11 Questions with Naomi Dawes

If you could share one thing with an audience before they first tuned into your music, what would you say?

My art comes from my soul, I hope you feel that while experiencing it.

What’s a non-music thing, a book, a place, a random job, a conversation you overheard, that actually changed how you create music?

Film. When I make music, I always think of it in a scene of a film. The break up sequence, the fast speed chase or the sexy scenes 😉

Give us a song origin story. Where did the idea come from, and did you know straight away that it was something, or did it take a while to reveal itself?

The origin story behind ‘BABE’. I was sitting at home late at night, crushing hard over someone and was very frustrated. I was listening to ‘Streets’ by Doja Cat and decided I wanted to produce a beat similar and channel my frustrations into the song. So I opened my laptop and started making the song. All of a sudden, the lyrics and melody flooded into my mind, so I ran into my bedroom and started recording. The whole song was finished so quickly. I love that the song is a snapshot in time.

Pick a song that you’ve released that could only have been written at that exact moment in your lives. What was going on, and is there any part of you that wishes you could still be in that moment?

I always feel nostalgic about my song ’Skin & Bone’. It’s still one of my favourite songs to this day. I just love how all the passion came out of me and into my music. That song really changed the trajectory of my sound.

Tell us about a gig that went somewhere unexpected: a night where the room, the crowd, or just something in the air made it feel like more than a show. What happened?

What’s going on in the world right now, nothing to do with music, that’s quietly making its way into what you’re working on?

Just my day-to-day life experience and reflections. I’m pretty precious and guarded when I create my music, so I allow my experiences to flow through me while I create. Whether the topic is heavy or light, I just go with it.

There’s a sound, an instrument, a texture you haven’t used yet, but it’s there in the back of your head. What is it, and what’s it waiting for?

There are so many sounds that I can’t just pick one. But when the time is right, I’ll create a song with them and you’ll get to hear it.

Which artist, alive, dead, from any era, would you most want to play your music to?

I’d have to choose someone who I think would get what I was making and appreciate it. I’d probably choose someone who could give me feedback that I’d really appreciate and could learn from. Maybe Rick Rubin.

Forget the big moments. If your music was the soundtrack to one small, ordinary moment in someone’s day, what would that moment look like?

Late dusk, as the sun is basically gone but there’s the slightest glow in the sky. The ominous knowing that night is about to fall.

What’s next for you? Tell us what you’re working on and if you have anything exciting in the pipeline.

I’m supporting Minimums on a few of their tour dates in late October. I’m always working on new music as well as my new music radio show, Nai’s Plays on Switch Radio Wednesdays at 10 pm.

Any final words to leave us with?

Come down to the show on September 25th; you’re guaranteed to have an AMAZING night!