave me a space of free expression. I was 13 and played guitar for a year or so when I started to record my first songs.
You grew up in Basel, how do you think the city has shaped you and your art?
Basel is a pretty cultural city for Swiss standards. Visual arts are a huge thing down here and we got some good museums and artists. I mostly work with friends when it comes to visuals and it has been an amazing journey of growing up into what we are doing together. It influenced my music a lot and gave me the opportunity to not only make music but create moods and worlds. For the music scene here, I’m still working on it haha
If you could speak to yourself in the past, what would you say to him?
Play more guitar and do more vocal exercises. don’t stress about your life that much enjoy your highs and lows. You are loved and understood.
Who are your icons?
My mom and Bob Marley.
During these times, it’s difficult for everybody to fill their days in a way that makes sense to them. How are you spending most of your time at the moment?
Im either creating music, writing concepts or doing body workouts. I recently started training kung fu wich is a lot of fun.
When do you feel most creative and most inspired?
Usually, my workflow is built around different phases. I feel very creative when I see I made progress in production or singing and wanna let it out on new songs. The most motivation I get from feeling the opposite when I feel like I need to get better that’s when I really sit down and practice.
Our concept for our interview is “Sit in on Friday”. I think everybody’s Fridays used to look pretty different back when they could actually leave their home. What would your regular Friday look like?
I usually like to go out and dance or chill and smoke with some friends in a park. nothing crazy you know. just good vibes.
If you could invite any five people dead or alive for dinner, who would you invite?
Jimmy hendrix, James Baldwin, bob marley, Mansa musa and Buddah.
We have a format on TITLE that is all about the true identity of artists and brands so we can dig deeper than just the surface. Would you say you have found your true identity? And if so, how would you describe it?
I guess to me its something fluent, every experience adds to my true identity. It’s more a journey or commitment to search for your own truth and to listen to the language of the world.
What would your advice be for aspiring artists that are trying to make it?
Listen to yourself but don’t be scared to get lost at the end to me, being lost can show you the most.
