NEWS : WED, APR 13, 2022 at 7:00 AM
Naima Bock’s Debut Album Giant Palm Out Worldwide on July 1st via Sub Pop Records/Memorials of Distinction
On July 1st, 2022 London-based artist Naima Bock will release her debut album Giant Palm via Sub Pop Records/Memorials of Distinction. Born in Glastonbury to a Brazilian father and a Greek mother, Naima spent her early childhood in Brazil before eventually returning to England and various homes in South-East London. This heritage combines with more recent pursuits in Naima’s music; from the Brazilian standards that the family would listen to driving to the beach, to the European folk traditions she tapped into on her own, and the pursuits that interest her today – studies in archaeology, work as a gardener, and walking the world’s great trails – Naima’s music draws from family, the earth and the handing down of music through generations.
Naima’s debut album Giant Palm is undoubtedly infused with the Brazilian music of her youth and regular family visits. She found inspiration in “the percussion, the melodies, chords - and particularly the poetic juxtaposition of tragedy and beauty held within the lyrics”.
On the heels of the single releases of “30 Degrees,” her cover of the classic Brazilian song “Berimbau”, and single “Every Morning” comes the official video for her album-title track “Giant Palm.”
Naima says of the track: “Giant Palm was written collaboratively by myself and Joel Burton (who arranged and produced the whole album), I wrote the vocal melody and lyrics and he wrote the instrumentation. The recording process was limited (which I always find the most creatively productive way to record) by what we had in Joel’s room and recorded during the summer of 2020, resulting in mostly electronic instruments apart from the acoustic guitar. The vocals were later recorded by my dad, Victor Bock. We named the album after this song as it was the one that most reflected our collaboration as musicians and the innocence and freedom that characterised the making of the record.”
The music video for “Giant Palm” was directed by Max McLachlan. Naima adds “he projected the contrast of elevation and submission that is present in the song into a physical visual format. I’ve struggled to express in writing the meaning of this song so I feel it is best to leave the listener to make of it what they will. It’s a deeply personal song which means it can be reflected in whichever way one feels they want it to be.”
Naima’s headline show at London’s The Lexington on 23rd May follows UK and EU tours with Porridge Radio and Dana Gavanski (with additional opening support coming in September), and a stint at SXSW. She will also open 17 dates as main support for Rodrigo Amarante starting on 18 April throughout Europe. She will have additional festival plays at The Great Escape Festival, The Great Eastern Festival, Sea Change Festival, Hidden Doors Festival, and End of the Road Festival. See below for a full list of shows.
Mon. Apr. 18 - Porto, PT- Casa Da Musica %
Tue. Apr. 19 - Lisbon, PT - Capitolio %
Thur. Apr. 21 - Madrid, ES - Sala Mon %
Fri. Apr. 22 - Barcelona, ES - La 2 %
Sat. Apr. 23 - Lyon, FR - L’Epicerie Moderne %
Mon. Apr. 25 - Milano, IT - Santeria %
Tue. Apr. 26 - Zurich, CH - Mascotte %
Wed. Apr. 27 - Munich, DE - Ampere %
Thur. Apr. 28 - Cologne, DE - Stadtgarten %
Fri. Apr. 29 - Hamburg, DE - Nochtspeicher %
Sat. Apr. 30 - Berlin, DE - Lido %
Mon. May 02 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso Noord %
Thur. May 04 - London, UK - Scala %
Fri. May 05 - Brussels, BE - Botanique (Orangerie) %
Sat. May 06 - Paris, FR - Cabaret Sauvage %
Sun. May 07 - Lille, FR - Aeronef %
Mon. May 08 - Nantes, FR - Le Lieu Unique %
Wed. May 11 - Sat. May 14 - Brighton, UK - The Great Escape
Sat. May 21 - The Great Eastern Festival, Edinburgh, UK
Mon. May 23 - London, UK - The Lexington
Sat. May 28 - Totnes, UK - Sea Change Festival
Fri. Jun. 17 - Edinburgh, UK - Hidden Door Festival
Fri. Jul. 01- - London, UK - London’s Rough Trade East
Thur. Sep. 01 - Sun. Sep. 04 - Dorset, UK - End of the Road Festival
Fri. Sep. 09 - Sat. Sep. 10 - Vienna, AT - Waves Festival
Thur. Sep. 15 - Sat. Sep. 17 - Oslo, NO - by:Larm
Tue. Sep. 20 - Leipzig, DE - UT Connewitz #
Wed. Sep. 21 - Hamburg, DE - RBF #
Thur. Sep. 22 - Berlin, DE - Prachtwerk #
Fri. Sep 23 - Cologne, DE - Theater der Wohngemeinschaft #
Sat. Sep. 24 - Munich, DE - Heppel & Ettlich #
Tue. Sep. 27 - Nijmegen, NL - Doomrosje #
Thur. Sep. 29 - Brugge - BE - Cactus #
___
% w/ Rodrigo Amarante
# w/ Dana Gavanski
Giant Palm is now available for preorder/presave on CD/LP/DSPs from Sub Pop. Pre-orders from megamart.sub pop.com, select independent retailers in North America, and in the UK, and in Europe will receive the Loser Edition of the album on Orange Vinyl.
What People are saying about Naima:
“Flashes of jazz and Americana bolt across her songs, and with each brush of warmth and familiarity there’s something to claw you back to the edge of your seat.” - [30 Degrees] The Line of Best Fit
“…filled with interweaving vocal harmonies and a transcendent sense of stillness. - [“Every Morning”] Stereogum
“…dark, smoky, folk sound, close harmonies and production touches that nod towards her upbringing in Brazil.” [30 Degrees] Brooklyn Vegan
““30 Degrees” is hushed and mournful, with Bock’s deep voice at the center. “ - [30 Degrees] Stereogum
“A strong contender to be one of 2022’s breakout stars” - For The Rabbits
More on Naima Bock’s Giant Palm:
The roots of Naima Bock’s music are far-reaching. Born in Glastonbury to a Brazilian father and a Greek mother, Naima spent her early childhood in Brazil before eventually returning to England and various homes in South-East London. This heritage combines with more recent pursuits in Naima’s music; from the Brazilian standards that the family would listen to driving to the beach, to the European folk traditions she tapped into on her own, and the pursuits that interest her today – studies in archaeology, work as a gardener, and walking the world’s great trails – Naima’s music draws from family, the earth and the handing down of music through generations.
Naima’s debut album Giant Palm is undoubtedly infused with the Brazilian music of her youth and regular family visits. She found inspiration in “the percussion, the melodies, chords - and particularly the poetic juxtaposition of tragedy and beauty held within the lyrics”. By the age of 15 Naima was embedded in the music scene of South-East London, slotting into a group of like-minded friends writing and playing music. This led to the creation of Goat Girl, the band she toured the world with playing bass and singing alongside her school friends. After six years, Naima decided to leave Goat Girl to try something new. In the intervening years she set up a gardening company and started a degree at University College London in archeology because, as she jokes, “I liked being near the ground”. During this time she was writing music, playing guitar, and learning violin. She was also introduced to producer and arranger Joel Burton through Josh Cohen and his label, Memorials of Distinction. Over the time he and Naima worked together, Joel’s burgeoning interest in Western Classical music, global folk music, experience in large scale arrangement and orchestration informed the collaborative process that eventually culminated in Giant Palm.
Naima had been writing songs for years without any strong idea of where to take them. However, over a gradual process of rehearsing and performing with Joel, the compositions began to settle into something more concrete. It wasn’t until restrictions began to ease post- lockdown that they were able to focus on getting the songs finished and recorded. Fortunately, Dan Carey of Speedy Wunderground offered his spare studio space in Streatham, in south east London, free of charge. Informed by a desire to create music that was considered and intentional, they spent the month leading up to the recording expanding the arrangements, to be performed by a large and varied group of musicians - with Joel scoring parts and recording the synth and electronic elements in advance. Once they managed to schedule slots for the more-than 30 musicians on the record - the expansive yet delicate arrangements were brought to life and captured with the help of engineer Syd Kemp.
Naima loves the collective voice of traditionals that belong to everyone. She’s recently found a home for this passion in her role in the ever-shifting line-up of South-London folk collective Broadside Hacks, but it’s long been a way for her to explore her own artistry. She learned to play guitar and violin through these songs, but she also found her voice in them. “All the other representations that I’d had of singing felt so unattainable” she recalls, but in folk music she found that singing can take on so many forms without the need to exactly replicate something. Here, qualities that make her voice unique were able to flourish. This is present all through her music, as well as a feeling of community and the sharing of ideas.
Written over the space of years, each of Naima’s songs represents a snapshot of a specific feeling, of brief moments in Naima’s life that make up a larger whole. “I never change lyrics” she says, “even if I don’t relate to them anymore, I related to them once which means someone else could, somewhere”. Whether that’s in the playful humour of ‘Campervan’, the peaceful exhale of ‘Giant Palm’ or in the darker moments like in the stark, self-critical honesty of ‘Every Morning’, whatever the form it’s always laid bare.
There’s also a feeling of clarity to the songs, which Naima largely credits to the fact that many of them were written while walking. She finds inspiration in the meditative and revealing nature of long walks with a fixed but far-off destination. “There’s a stripping away that takes place”, she says, the slowing of thoughts by the rhythm of walking is often to thank for the sharp focus of her lyrics. Be that during a period of three years where she would return to Spanish pilgrimage network Camino de Santiago for weeks at a time, or simple hours spent in the English countryside.
Naima Bock
Giant Palm
Track Listing:
1. Giant Palm
2. Toll
3. Every Morning
4. Dim Dum
5. Working
6. Natural
7. Campervan
8. Enter the House
9. Instrumental
10. O Morro