Artist bio: North Naim
Growing out of the foundations of his Angolan-Swiss heritage and feeding off the relaxed spirit of Zurich’s quixotic environment, North Naim is the latest project from the genre-skewering singer, rapper, producer and multi-instrumentalist formerly known as Zola.
Heritage is an important piece of the North Naim puzzle, and his musical moniker references his diverse background. ‘North’ is a reference to his literal home in Switzerland, towards the northern point of the globe. ‘Naim’ is his given name, with African/Arabic origin that connects to his father’s Angolan heritage. “If I went back to my tribe I would be North Naim,” he says. “Because I live in the north but I’m still from Africa.”
Naim has sought creative outlets for his whole life, having been drawn to the guitar in his earliest years. He started writing rock-inflected songs in his teens, and soon began showing signs of the conscious lyricist that we hear today. “I wrote one song that was called ‘Up The Ante’ and it was about the environment,” he remembers of his early explorations into sound. “Way before Greta, I was already interested in this stuff.”
Growing up in Basel, it was in his teens that he found himself drifting towards the city’s alternative scene and counter-cultural population. His natural talent and desire to learn more meant he soon emerged as a key figure in a crew of friends and collaborators who called themselves La Main (French for ‘the hand’). This posse would arrange events to showcase their overflowing creativity, from exhibitions to installations to parties, and of course gigs. “Making art in general was always really interesting to me,” he comments. “But music was definitely the medium where I felt most comfortable and like I could express my feelings in the best way.”
Out of this ultra-creative environment came Zola, a producer and rap persona that was Naim’s breakthrough project. His songs were heard worldwide and, at the age of 19, he won Switzerland’s coveted M4Music Demotape Clinic competition.
However, despite the acclaim and recognition, Naim soon felt he’d outgrown the project and wanted to begin afresh, to be reborn as an artist with even broader scope and even greater ambition. “I didn’t want to be a hype thing that just came up with the times,” he says. “I’ve always felt like I wanted to make something timeless.”
Naim took advantage of the many doors now open to him, collaborating with jazz bands, broadening his production palette, and going on a philosophical exploration of his tastes and skills to his next creative step. This journey took him to Berlin, but his time there felt constricting as people wanted to hear more of the same – something that he rallied against, knowing he had so much more potential for expression that could only be accessed if he had complete creative freedom. “I decided that I wanted to fully do my own thing, just focus on making music that I appreciate and respect,” he says.
Moving back to Switzerland in early 2020, the pandemic was the catalyst he needed to crystallise his musical desires. “I started to write new songs, I was really into taking my guitar again and leaving my computer,” he explains. “I started writing songs with just chords and my voice.”
From these humble seeds grew North Naim: something bigger and better than anything he’s done before – something indefinable and primal.The first songs to be shared from the project are “River” and “444”, both produced by Naim himself at his home studio, and together they are a one-two punch of sonic ingenuity and unbridled passion that resonates straight from his soul.
Yves Tumor and Blood Orange are clear touchstones, as Naim has a similar gift for channelling his African heritage through multiple modern lenses, transforming it into something post-modern and uniquely exciting.
Underscored by a chunky boom-bap beat, “River” echoes his hip-hop background, but elegiac violin, sparkling tones and a subtly powerful synth bass push into a new territory entirely. Naim’s soulful voice glides over the piece, dominating it as he extrapolates on the connections between people, the planet and the self. Naim himself admits that the song has multiple meanings that seem to emerge over time, something that is evident in the way “River” unfolds. Moving like the titular body of water itself, “River” is ever-evolving: one moment it's a placid hymn to nature, the next it’s a war cry of self-love, and finally it’s a paean to the value of finding a reflection of yourself in others.
“444” hews closer to another of his main influences, that of creative mastermind Kevin Parker aka Tame Impala. Named in honour of the ‘angel numbers’, “444” oozes into view on placid guitar, with Naim’s blissed-out refrain “only you can be high forever”. It’s not, however, a paean to smoking with your friends, but is about maintaining balance and positivity – it emphatically affirms the healing power of self-belief and self-improvement. As smacking beats and pyrotechnic guitar fill in the backdrop, Naim faces up to harsh reality and knocks it back with powerful determination, encouraging us – and himself – to “swim in the light” and “always believe in yourself”.
Of course, with a mind as overflowing with ideas and creativity as North Naim’s, two songs can never be a full introduction, and the brief double salvo of “River” and “444” will leave you salivating. Fortunately, we won’t have to wait long for more engrossing music from the rising talent, as he has plans for an EP in the new year and more work under an experimental, yet-to-be revealed alias.
“Music is a way for me to create my own space and my own reality,” he affirms. Naim has a whole world to show us, get ready for him to throw open the gates.
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Short bio (800 characters)
North Naim is a Zurich-based genre-skewering singer, rapper, producer and multi-instrumentalist. His moniker references his background. ‘North’ is a reference to his home in Switzerland, and ‘Naim’ is his given name, with African/Arabic origin that connects to his Angolan heritage. “If I went back to my tribe I would be North Naim,” he says. “Because I live in the north but I’m still from Africa.”
North Naim is indefinable and primal. “River” and “444”, both produced by Naim at his home studio, are a one-two punch of sonic ingenuity and unbridled passion that resonates straight from his soul. Yves Tumor and Blood Orange are clear touchstones, as he has a similar gift for channelling his heritage through modern lenses, transforming it into something post-modern and uniquely exciting.
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Marketing blurbs:
“River”
“River”is the first song to be shared from the unplaceable musical mind of North Naim, an artist who channels his African heritage through multiple modern lenses to deliver powerful alternative R&B anthems. “River” places his warm-yet-domineering vocal over in stunningly dense sound worlds that reflect the complexity of his lyricism. One moment “River” is a placid hymn to nature, the next it’s a war cry of self-love, and finally it’s a paean to the value of finding a reflection of yourself in others.
“444”
A glistening and provocative alternative R&B statement, North Naim’s “444” finds the multi-talent expounding on life’s simplest but most difficult lessons. “Only you can be high forever” he affirms, but “444” is not about smoking with your friends – here, North Naim is schooling us on the importance of maintaining balance and positivity in life. As smacking beats and pyrotechnic guitar fill in the backdrop, North Naim faces up to harsh reality and knocks it back with powerful determination, encouraging us – and himself – to “swim in the light” and “always believe in yourself”.
