With his album water and dreams, released on March 24, the singer-songwriter N NAO offers a work between experimental folk and dream pop. A sound that makes you soar and that the artist describes as a culmination.
Naomie De Lorimier knows music. The legacy of his grandfather, who listened to opera, the support of his family, which allowed him to immerse himself in the arts from a young age, his studies in jazz singing: all these elements and many more have allowed the artist, who is now known as N NAO, to flourish in his musical exploration over the years and to come to present the album today water and dreams.
“I’ve always wanted to do the stage, she says in an interview, a few days before the release of her second album. I listened to a lot of music. That’s when I studied jazz singing, [au cégep de] Saint-Laurent, that I knew this would be my life. »
Her debut came just after her studies, when she presented experimental shows on the Montreal underground scene. To her vocals, she added the impact of effect pedals. The musician, also a cellist, plays with sounds, creates music of her own. During a stay of several months in Berlin, after CEGEP, she presents a performance of instrumental music and the reception makes her dream. “The tavern was full and I realized there were plenty of people who wanted all kinds of different music. There was an audience for what I was doing. »
His musical project continues to evolve, until the creation of N NAO. “I started writing with the guitar, says the artist. I pulled out forever forever, my first album, self-produced. It was my first attempt to make less experimental songs. »
The meeting with Charles Marsolais-Ricard, who is closely involved in the creations of N NAO (in particular in co-production, but also on the musical level), was important for Naomie. Over time, other musicians have marked her career, including director Jean-Bruno Pinard (Thierry Larose, Anatole, Ariane Brunet), with whom she has also collaborated since the beginning of the project.
Now under the banner of the Mothland record company, the artist feels better surrounded than ever, understood, but also supported.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
With his album water and dreamsthe singer-songwriter N NAO offers a work between experimental folk and dream pop.
I found people who accompany me, who inspire me. It’s not without pitfalls to make music that is more “difficult”. But I was able to gain confidence in my approach. I feel like I understand better what I’m doing.
N NAO
On his X
“With the album we’re releasing today, I feel anchored in the intersection between song and more conceptual and experimental research. In her calm voice, her calm and sure tone, Naomie explains to us that she feels on her X. Everything seems to have led her to this precise moment, where her past explorations meet.
On water and dreams, N NAO experiments with a creation that touches on esotericism. The title says it, water and dreams play a big role in the composition and the writing. “My dreams were an element of research,” says the singer-songwriter. I trained for more lucid dreams, to be able to find ideas in them. I took my guitar and I recorded memories or strong moments. »
As for the element of water, for her it is “a way of [se] collect”, she who loves to bathe. “Charles [Marsolais-Ricard] gave me the book water and dreams, at the end of the writing of the album. It says water is the very stuff of dreams. »
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
Water is for N NAO “a way of [se] collect “.
I realized afterwards that during the recording process, I had taken lots of photos of falls, ice, snow or I was bringing my Go Pro with me in my swims. It had accompanied and rocked me.
N NAO
Composed mainly “on guitar or pedal”, his new album is rich in melodies, in instrumental flights, while being overwhelmingly delicate. The sound layers accumulate and fit together. N NAO masters well the art of sampling, which is reflected in his music as well as in his life. “I take a lot of photos, videos, I pick up flowers, I take sound samples,” she explains. I am a hyper intuitive person, I like to be in the game and the exploration. I think [l’échantillonnage], it makes the music very intimate. It becomes a window on pieces of my life. »
“I tried to find comfort in the writing or the melodies, as if to heal myself through this album”, she continues. Now that it exists for others, Naomie is already ready for the sequel, she who has never stopped writing. “Each time we released [extraits] of the album, I felt lighter, it made room for new ideas. I feel inspired. »
Folk-pop
water and dreams
N NAO
mothland